Minhosa

Bruce might get lucky if these are knackered having played a few days earlier.

It’ll be Kenyon’s lot Yeah just watched it back 'two american bidders with genuine and serious interest who are now watching on the sidelines as this Saudi bid develops. They are waiting in the wings. One with sporting connections and one with serious personal wealth, even by American standards'. Can only imagine the Kenyon bid is the 'sporting connections' reference and the serious wealth is presumably Mauriss. I'd take the saudi's over both every day of the week.

Any rumour as to who these American buyers are that HW refers to? Also, didn't he state that it was actually Mauriss on the Sunday Supplement or on some zoom thing about a month ago? I'm sure he was the first one to break Mauriss's name, so is he now saying that this isn't the case?

It crossed my mind why the Reubens, in particular, didn't just step in and fund the deal whilst waiting for PIF clearance tbh. That way, the fans/staff/whole club benefit, we can begin plans to move forward pending their arrival and Ashley can die celebrating his windfall with eighteen pints and falling into a fire face first. Wonder if its the backup plan? If rejected we'll come back without PIF.,,,then sneak them through the backdoor at a later date. Well it would certainly buy everyone time and tbh, PIF, could easily send the Reubens the cash to fund it. Buy it in their name. RB & PCP clear the tests and take over the club and then sell the 80% to them for £1 but without any media scrutiny nor rush. That way they can allow the PL tests to take as long as they take and still control the club via the RB's and PCP. I can't understand why they haven't done that tbh. Also, if this does get rejected, it would be one way of solving things without Qatar/Bein having been seen to have won or got one over on them so publically.

The other interesting element here, if this doesn't get approved imminently, is that Amanda Staveley's court case against Barclays is due to be heard over the next few weeks. AFAIK she gave assurances over that claim to Ashley as part of guaranteeing the nufc deal (her element? I can't recall....). If she goes on to lose that claim against Barclays then surely there'd be implications for the NUFC deal too?

It crossed my mind why the Reubens, in particular, didn't just step in and fund the deal whilst waiting for PIF clearance tbh. That way, the fans/staff/whole club benefit, we can begin plans to move forward pending their arrival and Ashley can die celebrating his windfall with eighteen pints and falling into a fire face first.

This just needs to reach a conclusion FFS. I'll happily deal with being stuck in the middle of a geo-political war WHEN we have the benefits of new owners and no Ashley. Until that point, this is pure torment with zero upside. Hurry up FFS.

Given the way the rest of the deal has played out, I'd say it will be leaked imho.

Great post this Yorkie.

I can definitely see this mind Bruce will allude to it in press conferences and certain sections of the media will draw the same conclusions I'm gonna bet against us in every game. Fairly sure, come the end of the season, I'll be well up. Also, wonder if they do bets for most injuries to first team players after restart? We'll be nailed on.

Aye but that's a bit like graduating from a nursery mate to be fair. Ryder's still biting the crayons.....with Douglas following him around every day telling him not to put his fingers in the sockets and shouting 'OOOOHHH Hottttttt' every time he goes near a kettle.

