TRon

That makes perfect sense. Just look at how excited we were during the takeover before the cartel and PL lawyers swung into action. Roadblock after roadblock has brought the PIF juggernaut to a juddering halt and the only chink of light has been awful Man City taking the PL to the courts.

They'll want to win it, they won't be any more desperate than any other player at Newcastle. I think we need to put this idea that they are protecting themselves for a cup final to one side. It's still a month away, no one will even be thinking about that yet.

Man City's victory in the APT case has opened up a chink in the PL's roadblock to stopping us from competing. Before this we actually were prevented by PSR from investing in our squad, but this opens up a very realistic avenue to sink some money into securing our current superstars at least. Those who were insisting we shouldn't support Man City's fight against the cartel were wrong. This is our fight as well.

They are all on long contracts, the ball is in our favour anyway. But nothing has changed, we need to be CL regulars and paying top wages to keep the really top players beyond the next year or two. Might be the rules easing on APT sponsorship will help there.

Agree, we've seen ourselves the issues we have on expanding St James just what a quagmire of legal issues it raises. On the shite location in the middle of nowhere argument, I get that but it could be mitigated somwhat by building a stadium which is a destination in itself, with cafes, shops etc. I remember John Hall first mooted that idea when he was advocating building a complex on the town moor.

That's when you have to learn to win ugly. There's no easy answer, I understand Howe wants to drill a certain way of playing, and I'm on board. But the amount of times it's failed and we've ended up getting well beat is a concern. The proof's in the pudding though, so I guess we'll see how it all shakes out at the end of the season.

The Beautiful Game.

Those are the sort of locations which would have the space to build a new super stadium I expect. If you stay city centre you probably come up against all sorts of planning permission and traffic issues.

Yes. And the only way PIF was allowed to buy in was to agree to the rules, however medieval they now seem.

Was reading about the escalators inside the new ground. I think fans will quickly come to appreciate modern amenities, even those who claim to be diehard traditionalists.

Depends on how much we can abuse the APT rules I suppose. We really need to find some way of paying top wages if we want to keep top players.

But it also opens up a can of worms with the compensation claims which could follow if the APT rules are found to be unenforcable. I'm no legal expert, but it seems like a bottomless pit where money is being thrown when it would probably make more sense just to leave it be and operate the same way we have been for the past 20 years without too much issue. Obviously if you are a follower of cartel clubs you won't be happy, but we seem to have survived so far.

Sick of hearing this being brought up tbh. For one thing, the Carabao Cup will not have as much meaning for a lot of our foreign players that it might have for the locals. For another, it's a month off yet, I could understand if it was next week. Our form is fluctuating because when we press it has to be 100% on, otherwise we get caught too far up the pitch and our defence comes under pressure. One mistake and it's a goal conceded. There's no margin for error so we really do need to be on it.

Not sure how dragging these cases through the courts at massive expense is in anyone's interests, least of all the PL's. I can understand the cartel are trying to protect their interests, but it looks like a losing battle to me, and I doubt the govt is about to step in when there is so much outside capital at stake.

According to the write up in the Times the acoustics are great so should generate a great atmosphere. I think their fans will be happy once they get used to the idea of being out of Goodison.

Not sure they'll win any play offs like. They try to play passing football so fair play to them, but that tends to go to shit in a KO competition when you're team is inexperienced and you struggle to score goals.

This is how I see it. CL football, plus use some wiggle room in the sponsorship rules to give him a contract on a par with what he can get anywhere else, and he will be happy to stay. As long as the club shows it is ready to mix it with the big boys then there's no better place to be than here.

If the top 4 is Liverpool, Arsenal, Man City and Chelsea (which looks debatable) who would finish 5th and 6th?

I watched the game back, I don't agree that there was a lack of effort from the first minute.We were actually competing fairly well for the first 10 mins or so and closing them down. That first goal really seemed to knock us for a loop, not surprising considering how bad it was from so many different angles. After that the pressing became half hearted and it seemed to me the players lost confidence in what they were supposed to be doing. It's not the first time it's happened either, we quite often end up conceding in a similar manner with everyone caught out of position and getting a drubbing. We play a high risk style, and when it works it's great. When it doesn't we can look very amateurish. I agree that Man City didn't just transform back into world beaters. I think our tactics played into their hands. Whether that was because they were the wrong tactics or just poor execution is the question.

While I'm sure that's true, if our success is reliant on a former striker playing in midfield, then we are not as good as we thought.

This is what the PL - and by extension, the cartel - were banking on. Majority rule forever. Problem is that doesn't stand up in court under scrutiny. If every parent sent a petition to a school that they all wanted their kids to be spanked by the teachers with no legal repercussions, if just one parent recanted and took it to court, those rules would be thrown out even if the school made them part of their policy.

CL football and a big spend on upgrading the squad is what will keep our best players here. I think another season of treading water and we'll start seeing some itchy feet.

Fucking hell, what a miss.

Honestly felt like a CL was ours for the taking before the Bournemouth defeat. Never really thought Forest's form would hold up, and I hadn't even considered Bournemouth a threat before they dismantled us with a team struggling with injuries. We are still in there thanks to that incredible run of wins, so at least we know we are capable of putting them together.

Weird one this, can't work out which team I want to lose more. Thought about their owners and that swung it towards Man U, but then I remembered Spurs owner is Levy.