Abacus

51 minutes ago, Whitley mag said:

I wouldn’t be surprised if a challenge to FFP was on the horizon, it all seems very deliberate from the club this week. Throw in recent articles from the likes of NDM around the anti competitive nature of FFP and I’d guess where there’s lawyers pushing this, somebody will eventually take the rule makers on in the courts.

 

In the short term I think the club is playing sponsorship correctly and I’ve got no doubt if they wanted a training gear or ground sponsor it would be done by now.

 

There’s a method here though and they’re drip feeding the sponsorship deals correctly to maximise revenues across the next few seasons.

 

Short term heavy investment in the youth academy and smarter transfer dealings than last summer will help us be competitive.

 

 

 

I also think that any challenge could be done alongside other clubs with the same issue. Say, Everton, Forest, even City (as it might get them out of a hole). 

Villa too - if they qualify for the CL, they'll find themselves in the exact same position as us this year. Suddenly unable to invest to a level that makes them unable to compete and vulnerable to having their players / manager picked off by the same old clubs.

37 minutes ago, Scoot said:

 

Like I have said many times before on here, they literally are shit at everything. 

Didn't their owners pay £10k towards the cost of this mess?

I imagine that's why the W is so big - they've blown that, and then fan-funded the rest.

Someone must have got a voucher for the exclamation mark.

18 minutes ago, CPL said:

The reaction to this post is hilarious. ?

 

https://www.readytogo.net/smb/threads/my-young-8-year-old-lad-doesn’t-like-sunderland-any-more.1624425/

So... an argument about the best way get out fast enough? 

"I'd just jump a row down and get out the other way"

It probably went on the pointless exclamation mark at the end of that shambles. Or on the crisp packets on the flags.

Howe played this one exactly right. He didn't downplay it, took the press questions with grace, didn't respond to Mr Bean's taunts about us being massively funded, sent out a strong team, let them play to their best and didn't give Sunderland a sniff of a chance.

Basically, he gets the club and deserves every fans' support. He needs support in January / the summer but there's nothing I've seen even through this rough patch that makes me doubt him for a second.

Hahaha, tough shit Bollard!

Well, this is what it's all about isn't it? The highs, the lows, the nerves, the excitement, the expectation.

Let's go 

Think it'll go the other way - beat these for a morale boost and shut up the doom-mongers, to set up a decent finish to the season.

7+th place and a cup run would be a decent return based on where we are now, and probably what I'd have hoped for last year.

4 minutes ago, Menace said:

Completely off topic, but when our takeover got denied - did Nick DeMarco actually help with the appeal process or did Masters just approve it after they settled the BeOutQ thing? Meaning DeMarco didn't actually do anything?

I don't suppose we know, but I suspect that our various legal challenges helped box them into a corner so clearing the way for it to happen once the piracy issue was settled.

I still remember trying to be at work when there was that court case live on stream and nearly crashing the website with us following it like an away game , where the PL's lawyers were absolutely fewmin. So personally think it was a combination of the two things, but I'm speculating there.

4 minutes ago, mouldy_uk said:

Can someone explain the missing training story please?

 

I saw it referred to a few times after the Forest game but must have missed when Howe mentioned it. 

Basically, when you've only got 3 days between games because of European/cup competitions, it's mainly going to be rest and recovery in between, and not intensive drills or tactical tweaks to face your next opponent, as opposed to having 6 days or so.

Which you can only manage with a bigger, trusted squad if you're in Europe year on year, that we haven't had the time to build due to our rapid progress last year. 

30 minutes ago, Froggy said:

I must say, reading this thread makes me feel like a bit of a hopeful idiot. I absolutely believe we can finish in the top 4/5, and I don't see why Newcastle shouldn't still hope for that as well.

 

Howe and Ten Hag both have a track history of being streaky managers who go on long winning runs. With a lot of players to come back for both teams I do still think there's 5/6 teams in the top four race. 

 

I'll delete this when Forest beat us tomorrow.

I do think second half of the season we'll be coming up on the rails as an outsider, and wouldn't be surprised if Man U clicked like they did last year as well. 

It's very much an outside shot for us this year, but it should have been for us last season. Get through the next few games, and I'll start enjoying the rest of the season and being a dark horse again.

I'm hoping for a gunge tank.

2 minutes ago, Jinky said:

Id happily lose to Sunderland....and win at Liverpool!

I was thinking that way too - was itching to turn Liverpool over after that game at SJP at the time.

Now I'm thinking - let's avoid a hiding at Anfield, maybe pinch a draw, beat the mackems and just have a fun ride in the FA Cup this year.

53 minutes ago, The Prophet said:

Does anyone know if Howe prioritises the next game over the long term sharpness of his players?