couldn't agree more about the hosting and Waugh. It's almost the antithesis of the Athletic output n all, canny tabloid. Good point - I hadn't thought of it but it is quite 'tabloidy' with their shit sausage jokes etc etc. I used to love Caulkin but for me his best work was at the Times. I always thought he was a rational voice of the fans in a semi-independent sense but this season I feel his loyalty to Bruce has majorly hampered the standard of his work and to some extent his journalistic integrity. He's also hardly done any anti-ashley stuff even long before the takeover was rumoured. On another note, I do find it utterly laughable that the local journos have been criticial of Ashleys reign through loads of the various stories of the last few months yet said fuck all before they thought this takeover was coming. Like the little weeds in the bar who hid when the fight broke out and when their mates have won, they emerge from the ladies toilet and kick the big fella lying on the deck looking like journalistic Mr Muscle characters. Ryder et al are all hard men now but they were fucking silent for years. Pack of spineless cunts. To a man. I have been a long time subscriber to the Times for years, used to get it delivered before the digital era, but am going to bin it off soon as I used to read it for certain journalists in particular, none of whom are there any more. I don't agree with the politics, and never have tbh, but that's not why I bought it. These days I barely even read most of it, just skim through certain sections, so I was thinking of replacing it with the Athletic, but I was a bit suspicious whether the content could be that much better. Tbh, if journalists can't see past their friendships then it's not really worth reading what they write on NUFC. If I want matey patter I can just watch Soccer Saturday on Sky. Brian Glanville used to write for the Times, and he came across as a bit of a cunt, but he at least wrote real opinion, and he did seem to know his football. I don't think Bobby Robson was a fan, but that's what happens when you get football writers giving genuine feedback, whether it's right or not. I also get the Times delivered mate - Saturdays and Sundays. Tried their online offering and didn't like it. I like the content particularly on business/personal finance and travel so the politics element of it all I'm not that fussed about. I'd say generally the Athletic's written coverage is decent. Some of it is outstanding. IMHO Caulkin has not been at his best since he joined and I'm yet to see anything truly great like he did on regular occasions in the Times. People were raving about a piece he wrote about Matt Ritchie being a radgie but it didn't float my boat tbh. I'd say he'd be worth reading more if a takeover happens as presumably he'll have greater access than most. I'd also say that his relationship with Bruce, like many local journos, has massively impacted his work/output imho. Overall, I now think of him as one of the better journos but not out ahead on his own which he was for years whilst at the Times. He's very much part of the pack now and not a trailblazer.

No................link?

Lose Bruce to a heart attack more like.

couldn't agree more about the hosting and Waugh. It's almost the antithesis of the Athletic output n all, canny tabloid. Disco[/member] On Waugh, by the way, it's like he knows he doesn't belong. He's forever self-depricating to the point where you actually think 'Are you experienced enough for this gig?'. Caulkin is obviously the senior writer but Waugh genuinely comes across like the work experience kid. Even in the most recent podcast he talks about writing a piece about why PIF might want to buy NUFC and whether there is an economic angle to it and almost immediately says 'I wrote this with the help of Joe Bloggs because he knows more about the finance stuff than me!'. Almost like a cop-out/lack of confidence in his own work. He's more Ryder than Caulkin at this moment in time that's for sure.

couldn't agree more about the hosting and Waugh. It's almost the antithesis of the Athletic output n all, canny tabloid. Good point - I hadn't thought of it but it is quite 'tabloidy' with their shit sausage jokes etc etc. I used to love Caulkin but for me his best work was at the Times. I always thought he was a rational voice of the fans in a semi-independent sense but this season I feel his loyalty to Bruce has majorly hampered the standard of his work and to some extent his journalistic integrity. He's also hardly done any anti-ashley stuff even long before the takeover was rumoured. On another note, I do find it utterly laughable that the local journos have been criticial of Ashleys reign through loads of the various stories of the last few months yet said fuck all before they thought this takeover was coming. Like the little weeds in the bar who hid when the fight broke out and when their mates have won, they emerge from the ladies toilet and kick the big fella lying on the deck looking like journalistic Mr Muscle characters. Ryder et al are all hard men now but they were fucking silent for years. Pack of spineless cunts. To a man.

Agreed that he used to be better to listen to as guests on other platforms but I think he's (seemingly happily) dragged to the level of chat from the bellend host.

Been the same since they started it tbf but got increasingly worse as that wanker hosting it has increased his input/shit chat and his mocking of the work experience kid.

Subscribe to the Athletic and the written work covering NUFC is decent if sometimes a bit 'on the fencey' particularly pre-takeover rumours. Clearly they're fans of Bruce, the bloke, and that's borne out in the coverage he's recieved all year. The podcast is utter bilge though. The 'Sergeant Waffles' craic is diabolical and actually demeans him massively like he's the work experience kid. He plays that role very well, by the way, he comes across as green as fuck. The bloke hosting the podcast has the worst chat of all time and Caulkin doesn't cover himself in glory. I think you have a vision/opinion of an author/journo and then you hear their chat and are instantly let down. Caulkin is that for me. He'd be better off sticking to written work imho. Sacking the plum who hosts it off and giving Waugh a couple of years to develop then reconsider with a bit more gravitas around it.

Nowt.

Yeah can't argue with that tbh. Delaney can fuck off an'all. I'm all for reasoned debate but he's just a cunt. Completely blind to the other side of the argument. Prick.

