TheBrownBottle

Just as long as you’re the one giving him it and not the club I’m ok with that

Even a cursory look at where the Bernabeu is situated would have told the Ronnie Gill hack that the sites aren’t even remotely comparable. The space there isn’t limited at all - it’s surrounded on all sides by a fucking massive car park.

Surely ‘give him what he wants’ should be ‘give him what he deserves’. Depends what he’s after earning. It isn’t an infinite pot of cash

Tonali isn’t a DM - I don’t think the plan was ever for them to switch. Bruno’s position was always meant to be a DM - which was always odd to me, because I don’t think he’s particular good at it. He’s far better further forward.

Yep, that’s my thinking too. PIF isn’t the same as Abu Dhabi or Qatar’s govt funds. They’re city-states with tiny populations. KSA is a country - no matter how big the part, this isn’t the vanity project of the govt. I also don’t think that the ownership are necessarily unhappy about it. That tune may change if infrastructure starts coming into FFP equations

I’d happily bet that we won’t challenge it. That doesn’t mean that we can’t grow the club - but at present, I’m struggling to see how they achieve Staveley’s wilder claims.

Not saying we should be happy about it - just that FFP isn’t as unpopular as some are making out, and it isn’t about to start a Levellers moment in football

It protects other clubs from inflationary pressures re wages and transfer fees. FFP helps both the elite and those that aren’t. The clubs who want to join the elite - which could be counted on one hand with fingers to spare - are the only ones who are hamstrung. Not saying that’s fair like - but the vast, vast majority will be perfectly happy

I mean, that’s literally why they were singing it. I never heard similar being chanted at any other player. I’m aware that doesn’t exactly mean that chanting it was fine and dandy, it was hardly in good taste, but it definitely was because they looked similar:

Agreed - if by ambitious we mean challenging the big boys. Most clubs’ ambitions aren’t that lofty. How many clubs in Europe does it genuinely apply to? Two or three at most? There’s over a thousand pro clubs in Europe. Those who aren’t already part of the elite have no great claim in trying to join them. UEFA’s - and the PL‘s - rules are not being thrust upon unwilling victims. This is what they pretty much all want.

I was there in the 97/98 season and remember ‘town full of p***s’ from some of our lot. Fucking embarrassing

Honestly mate, I would try to put it to the back of your mind. There’s zero chance NUFC challenges this legally. The KSA govt challenging the FAs/UEFAs rules in court for the purposes of their own sportswashing isn’t likely to be a PR victory for them. Another club might well step up to the plate - I’m still not convinced it’s a ‘open and shut’ that the rules are overturned in court.

Which legal battle though? The club has shown zero inclination to get involved with it. It isn’t happening and isn’t going to happen. Another club might challenge the rules, they might be successful. That’s as far as it goes. UEFA seem to be ploughing ahead quite happily - and why not? 99% of its member clubs won’t be arsed in the slightest.

The racist element to our support still exists, and it is fucking embarrassing that it does The Mido stuff was a bit shite mind - it was clearly because he looked like Richard ‘the shoebomber’ Reid rather than the fact that Mido is a Muslim (which is what the Grauniad implied).

It has been commented on already, but this is the biggest load of shite going mind. 'If you can't do it, don't criticise'. Absolute nonsense - couldn't be applied to any area of life. Football is a catharsis for many, and a chance to get away from the daily stresses and grinds. It isn't close to being as important as many of the jobs where you would happily criticise others for bad work. You probably couldn't run the govt - but I bet you've criticised a PM before. You likely couldn't build your own house - but I bet you'd be unhappy if the house you'd just bought fell apart. You likely couldn't build your own car - but I bet you'd be critical if the car you just drove off the lot had its doors and wheels fall off.

The average age of the crowd is mid-40s. Any photo or film before the PL era would confirm that this is a change in age demographics. And in terms of ticket prices, they’re much, much higher vs income than they were pre-PL era too. Up until the early ‘90s, the unemployed and lowest paid could attend football matches. Zero chance of that now.

Living overseas, it makes my life more convenient too, but I’m not the one who should be prioritised - it’s those who actually go who should. Stupid KO times - along with a shite rail system - means that for many, those away games become a dystopian nightmare of a long bus ride home after the game, or an overnight stay in a hotel (and two days off work for midweek games). That and the TV companies moving KO times and dates at the drop of a hat means you can’t book trains cheaper several months before. There is no excuse for it - TV should always have been made to work around the game, not the other way round. It was always proof that football gives more of a shit about money than those who actually attend matches.

The prices went up by about 300% under John Hall in the mid-90s, as well as being all-ST, and the crowd changed completely. It’s remained changed, which you can tell by the average age of the people in the ground. Groups of young lads can hardly rock up with their pocket money together today - and neither can people on a low wage. It’s a completely different demographic.

He’s scored a quarter of his PL goals with his left. He’s such a clean striker of ball that I’m surprised he never takes FKs

Likewise. Christ, its been a long time since we played the smoggies

Cheers mate I am

I used to manage two jobs on Champ Man - club and international. And this Howe fella can’t manage just one? Pah! Doesn’t know he’s born

Tbf we’ve also done the ‘nonce’ chants at the smoggies

One of the moments in my life that was key to becoming a teetotaller - was at the work Xmas party, ended up towards the end of the night with a junior QS and the company CEO. The young QSs had an issue around pay - they didn’t think they were being paid what they should be (they weren’t). CEO politely pushes back, suggesting that they could have a chat when we were back in the office. A very drunken BB then proceeds to call the CEO and the board a ‘bunch of cunts, who make enough money already, just pay them what they’re worth you fucking greedy bastards’. Accompanied by finger-jabbing. Rest of the night is a blur, but that part is lucid An indication of how drunk I was - my ex was picking me up from the train station - an hour away. Got on the train after ringing her - and woke up to see literally dozens of missed calls and some angry texts. She could see on ‘find my iPhone’ that I’d rolled into the train station (the last stop on Sydney metros), then started pulling away again towards the city. Woke up about two hours after boarding the train - I’d fell asleep in a drunken stupor. tl;dr - don’t drink alcohol to excess kids, especially when 1) having conversations re industrial relations with people who can sack you or 2) when boarding a train