last_monetarist

This will be my final post here, I lost interest in the club when Keegan left for the second time around. I had no interest to follow the club during the Pardew years and didn't even bother watching any matches, it was utter dispassionate apathy. I got lured back in when Rafa was appointed in March 2016, and he allowed me to dream again. He is certainly the best Newcastle manager in my lifetime from a tactical perspective, and my respect for him is on par with Keegan and Sir Bobby. I am utterly devastated and heart-broken that he has officially left, despite being mentally prepared for it since the end of the season. I will have nothing but contempt for the supporters who continue to attend matches as long as Ashley is in charge. All that remains is to say: 'Thank you Rafa, you will always be a true gent for acting with such dignity and compassion over the the past 3 years and it was an utter privilege to see you lead Newcastle United'

I'm done with football when Rafa leaves. It's been a slow painful demise, but part of me is glad that it's ending finally.

The forum will be infested with more and more shills once Rafa leaves. If I were a mod I'd ban these Ashley stooges.

What are they saying ? Any updates from the likes of Caulkin ?

Klopp. Don't think he'd move...yet He doesn't speak Spanish, he's been categorical in stating that he won't manage in a country where he doesn't speak the language. In any event, he's never going to manage clubs with structures such as Barcelona, Real Madrid or Juventus. Those cultures are an antithesis to his personality.

You can only argue that Guardiola, Pochettino, and Klopp are better managers in the league. If Ashley sells up, and we are managed properly (increase commercial revenues, reinvest what we earn into the team), he's good enough to break the Top 6 cabal. He's an absolute star and that can't be stated enough.

so I'd hope that this journo is blagging like the rest of them. Which isn't at all unlikely given that he works for Bein Sport, whose editorial policy towards Rafa Benitez has been ambivalent at best and downright mendacious at worst. They have been Ashley apologists, disgracefully so occasionally, over the past few years.

If this little snippet isn't a red flag for our supporters, then I should really weep in despair instead. The manager is the most valuable part of the club, and if they are not treating his position as being integral to the takeover then they're bigger idiots than I thought. Or you know, this is all a Keith Bishop stunt. Both those scenarios make me sick, so I'd hope that this journo is blagging like the rest of them.

There's no doubt that Sheikh Khaled is part of the Emirati elite, as several people have already stated he's a distant cousin to Mansoor. You can access all the relevant press releases related to the family on their official news portal: http://wam.ae/en It's just that he's considered relatively, for lack of a better word, insignificant in terms of actual wealth and influence in the region. This is underscored by the fact that he's consigned to dogsbody roles such as the head of the 'Board of Directors of Zayed Higher Organisation for Humanitarian Care and Special Needs', basically the kind of dead-end positions that the family would throw to a pitiful hanger-on out of benevolence. I posted yesterday to be wary, it's because the guy hasn't been very successful growing his businesses in the UAE, he owns a middling insurance firm and some property assets. However, he has a flair for publicity as evidenced by this partnership (https://www.zawya.com/mena/en/press-releases/story/GCOX_signs_MOU_with_His_Highness_Sheikh_Khaled_Bin_Zayed_Al_Nahyan_to_expand_global_celebrity_token_footprint_to_the_Middle_East-ZAWYA20180502104648/) with a celebrity Blockchain company (which counts Michael Owen among its advisors ) last year. My biggest doubt relates to him having access to sufficient funds to clinch this deal. I hope I am wrong and this goes through, as even if the guy isn't very rich, he'd definitely be more motivated and interested than Ashley to run the club properly so that it's self-sustaining.

This is the holding company over which he presides: http://www.binzayed.com/history.htm They have achieved fuck all in the grand scheme of things in the UAE.

All I wish is that the fans are more vigilant in this day and age. Ashley is a disgraceful owner, yes, but this experience should really teach us all to be prudent and do a bit more research when it comes to potential owners. I personally seriously doubt the legitimacy of this story. The timing is a bit too convenient seeing that Ashley is locked in takeover talks with two other interested parties, to speak nothing of contractual negotiations with the manager. Even if it were true, providing the provenance of funds could be tricky for this fella.

Yup, the guy is considered a bit of a laughing stock in the Emirates. The folks at Liverpool were scrambling to disassociate themselves from the story when his side leaked it to the press. I'd consider Mike Ashley a certifiable genius compared to this fella. I'd advise caution, this isn't a sovereign entity purporting to buy the club. We have harrowing case studies of White Knight owners from the Middle East trying to rebuild two proud English clubs (Forest & Pompey) over the past decade.

Yeah the prospect of Newcastle supporters abandoning ship is pretty bleak. You already have some people on here posing the question around which manager we would prefer to take over if Rafa leaves, I mean it's pretty staggering. I had given up on the club once Keegan left for the second time, and it was only Rafa's appointment that drew me back in. I'm pretty certain that when Rafa leaves, I will lose all interest again.

I was naively hoping he would stay but after these interviews it seems very unlikely. Struggling to think of a suitable club for him in England, oddly enough I think Manchester United could do a lot worse than appoint him (such as Solskjaer), but of course that's never going to happen for obvious reasons. I see him moving back to Italy. Clubs such as Milan or Roma should really be moving heaven and earth to appoint him.

I mean maybe gets away with it with sarcasm but I don't think he has it in him Minor correction although I doubt it makes much difference, but that quote was in relation to when his Swansea side went to Sunderland and lost 2-0. I don't mind Brendan or his awkward interviews. I much prefer to focus on the fact that he is a good coach on the training ground and pushes his teams to play attacking football. Much rather that than any of the old-school LMA crowd like Pardew, Pulis, Allardyce, Moyes, Hodgson et al.