Thorpinho

Feels very similar to the pardew years and one frustrating thing in particular...i remember feeling most weeks that we had a better line up available especially in attack (not sure but often not playing the potentially good combo of cisse, ba, ben arfa etc. )Going into this season you think yeah asm/wilson/almiron/fraser - but got that same depressed feeling that those players wont line up especially almiron

This is insane. Getting torn apart by someone fast. Maybe bring on your guy who is absolutely rapid and never stops running!?

Jesus christ bring Almiron on NOW

Hendrick off, almiron on, put asm on the right and let miggy chase lamptey around

Not sure ASM will get much joy v lamptey, he looked rapid against chelsea

Signings and selections are all about context. He's not world class, but the sheer level of upgrade for us is phenomenal. Will make a huge difference assuming he is fit enough.

Haha how bad is hendrick's touch and control!?

Its so like pardew. Blatantly obvious good selections available but manager making dinosaur choices. Unless this is a fitness/injury issue then he can just do one.

Honestly it makes you want to scream. For once i thought yeah canny signings can see fraser/almiron/asm buzzing around wilson nicely. But no, mike bassett just can't help himself. Pathetic.

Blatantly obvious to be a 4231, shelvey hendrick behind fluid front 4 of fraser, almiron, asm, wilson. Not that bruce knows what to do but its better than last season on paper.

Genuine question as I don't really follow the trust's activities, what did they do to attempt to get ashley out?

What happened to Rocker's updates? Staveley's point about arbitration seems legally incorrect unless the pl have some bespoke set up for it. Arbitration is an alternative forum to a court for determination of an issue or claim. A bit like mediation but the decision is generally binding. So this whole oh we needed a decision first to then arbitrate on seems slightly odd to me.

What is the deal with mansour? Google suggests he bought them - someone said above he isn't even a director!? That can't be right surely and that he didn't even go through the pl's tests?

Staveley says its the premier league, golfmag says its ashley, matt slater in the athletic says its the piracy and that they were never going to pass. Mountain upon mountain of bullshit and agenda led spin.

In amongst all of this, all the negative depression, the hopes dashed, this crappy months long saga...i'd just like to know what ACTUALLY happened. The itk insinuations was it ashley was it mot just someone effing tell us. Surely not that hard now the NDAs have gone. I suspect i'll be waiting a long time though.

The frustration is that it is a "confidential" process not capable of influence by third parties, yet is openly being influenced by a tv company. The number 1 priority should be the fact they have a pathetic make up the numbers owner in ashley, and that a more competitive and properly run club can be made. Instead the league, yet again and since the early 90s, demonstrates itself to be the absolute bitch of any tv company with money.

Seems to be a lot of misunderstanding based on that telegraph tweet. It doesn't mean PL can't legally challenge. It just means that (well, qatar are briefing) they think the evidence leaves any case as having no merit or no grounds. It isn't saying they are denied right of challenge, just that they would lose. Again, all just qatari briefings to that effect.

Might have missed this, but what is the link between mauriss/qatar 2022/bein sports? Is his company a sponsor or something?

We obviously don't know for sure if the PL take any notice of Qatar/bein, but the level of influence they think they can exert and have done in the past over the world cup is absolutely nauseating.

People really aren't understanding this at all. Going on as if the contents of this report are some sort of surprise to the parties involved and like this is a moment of revelation because the press can finally read and quote it. The PL and those involved had this report over a month ago. It says bad things. The question is whether the KSA/PIF response can either evade it by "not being involved/not same entity" or they can offer resolutions to resolve the issues in the report that (again) they have already had for ages.

The premier league have had the WTO report for over a month. It has since been confirmed that talks remain ongoing/questions asked. Waiting for its public release to say no doesn't make sense. More likely it will continue to be used as leverage.

I'd still just like to know what happened on 20th May and what then changed. The PL were seemingly in receipt of WTO draft before that date, so it surely can't have been that.

PL effectively saying we'll give you the club you want, if you give Qatar everything they want. Its easy to see beoutq being shut down/already happened, but the whole legal remedy for what has gone on is surely unrealistic? Perhaps they are negotiating some kind of settlement of that.

Very confused. 11th May Guardian report the premier league have received 'documents' that essentially prove the piracy. They don't say what those documents are. 20th May George Caulkin is saying all the 'unofficial' confirmation and "you're probably fine to celebrate but i'm waiting until its all confirmed". Greg on here on about cans in the fridge. Something, perhaps from the buyers, was clearly released around that date that was positive. The only intervening event between then and now, was the guardian revealing that the piracy link was from a WTO report (a document they describe as being in the PL's posession for a couple of weeks i.e. their 11th May article). So since the positive comments, nothing new has actually happened has it? Or as i say am i just extremely confused? I think all that is why people are quite expectant of it happening week commencing 1st june or very soon, and will likely be a bit deflated/distrustful of that earlier news if it doesn't.

It reads to me as this is the mysterious info the pl was given earlier in the month that everyone got their knickers in a twist about. The guardian is really just confirming what that was - a wto report. Could be wrong but the line about pl having received it 'this month' is telling.