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"The Athletic understands that Ashley had been keen to use his new contacts to pursue wider business opportunities with the Saudis. He is said to be furious that he may now have lost out twice over." Reason 12847 why this is not over.

Well he was. He suggested on many occasions the ‘talking behind the scenes’ would lead to takeover being accepted...... .....PL rejected it I hope in the long run he’s right and it gets overturned on appeal or something Nah, no he didn't. He's been pretty clear he was waiting for exactly this kind of confirmation. He's taken some uneccassary patter.

Yea I’m a bit baffled by this. That’s how I see it too. Because there's clear indication that they don't accept the decision, which gives them thr option of seeking independent adjudication, free of bias and influence which has clearly corrupted this process. How can that not be a positive? Which is possibly what the premier league want as well as it takes any decision making away from themselves which stops bein getting p*ssed off with them. I thought this, but then if it was the case why didn't they reject it sooner?

Yea I’m a bit baffled by this. That’s how I see it too. Because there's clear indication that they don't accept the decision, which gives them thr option of seeking independent adjudication, free of bias and influence which has clearly corrupted this process. How can that not be a positive?

Seriously? Did you read the club's statement . . . "This conclusion has been reached despite the club providing the Premier League with overwhelming evidence and legal opinions that PIF is independent and autonomous of the Saudi Arabian government." "The club and its owners do not accept that Premier League chief executive Richard Masters and the Premier League have acted appropriately in relation to this matter and will be considering all relevant options available to them." Yes. I have read it. It will all depend on whether their lawyers think the case is winnable. The problem is that PIF is clearly not autonomous and independent of the Saudi Arabian government. I know it’s complete hypocrisy when compared to Man City etc. but hey this is Newcastle United, what do we expect? But do you not think he'd have taken that advice before making such a incredibly strong statement? "overwhelming evidence" saying the top guy at the Premier League has "acted inappropriately". It's pretty strong for someone who's not yet decided his position. By the way we're is your evidence that PIF are clearly not autonomous? The PIF board: Ibrahim Abdulaziz Al-Assaf - Minister of State and member of the Saudi Council of Ministers Majid Abdullah Al Qasabi - Minister of Commerce Mohammad Abdul Malek Al Shaikh - Minister of State and member of the Saudi Council of Ministers Ahmed Aqeel Al-Khateeb - Minister of Tourism Khalid Abdulaziz Al-Falih - Minister of Investment Mohammed Abdullah Al-Jadaan - Minister of Finance and of course: Chairman of PIF Mohammad bin Salman - The Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia... I can imagine you’d have to be a pretty bloody good lawyer to convince anyone that they are independent of the Saudi state... However maybe it is possible, or maybe they hope they can force the PL into submission through expensive litigation? I’m just not feeling positive about it. Where's the evidence PIF aren't autonomous get real this. Now we don't know what the assurances that were handed to the league about MBS and co not being involved, maybe they are completely credible and premier league not listening was unreasonable, however, PIF is the saudi state and claiming otherwise is willful blindness. This is the thing, just because 1 side says the evidence is overwhelming and correct doesn't mean it's correct. Interested to see which court is willing to call the Saudi Kingdom liars.

Any legal action will be for compensation not for the takeover to be approved. That's what I mean. It's just a bit of a shrug from me What compensation we talking here? Where's the monetary value in taking the PL to court? This is 100% to challenge the decision. They literally tell you as much in the statement. Its the clearest statement we've had in 13 years ffs

I'm trying to interpret what George is saying here. Is he saying that they were quietly getting things done behind the scenes but Ashley has f***ed it all with his statement ? "Escalation" reads to me as being part of the process.

Seriously? Did you read the club's statement . . . "This conclusion has been reached despite the club providing the Premier League with overwhelming evidence and legal opinions that PIF is independent and autonomous of the Saudi Arabian government." "The club and its owners do not accept that Premier League chief executive Richard Masters and the Premier League have acted appropriately in relation to this matter and will be considering all relevant options available to them." Yes. I have read it. It will all depend on whether their lawyers think the case is winnable. The problem is that PIF is clearly not autonomous and independent of the Saudi Arabian government. I know it’s complete hypocrisy when compared to Man City etc. but hey this is Newcastle United, what do we expect? Isn't there already precedent of them being proved legally seperate?

It's all done via the club.

This is good news. We have clarity and by the sounds of it Ashly and the club do not accept the decision. They've clearly stated they've provided enough information to counter this decision so it looks like they'll fight the decision in court.

I'd say pretty serious. Soft power over a UK Government who are desperate to suckle at their teet whilst they negotiate trade deals for Brexit will surely be at the forefront of their thinking. Not to mention Sportswashing on a global scale. I dont think that opportunity lends itself in other countries.

