Thumbheed

Irrespective of the outcome of arbitration or wherever it may lead, I can't help but think there'll need to be another round of negotiations between buyer and seller in light of our current predicament, so in my eyes if this is going to be completed, it won't be until after the season ends.

Ok, go..... As an actual investment itself - growing the club commercially to increase the value of your investment. Cultural reasons - having a high profile club in a high profile league encourages sporting endeavour in the region Sportswashing - pretty apparent reasoning Vanity project Increasing the profile of the country itself on a worldwide stage Anchor point for investment in the city itself To name a few. Ok, so where in your opinion does AS fit into that? The first I assume? Probably yeh, and I'm sure there'll be other less obvious reasons too.

Ok, go..... As an actual investment itself - growing the club commercially to increase the value of your investment. Cultural reasons - having a high profile club in a high profile league encourages sporting endeavour in the region Sportswashing - pretty apparent reasoning Vanity project Increasing the profile of the country itself on a worldwide stage Anchor point for investment in the city itself To name a few.

There's lots of reasons why.

This.

f*** sake man. Wake up. It’s not bed wetting It pretty much proves MBS & PIF are far from separate which is the very specific reason Masters gave for the takeover not going thru. You don’t get it or just refuse to get it. It’s got very little to do with the US, oil money or even the murder itself, the PL have accused MBS of being a shadow director and said he must take the O&D test which he simply won’t If piracy is not an issue and legal cases are dropped, where does it say in the test that the Saudi state cannot own the club ? I honestly don’t see how they can clear up the separation issue and it certainly looks like the PL have a very strong case in their belief that MBS & PIF are not seperate So were MBS be dethroned/jailed etc would PIF cease to exist and if not why? No (I’d think) PIF would be controlled by the next ruler but now we are just dealing in hypotheticals We are, but its a perfectly viable scenario which alludes to the legal separation thst the club's trying to argue. I'm no expert but I'm still struggling to see what the recent news changes.

f*** sake man. Wake up. It’s not bed wetting It pretty much proves MBS & PIF are far from separate which is the very specific reason Masters gave for the takeover not going thru. You don’t get it or just refuse to get it. It’s got very little to do with the US, oil money or even the murder itself, the PL have accused MBS of being a shadow director and said he must take the O&D test which he simply won’t If piracy is not an issue and legal cases are dropped, where does it say in the test that the Saudi state cannot own the club ? I honestly don’t see how they can clear up the separation issue and it certainly looks like the PL have a very strong case in their belief that MBS & PIF are not seperate So were MBS be dethroned/jailed etc would PIF cease to exist and if not why?

The point is more that the PIF ultimately operates under the absolute control of MBS. So yes day-to-day operations are managed by his appointments, but ultimately if he wants to commandeer PIF-owned planes to facilitate the murder of a journalist then there's f*** all anyone can do about it. So no one can ever push the "fully independent" line with a straight face. On this basis, this isn't new information. We've always known that MBS chairs PIF and that there are definite links between it and the state. Everything hinges on whether or not De Marco et al can sufficiently argue against the fact that the link is an absolutely fundamental one. Aye, basically this.

The point is more that the PIF ultimately operates under the absolute control of MBS. So yes day-to-day operations are managed by his appointments, but ultimately if he wants to commandeer PIF-owned planes to facilitate the murder of a journalist then there's f*** all anyone can do about it. So no one can ever push the "fully independent" line with a straight face. OK, so how would the EPL actually prove that to be the case? Doesn't the proof of non-separation need to be more hard wired than anecdotal evidence? Why would that implicate PIF and make the argument EPL trying to make any different to what they're already presenting? Genuine question bytheway, it just seems the fact MBS is chairman of PIF is more compelling evidence itself than this.

So is the argument now that PIF have knowingly facilitated the murder of Khashoggi?

Rafa might have somewhat more of a direct line to the buyers but right now the only updates will be coming from Mike Ashley’s legal team. It’s anyone’s guess what will happen. I’m not holding my breath as far as Rafa is concerned Bit silly thinking Rafa's future is in any way indicative of where we stand with a multi million pound takeover by one of the richest sovereign wealth funds in the world. He may well be their first choice but I'm confident they'd be confident of having a plan b.

