Memphis

That was pretty dire but it was understandably and logically dire, rather than just hapless and hopeless, so that’s an improvement. 

Though it’s not a joy to watch, I think our football is at least organized and there is a clear tactical plan that is being followed. That’s a credit to Jones. Already miles ahead of Bruce there. 
 

But this half is a clear wake up call about the shocking level of play and talent we currently have. PIF will have no doubts as to the scale of the upgrades needed.

This is grim stuff, understandably grim to some degree, but grim nevertheless. Players do look committed but also lacking composure and thought. Bruce Ball has left them in an awful state physically and mentally. 

We certainly look more organized but the price we’ve paid for that organization is that we’re treating Crystal Palace like vintage Barcelona. 11 behind the ball, carrying no threat other than an occasional counter attack, not a treat to watch, that’s for sure.

Looked awful. Were awful. Players couldn't appear to give a shit in the second half. Fans either. Time to wake the fuck up and get to building a club that's not a rotting pile.

LOLOLOLOL fucking Shelvey you are hopeless

Annoying as fuck how the media act as if we're unreasonable for wanting Bruce out, like we just liked Rafa more because he's more handsome and better-dressed (though he is). Rafa is infinitely better as a manager. The team played so much better with him in charge. Fans tend to enjoy watching a team that's in shape and plays with a plan. It's not that hard to figure out.

Probably need a few days off after this performance, eh Steve?

This match should go at the front of Rafa Benitez' CV. Look what happened to the same players 18 months after he left. Look like a League One side.

I will say it's the perfect way to mark Bruce's 1000th match as a manager. Team disappointing its fans and playing like they've never met. That's Bruce.

What a dogshit performance. After the adrenaline faded, it's been clear just how much worse we are in every area than Spurs. Sack Bruce at halftime.

We are so passive. Forget pressing, we're barely even challenging anyone with the ball. They're strolling through the midfield and into the box as if we're not even there. Playing without any life.

Ritchie annoys me so much. Such a poor defender and doesn't make up for it on offense at all. One out of 20 crosses is decent. Get rid of him. 

Sunday will be about the club. Sunday will be about a fresh start and real hope. It won’t be about Bruce at all. There will be a few misguided journalists who will bring it up but by and large everyone knows his time has come and most accept it as the right decision.

As long as the supporters are behind the team, as long as the signs are about the club and not Bruce, it really won’t matter all that much. It won’t ruin the occasion for me, that I will tell you. I won’t let it. 

At first I was completely against him being in the dugout for the Spurs match. But, considering the statement from Staveley - again, communication! - and the fact that everyone, including Bruce, knows he's not long for the job, most everyone will understand the nature of the situation and just get on with it.

That said, Staveley/Ghordoussi need to figure out a way to speed up decision-making from PIF side. We can't have every decision being mulled over for days in Riyadh before acting. Especially in January.

Steve Bruce is his own caretaker manager. Pretty well sums up his managerial career.

I'm so excited to have this thread back in my life in a non-ironic way

It's too much. I can't even conceive of what it all means. I've supported the club since I was much younger, and I've been one of the thousands who has fallen out of love with it because of Mike Ashley. I don't know if I can just turn it all back on right away but I'm so happy and proud to be able to have my children support a club with ambition and with hope. They've never known a time without that piece of shit running the club. I didn't know if I wanted to pass along my love of the club to them as things stood. Now, I feel I can. For that reason alone, it's a beautiful day indeed. But I still feel overwhelmed.

From MOTD. Excellent work.

It's helpful to my sanity for me to remember that there are precisely zero people outside of the Premier League who know anything for sure. All they have said is that the process will end when it ends, no official timetable. This is the most complex takeover in the league's history, done at the most incredibly complex moment in modern sport history. It is not going to be done quickly.

The only thing I know is that the buyers are as confident as they ever were, they have not received any indication that the process will end badly for them. Until that changes, there is no reason to impose my own timetable on things. Could be announced tomorrow or in a month. No way for us to know and no reason for anyone to break confidentiality agreements to tell us.

It is entirely possible that the checks have been completed and that Burt/Caulkin are correct. The delay doesn't necessarily mean they are still checking.

Because it is also entirely possible that the Premier League is trying to find a way to legally interpret that information in such as way as to make certain that they can withstand the inevitable criticism from beIN and other outside parties. The Premier League would welcome Saudi money, the Saudi market, and all the economic benefit that it entails, but to do so enthusiastically would make them look callous and unconcerned about the piracy/human rights issues. It's in their best interests to cover every potential challenge that may emerge.

The Premier League has participated in the WTO report and has known about it for weeks. That they have not already informed the buyers that there are major issues is good news.

Remember - we are getting the news two weeks after the PL did. They did not reject the deal out of hand. I don't think any of this will have been a surprise to the buyers - they would have known about the piracy issues, the WTO report, the human rights abuses, all of it. Nothing unexpected has occurred from their perspective. From ours, it is - we get the information very late. But this has all been taken into account already.

It's clear how legally complex this is and why it would be taking so long. Not that it isn't excruciating.

I've long since stopped trying to figure out what is relevant information, what is new information, etc. Those of us on the outside can never know the real timeline or what specifically the PL has been told.

My working theory is that sound journalists like Caulkin and Burt have their contacts on the buyers' side and that side would have nothing more to add at this point. They will not have been advised in advance of any timing from the PL, so there is nothing concrete for them to say.

On the other side are journalists like Ingle, who seem to be getting their information from someone with PL contacts who is against the deal. They would have found a reporter eager to pass along their side of the story in the most scandalous-sounding way possible.

So you don't have one specific source with contacts on both sides who could bridge the gap between the two sets of stories, which is unfortunate and adds to the confusion. The process was always going to be opaque and glacial and is only more so because of the coronavirus and Project Restart delays.

We are finding things out that have already been known behind the scenes for some time, including the potential WTO report. This is an extremely complex transaction in the best of times and these are not the best of times. The buying side would be happy to take the PL to court should they be unfairly restricted from a legal purchase; the PL is keen to avoid a raft of bad publicity associated with a potential Saudi sale. Each side has reasons to be meticulous.

Personally, I haven't posted in ages. Completely disenchanted by the current state of the club. A sale would change that. But this process has been maddening, a microcosm of the club itself. I guess we should have known that we could only escape Ashley in the most painfully drawn-out way possible.