Someone must know.

Keep it under your hat, but I've also heard he likes to win games now, instead of possibly in the future.

There are issues all over the pitch including confidence,and he's not a bad keeper in the right system, but he doesn't really work too well in ours, I think.

He doesn't leave his line enough and sweep up danger like Pope does, leaving a gap between him and the defence for opposition players lurking on their shoulders to run into. Likewise, he doesn't command the box for corners or crosses in the same way.

He does have better distribution, but then we don't hold up the ball well higher up the pitch or play possession, so it comes straight back. We've typically played better forcing turnovers when the opposition have it and staging a rapid attack when we do and they're on the back foot.

You'd think he'd do far better in a team that stayed compact and sat back, launching accurate balls for counter-attacks which isn't really how we play.

He seems to be a player best operating at peak fitness, with a defined role, and the time to work his way into games.

He doesn't look fit, and the team shape has been all over the place for the last few games for various reasons, so his limitations get exposed more.

I'm not going to single him out too much; still think he can be a useful squad player while more pressing positions get upgraded or replaced.

Wood hattrick 

Ted Bovis must really be regretting buying that shit show of a club right now.

Or any day

12 minutes ago, El Prontonise said:

 

It still does in an way, that was an accounting write off.

 

 

 

What way are you thinking of?

8 hours ago, Yorkie said:

Not sure what to make of it all really. The whole thing doesn't work unless everyone agrees to sack-off UEFA's competitions and I just can't picture how that happens. 

 

Putting to one side the motivations of Perez et al; I'm not particularly offended by the notion of a stakeholder trying to unsettle the status quo of European competitions. It's the domestic leagues which are truly sacred - not UEFA.

 

If it wouldn't jeopardise the Premier League etc then the backlash is only coming from those with great affection for the Champions League etc. Personally I don't really see the need for that tournament to be safeguarded and protected by the global football public in the same way domestic leagues and pyramids should be. 

 

A pinnacle European competition is something we absolutely should have but it doesn't have to be UEFA's forever more.

Agree - I'd rather UEFA was radically overhauled or replaced altogether, and not with these A22 jokers. That's probably just a pipe dream, though.

But, I'd say the same about FIFA and the Premier League as well, to be honest.

On 04/01/2010 at 00:22, brummie said:

The reason it won't work is simple.

 

Because you won't be able to go to work on Monday and claim "bragging rights" over the office Ajax supporter. Because 9999 times out of 10000 there isn't an office Ajax supporter.

 

Take that away and you might as well stare at share prices all day for your excitement.

Whilst I agree, for us, I suppose it's mainly to be marketed overseas for the TV money which is how it could work.

But, what makes the PL and current CL work is the drama intensified by the fans actually caring and that reflecting on to pitch. Which is something the shareholding dorks never seem to understand.

53 minutes ago, OverThere said:

I'm sure there are others up there with Ashworth in terms of talent. Our summer recruiting of Barnes and Tonali has hardly been a resounding  success either.

I think Barnes is a bit unfair - a freak injury has stopped us seeing what he's all about. Tonali seemed a coup at the time.

Then selling Wood and Shelvey was as good for us as some of the incoming players - and Tino looks a genuine star.

That said, I'm not really sure if just transfers is what his role is mainly about - surely it's forward planning, infrastructure etc? Which all take a while to see the benefits from.

Anyway, it's all just speculation at the moment so I'm not going to fret about it. Could well just be mischievous speculation to unsettle us, wouldn't be the first time just like re Howe recently.

I suppose it comes with the territory when you start to threaten at the top.

The constant recent (necessary due to injuries) swapping around of players can't help. E.g. Wilson plays very differently to Isak, so the rest of the team needs to adapt game by game depending on who is available.

Likewise Dubs plays differently to Pope, Lascelles to Schar, or Botman, Livramento to Burn, etc etc. So even a change of formation won't just be as simple as that, because even within a different formation, not everyone would be suited to it or able to perform the same way within it.

Add to that they are all running on fumes or in some cases playing with knocks or unfit, with no options on the bench and this run is hardly a shock.

However gutting last night's result was, we all could see this was about to be a nightmare run of December fixtures, so I'm really not sure why it's a surprise that this is how it's turned out so far.

And yet in most of those games they have been pretty creditable performances anyway and barring individual errors (including from refs) should have come away with more. Fine no-one is happy with the results, but I'm not laying any of the blame on that with Howe who is trying to stitch together a Frankenstein's monster of a squad at times.

A combination of;

Them losing

Us winning

Appointing Ian Beale as manager, and

The ticket allocation

Has sent the whole place absolutely wild 

The funny thing is, it's probably them losing that they care about the least, the daft plums.