The arbritation case agaisnt the PL not something positive or are you a closet optimist who needs constant reassurances? Well for me I’ll wait for the outcome of arbitration before I decide if it’s positive. If it fails it’s not exactly positive is it? I don’t particularly feel having this hangover out heads all season has really helped either I think others - myself included - are taking the fact that the club are pursuing arbritation to the extent that other potential purchasers are being put off engaging Ashley, as a positive and reason to be optimistic. So unless you're of the opinion that the PL have acted appropriately, then I'm unsure why there wouldn't be a tinge of optimism or excitement for how this case may pan out, but then again that's the nature of optimism isn't it? Fair point. I’m genuinely of the view that the club will win arbitration or come to an agreement but I do think relegation will kill any takeover I just don’t see how it wouldn’t Yeh I agree, having to think about the possibility of relegation is such an uneccassaary ballache but very newcastle like tbh. Basically, I cling on to this thread because the alternative will be the end of the club for me. That’s fair enough. I appreciate that. Can’t see me having the stomach for another season under Ashley Aye thats exactly where I'm at

The arbritation case agaisnt the PL not something positive or are you a closet optimist who needs constant reassurances? Well for me I’ll wait for the outcome of arbitration before I decide if it’s positive. If it fails it’s not exactly positive is it? I don’t particularly feel having this hangover out heads all season has really helped either I think others - myself included - are taking the fact that the club are pursuing arbritation to the extent that other potential purchasers are being put off engaging Ashley, as a positive and reason to be optimistic. So unless you're of the opinion that the PL have acted appropriately, then I'm unsure why there wouldn't be a tinge of optimism or excitement for how this case may pan out, but then again that's the nature of optimism isn't it? Fair point. I’m genuinely of the view that the club will win arbitration or come to an agreement but I do think relegation will kill any takeover I just don’t see how it wouldn’t Yeh I agree, having to think about the possibility of relegation is such an uneccassaary ballache but very newcastle like tbh. Basically, I cling on to this thread because the alternative will be the end of the club for me.

The arbritation case agaisnt the PL not something positive or are you a closet optimist who needs constant reassurances? Well for me I’ll wait for the outcome of arbitration before I decide if it’s positive. If it fails it’s not exactly positive is it? I don’t particularly feel having this hangover out heads all season has really helped either I think others - myself included - are taking the fact that the club are pursuing arbritation to the extent that other potential purchasers are being put off engaging Ashley, as a positive and reason to be optimistic. So unless you're of the opinion that the PL have acted appropriately, then I'm unsure why there wouldn't be a tinge of optimism or excitement for how this case may pan out, but then again that's the nature of optimism isn't it?

The arbritation case agaisnt the PL not something positive or are you a closet optimist who needs constant reassurances?

A new appointment that isn't the consortium's first choice makes even less sense than sticking with Bruce. By most accounts, Rafa is the consortiums first choice and we already how that would pan out.

Think the wider point is if arbitration is about whether the OD test was done correctly, then any outcome which would favour a compensation claim would also support the takeover going through. "You can have your £300m compensation, but we're still not approving the sale" Doesn't quite stack up, does it.

ASM will keep Bruce in the job

20% off everything at SD.

3 wins on the bounce will get us on the right track and out of this mess. Oh wait.

Don't think there should ever be any doubt that this is still on.

Bruce Allshitey

Victim of a slack training regime.

Think Gazza (Zidane) vs Scholes (Iniesta) Separated by that little extra touch of class and above else that touch of genius rarely found in 99.9% of others. Zidane had that, Iniesta almost had it... that’s the difference IMO. I just don't see it, Zidane had a touch of elegance about him that maybe Iniesta didn't, but player for player and achievement for achievement I don't understand how there can be such a disparity in how they're rated, furthermore, Iniesta was insanely consistent, for both club and country. #

Why is Iniesta never mentioned in these lists? What was it about Zidane that made him such a significantly better player than Iniesta?