OzzieMandias

It's basically like bargaining for my Toon-striped djelleba in the souk. They name a silly price, you offer a fraction in return, then you bullshit back and forth for a while before ending up somewhere in the middle.

And this is a surprise?

Can't honestly see why the guy, in the circumstances, shouldn't go for the best deal he can get.

Why, are you planning on making an appearance on Sky Sports News? Nah, I'm gonna sneak into the director's box.

I can see that my recent purchase of a black-and-white-striped djelleba (the kind of hooded robe they wear in Morocco) in the Marrakech souk may prove to be an even better buy than I thought it was.

So where does it say that the sole owner doesn't have authority over his appointees?

He can do what he wants, as IanW said, within the limits of the law and the contracts he has with others. There are no shareholders represented on the "board" so they don't get a vote.

He owns the company outright. He's not responsible to anyone and has all the authority he wants.

Tosser doesn't even know where London is.

I think the strategy was right but the tactics were wrong -- good plan, difficult mix of appointments, long-term intentions not balanced with necessary short-term fixes.

Who owns Fenwicks? They must be worth a few bob. A Geordie Fayed. Or was SJH the Geordie Fayed?

Greggs.

How do I feel? I'm still catching up on all this. I was a very long way away when Keegan resigned, in a place where I could only get online once in a blue moon, with the world's slowest connection and a jumbled-up foreign keyboard. Just got back to "civilisation" yesterday. But I'm basically angry. Angry with just about everyone. Angry with Ashley for getting the strategy right but the tactics completely wrong. Angry with Keegan for walking. Angry with the press for fanning the flames. Angry with the self-righteous idiots who demonstrated. While I've been on a 16-day holiday, we've gone from what looked like a decent if not spectacular transfer window to a completely disastrous situation. And as far as I can see, just about everyone except the players are to blame.

We're definitely a contender for the most self-congratulatory fans in the world, though the scousers might win that one.

If we are going to get another member of the global plutocracy who wants to play our national game of Premiershipopoly, it'll probably be him. I'm worried we don't find a buyer at all, and are stuck with a disenchanted Ashley.

How much did you know about Lerner before he bought Villa? He owns the Cleveland Browns, just as the Glazers own the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. I follow a lot of American sports, as I went to school over there for a number of years, so I knew of them already. Americans just have such a strong sporting culture that I am a lot more comfortable with them. So what sports did Bill Gates play at college? Which "franchises" is he involved with these days?

RM is a geek.

So you'd prefer a non-sports-involved billionaire from a country where they know fuck all about football and care less, to the investment arm of the Middle East's most successful and imaginatively run economy where they are all football mad? Just because you've heard his name before?

I read it as a general point but carrying the implication that Bruce would be an appropriate manager for Newcastle.

I murdered centrepaddock82, in the library, with the lead piping.

I was sceptical. I still am. I'm a very long way from calling for his head, however. Rather have KK than any of the last few managers we got lumbered with, and if anyone deserves their chance at this club, it's him.

Spurs aren't going to settle until they've sorted out the Berbatov thing.

If the mackems have to beat someone, I'm happy when it's Spurs. Bit of a confidence-booster for them, though, with all their Spurs rejects.

I need a signing. I need something to stir the blood, ignite the imagination, excite the intellect, stiffen the... well, you get my drift.