Pandamninator

I didn't make that up myself. In that interview with the Daily Mail, Ashley said that the Rafa camp were asking for a one year extension, but he wanted to sign Rafa long-term. Presumably the one year extension was to give Rafa time to see what was happening with a takeover. Oh sweet baby jesus A decade later : This tribunal statement over the issue of whether Keegan had control of transfers does tend to get trotted out whenever it's convenient to disbelieve absolutely anything that Ashley says. You have to look at each situation as it comes. When is it not convenient to disbelieve absolutely anything he says? Interesting to say that "you have to look at each situation as it comes" - has there ever been a situation where you haven't drunk the Kool Aid and gone back to fantasising about find a used pair of his bootcut jeans?

I didn't make that up myself. In that interview with the Daily Mail, Ashley said that the Rafa camp were asking for a one year extension, but he wanted to sign Rafa long-term. Presumably the one year extension was to give Rafa time to see what was happening with a takeover. Oh sweet baby jesus A decade later :

Any luck getting your Mike Ashley Wonderland chant going at the game?

@moneymikeashley while a parody does an eerily good impression of the fat prick Its run by a member or RTG the mackem groomers site,its their pisstake,sure it's that female poster. Is it? Because the vibe I got it is that it was a frustrated Newcastle fan... or at least someone sympathetic - it turned from light piss taking to just pure rage when Rafa walked.

@moneymikeashley while a parody does an eerily good impression of the fat prick

He managed to get Alex Bruce to delete his account as well. Hope 1 Bruce Family 0

I'd be a bit careful posting full Athletic articles, I know a couple of other forums and subreddits that have got in trouble for it

Luke Edwards will have thrown his signed Steve Bruce photo at the wall in rage reading those comments. Meanwhile, hope there is animal control in Qatar, a certain hairy handed gimp will be going ape at Bein Sports HQ.

Tell me how? First half we played fairly well...plenty of good spells with no end product. Second half we struggled to get out of our own half, but still managed one or two half chances. There was many a game under Rafa where we barely had an attempt, and you know there was. Stop trying to rewrite history. Some of those games were frustrating as fuck, just like today. Yeah, Rafa would regularly start a game with no midfielders on the bench and proceed to sub 2 of the 3 he had starting with a winger and a left back taking their place. Even Carver managed to put players in the right position on the field, even if he had no fucking clue on what to do beyond that.

He was tidy i'll give him that, but he strikes me as a high floor/low ceiling player. He'll never fuck it up or have a 2/10 shocker, but he won't take the game by the scruff of the neck either. We can't afford him to be a rich mans Heskey when he is supposed to the Number 9 leading the line with little in the way of zero proven end product playing behind him.

If precedent is anything to go by, somebody who isn't a useless twat. Shearer and Rafa have been his last two Hail Mary efforts. Depends when the sacking comes down. The three times it was early / mid season we were lumped with Kinnear, Pardew and Carver

Hope Brucie ups the running this week in training, need more running lads

What makes you doubt a striker who couldnt even hit double figures in the Austrian league?

Geordie Passion... With Ritchie at Central Midfield

To sit in silence. Cleanse the stadium with fire for the sake of the species.

These commentators reading from a script prepared by Keith boy? Subtle shot after subtle shot at Rafa.

Optus Sport pre game coverage over here in Australia, not sure if it's an exclusive thing or just rebroadcast. Ian Wright is also there.

Alan Shearer in 30 seconds just summarised what a joke Mike Ashley is. Level headed, no hyperbole, just facts and the fat cunts own quotes

Because when you want someone to mentor a young, foreign player who doesn't speak the language and has no support base, Andy Carroll is obviously the best man for the job.

Record TV rights plus the 90 million they got for Lukaku and Barkley. They were also tight as fuck under Kenwright, so they will have had a decent amount stashed in the piggy bank.

When journalists are so intellectually dishonest it's when you think there's some sort of shenanigans going on. Then they wonder why blogs and the Athletic are coming along and eating their lunch (or in the case of the Athletic, why they weren't invited onto the new gravy train).

Don't we have (or at least used to have) some sort of relationship with St Mirren? Wouldn't surprise me if we were using them for trialling cheap scraps.

It's hard for me to see Leicester as a big club, but the sad thing is I can't really argue with him calling them more ambitious. Before Mike Ashley I would have considered them a step down. Pretty sure Leicester were in Championship or even League One for a season back then. We were much bigger. They've completely gone past us now though. An actually ambitious club vs Sports Direct United. No comparison. You can say the same about Everton and West Ham as well, probably Wolves within a few months. But hey....Stevie Bruce's black n white army! Then there are the Spurs comparisons from a decade ago when Mike first sunk his blubbery tentacles into the club.

I like it - non offensive and original. More importantly, it's short and sharp - none of these 4 minute long unveiling videos dreamed up by coked up dickheads who have "Social Media Ninjas" on their linkedin and think they're the Don Draper of the internet.

I for one am just shocked that Lee Ryder wasn't one of the chosen ones. Obviously overplayed his hand during the negotiations and refused to budge from his two Greggs vouchers and a 6 pack per week demands that Keith Bishop is currently paying him. Definitely overpriced for a man of his... talents.