Whitley mag

Martin Ziegler, mandoon, Miguel Delaney, Stan Collymore, Richard Keys, kazeiro, Martin Samuel, Luke Edwards, PSG, amnesty international, Oliver Holt, Qatar.........I’ll tell you what where still in there fighting for this takeover and I’ll tell you what I will love it, love it when when this fu#%cking takeover is announced !

Just when I thought I was out, they pull you right back in again.

I’ll be fu#%cking bipolar when this is done.

So worst case this Tory back bencher gets his select committee meeting, I’d imagine timescale for this could be weeks if not months if it involves evidence gathering. As long as uk government don’t intervene which there is no evidence they will, does the premier league delay decision until the committee sits ?

In his e mail he mentions about premier league being present, now going off the Southampton example could they delay until this meeting and pcp can do f#%k all ?

I suspect the premier league haven’t got a clue how to play this at minute, my suspicion is they wait for the select committee to meet, then if it’s damning and implies Saudis are guilty of piracy they use that as there get out and block deal.

Happy for someone to tell me I’m way off, but today has knocked my confidence for the first time in this.

Hopefully someone tells me I’m wrong but I’m starting to think this goes on months.

I've yet to see any evidence his fiancee has ever challenged any Saudi purchase previously - and while I'm sure she has - I doubt it's been as relentlessly as this. 3 letters in nigh on 4 weeks. It seems pretty transparent that this isn't just her acting in the memory of her fiancee and that there's another driving force behind this.

 

If you had to guess, what would you say the driving force is?

 

Not to go all tin hat, but this reminded me that her fiancee was being fed pro-Qatar narratives for his articles just before he was killed.  Obviously doesn't mean he should've been killed.

 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/jamal-khashoggis-final-months-an-exile-in-the-long-shadow-of-saudi-arabia/2018/12/21/d6fc68c2-0476-11e9-b6a9-0aa5c2fcc9e4_story.html

 

"Perhaps most problematic for Khashoggi were his connections to an organization funded by Saudi Arabia’s regional nemesis, Qatar. Text messages between Khashoggi and an executive at Qatar Foundation International show that the executive, Maggie Mitchell Salem, at times shaped the columns he submitted to The Washington Post, proposing topics, drafting material and prodding him to take a harder line against the Saudi government. Khashoggi also appears to have relied on a researcher and translator affiliated with the organization, which promotes Arabic-language education in the United States."

 

"Khashoggi also appears to have accepted significant help with his columns. Salem, the executive at the Qatar foundation, reviewed his work in advance and in some instances appears to have proposed language, according to a voluminous collection of messages obtained by The Post.

 

In early August, Salem prodded Khashoggi to write about Saudi Arabia’s alliances “from DC to Jerusalem to rising right wing parties across Europe...bringing an end to the liberal world order that challenges their abuses at home.”

 

Khashoggi expressed misgivings about such a strident tone, then asked, “So do you have time to write it?”

 

“I’ll try,” she replied, although she went on to urge him to “try a draft” himself incorporating sentences that she had sent him by text. A column reflecting their discussion appeared in The Post on Aug. 7. Khashoggi appears to have used some of Salem’s suggestions, though it largely tracks ideas that he expressed in their exchange over the encrypted app WhatsApp.

 

Other texts in the 200-page trove indicate that Salem’s organization paid a researcher who did work for Khashoggi. The foundation is an offshoot of a larger Qatar-based organization. Khashoggi also relied on a translator who worked at times for the Qatari embassy and the foundation."

 

 

 

 

This can’t be true are you a Saudi bot bobloblaw ?

I might get pelters for this but I wish she'd just f*** off tbh, quite clear she is being used in this otherwise where are her letters to all the other business that Saudi has control over, asking the world to boycott them?

 

Her situation is terrible and I could understand if this was a consistent campaign, but it isn't. It's hardly a vendetta against NUFC but someone - or some people - really don't want this to happen and clearly are taking whatever action they can to make it as difficult as possible for the PL.

 

No think your spot on she’s having her strings pulled and and it’s transparent to the majority of us.

 

yeah you know more than us sheeple.

Certainly know more than you.

I might get pelters for this but I wish she'd just f*** off tbh, quite clear she is being used in this otherwise where are her letters to all the other business that Saudi has control over, asking the world to boycott them?

 

Her situation is terrible and I could understand if this was a consistent campaign, but it isn't. It's hardly a vendetta against NUFC but someone - or some people - really don't want this to happen and clearly are taking whatever action they can to make it as difficult as possible for the PL.

No think your spot on she’s having her strings pulled and and it’s transparent to the majority of us.

