Hovagod

Em, that clip is a bit weird and creepy.

Leaving aside the Newcastle angle (where I don’t think it applies), and the rather explosive manner in which it was first presented, it is quite an interesting point Kaka is raising.

They’re using the club as and when they see fit. They’re using the ground to host a friendly that is part of their obvious and ongoing sportswashing project. I mean, we can get as teary eyed as we like at the Robson quote, but we are happily letting the club being used for the purposes of bolstering the Saudi regime. You might not care, you might care but have opted to accept it (I suppose I’m in this camp, and it was a stance I was attacked for when it was Mike Ashley who owned them), but you can’t say they’re not doing something that they are blatantly doing. I honestly think that an official announcement on this game will be a dark day for Newcastle United. It’s a confirmation of a strategy that we are going to be unable to distract ourselves from for much longer- no matter how many wor flag displays or Sam Fender wearing toon shirts at his gigs.

They’re using our kit and stadium exactly as they see fit, and they don’t need to justify anything because the fanbase are readily complicit in it all. (Seem to see hundreds of people around the place in last year’s Saudi kit.) I’m not talking mass protest (though I don’t see why not), but our lack of circumspection as a fanbase is it a bit bizarre, and the crying if and when we do get fucked over in the future is going to rightly draw contempt from the rest of the country. Meanwhile, we’re happily opting into a cup scheme that Man Utd fans were up in arms about a few years back.

Wasn’t Ginola’s lack of tracking back the source of the Keegan/Beresford beef?

Ginola Man City in 95 springs to mind as another iconic performance. Got their full back sent off didn’t he? Bolton away too. Maybe we were just mint in general but as a kid then those definitely stand out even now as evidence as how brilliant he was

There’s a goal in that Beardsley comp- which is in itself a mesh of mad time jumps- which is something that looks like him scoring in the mid-90s against a European side (maybe?) whilst wearing white shorts in front of a noticeably not full Gallowgate end. This combination of factors makes it the football equivalent of Frank Bruno shaking Peter Sutcliffe’s hand in front of a smiling Jimmy Savile, and any insight would be welcomed. It’s about one minute and forty in. Also, Tonali, eh? Right? Tonali.

What’s happening with the actual tickets? Do we all just choose a seat we fancy when inside the ground?

Where are people getting this from?

I hope and trust that this is the idea.

I remember there was more than one Liverpool fan on the WSC forum who was talking about giving up on Liverpool because they had signed him. The absolute pomposity, man. Cunts. But I’m assured their support would do the right thing morally at each stage that our own failed at.

I find it weird that they have been so quiet about their long term vision and plan. If this does bite us on the arse at some point, can the over-zealous Ashley boycott lot do me a favour and not get on my case about still going to games despite the owner? Because warning are going decidedly unheeded.

Midweek at Everton again?

People nervous about Villa at home?

What a fulfilling existence.

What’s Gateshead’s capacity? Also, there’s no seat information on the ticket. Is it just a free for all?

Refreshed a few times and got four easily enough after that

Haha, maybe. It was a genuine question, would be exciting if he confirmed something like that, given how disinclined he is to hype ordinarily

What did Howe say on this point?

Ferguson outsourced a lot of the tactics and training to others as his career went on didn’t he? I read a book about OPTA and he was dismissive of all the new innovations that people like Pep have since mastered

Why would somebody go to the bother of pretending to support a team? It’s not the nineties, nobody gets brownie points for following naff old football anymore, and pretty much everybody has a passing interest. The chances of a young lad from North Shields not supporting Newcastle seem slimmer than a pop star pretending to.

They also blindly lapped up those signings in 2011 which the rest of the world could see were suicidal. He denies this now, but I vividly remember a friend phoning me to brag about signing Connor Whickham. Their business model was as clueless as the support propping it up.

Sorry, missed this. Your seat has went up in price dramatically and there’s no alternative available? Yeah, that definitely sounds like something that should be formally raised with the club

This was pointed out when people were so happy to see people being moved from their seats in what will now be the new standing area. At some point as fans we are going to have to demonstrate some level of circumspect thought, if only to show them that we are actually capable of it.

Wishful thinking