TheBrownBottle

This is where there should be questions asked of the ownership, while being frustrated with Hope’s patter as a journalist (‘Sources say there are ‘blurred lines …’’. Blurred lines about what, Craig? What were the original plans? What are they now?). Why does it take weeks for PIF to respond? Surely the decisions they’re asked to resolve are re money. Why the continuing inefficiency? And if PIF need to sign everything off, why does the club lack an active PIF representative on the board? It’s a strange ownership model, this.

Ashworth isn’t a head scout, though.

Player wages + transfer amortisation for the current season is likely over £300m. Given UEFA’s changes to FSR, we’ll need to start getting that under control - yes, next season you’re allowed 90% of those items vs turnover, but the year after it drops to 70%. The usual PL rules also apply. At the moment, I don’t see how our income increases next season compared to this season. The adidas deals balances the loss of Champions League revenue. Basically, we might not have a huge amount of wriggle-room without money coming in. I don’t doubt we’ll make signings though.

21) stop referring to the PIF ownership as ‘the project’

Just about the only viable option in the city centre. Would’ve been perfect in all honesty.

I wasn’t aware of that - I quite like that as an idea

I love Wilson, second favourite NUFC no. 9 after Shearer, but fucking hell if he was made of candyfloss and cobwebs he’d be more robust

11) all musical instruments banned from football stadiums* (*South American exemption applies) 12) national teams at WCs to wear traditional kits. Bollocks to Brazil in white shorts and Spain in red shorts 13) all entrance music to be replaced by a marching band playing appropriate tune for club. Blaydon Races in our case, which should stop the Colosseum New Monkey ravers doing it at 150bpm 14) further to previous FA Cup points, and to point 13), Abide with Me at Wembley to be played by armed forces band and sang by crowd. I don’t want to hear some daft cunt warbling it like they’re on pop idol over a tinny sound system 15) applause in X minute stopped irrespective of sentiment 16) beer to be allowed within sight of the pitch. And I’m a teetotaller 17) Barry Davies to allow his voice to be used for AI commentary, so that it would be worth listening to again 18) safe standing available in at least 50% of all stadium capacities 19) under soil heating banned for FA Cup matches in winter. Snow only allowed to be brushed to show pitch markings. Complaints by managers about conditions to be punishable by points deduction 20) black pentagons and white hexagons are mandatory for all footballs used in professional football (WC ‘74 design). No other design allowed other than orange for snowy pitches (see 19))

Yes and double-yes, though I’m going to combine both and suggest removing names from shirts and replacing them with numbers 1-11. I don’t like that a player ‘owns’ a shirt. Ego-stroking shite.

It wouldn’t be the lower leagues, that’s for certain. Isn’t that right, Bob?

Just leaving this here - not just because of the surrealist element of NUFC still being England’s second biggest club by turnover … https://www.marxists.org/history/etol/newspape/isj2/1996/isj2-073/bambery.htm

Yeah, the sponsor-less shirts made them feel like what they kind of view themselves as; a Catalan national club side in all but name. They’re just another big club these days.

1) FFP revised to allow investor input to cover losses proportional to turnover - with an inverse proportionality applied e.g. a club with £100m income might be allowed 60% losses on top covered by an investor; a club with £200m might be allowed 25% covered, etc, until you get to say £500m at which losses have to be kept to 5%. Something along those lines. This would allow the smaller clubs to receive greater potential investment to catch up, while stopping mega rich clubs being further ahead via sugar daddies 2) re-absorb English football’s top division into the rest of the football league, and enforce a more egalitarian sharing of TV revenues throughout the pyramid. This would also mean renaming the ‘Premier League’ as ‘Division One’. Which is what it fucking is. 3) the FA Cup changed as follows: FA Cup Final to be played on the final weekend of the season, at 3pm, with six-hour build-up on the BBC including the club’s breakfast at the team hotels, aerial shots of the team coaches heading to Wembley, and all pundits being contractually obliged to say it’s the biggest game of the English football calendar. Semi finals to be played at any ground but Wembley. All rounds to have replays, including the final (I’ll stop short at having replays until there is a winner). FA Cup 3rd round draw to take place on a Monday teatime. All footage of Radford’s equaliser to be destroyed in the archives, and YouTube clips to be blocked. Oh, and get that fucking sponsorship off the name of the cup, you soulless bastards. 4) restoration of the Cup Winners’ Cup 5) abolition of the ‘Champions League’, to be replaced with the old European Cup, full knockouts for champions only. I don’t care if this means that the champions of Bulgaria or Latvia can get through to a QF, and what that does to TV revenue. The ‘Champions League’ format is a right load of toss 6) Europa League and Conference league remain as is, just with better sides now in them 7) abolition of VAR. Goal line technology is the only potential technology, provided it is cheap enough to be available at Sunday league level 8) international friendlies scrapped, and qualifiers too. WC every two years, Euros/AFCON/Copa America etc every two years. All nations qualify, two group stages then straight knockouts. If we must have international football, let’s not break up actual domestic seasons to do it 9) I quite like ‘blue cards / sin bins’, though for dissent / time wasting only 10) explore option of replacing League Cups in England & Scotland with a British League Cup (pending UEFA acceptance), using one of England’s allocated European spots for qualification (so that Scotland doesn’t miss out)

Yes, along with Fagioli and Zaniolo. Completely take your point, but the FIGC isn’t likely to not pick its better players based on rumours, and Italian football doesn’t exactly have a glorious history of being across this stuff. The FIGC could have been completely aware of everything and still selected those three players.

Likewise. I’m never trusting of being told someone is fantastic with little data or information to support why that person is so fantastic. Interested to note that you’re unimpressed by his data analysis appointments (and I imagine you’d have been very much casting your eyes across that). Didn’t you mention previously that Liverpool’s team was Harvard PhD types, and ours … weren’t?

Yep, it’s the Busby Babes’ success and then Munich which is the genesis of it. Sympathy turned to support. Before that, Man Utd were just another club which pulled big crowds (though not the biggest)

He’s still a magnificent footballer in my mind’s eye - and no-one will ever convince me otherwise

They comfortably had the highest average attendances throughout almost the entire period. Not being the most successful doesn’t mean they weren’t the biggest.

More aimed at those talking about his success than Ashworth himself tbf

Do you honestly think that those involved in scouting players just look at the player’s ability? Character comes into it. Clubs were able to find out in the ‘70s what a player’s vices were.

Nothing revisionist about it. Most still thought of Man Utd being England’s biggest club even when Liverpool were winning literally everything. It’s not all about winning trophies.

Gavin Peacock was my favourite player when I really started to ‘get’ football (I was taken as a kid, remember seeing Gazza play, but I don’t think you really start to understand the game until you’re around 10 years old)

Yep, something we’ve never done in my lifetime - and I’m 41.

Without a brand new 70k stadium with corporate busting out the walls I can’t see how we even catch Spurs based on what we currently have. Their turnover is pretty much double ours - the commercial deals don’t exist to allow us to catch up

If he can’t apparently take any responsibility for the cock-ups, not sure why he should be given any credit for the successes.