Hearing that the Premier League are preparing to reject the proposal but will leave the door open for PIF to purchase or invest in a club in the future subject to them clearing what will be a modified owners/directors test. All should be clearer by the weekend 

Hearing from who ? Say your right that would would be convenient where not happy with you investing in nufc, but come back in for Man U or liverpool and we’ll waive it through.

Still only shows link upto last Wednesday when I go in, usually takes a while to pop up.

So if you believe the ronny gill and these documents haven’t come from bein, it would be interesting to know who has. It could be British broadcasters, la Liga, human rights lawyers digging for shit or even clubs within prem desperate to stop this.

My main concern is the league is stalling this decision in the hope they get that bit of evidence to block this, time will tell but my feeling is the decision will be based purely on which outcome creates the least s#%t storm for them.

 

It's over if that's the case.

This bloke has bein sports in his twitter profile, as always important to know who’s view you are reading. As we know forces at work to stop this but I’m fairly confident this won’t be anything new.

What possible validity could these 'new' legal documents have that would hold any bearing what-so-ever on the FA's decision? Have the Saudi government been convicted somewhere that we've missed? No. That's all there is to it, if they documents were worth anything at all they would have been used already in a court to pursue a criminal conviction... and they've not. The FA have got no excuse to keep delaying based on allegations made by disgruntled opponents that hold a potential conflict of interest in the outcome of our takeover.

This are the premier league going to keep delaying for every fu#%er who sends a letter in. If they weren’t found guilty in a French court of law, I very much doubt premier league lawyers are going to come to a different verdict. They’d have to be very sure it would stand up in a court of law, because that’s where pcp would take them.

I wouldn’t take this story as gospel there may well have been documents presented, but it’s only the writers opinion that it will cause a delay.

Still doesn’t ease our nerves just as we seemed to be in home straight.

When this goes through and we are finally allowed back in the ground, it could be the craziest game we have ever experienced, I've stayed away for nearly 10 years, not bought a shirt etc. I work in football and saw from the inside some of what was going on. Indeed i reached out personally to Dave about this around 3 years ago.

 

Tickets will be at a premium, but the thought of going back to a club shop not selling all sorts of tat, in a ground where im not just funding sports direct, with a team who wants to win is spine tingling. It's nearly here. Lets hope we can all go buy a shirt on the first game back, flood the stadium in black and white with noise not heard in many a year.

Spot on think it’ll be one of those spine tingling occasions first game back at St James. Think 13 years of suffering will be released and It’ll be special no doubt.

There’s no way they write that without it being info passed on.

Its #cans time !

I'd get used to the tedium then tbh, it's going to be part of the cost of them being the club's owners.

Think the majority of us will have broad enough shoulders to deal with any flak coming our way.

It's an age thing, really. I know a bloke in his early 60s who is a mackem and will openly admit when he was younger, he'd often go to SJP when they were away and his mates who supported us would go to Roker Park when we were away. He said it was the done thing.

 

I'm fairly certain there's people on here who have mentioned it before as being fairly common. Fans on either side would be aghast if you admitted doing it now.

 

Likewise my mackem mates are sound - but that's because I've known most of them at least 20 years. We've also all mellowed out as we've got older.

 

That's not to say there are fans on either side, most likely at the younger end, who absolutely despite the other half.

I’m 44 and hate then still as much as when I was 12. Bring on Armageddon for them !

BBC running the Khashoggi fiancé story for the third time, slightly different quote this time.

 

It’s almost as if some agency was releasing press releases on her behalf....

I don't care if it's Qatar releasing the story. It's one we should be discussing seriously. It's not enough to simply acknowledge wrong-doing. A man was murdered for criticising a regime. That does not deserve death.

 

Why should we ? It’s got nothing to do with football, if your going to attach the murder to the purchase of the club then also discuss it in relation to live nation, Warner brothers and other Saudi purchases.

 

No one is disputing the murder is horrendous, it’s the hypocrisy that the sale of nufc should be stopped whilst all these other deals go throughout without a murmur.

 

The one thing this deal won’t be stopped on is human rights, it would put the premier league at odds with the policy of the U.K. government.

 

What is blatantly happening here is human rights lawyers are using the high profile nature of this sale to gain publicity, as they know the Saudis buying stakes in other companies just doesn’t draw the same attention.

 

You can’t blame them for this as this is their job, however what I strongly object to is the notion that we should sacrifice the chance of a lifetime for our city and club, If this was blocked these same people would move on to their next cause and wouldn’t  give a s%#t about us.

 

So whilst I acknowledge and understand the human rights aspect, ths hypocrisy expecting us to be line drawn in the sand with Saudis doesn’t wash with me and many others.

 

 

Spot on Whitley Mag. 100% agree with you here, everything you said is spot on.

