timeEd32

Need to win to build confidence ahead of our CL quarterfinal second leg at Anfield where we shatter the famous European nights bullshit.

Yeah, but it’s not realistic to expect to qualify every year in the PL. Even 1-2 of the clubs with twice our revenue are going to be left out each year. Add us and Villa to the mix and it’s cutthroat. It’s honestly too much money. It’d be better for the health of the sport if more of it trickled down to the other two competitions or if more of it went to the smaller associations. But no one seems to care about the health of the sport.

Thought he had some good moments and agree with a lot in here. The goal stands out to me as an example of his current shortcomings though. He seems oddly positioned from the moment the free kick is taken (though maybe that's his role in it, I don't know), Burn is the one that gets the header which theoretically he could be good at, and then as the ball is played back across there are I think four Newcastle players ahead of him. Willock obviously makes the decisive run, Thiaw also reacts. Woltemade is kind of just standing around by the penalty spot. I trust Eddie to get a lot out of him, but I don't know how much you can teach the instinct and desire to score that great strikers have. He's definitely missing something in that department.

The new format is a money printer if you do reasonably well. €2.5B is now distributed to the Champions League clubs and they increased the prize money portion to 65% (used to be 55%). I think Villa got over ~€85m last season for getting to the QF (plus the matchday boost).

Through the league phase I believe we've earned about €55m in the CL so far (broken down as €18.6m participation, ~€18.5m value pillar (share of TV), and ~€18m in prize money). We have the opportunity to add another €11m in prize money by winning the playoff. That does not include the extra matchday revenue for what will now be at least five CL home games, which I'd guess is roughly £14m. Based on the Deloitte numbers for last season I'd say we are very likely to have revenue (not counting player sale profits) of over £400m for 2025/26, which will be a massive record. [We still don't have the actual accounts for 2024/25; we won't get the 2025/26 accounts for over a year]

I would love for us to get £35m+ from a non-Saudi company. Big middle finger to the "big 6."

The kindest explanation is it's contrived to allow for more UEFA events - a draw with sponsors and hand shakes and TV attention. The cynical explanation is it leaves things open for maneuvering teams around.

This is our path to the semifinal: Playoff: Qarabag or Monaco R16: Barcelona or Chelsea QF: Liverpool, Tottenham, Juventus, Atletico, Galatasaray, Brugge

Qarabag or Monaco with second leg home Barcelona or Chelsea with second leg away

I said you can. PSG can play Monaco.

No, can play your own association or teams you've already played.

Yes, and then assuming no last minute goals here we'd have either Barcelona or Chelsea.

On the one hand disappointing and we really, really could have used two less games. On the other hand, a fucking tremendous performance that knocked the holders out of the top 8.

Not really sensing a tremendous amount of urgency from them.

On those last two. When Hall tried to carry out and then Wissa.

We have a very tired team now. No one breaking forward.

The lack of another goal against PSV is currently the difference between 8th and 9th. That would be painful.

Wasn't actually close

Somehow their player will be fine and Botman will be out for 6 months.

It's not really his fault, but that moment there is what I've been most disappointed with from Elanga. I thought he had one extra burst of pace that would be very difficult to deal with.

pOPE

Are they kidding?

Roughly £26m per year without the PL exposure. I think it's safe to say that if we end up either scrambling for a new shirt sponsor and/or not increasing the current SELA deal then it is a massive failure. I'd be surprised if we're not in a strong position here.

I think people still underestimate how far behind financially we are to the richest clubs. The difference between us and Arsenal (who are a whole other leap behind City and Liverpool in terms of wages) would mean keeping Isak and adding Ekitike, Olise, and, at minimum, another similar cost player or two.

If PIF is serious about the stated ambitions then it goes far beyond the manager. Eddie has overachieved more than anyone can reasonably expect. The stadium, training ground, academy, and major commercial revenue increases are all more important than the manager over the long run. Could Eddie Howe compete at the top of the table with another £100-150m in wages added to the squad? I don’t see why not.