I don't think he can. He geniunely cannot be seen to have come to any preformed position on this nor be seen to having influenced the outcome before it's reached the Exec Committee for sign off. So, as frustrating as it is, I do have some sympathy for him and the PL more widely. I don't think it's a war they want right now but that's what they're stuck in now. A geo-political war. We all are. Why not just say I can't discuss anything, he didn't though and that's the issue I have as it led to more questions Sorry - yes - misread your post.

On a legal level waving through the takeover has nothing to do with Qatar/Bein does it? They own the broadcasting rights for a specified period of time for a specified region. Surely they don't have a say in which teams are in the league and who their owners are? On an informal level I understand they can exert huge (commercial) pressure on the PL, but I don't see how they could legally challenge beyond that option being open to any other outsider to the specific deal in question. Yes and No. I'd imagine they'd have lawyers all over the PL's interpretation of their rules to ensure total compliance and because those rules don't have a 'murderous, morally questionable' clause then the application of the rules to the Saudi's will almost certainly require some interpretation from Lawyers. The Lawyers will then provide advice to the PL along the lines of 'we cannot prove contravention of clause 12.3, clause 13.4 is open to interpretation and could be argued either way, clause 16.2 is fine and clause 19.7 is N/A'. Just as a basic example. The Lawyers will not make the decision. They will provide input and the PL will interpret and make the call. If they get any element of that call wrong or, possibly more importantly, they allow room for debate/challenge then I'd imagine they know full well that Bein will be all over that because they clearly DO NOT want KSA having an influence as that serves as a risk to Qatar on numerous levels.

Well put. This has nothing to do with us being NUFC...this is an incredibly difficult thing for the PL to manage their way through. It’s nonsensical for our fans to expect this to be rushed through simply because the fuckwit of an owner we currently have isn’t refunding money. It has huge implications for the PL whichever way they do with it. Cheers - I wanted to get my thoughts down as I don't think there's been much coverage at all about the consequences for the PL of saying yes. Like I don't think this is purely a question of 'do we have a legal basis to say no?', I think it's possibly just as strongly 'what does the relationship with one of our largest TV rights holders look like should we say yes?'. You'd have to presume that would be strained at least. I've seen lots of comments, probably made them myself tbf, of 'just do a deal with KSA for the TV rights, at a minimum of the same level' which guarantees a financial pipeline long into the future but, if there was any danger of that being discussed as an option leaking, then the whole thing is nuclear with BEIN. Therefore, all in all, a bit of an unwelcome clusterfuck for the PL who could probably have done without this Saudi involvement happening now given everything else going on with Covid/Restart etc etc. You'd have to assume that they'd realised the potential for KSA to buy in at some point (be that with Man Utd, us or someone completely different) but I don't think the timing suits the PL at all. Also a total hospital pass for Masters. Welcome to the PL...............here's a hand grenade for you. Hence why I think it has to come down to legal interpretation only and, in taking that interpretation, making decisions based on risk (legal, financial, reputational aspects all taken into account). Messy as fuck for them in fairness to the slow cunts.

Seeing a lot of talk about the PL only being interested in money etc etc which might be the case but I think in this specific situation it's actually 'legality' that is their top concern/issue. Put yourself in their shoes here for a minute; 1) Decide to reject the takeover based on piracy concerns then almost certainly prepare for a well funded legal challenge from people (in Staveley) who are not afraid of fighting people in the most powerful courts in the land (Barclays), the second richest UK family (who happen to fund the current party in power) and one of the richest men in the world who you've just embarrassed in possibly the most high profile manner. You don't say no to people like him. I'd imagine this Qatar interference has only strengthened his resolve tbh. 2) Decide to accept the takeover then you have to be absolutely watertight on your decision making processes based on the law/PL rules as they stand because you're very likely to become embroiled in legal challenge from Qatar/Bein in respect of them dropping £500m for TV rights that, in their view, have had their value reduced due to piracy and the PL's lack of integrity by becoming an enabler for the Saudi regime to get much much closer to the action. Now, either way, they're in for a tough time no matter which way they decide to go. They have to therefore put this in the hands of the Lawyers and say 'give us a steer here' and then somebody at the PL will need to play God and make the call, probably based on the least damaging interpretation of the legalities against their current rules. We have to hope this call falls in our favour.