If PIF are categorically not interested, which is a fair assumption to make, then the deals dead and there's therefore nothing to discuss. Ashley is notoriously short on patience so what talks could possibly be going on with Ashley and the people who only want 20% of the club? What's the alternative reality to PIF actually still being in discussions which makes the narrative above make sense? I'm not entirely sure what you're saying. My point is I don't see any reason to believe any real or productive "talks" are happening. Talks are either on or off. There's no middle ground here that makes sense imo. So the notion of non productive talks taking place makes no sense. Either they're all in or they're not. Got it: you're being pedantic. Cool. People can signal to the press that they'd still be "interested". They can tell each other they'd still do a deal if any of x, y, or z happen. I guess you'd call that talks, since you're operating on an I/O basis. But the reality is there's no there there. Crikey. Salty much? I'm the pedant whilst you redefine and stretch what the reported "talks" could mean? How about they mean negoiations are still ongoing? That is far less convoluted than what you're offering. Because if as you say the most likely situation is that PIF are out, then the other 2 parties expressing "interest" means precisely f*** all and certainly don't constitute "talks" in the manner you are inferring. There's a big f*** off £280m gap to fill ffs. It just doesn't make sense, what's hard to understand about that? I don't mean to be salty, but I don't know if you misread my initial post or what. I do not think negotiations are happening. I think I pretty expressly indicated that there's no basis for people to infer that the PIF's statement was a mastermind's red herring to throw those meddling kids off track and that double-secret negotiations are really going on. Maybe writing "not 100% dead for all time" was misleading? That wasn't meant to suggest that I think there's anything going on--I've just seen a very, very few deals peter out then get closed after circumstances change, and it's dumb to use absolutes. Aye! That is what confused me, because it seemed clear to me you were saying PIF were out but the deal was "100% not dead", that didn't make sense to me, but neither does the assertion that you can't talk in absolutes in regards to this. You're essentially saying I think it's definitely off, but I can't rule out it not being on. I've probably totally got the wrong end of the stick here. All good. That's it. And your point about absolutes is well taken. Apologies for being a bit of a dick. I'm just absolutely desperate for this to go through tbh.

If PIF are categorically not interested, which is a fair assumption to make, then the deals dead and there's therefore nothing to discuss. Ashley is notoriously short on patience so what talks could possibly be going on with Ashley and the people who only want 20% of the club? What's the alternative reality to PIF actually still being in discussions which makes the narrative above make sense? I'm not entirely sure what you're saying. My point is I don't see any reason to believe any real or productive "talks" are happening. Talks are either on or off. There's no middle ground here that makes sense imo. So the notion of non productive talks taking place makes no sense. Either they're all in or they're not. Got it: you're being pedantic. Cool. People can signal to the press that they'd still be "interested". They can tell each other they'd still do a deal if any of x, y, or z happen. I guess you'd call that talks, since you're operating on an I/O basis. But the reality is there's no there there. Crikey. Salty much? I'm the pedant whilst you redefine and stretch what the reported "talks" could mean? How about they mean negoiations are still ongoing? That is far less convoluted than what you're offering. Because if as you say the most likely situation is that PIF are out, then the other 2 parties expressing "interest" means precisely f*** all and certainly don't constitute "talks" in the manner you are inferring. There's a big f*** off £280m gap to fill ffs. It just doesn't make sense, what's hard to understand about that? I don't mean to be salty, but I don't know if you misread my initial post or what. I do not think negotiations are happening. I think I pretty expressly indicated that there's no basis for people to infer that the PIF's statement was a mastermind's red herring to throw those meddling kids off track and that double-secret negotiations are really going on. Maybe writing "not 100% dead for all time" was misleading? That wasn't meant to suggest that I think there's anything going on--I've just seen a very, very few deals peter out then get closed after circumstances change, and it's dumb to use absolutes. Aye! That is what confused me, because it seemed clear to me you were saying PIF were out but the deal was "100% not dead", that didn't make sense to me, but neither does the assertion that you can't talk in absolutes in regards to this. You're essentially saying I think it's definitely off, but I can't rule out it not being on. I've probably totally got the wrong end of the stick here. All good.

If PIF are categorically not interested, which is a fair assumption to make, then the deals dead and there's therefore nothing to discuss. Ashley is notoriously short on patience so what talks could possibly be going on with Ashley and the people who only want 20% of the club? What's the alternative reality to PIF actually still being in discussions which makes the narrative above make sense? I'm not entirely sure what you're saying. My point is I don't see any reason to believe any real or productive "talks" are happening. Talks are either on or off. There's no middle ground here that makes sense imo. So the notion of non productive talks taking place makes no sense. Either they're all in or they're not. Got it: you're being pedantic. Cool. People can signal to the press that they'd still be "interested". They can tell each other they'd still do a deal if any of x, y, or z happen. I guess you'd call that talks, since you're operating on an I/O basis. But the reality is there's no there there. Crikey. Salty much? I'm the pedant whilst you redefine and stretch what the reported "talks" could mean? How about they mean negoiations are still ongoing? That is far less convoluted than what you're offering. Because if as you say the most likely situation is that PIF are out, then the other 2 parties expressing "interest" means precisely f*** all and certainly don't constitute "talks" in the manner you are inferring. There's a big f*** off £280m gap to fill ffs. It just doesn't make sense, what's hard to understand about that?

