TheBrownBottle

Against the better sides - maybe. But I think that Howe used to counter Arsenal’s set piece play as much as their general play. It’s a very defensive set up so it wouldn’t help against teams who come to defend.

Absolute Howe masterclass that mind. Arsenal could’ve had another two legs and not scored. The 5-2-3 formation worked an absolute treat. There’s a bronze statue waiting for you Eddie lad. One last hurdle to go.

Because a sporting director isn’t just a transfer wonk

‘Who’s that lad in black and white who the fans give loads of shite that’s Jacob Murphy’ Probably need to rhyme the first two lines with Murphy, which could be tricky

We’re in complete agreement tbh.

True, and I can completely understand sentiment. Football is built on it. And of course if you like the view you’ve already got …

Would I be wrong in assuming that if the new ground is built on Barrack Road with the SE corner of the new ground on the footprint of the current Leazes that it would end any issues those who wanted to stay at the current SJP had? It’s pretty much exactly the same location.

Free transfers don’t exist, and I’ve little concern re who the club targets. They’ve got very few transfers wrong thus far.

The culture changed due to the pricing out. Football decided it didn’t want groups of young lads going. It wanted older people with money and families, and none of them said a peep. Now it wants tourists. Martin Niemöller got this right.

Acoustics not atmosphere

I was on the top tier vs Sheff Utd. Fucking thing was moving

Completely agree. Highbury in particular was light years away from being a shithole - parts of it were Grade-listed. But ultimately it was holding Arsenal back in the long term - and this was pre-PSR. Though I’d definitely have a knowing smirk if anyone suggested that Highbury had a better atmosphere

I’m not as a keen on a half-fit Joelinton ambling about, getting frustrated and booting people tbh - a fit Joelinton and this would be the perfect game for him. If he starts, then Howe must deem that he’s fit.

NB If the footprint is what Baldwards put up, then it still is SJP as far as I’m concerned.

It’s the grim reality of modern football - shined up, packaged off and sold to the highest bidder. The horse has well and truly bolted. International tourists is who most big club owners want through the door - people who will come and spend as much money on merchandising tat and food and drink as possible. Joe Bloggs having a few pints in the Bulls with his mates and rocking up at ten to three every week is who they wanted a few years back. It is all shite but I suspect unfixable at this point. Which is why - from a deeply cynical point of view - I think the club needs to do what they’re likely going to do anyway.

Agreed. But it happened in the ‘90s, too. Football deserted its traditional fan base by pricing them out decades ago - why do you think the ground is full and the atmosphere is shite? You don’t get groups of young working class lads going to the match anymore. Priced out and ticketed out. And anyone who thinks that the slush fund of a foreign dictatorship and a family of tax-dodging Tory billionaires are more likely to give a shit about where the matchday revenue is coming from than the local businessmen who ran the club back then needs a good shake. This is also why the ‘big six’ don’t have all ST stadiums - even though they easily could. Football was sold off to the highest bidder yonks ago.

It’s not people from NE who would be likely buying up the corporate sections

They can’t spend under the regs. The regs are designed to do precisely this - stop clubs with lower turnovers and wealthy owners from ‘breaking in’. All the shirt sales, TV money is accounted for and sunk into the squad - the issue is that we make about half of what a member of the ‘Big Six’ makes. If we don’t make the CL next season, we’d likely need to sell to make significant signings (we’ll be able to make signings). Without CL football we may lose a big name or two in any case. Knowing how PSR etc works is fantastically boring, but it seems better than getting worked up thinking that the club is pretending there is a problem.

The SJP of my childhood, which should not be touched because of history.

It is a club wage cap system. Caps on individual salaries would be more of an issue

I don’t think £80m is feasible without CL or player sales.

£80m plus sales would do very nicely. But the Ronnie Gill is talking shite as it’s impossible to know until the season ends. The problem is that the rules completely change next season. ‘Acceptable losses’ etc are over. Next season clubs will be allowed to spend 85% of turnover on squad costs. As in the past, transfers are amortised. It does make everything a bit more straightforward, though; if we allow for say £350m in turnover, then we’re allowed £297.5m in amortised transfers and wages. At present, a guesstimate would be we have around £190m in wages and c.£95m in amortisation costs. There are also allowable deductibles. So not a huge amount; however, European qualification and players sales would massively boost that.

It’s not a choice of the club how much they can spend The Ronnie Gill literally can’t possibly know that given we don’t know if we’ll be in Europe (and in which tournament if we are)

Young was a title-winning player at Man Utd and Tomori was a fair bit younger and had been capped by England

With a massive price tag obligation to buy