nbthree3

Pre-Messi, that is.

Barca in the mud

Next step if we get Ashley doing Sky appearances as well

It's great the consortium are being as open as they can. Compared to Ashley and the Premier League (if you say nothing you can't do much wrong aside from maybe presumptive guilt) it's night and day. Definitely a pressure tactic ahead of private arbitration, I don't see the league budging on that. Hopefully it opens up fresh and urgent discussions over football governance - and potentially wider than football one day - for anything moving forward

In the interest of transparency, it's a breath of fresh air that the fans are being kept as briefed as the consortium where possible. But knowing what lies ahead, they seem just as in the dark as us!

What happened to that NDA that prevented her from speaking about Newcastle in the public?

We submitted evidence contesting the Premier League's jurisdiction claim. The Premier League would usually have 1 week to reply but they wanted an additional week which they've been given to respond to Ashley's counterclaim. Both claims get heard at a hearing later

I think it's just the reply to Ashley they're seeking an extension for. "AND UPON the Claimant filing its evidence in response to the Jurisdiction Application on 28 June 2021 AND UPON the Defendant’s application by letter dated 30 June 2021 requesting a extension of time for the filing and service of its evidence in reply"

Yeah that guy... he writes some interesting books?

So the two in question were Liverpool and Spurs wasn't it, and that's just an alleged suspicion of course. Closed shop cartel, Boris described the ESL, and perhaps by extension the big 6, as one and the big 6 executives claiming we don't want a more democratic league, or more "Leicester Citys." https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/champions-league-superclubs-liverpool-man-utd-barcelona-real-madrid-a9330431.html Leicester quote “We don’t want too many Leicester Citys" one. (These were the words spoken by a senior figure from the Premier League’s ‘big six’ clubs, in the kind of high-end London hotel you can easily imagine. “Football history suggests fans like big teams winning,” the official continued, to the group of business people and media figures present. “A certain amount of unpredictability is good, but a more democratic league would be bad for business.”) https://www.theguardian.com/football/2021/apr/20/european-super-league-amounts-to-a-cartel-says-boris-johnson Cartel quote Football was “one of the great glories of this country’s cultural heritage”, Johnson told the Downing Street press conference, adding: “How can it be right when you have a situation where you create a kind of cartel that stops clubs competing against each other?”

Sources close to the Amanda Staveley-led and Saudi Arabian-financed bid for Newcastle United say they have still not been given a date for the Premier League’s arbitration case, which is expected to be heard this month. The reference to the Super League is layered. Those connected with the £300million bid for Newcastle believe that at least two Big Six clubs have forcibly opposed the takeover behind the scenes. The owners who object to the deal are concerned that the involvement of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) at St James’ Park will mean a cash injection into the club that will mirror Sheikh Mansour’s spending at Manchester City or Roman Abramovich’s at Chelsea. Those connected to the proposed Newcastle takeover insist that the situation is different. They say that despite PIF’s backing – the Saudi fund is putting up 80 per cent of the money with PCP Capital Partners and the Reuben Brothers financing 10 per cent each – the club will be run within its means. ... Nevertheless, Staveley remains frustrated by the Premier League’s stance and the length of time it is taking to conclude the matter. Richard Masters, the organisation’s chief executive, said in January that the dispute would be resolved in a “timely manner”. Six months on, the 48-year-old businesswoman is still waiting. Even if Staveley gets the green light to take over the club, the prospective owners are concerned that there will be little time left in the transfer window to allow them to stamp their mark on Newcastle before the new season. The open letter to Crouch is an attempt to pile pressure on the Premier League.

We'll see what comes of the rest of the letter later to judge its impact! Jamie Reuben's in favour of the letter too "The consortium, which also includes the wealthy businessman Jamie Reuben, has maintained its interest in a deal, however. Mr Reuben is understood to be supportive of Ms Staveley's letter."

In the letter, which is likely to be released more widely later on Sunday, Ms Staveley criticised the use of confidential arbitration processes to resolve disputes within football before adding: "One might justifiably ask why that model is so favoured by those responsible for regulating the sport if they have nothing to hide." Ms Staveley's letter to Ms Crouch, the former sports minister, contains her most outspoken comments so far about her proposed takeover. In it, she wrote: "Fans surely deserve absolute transparency from the regulators across all their processes - to best ensure that they act responsibly. "They are performing a function like that of a government regulator - but without the same systems for accountability." Ms Staveley said that there was now "a chance for those involved [in the Newcastle United bid] to be seen to take a robust stance - just as the government so decisively and effectively stepped into the European Super League debacle". "But there is real urgency - given the NUFC arbitration hearing is due to take place this month," she told Ms Crouch. "We need intervention immediately to force the issue out into the open. "It is my view that it is likely that that would be enough to make those involved behave more responsibly and signal the government's intention to take effective action in the interests of the country.

"Inspired choice."

For manager Steve Bruce and Ben Arfa's teammates, it all came to a head when Hull took on Manchester United with the French midfielder starting in midfield. "The manager took Hatem off after about 35, 40 minutes," Meyler explained, "and at half-time he got the stats that Allan McGregor who was in goals for us had run more than Hatem Ben Arfa in the first-half. "I remember Steve Bruce blew a gasket and went off at him, but Hatem just sat there laughing at him." https://www.otbsports.com/soccer/meyler-ben-arfa-hull-1167943 Hates Bruce

The supposed cryptic bread pictures have done 1 thing at least I think consortium members, Nick etc realise that when Newcastle fans want something they don't stop. Still fans replying to PIF tweets with Newcastle stuff!

If anyone wants to go protest in person Can't fault their effort if anything