junkhead

There are very obvious hidden agendas though. This woman is no-more a freedom fighter than Richard Keys in this case - A high profile name who is being paid to defend Qatar's interests. Even leaving aside the fact that she's met "the love of her life" - a 60-year old guy with three previous marriages - less than 10 times. They've known each other for 5 months, the first 3 of which they only chatted. The moralists on here should rest easy though - her Qatari overlords dwarf Saudi Arabia in any way imaginable and I have little doubt that their influence will stop this takeover, so that we can continue with our honourable lives under Ashley's ownership.

Time for MBS to invite their owner for a word at the Ritz-Carlton Riyadh

On the contrary - The French court dismissed all of beIN’s claims against Arabsat:

The Paris court case is not really relevant. For start, it's against ArabSat and the charges are very specific and technical - broadcasting of pirated content through satellite signal. It also seems like a half-arsed attempt to bring the Qatari battle in European courts, due to BeIN's presence in France. The reported compensation and legal fees indicate that this was settled in a couple of hearings - so it was not some mega corporate lawsuit. I've read several reports on beoutQ now and while there's no hard evidence so far, there's little doubt that the service was supported by Saudi government for a while. The set-top box was apparently being sold in the shops of the state mobile operators and advertised on Saudi national channels, the "ads" on the main beoutQ channels were basically state propaganda, excerpts of MBS interviews, anti-Qatar/Iran rhetoric and such.. However one of the latest published reports from The Office of the United States Trade Representative (they do a bi-annual report focused on intellectual property issues) claims that the Saudi Authority for Intellectual Property has raided stores and offices selling illicit streaming devices and conducted IP awareness campaigns to combat online piracy. So at least MBS is trying to cover shit up. Hopefully that's enough.

The main reason for the delay is that Qatar is attempting to influence the PL's decision through the piracy issue. And imo, that's a big problem. Qatar have a lot more success and know-how in such soft power exercises. If anybody can stop MBS getting what he wants, it's them. Also, if it somehow comes to a choice between the two, the PL is very likely to pick Qatar. They have established business relations. Qatar will be able to match any amount and they are much more open, transparent and trustworthy partners in almost every sense. I can't see SA even bidding for the TV rights. Winning the bid would require a multi-billion cultural reform in itself. TV programmes in SA are stuck in the dark ages - dimly lit studios, curtain decors, the heavy restrictions on visual appearance and etiquette. Not exactly advertisers heaven. They are light years behind the quality production of Al-Jazeera or BeIN..

pub league marra

Al-Rumayyan is the Chairman of Aramco so if this takeover fails then there is no chance Aramco can complete a takeover, all issues (human rights, piracy etc) would be the same Al-Rumayyan is squeaky clean - he's not even part of the royal family, in fact he's Shi'ite (is that how it's spelled?). Strong recruitment by MBS in any case Imo, the main issue with PIF is that it is by definition state owned. It is funded and regulated by the country. So there will always be a direct link between PIF and the government even if MBS was not explicitly nominated as a Chairman. I’d be very surprised if the chairman of PIF was a Shia - that’s like asking Yasir Arafat to be the Israeli prime minister - he’ll either be Sunni or Wahabi (likely to be Wahabi) - it’s the Iranians that are by in large Shia’s and Saudis Wahabi’s That's right. My memory might be playing tricks on me but I remember MBS himself mentioning this in answer to a question about mistreatment/discrimination of Shia minorities in SA. It's probably from MBS' 60 minutes interview.

Al-Rumayyan is the Chairman of Aramco so if this takeover fails then there is no chance Aramco can complete a takeover, all issues (human rights, piracy etc) would be the same Al-Rumayyan is squeaky clean - he's not even part of the royal family, in fact he's Shi'ite (is that how it's spelled?). Strong recruitment by MBS in any case Imo, the main issue with PIF is that it is by definition state owned. It is funded and regulated by the country. So there will always be a direct link between PIF and the government even if MBS was not explicitly nominated as a Chairman.

