Matt

H&G breached the terms of their debt financing, allowing lenders to parachute in Martin Broughton to oversee the running of the club and to launch a sale process. We were always at the sole whim of Mike Ashley. Yes there was a concerted effort to get them out of Anfield, but you can't compare the two situations.

The players couldn't push forward because they don't have the legs. It's no surprise we concede so many late goals when so many players can't do a full 90 minutes. We either drop deep or get done on the counter. Watford looked clueless for much of the game but suddenly came to life because they were easily winning chases and second balls and easily beating our players for pace.

Bizarre choice in the circumstances, you would have thought they would be after an experienced manager. Trying to get more Sunderland fans to spend their saturdays there perhaps? Blyth appointing Lee Clark was an unmitigated disaster but perhaps Phillips is a more stable character than Clark.

A good mate of mine works for a Saudi firm and he won't even take his personal phone with him when he travels over there, just his work one, as guards are known to scroll through WhatsApp groups etc in search of anything deemed immodest.

Didn't realise Moutinho played against us in the UEFA Cup. They had a veteran CM I remember absolutely bossing the midfield.

Biggest ever crowd for a game between the two sides and the biggest since the Birmingham FA Cup game.

Sounds like they have their fingers on the pulse.

Staveley has already publicly confirmed they won’t make any rasher decisions about the manager’s future.

And a decent goal to boot.... Hopefully all the NE sides have a decent season- the region is finally establishing itself in the pyramid after years of navel-gazing and localism. Great to see 4 local sides in the NPL East this year!

To best protect the longer-term value of the club, Ashley and the other partners (ex-PIF) need to look at possible partial sale options, perhaps with a dual-class share structure and mutual share purchase options for a year's time, such that PCP/Reubens control the club while Ashley still owns a majority for a short period of time. Just having a change in the director's box will boost the club financially and improve Ashley's return on his residual holding if PIF falls through. Survival is essential and quelling off-pitch rumblings will make a big difference.

The airport, like all the major 'Vegas Strip' hotels, aren't in Las Vegas either but in Paradise. [/pedantry]

Ah another football club owner with a proprietary betting system making them incredibly wealthy. Fit and proper test will be applied I'm sure.

The Robbie Dale mural outside Croft Park is complete. I have to admit, had my doubts about how it would turn out, but the artist has done a cracking job.

The idea of clubs being more dependent on match-going fans and less on TV deals sounds cracking to me. All those squad-fillers on £40k a week will have to make do with £15k. I'm guessing they won't be ditching football for a career driving Uber.

What you would see is clubs resting players for PL games like they do with the FA Cup. What value is the PL title then, when the biggest names have only made a half-arsed effort? It's probably the end for the PL as we know it, which may be no bad thing.

I mean once we've figured out who is best, why even keep playing?

Please stop using tennis as a comparison. It's an individual sport. Pete Sampras isn't still getting byes into semis because he was unbeatable 20 years ago.

I'm glad they don't give Eastern Europeans wild cards at Grand Slams like Wimbledon, because that could never be worth watching.

Big games between big teams attract interest because they don't happen that often and usually have a material bearing on the outcome of the competition, given those teams will also win most of the games against the rest. A mid-table dead rubber doesn't suddenly take on a great aura of wonder because it happens to involve Man Utd.

No, but he effectively advised the PL on the O&D rules which are now being disputed by NUFC, the club presumably arguing that he would not be objective in a case where the club is disputing the appropriateness of those tests. We do now know for sure what was reported at the time. PL argue that KSA ultimately controls PIF, KSA has been involved in piracy and therefore KSA and PIF fail the O&D test (this if putting to one side another unfortunate incident in Istanbul).

Christ that is so badly written.

I've only ever seen Dan Burn be absolutely terrible. Showing Benteke the goal- what they fuck what he thinking there?

The gin is canny fwiw.

Don't be daft.

Really don't like that. They feel like Gateshead, just send em there because it's a local club. Quite often where a player moves locally, they will train at both clubs during the loan spell.