Chris_R

You've got that the wrong way round. SD is bigger and more profitable than NUFC and SD doesn't have anything akin to relegation threatening to slash its revenues in the space of a couple of months. To put the supposed asking price of £350m into context, that's roughly the operating cashflow of SD over the last 12 months. SD has had £100m worth of free advertising from us, that's got to have affected where the value of the company is at and shows the value of NUFC to SD. Also, I was talking more about all his other businesses than SD, the ones which are loss-making. SD is his baby, I know he sold shares in it years back to raise money, but that's the heart and soul of his empire. It'll be the last thing he permanently gets rid of.

I'm only jealous that he has that choice. He's lucky, we're fucking stuck with them.

This makes no sense. Why would he sell a profit-making part of his empire to prop up the loss-making ones? Surely you do the opposite? OK, unless you're sure you're onto a long-term winner with the loss-making parts, but I don't think anyone (even Ashley) thinks that. He might hope it, but he can't believe it's a certainty. Profit from NUFC is much more likely. To sell that would be crazy, IMO.

Well, I hope everyone stops buying it or clicking on their website, and that they close down due to lack of revenue then.

The mood of the players not good enough for the Premiership is good now Rafa has gone. I know Chronicle writers are held in contempt here but they seem to have gone into overdrive since Rafa left spinning positive stories. I get that the Chronicle are finding the brave new world of monetising online news a difficult proposition in the wake of falling paper sales, but their efforts to survive are borderline suicidal and offensive to their readership. They seem to think that their best way of generating revenues is to put their hand in Ashley's pocket, rather than appealing to the public to buy their papers by actually getting behind the fans on this one. I'm sure that if they mounted a serious and sustained "Get him out" campaign, and really went to town on him with proper investigative journalism, the following things would happen: 1) Sure, they'd lose club access. And any money that Ashley throws their way, but I imagine it's mainly access they're worried about, but that's not a big deal in the scheme of things 2) They'd sell a fuckton more papers and get a fuckton more clicks on their site, I'd go on there willingly without an adblocker if they just did their jobs, but that's not happening now so screw them 3) The journalists would enjoy their job a hell of a lot more, getting to actually do some actual, you know, JOURNALISM?? That's got to be infinitely more rewarding than just rewording whatever they get slopped on their desk from Charnley via their boss I'd honestly not bat an eyelid if they went out of business at the moment, because they deserve it for being so utterly derelict in their duty to their readership and their profession. They need to grow a pair, and quickly, because the public would back them if they'd only just do their jobs properly.

The buyers aren't the problem, it's the seller. Whilst it remains beneficial for him to keep us, he's not going anywhere. All we can do is try to make sure we become a millstone around his neck. Don't give him, NUFC or any of his tat emporium a single penny until he's gone.

I think we have, or have had at some stages, willing buyers. I don't doubt that. We just don't have a willing seller.

Oh, so all I have to do is peacefully wait out the next decade or so and hope he dies of natural causes? THAT'S the solution?!

Time for a bath. With a toaster.

Must be about to extend the season ticket deadline, if that's what's being put out.

Just because the TV money is more than the season ticket sales doesn't mean losing the season ticket sales won't have a big impact. It will.

They're clever with their wording. It's always something like "At this point in time there is no bid". They avoid the outright lie of saying "There never has been a bid".

Obviously I hope I'm wrong, but literally nothing happens in Arab countries on Fridays. It's their holy day, and they take that incredibly seriously. Getting anyone to work on a Friday is like trying to get people in the UK to work on Christmas day. Then we will be into the weekend as followed by the western hemisphere so nothing will get done until Monday. Rinse and repeat next Thursday etc. You can, with some prodding and cajolement, get westerners to work on a Saturday or Sunday. I've worked extensively in the Middle East and this is just not possible with Muslims and Fridays. I was just out in Saudi Arabia last month and tried to work myself on a Friday to get ahead, but when I suggested this to the locals they just laughed and said that they wouldn't even be able to get anyone to open the gate for me.

Obviously I hope I'm wrong, but literally nothing happens in Arab countries on Fridays. It's their holy day, and they take that incredibly seriously. Getting anyone to work on a Friday is like trying to get people in the UK to work on Christmas day.

I know he's underpaid for his role and is nothing but a patsy, but £300k/year makes anyone look attractive to some women.

So why doesn’t FCB put out a statement saying so? and why isnt that a chronicle front page headline fron Ryder? This. The Chronicle are derelict in their duty and are either incapable of or unwilling to undertake anything even resembling investigative journalism into the running of the club. For that reason, I'd never even contemplate giving them a single penny and will only visit their website with an adblocker running.

Schrödinger's announcement. Until the timeframe passes, it may or may not happen and it may or may not be good news.

Put the £600/year into a bank account and then use it to pay over the odds for a ticket in the unlikely event we ever get to Wembley. Problem solved, and you get to help increase the chance of us actually getting there by helping to get Ashley out. Rather than helping to keep him here, like you are at the moment.

"Undisclosed fee". I'm sure Mike will put £4.50 back in the transfer pot, then.

Here's an idea for anyone worried about the loyalty points thing. Stick the £600 in a bank account somewhere, or under the mattress, or whatever. Do the same next year and for however long it takes until Ashley sells up. Then when he does go, use that as a war chest to just buy up tickets for whatever game you want. I guarantee that if we ever get to Wembley, if you wave £600 around someone will sell. Your loyalty points are categorically not worth £600/year. And have some fucking dignity into the bargain.

Before Benitez left, it was £50m plus sales, but with wages and agent fees to also come out of that £50m. Nobody even believed them then, hence in part why Rafa walked, but now they've revised history to say £60m, and dropped all mention of the other bits being deductible. They can't even lie consistently.

I stopped reading after I seen the word 'landed' "Performed an unplanned, high-velocity lithobraking manoeuvre" would be better.

Which consumer right do you think this falls under? Where's the mis-selling exactly? You've got to be able to quantify this, you can't just stamp your feet and say "I think this thing I signed up to is not fair and I don't like it anymore".

There's varying reports of people claiming reimbursement through their bank as part of the direct debit agreement. I've seen cases where it's been politely declined and others where they claim they've successfully received a refund. If people have had success then great, I'm all for anything that hurts Ashley, but you're relying on sheer goodwill there from the bank. They can obviously give you money back as they can do what they want in that regard but I can't see how they can in turn get the money back from the club. The Direct Debit Guarantee protects you when the amount you've been billed is incorrect, or taken out at the wrong time, or a change is made to the amount without you being given 10 days' notice. It doesn't let you get your money back just because you've decided you don't want the product anymore. If the bank decided to refund someone and then take the money back from Newcastle, Newcastle would have every right to tell the bank to gtf.

This for me.