Not sure I share your confidence HTT. I don't even think it's up to the PL anymore - do they really have the constitution to make a decision on Yemen war crimes, Saudi royal court relations and decentralised distribution of pirated content? The Qatari involvement has turned the test from a simple accounting exercise into a full-blown political game. The outcome will be decided, as with any other political game, on the basis of influence and money, but at a higher stage than the PL board. Only involvement from the UK government can allow or stop this takeover now. Unfortunately it seems that Qatar is already throwing a lot of money to stop this - now there's a clear paid-agenda in the media, including Hattice Weekly (to the horror of the moralists on here), while SA has responded only with mobilising their bot twitter-sphere to spread messages of future glory. If Saudi Arabia doesn't care enough to put equal pressure on the PL and UK govt, then a PIF-led takeover won't go through.

Like Caulkin, Jason Burt is getting his info from Staveley (or her husband). They have reported several times that no managers have been sounded out, which could only mean one thing - Rafa will be back to finish his Project as soon as the season finishes! Miguel Delaney also mentioned Frank McParland and Owen Brown the other day, although that could be bullshit.

Of course. Though forgiveness costs freedom to move in and out of the homeland and a million dollar house. They’ve been bought, with money and their lives (I can only imagine There is a real threat to them if they didn’t toe the party line) Their price for that has been set, ours yet to come for success. It does however for me at least dilute the narrative the NUFC fans should be ashamed to allow them in to the club for the sake of trophies. Aye, he hasn't even had to make our fan base the offer it couldn't refuse because it's already been dom'ed into spreading its arse cheeks for anyone who isn't Ashley. Understandably so and probably one of the reasons they chose us. The club has been lubed up ready to take whatever comes next, as long as it’s not Ashley. NE5 was a good decade ahead of the rest of us, imagine that. Is the guy still around?

Agree about the Athletic subscription, it's absolutely worth it and would be even more essential if everything goes as planned with the takeover. About the Sunderland piece - it's a good retrospection but I was hoping they've dug into The Don's tenure. It's a bit sad that because of their fall, they can't even get the media interested enough to investigate their charlatan owners.

Swear last time I saw Kai Havertz play he was a short creative midfielder. When did he turn into a Lewandowski?

Just trying to reignite some moral superiority debate. Think that's exactly what the thread needs more of

With my cynical, prematurely sport-washed hat on, that makes it five letters / articles now. Exactly the number of months she has known the love of her life.

Obviously owns the biggest house

There's no doubt we'll be one of the less prepared teams. Even in normal circumstances, Charnley and Brucey are hardly proactive leaders - can imagine their motivation levels during lockdown when they know they're off soon. Without fans, football changes slightly. Tactics, mentality and game management become even more important (and visible). In general our team doesn't rely on those. What carries us, apart from Dubravka and ASM is team spirit, fight and gritty defending, so we're disadvantaged without crowds. So yeah, It's vital that the takeover goes through before the season starts. Even from this position, Brucey is very capable to get relegated and fuck everything up. Just hope our players have been professional enough to not get super fat and we see this through.

I don't see what's so outrageous.. My family and our small businesses are running completely independent of oil and gas. At no great additional expense either.. If you care so much, you can always take a stand, like my father did successfully in court against Lukoil's Bulgarian subsidiary 20 years ago. In response, they destroyed his business, his life and our family continues to suffer from threats and lawsuits to this day. You don’t use public transport, a car? You use zero oil or gas in your life and never will? Well I’m glad you are in the position to do that, next time the hospital asks me to pick up my mum I’ll take a stand and tell them no way am I going to fund those oil states, better tell her to walk herself home! Public transport in Sofia, Bulgaria is best avoided if you can. I don't even consider the small changes I made at home and at work like some colossal point-scoring or anything. Anybody in my place would do the same. I still own a diesel car and sometimes drive it, my kids use the school bus.. so I'm not allergic to petrol. I was just noting that it's possible to live petrol-free if you feel as strongly as I do. Of course, in my case the link is far more direct. Over here, Lukoil and Gazprom and their subsidiaries hold a monopoly on energy resources and preside over a very obvious cartel agreement - 98% of petrol and gas deliveries in the country come through their reserves. Sometimes though, I read the forum through the eyes of a dirty foreigner and I'm sorry to say it, but the outrage over SA reads to me so fake, naive, uninformed and yes, snowflakey. Like people know nothing about how cruel and unjust the world is. Saudi Arabia has been a close ally of UK from the start. Leave the strong feelings to those who are actually repressed.

I don't see what's so outrageous.. My family and our small businesses are running completely independent of oil and gas. At no great additional expense either.. If you care so much, you can always take a stand, like my father did successfully in court against Lukoil's Bulgarian subsidiary 20 years ago. In response, they destroyed his business, his life and our family continues to suffer from threats and lawsuits to this day.