If PIF are categorically not interested, which is a fair assumption to make, then the deals dead and there's therefore nothing to discuss. Ashley is notoriously short on patience so what talks could possibly be going on with Ashley and the people who only want 20% of the club? What's the alternative reality to PIF actually still being in discussions which makes the narrative above make sense? I'm not entirely sure what you're saying. My point is I don't see any reason to believe any real or productive "talks" are happening. Talks are either on or off. There's no middle ground here that makes sense imo. So the notion of non productive talks taking place makes no sense. Either they're all in or they're not.

If PIF are categorically not interested, which is a fair assumption to make, then the deals dead and there's therefore nothing to discuss. Ashley is notoriously short on patience so what talks could possibly be going on with Ashley and the people who only want 20% of the club? What's the alternative reality to PIF actually still being in discussions which makes the narrative above make sense?

Not unhappy with this but for that price I'd have gambled on Morelos. Not too many tapped players who are s***. Higher ceiling too.

Fair play. Decent replacement for Enrique tbf.

You're not.

Yep! GC saying he would like to hear from the club reads as he's waiting for the club to confirm that this is officially now over and we are to move on. I'm sure I read that the business is conducted via the club and the PL so it would stand to reason that it's down to the club to confirm the end of the matter.

It’s a conversation to be had between the PL and the consortium - for sure, but that should be on the PL’s terms and not demanded by a broadcaster/country with an ulterior motive. It also fails to explain the significant and unnecessary delays in the process, by the PL’s own reckoning. Not only that, but if Piracy is an issue, which is legitimately is, then reject it on that basis. Most fans are demanding clarity, not that it is categorically accepted. It's been a pisstake from start to finish.

Why do you keep ignoring we have heard from PIF already? They're out. They were funding 80% of it. Of all the parties involved that's a pretty f***ing big one to get that statement from. And if everything else reported or commented on is BS, that means we ignore all the s**** being spouted about how it's now being handled 'behind closed doors'.. right? Because even AS and the Reuben Brother's ignored it? Manopark is getting some totally uneccassary grief here. Just an optimistic bloke who is excitable and wants the best for the club, so what if he's slightly annoying with it? Some serious projecting going on in here you bunch of incels. Yes indeed, all I am saying is because we have not been told anything about the final outcome, we should just wait (instead of 'jumping in to say it is dead, etc !!). No one knows what the outcome will be, so lets just do the obvious "waiting" thing, yeah? The hope of this takeover is the only thing that connects me to the club. Once I'm satisfied that this is dead I don't think I'll be following the club with any real seriousness. If there's even a 0.1% chance of this happening then we should be fighting for it till the very end because we already know what the alternative is, so why the f*** would you accept that? The irony in all this is that the same ones who are slating you for being "optmistic" (realistic imo) have given up and accepted that, much like the fans who go to games who they also slate for that very same reason.

:thup:

Why do you keep ignoring we have heard from PIF already? They're out. They were funding 80% of it. Of all the parties involved that's a pretty f***ing big one to get that statement from. And if everything else reported or commented on is BS, that means we ignore all the s**** being spouted about how it's now being handled 'behind closed doors'.. right? Because even AS and the Reuben Brother's ignored it? Manopark is getting some totally uneccassary grief here. Just an optimistic bloke who is excitable and wants the best for the club, so what if he's slightly annoying with it? Some serious projecting going on in here you bunch of incels.

I thought it was common knowledge that this was dead and buried? This is Ashley saying hurry up. This leak makes absolutely no sense if all parties have already moved on after the Saudi withdrawal. Think it's also interesting that it's come from the PA and not one of the National rags that Ashley usually leaks to. I sometimes wonder how people here feel Ashley is evil and the Saudis angel. This people pull out cause they disrespect them by not automatically approved them. They dont give a s*** if Ashely say hurry up or whatever. Learn about the MBS before commenting idiotic Ashley said hurry up. No one can tell anyone to MBS. The point being, why leak/release something like that if it was dead as is the wide held belief? Doesn't make sense. The rest of what you put is probably accurate but not the point I'm making, I'm not even sure why you're making that point tbh. Depends if he has released/leaked it or it's just made up paper talk. All made up based on inf.ormation he instruct Lee to plan for a season ahead. Why though?! He could just do thst without going through all the effort to sneak a leak out.