TheBrownBottle

We needed to sell Minteh and Anderson just to balance the books for last season. The financial situation hasn’t significantly changed this season - with PSR you don’t get to leave everything wrapped up nearly. Sales of players count in that season; purchases of players are spread over the length of their contract. Buying Guehi would’ve meant getting big sales money in before 30th June.

I’d be more concerned if Howe wanted to turn down £20m for him.

Based on the screen grabs Willock posted, I doubt they’ve ever been in the UK let alone SJP.

The rules are the same for all clubs - the issue is still that we spaffed our load over a few windows and it’s eaten up the budget. We didn’t sell when the iron was hot and old left players on the books, running their resale value down. We adopted a model of signing younger, expensive talent rather than experience - a strategy built on a ‘sell for profit’ philosophy - and haven’t sold any of them; while at the same time they take time to ‘peak’. Our revenues haven’t grown at a rate which creates additional financial ‘headroom’. So now we’re stuck. None of this lies at Mitchell’s door - it is the result of decisions made before he entered the building (including by Howe). The club needs to actually sell some of the ‘first wave’ of talents signed by the new ownership while they still attract significant fees - and the support needs to put on big boy pants when some of these players are sold. Every club in the world - including the very richest - has to sell players. I suspect that this summer will see one or two of the Howe-era ‘big’ signings go - CL qualification or not. That would not be a sign of anything other than the way football currently works. The squad left from the Ashley era had a handful of players who could have brought in substantial fees - and Howe improved some of them in the first year or so and they could have commanded even better fees. Wilson, ASM, Joelinton, Willock, Almiron - all of these potentially could have been sold for more than they have gone for, or more than they would fetch now. We didn’t, so here we are. Mitchell needs a full summer window to be judged on ins / outs. The club needs to be a lot more ruthless than it has been - the sale of Kelly to Juve gives me hope. Previously I suspect any bid of that size would have been rejected and he’d have sputtered along as a poor backup, with lots of ‘he needs time’ or ‘he’s good in the dressing room’ patter to justify it. The club have bought well under the new ownership - I’d have confidence that the transfer budget and wages freed up would be recycled well.

20/20 vision based on my last check at the opticians last month My one time up there predated safe standing tbf, which hopefully would have improved the atmosphere But the view is shite

Lvl7 = watching dots on a postcard. Went up there once, never again. You’re removed from the feeling of being at the match and it’s an atmosphere-less anodyne experience.

I don’t think we are tbh

Nice wee boost for next season. Didn’t look anywhere near good enough when he’s played, though obviously opportunities were fairly limited. Good luck to the lad.

The lad isn’t technically strong enough to play midfield, it’s not just that Tonali and Bruno are excellent midfielders so he stands out. He’s never looked great at LCM. He looks good at LW with an attacking LCM behind him. He’s useful for some games in the LCM position, but he cannot be in there next season for me.

Even if he is one, construction lawyers rarely get involved at that stage in the UK tbf - even on larger scale projects. But most documents at that stage would be treated as commercial in confidence; and there would be zero reason to show them to a random who happened to be a lawyer. Unless he has a pal in one of the design team’s offices who likes sharing stuff - an architect, engineer or QS - then the odds are he’s talking out of his backside.

To be fair, if there is anyone it’s worth beating up it’s the one with his hands tied behind his back …

Wednesday night is what matters for me. Our home performances vs midtable sides have been an issue for some time and need addressing, but I think that would require further overhaul of the team and tweaking of tactics which isn’t likely to happen until the summer. Not going through to the LC final would feel sickening.

Didn’t stay up to watch as was expecting … well, this. We really do struggle at home vs midtable sides.

Yep - nearing selling out the available tickets, but just don’t seem to be able to open up the remaining tickets to the public. Just seems really odd

Well before mine too

Yep, bit of a mix-up with Cass McGarry there. Who was doing satellite dishes on Tyneside in the ‘90s.

PSR teaches you to think arse over tit when it comes to football finances. You don’t need to get your actual money back for a £50m player. If you sign a £50m player when he’s 25 on a five year deal, his fee is amortised to £10m per season. Sign a two year contract extension after three years and his amortised fee goes to £4m per season with £30m already amortised. So if you sell him a year after this, then there is only £16m left to amortise - in which case, if you sell him for £17m at 29 the you make £1m ‘profit’.

There’s an army of us

Which would be fair enough, though he predates my time, I know his short spell was disastrous (and entirely the result of ‘player power’)

Building along the edge of Barrack Road looks possible while losing as little of LP as possible. Struggling to see how the bandstand at least wouldn’t be impacted. But you can reduce the footprint by building up - as in having the stadium built above bars, restaurants, shops, even parking etc. And by finishing three stands - assuming 70k capacity - you could get all the current ST holders into the new ground before demolishing the current SJP and completing the new ground.

Christ, reading that thread is giving me a worse headache than the one time I got pissed on whiskey. Just reads like ITK wankers at crossed wires to me.

Souness and Dalglish did a LOT of damage - Souness’s wasn’t reversed until Howe. Souness is the worst for me - worse than McClaren, Bruce or Kinnear. Souness inherited a talented young side that was a couple of players and some good man management away from challenging for the title and smashed it to smithereens within a year. edit: perhaps Bruce is the biggest wanker to manage us (my dad would still claim Gordon Lee for that one). But a manager who had us in lower mid table every season having taken over a team which had finished lower mid table can’t be the worst we’ve had.

Still NUFC’s greatest mercurial French LW Have that in the eye, Ginola, HBA and ASM fans

Yes, if they offer £200m for one of our ‘purples’, then yes we should be selling. If they’re serious about offering £90m for Mitoma, then offering £200m for Gordon in the summer seems reasonable. I can imagine what Mitchell and Howe could do with that ‘headroom’.