Wages are out of control. Even if we're the richest club ever why would we want players that are already earning more than say a million a month at a huge club, those players already are unsalable and often not motivated anymore. It's too big a risk, especially in the first transfer windows. We all know what it is to be stuck with players on high salaries that nobody wants. Having more money makes it easier to stockpile such players and that can easily lead to a dysfunctional and divided dressing room. We must always go for scouted players who have the right mentality and are hungry and determined to succeed.

Absolutely. We must add quality but it has to be a gradual process. Throwing mega-wages to big club cast-offs from the start is very dangerous.

And how is tied to the PIF which is a separate legal entity. Unless there is a proven link, not heresay but actual legal proof that the PIF is part of the piracy, then what has that got to do with the takeover of NUFC? The legal proof can only be collected by Saudi authorities so that might explain why there's a lack of it. I guess the complexities arise because PIF is not just some company. It is by definition state-owned, just like the Saudi National Bank for example - a sovereign wealth fund chaired by the crown prince of an absolute monarchy that practices Sharia Law. This combination opens up various possibilities for influence of power. For example, MBS's dad - King Salman - can order to kill the Sheff U owner if he feels like it and that would not be against Saudi law. As with every other issue with Saudi Arabia, it's not really a question of what can be proven, it's how determined people are to say no to their money. Which is why, I'm ultimately optimistic that it will go through.. Convenient then for anyone who wants to throw aspersions, if all they have to do is say something happened rather than prove it. Saudi Arabia can always allow independent investigators and progress monitoring groups. Like they're doing on human rights topics and their oil reserves FWIW, I don't think the beout piracy thing is a major concern for FIFA, UEFA and the major leagues anymore. Millions of people using the service from dedicated set-top boxes was going to draw attention. Now that the platform is inline with the other modern decentralised piracy methods a court case is extremely unlikely from purely technical perspective.

And how is tied to the PIF which is a separate legal entity. Unless there is a proven link, not heresay but actual legal proof that the PIF is part of the piracy, then what has that got to do with the takeover of NUFC? The legal proof can only be collected by Saudi authorities so that might explain why there's a lack of it. I guess the complexities arise because PIF is not just some company. It is by definition state-owned, just like the Saudi National Bank for example - a sovereign wealth fund chaired by the crown prince of an absolute monarchy that practices Sharia Law. This combination opens up various possibilities for influence of power. For example, MBS's dad - King Salman - can order to kill the Sheff U owner if he feels like it and that would not be against Saudi law. As with every other issue with Saudi Arabia, it's not really a question of what can be proven, it's how determined people are to say no to their money. Which is why, I'm ultimately optimistic that it will go through..

BeoutQ is not simply a channel. Although the service as a set top box is not operational since last September and apparently the ArabSat satellites have stopped rebroadcasting beIN channels, BeoutQ has evolved into a package-based platform, which relies on "3rd-party" apps for it's content - IPTV, torrent streaming etc. Similar to Kodi, except it's based on Android and is not open source. Unfortunately, like the Khashoggi murder, the evidence of direct involvement of Senior officials is overwhelming. There's no doubt that beoutQ is (was) indeed a huge-scale piracy service, backed and most likely initiated and funded by members of the Saudi Royal Family. https://piracymonitor.org/the-impact-of-beoutq-piracy-on-bein-media/ That's a fairly recent article on beoutq. It includes other reference stories on the service and a claim that it was stopped in preparation for the bid to buy us. Here's the site, made by the beIN fuckers to push their side of the story (pretty convincingly): https://beoutq.tv/ And that's the technical investigation that FIFA, UEFA, the PL, Serie A, La Liga etc ordered to MarkMonitor as part of the court case in France - which btw has confirmed that the stolen BeIN content was transmitted through Arabsat satellites: https://www.uefa.com/MultimediaFiles/Download/uefaorg/General/02/62/31/36/2623136_DOWNLOAD.pdf edit: The MarkMonitor report was not part of the French court case. That was only between BeIN and BeOUT :lol The report is an independent inquiry which hasn't been followed up with a court case.

There's enough leadership in the team to win some more points even if we struggle. But yeah I have little doubt that we'll be one of the worst prepared teams if the league restarts next month.