Cronky

I think there may have been an assumption on the Saudis part that the British government would have more power and influence to push this through. In most countries, if the government says jump, you jump.

Given his position, I wonder what possible guarantees can be offered to the PL that he won't have a say in the club affairs on the occasions that he wants it. This don't look good.

re Ben Jacobs, it doesn't make a lot of sense for the PL to ask questions and then proceed anyway, despite not getting any answers. I wonder whether the banning of BeIn was an aggressive gesture by the Saudis, made in the hope of putting pressure on the PL. The reasoning may have been that by hurting the broadcasting partner, they would also threaten the PL's income in the long term. Not a sensible move at all, I'd say, but we can't assume that the decision-making process over there is always well-informed and free from the whims of an individual.

Well, it might make young Matty think twice about joining the Udinese / Watford set up. Crazy decision to sack the manager with two games left.

It's good that we were at least trying to play like a Premiership team - passing the ball around and trying to win the ball further up the pitch rather than just getting behind the ball. But at the end of the day, they had better players and it cost us in certain situations. Son v Yedlin and Kane v Krafth were complete mismatches.

Yedlin often seems to lack composure. He needed to show Son down the outside - that's basic defending.

Unlucky to be behind. Terrible defending by Yedlin for the goal. He often gets his positioning wrong. It's nice to see us knocking the ball around with a bit of confidence though.

Playing well. Now that we're safe and results aren't crucial, Bruce is using the games to try and establish a more expansive style.

100%. I watch and listen to SBR and Rafa and look at what we have now and weep. We had gold in our hands and let it slip through our fingers, for what? Interesting comparison. Sir Bob took us from bottom of the league to three successive top five finishes and the last 16 of the Champions League. But at that point, the vast majority of the posters on this site (as with many other supporters) thought he was an old git who had lost the plot and were clamouring for his dismissal. Rafa took us to 10th place, moved on to the Chinese League, and was mourned as a god. In Sir Bob's case, we really did have gold and didn't realise it. I don't think the evidence is quite as strong with Rafa.

Dier out for them. That's bad news.

West Ham are in the strongest position, have the easiest run of games, and are arguably the best of the four teams, so I think they'll be okay. As for the other three, it's very close and it may well come down to goal difference. But if I had to put money on it, then Bournemouth and Villa to be the ones to go. Nice to be observing it all from a distance though.

We're Ashley's Newcastle, what else is supposed to drive us? There'll never really be a final revenge, I'll probably always want them to be shit. Having them laugh at us, celebrating, at Villa Park, can't imagine it'll ever not be satisfying seeing their club going down. What is football about if not bitterness and grudges? Exactly this. I have wished ill will of them ever since that awful day. I can understand opposing fans taking the piss during the game, but it was all way too premeditated and organised. They'd gone to the trouble of making banners. It was a bit weird. It's not as though there was any bad blood between us, or we were local rivals.

They wanted it more. One annoyingly dumbass bit of defending by Manquillo for the second pen.

A great raconteur, as well as a passionate football man of the old school. Farewell.

Top trolling as usual I just don't happen to think he's quite as good as most on here seem to think. This place does get a bit silly when anyone expresses anything but mainstream opinion.

I can't be the only one to be a bit annoyed at players seeking to enhance their contracts after only one season. ASM is very effective against the weaker teams when he can get a bit of time and space on the ball. I don't think he's top six material though. PSG get linked with any French player who's in the news, and I'd be surprised if Mourinho wants him. But if we get a bit of £60m, I think we should take it.

In Bellamy's first season, when we topped the league, I'd have magically given him a new pair of hamstrings half way through. If we'd have kept him fit, we'd have stood a good chance of winning the whole thing. Defenders just didn't know how to handle him at that point - bit like Vardy with Leicester a few years later.

Reputations can sometimes be based on assumptions though. How much do we really know about his coaching methods?

Maybe wishful thinking, but I interpret 'I would like the process to conclude shortly' as an indication that the process is nearing an end. I don't think Masters would have put it that way otherwise. I don't think the PL are under any obligation to keep the fans informed. I can see why, realistically, it's better to say nothing than make a short statement which is going to be raked over for hints and indications.

I agree completely. He's never going to make it at LEFT BACK! His touch on the ball is poor. That's what was shown up.

Defending in depth is okay, but it needs to be done with some aggression. On the occasions when we got the ball, it felt like we just weren't in any kind of positive frame of mind and promptly lost it. That's improved a bit since we went behind though. ASM's limitations have been well and truly shown up. Longstaff has looked more confident than before.

Look I hate Bruce as much as the next person but he lost both our top scorers from last season, he didn't have the full summer to work with the squad and the club was surrounded in negativity from day one. The striker bought to replace those goals also couldn't hit a barn door. So yeah the circumstances were difficult, especially given the fact that he is a poor manager. The club that was pushing for the top 8 had a brilliant manager, still had our 2 top scorers and had the full backing of the supporters, it wasn't the same club once all that was taken away. We're 11 points clear of 18th with 8 games to go, most people last August would have predicted us to be 20th at this stage. I predicted this season to be a complete disaster and he has kept us up quite comfortably, so I would say he has done well yeah, but that doesn't change the fact that I want him gone and replaced. So what has Steve Bruce ever done for us? Nothing!

It's impossible to believe that the Saudis have acted against piracy at this point, without it being prompted by the PL. Looks like it's going ahead. Finally.

I suspect the legal advice that the PL receive won't be clear cut, but will say that there are no legal constraints against accepting the deal, but it may be subject to challenge. In which case, I think the PL will accept the deal, and it'll then boil down to whether the Qataris are able and motivated to mount a challenge. I'm not sure under what legal mechanism they'd be able to do that, and how far the burden of proof would fall on them. Trouble is, money is no object, and this could drag on for a long time.

What game on Wednesday? Sorry Sheff Utd. Bit nuts I know, reckons the it kosher though After your last prediction about 6 or 7 weeks ago I'm treating this information a bit cautiously Nah, last info was from immediate family who had first hand info from a good mate who’s dad is stadium manager at NUFC who’d had a call from Llambias to say it’d been done. I can absolutely vouch for that, this info is from a bloke I know who doesn’t usually say anything and came out with this today. Eddie Rutherford is the stadium manager and my step son is mates with his son. Guess it’s ok to say this know as that was weeks ago. It’s all changed since then. What year do you think it is? I wouldn’t be surprised if the takeover is cleared that there’s serious discussion exactly when to announce it. The problem is there’s far more people out and about now and the football is about to start. I’d imagine they’ll want to pick a time to minimise crowds gathering so I don’t think the prediction above is anything too far fetched. Admittedly not quite sure about Llambias but most of Ashley’s cronies are probably in the know. If the police have been alerted, it sounds more likely that the announcement will be that the deal is off.