macphisto

I can't decide between the away and third shirt as to which one is my favourite

I see the away shirt was ranked the best away shirt by the Athletic

What do you think their real main objective is now if they're just chasing shadows under the current rules?

We don't need it scrapped. We need to start putting these deals in place, even if they are "fair value". It doesn't make sense to think PIF will go from a situation where they don't exploit every income stream to one where a PIF company will pay millions to sponsor the match ball. Related sonsors are not banned and there are numerous ways we could generate income.

That's the whole crux of my argument, they haven't spent the maximum they can spend as there's a lot of low hanging fruit they haven't exploited; back of the shirt is just one example. Go back to my original post, I'm happy with how the club is being run but at what point do we question their actions v where they claim they want to be?

And in reply @Optimistic Nut There is no reason why we can't have a PIF company on the back of our shirts. A deal that goes through related-parties regulations is better than no deal. 100% agree on training ground and stadium being a measure of our ambitions.

At what point do we start to question either the intentions of PIF or the ability of Eales to push the limits of FFP which we will have to do to achieve their stated aims? I see Man U now have back of the shirt sponsors for some competitions. In the grand scheme of things, I'm very happy with the owners but there is no way we'll be competing with our current approach. I'm fine with that but they need to change their messaging to manage expectations.

He's a very strange one, one of only three players after Cole and Gordon to get 10 assists and 10 goals in a season. Makes you think whether we let him go too soon and also whether that would happen in today's game where data plays a much more prominent role? Other thing about the stat above is how I can't believe Beardsley did not get 10 assists and 10 goals during his second stint here. I'm sure 99.9% would go for him ahead of Cole if asked that question in a pub quiz.

I just started attending matches when Franz Carr played for Newcastle but was too young to know if he was any good? I do remember the crowd getting excited when he was on the ball. Any one remember what he was like?

Aaron Hughes though not sure he's forgotten.

I don't mind Saudi Arabia hosting it as it's a middle sized country population wise and when I was last there about 10 years ago I did see a fair few people playing football. Qatar was a joke at the place is so small. Another World Cup that could only be held in Winter would be a joint bid from SE Asia countries, say Thailand, Vietnam and Singapore that would be amazing.

Yes, I'm amazed we haven't gone down that road or exploited other loopholes like Chelsea.

Got all three kits and I'd say the 3rd kit is my favourite. Looks very good when you have it on. For fitting, all of the tops are slim fitting; away and 3rd shirts are the fan version. Slim fitting might be because I'm in Asia. Overall I'm not that fussed about the designs like some on here as I'll only wear the shirts when I'm out and about. I'm just happy after a gap of the Ashley years to finally be able to buy our top again. My last shirt was a Northern Rock one so I guess a gap of 14/15 years since I last bought one.

100%, I have it already and it looks good.

Too hot over here for long sleeves

Brilliant, just picked up that black top too over here. Just realised prices are cheaper over here, £45 for this shirt and £62 for the away shirt.

Just picked up the regular away top in Bangkok, looks good in person. That's the *authentic" home shirt that players wear, training top and away shirt I've picked up in the past month over here.

If you can do astro, you can do turf!

Cool. There are a lot of Sambas kicking around that look nothing like the ones when I was young

For those who still play, what boots do you wear? I've been wearing Mercurials and Speedportals, both below elite level, where sometimes my touch is rubbish. Just bought some Copa Pure 2, Elite, and looking forward to seeing how it goes playing in leather again.

You could even argue 4 or 5 years, as the had all that time before they were approved by the Premier League to look into infrastructure developments.

I do agree with you but David Kelly did score arguably the most important goal in our history.

Yes, I have. Been several times, all times of the year, every country apart from Yemen. Weather is good as you have AC for the summer, weather gets cooler in the evening and you get "cooler" months too.

From a quality of life perspective, I'd say Almiron would have a better quality of life in Saudi Arabia than Newcastle. Better weather, hired help, international schools. The only time where you'd take less money for most people is if you want to stay in your home country which is not the case with Almiron.

I wonder if we're a little behind the times as a fan base? Are we not focusing too much on developing young players with a view to them becoming 1st team players rather than a way to generate income and get around FFP which is equally important to the club? We will make a significant profit on Minteh which is what we want. With this model, we have to accept that some players will move on and become great players; just part of our model as to generate high fees there has to be a "risk" of our young players becoming stars of the future.