 

Nail on head

 

Because we argued Ashley was a human rights abuser and used that angle in some of our protesting.

 

Makes us look a tad hypocritical if we say nowt.

 

Yeah that is going to make us look very hypocritical, I don’t think anyone would have done it if he had ran the club well, but the fact is we did.

That’s a fair point some did try to use Ashley’s poor treatment of sd staff to highlight our cause, however still think your missing my point.

At no point did we ever call on sports direct to shut down, thereby denying thousands of people vital jobs.

These people are actively calling for the sale to be stopped denying millions being poured into our local economy.

I’m fine with Human activists raising concerns as we have done with sports direct, however to actively want this sale to be stopped is hypocrisy when other deals with Saudis go through unopposed.

BBC running the Khashoggi fiancé story for the third time, slightly different quote this time.

 

It’s almost as if some agency was releasing press releases on her behalf....

I don't care if it's Qatar releasing the story. It's one we should be discussing seriously. It's not enough to simply acknowledge wrong-doing. A man was murdered for criticising a regime. That does not deserve death.

Why should we ? It’s got nothing to do with football, if your going to attach the murder to the purchase of the club then also discuss it in relation to live nation, Warner brothers and other Saudi purchases.

No one is disputing the murder is horrendous, it’s the hypocrisy that the sale of nufc should be stopped whilst all these other deals go throughout without a murmur.

The one thing this deal won’t be stopped on is human rights, it would put the premier league at odds with the policy of the U.K. government.

What is blatantly happening here is human rights lawyers are using the high profile nature of this sale to gain publicity, as they know the Saudis buying stakes in other companies just doesn’t draw the same attention.

You can’t blame them for this as this is their job, however what I strongly object to is the notion that we should sacrifice the chance of a lifetime for our city and club, If this was blocked these same people would move on to their next cause and wouldn’t  give a s%#t about us.

So whilst I acknowledge and understand the human rights aspect, ths hypocrisy expecting us to be line drawn in the sand with Saudis doesn’t wash with me and many others.

Sir John made a lot of money no doubt, but at least he had the vision to back Keegan and spend big. He didn't go in half hearted, so my view has always been he earned some credit for thinking big, even if it was for the wrong reasons.

Looking back great times when we look at what’s happened since. But Halls legacy will always be tainted for me, he sold the club without any due care of who he was selling to.

The Gibraltar office was exposed as never being used and they billed the club a hefty fee for it. Not to mention when club was floated they made sure as majority share holders they got a nice dividend ever year as well. This for me was the real reason Keegan walked after spurs game, he knew that fans money was no longer going to be going on players, but instead into halls and shepherds pockets.

John And Douglas Hall did very well out of nufc, when he comes on to talk about Ashley these days got to say I switch off. He couldn’t wait to sell the club with Freddie laid up in hospital. Prior to the sale to Ashley he also made a fortune when the club floated on stock market. This S#%t about we’d never marketed the club abroad doesn’t wash, he’s just trying to ease his conscience and conveniently forgets how they charged the club for empty warehouses and offices abroad and paid halls daughter a directors wage for doing f#%k all.

Whilst Ashley has fu#%ked us over for 13 years, let’s not forget worse still our own including Westwood, Seymour, mckeag, shepherd and halls have all treat us with contempt and used this club for their own ends.

The Woolsington Hall site is perfect. Turn it into the best training facility in the country. Big enough for first team, academy and woman’s team. Build a mini 10,000 seat stadium. Perfect.

That would be superb, however I doubt the residents in Woolsington would be happy. They put up a hell of a fight to prevent new homes being built near the Falcons ground. They lost that fight however it took years to resolve what with legal challenges etc.

 

I'll say it again, i went past on Wednesday and they are building houses on it!

As I remember back in 90’s the club purchased woolsington hall with a view to it being our new training ground. Can’t exactly remember why we ended up in benton instead ?

However, point being I’m pretty sure when hall sold club he made sure this wasn’t included in the deal and kept if for himself. Quite happy to be corrected on this but certainly very similar to how mike has siphoned off the land at strawberry place for himself.

I’ll always remember the Keegan years but often think hall gets an easy ride from us and local press over sale of club and money they made.

Isn’t that the sort of thing that could be prepared. They’ve apparently put forward a 300 page business plan to the PL and they haven’t even thought about the basics of what the future training ground would be like?

F#%$ing hell let’s just stick with Ashley then what a load of rubbish.

Drain the swamp all these apologists have taken the shilling and shafted the fans.

 

Why bother posting that s***? ?

All quite plausible if you ignore the source.

Does the athletic podcast with Caulkin usually drop on a Tuesday ? If so might be a more info to come out tonight.