TheBrownBottle

Well there’s my new screensaver sorted. It’s a touching tribute, and who ever got into trouble for touching?

Yes, I’d certainly have more sympathy there it has to be said

Loyalty, though, is meaningless in the context of ‘supporting’ the club. It’s not as if I’m going to change who I support - I’m from Newcastle. Other options are not available. Those who, unlike me, didn’t stop going in the Ashley years and have the ST & points should absolutely be front of the queue - and if there’s no tickets left when they’ve had their chance, that’s absolutely fair too. Sitting on my arse watching every game on telly isn’t the same commitment to the club and its coffers as going home and away each week - and the tyranny of distance now that I don’t live in the UK isn’t a just reason to feel hard done by, either. Cup finals should be the reward for those lads and lasses who go week-in week-out, not a jolly day out for those who weren’t there the rest of the time - which includes me.

True (or at least in was) in Greece. This is why you see many business with rebar sticking out of the tops of the walls. They’re not bad builders - just bad at social contracts.

A sensible, measured response - and the only one likely to achieve results. ?

If that one is true then they’re completely fucked under FFP rules and PL regs, though I suspect that HMRC are the ones they should fear in terms of the off-the-books payments made to individuals

There’s nothing in the PL rules about being state-owned. The issue wasn’t state-ownership; it was the state doing the owning. They tried to ensure that it was the case NUFC would be state-owned so that they could block the takeover due to the crimes of the KSA in terms of piracy. The PL rules state that you can fail the O&D test if it can be reasonable shown that you would have been convicted of a crime elsewhere i.e. in a UK court. The idea is to stop people of dubious character but without conviction becoming directors (MBS is of dubious character but it hardly likely to be convicted)

That’s right Rix might give Adam Johnson hope for life after the nonce wing. How the fuck the man continued to find work around young people is baffling

I remember you falling away in 97/98 - it was a really good side Jefferies assembled. I can remember watching you lose 3-0 to Rangers with three or four games to go which ended your push - I did want you to win (like most neutrals). Didn’t you win the Scottish Cup that season too?

From memory, didn’t Peter Marr get close to doing this? I think it’s mooted a few times in the past.

Yep. It’s always worth remembering that the PL breakaway in 1992 was about the elite greedily hoarding wealth away from the rest of the footballing pyramid. It had sod all to do with the quality of the ‘product’, nor the FA’s shameful reason behind backing it - the betterment of the England team (which incidentally was explained as the reason to reduce the number of games to be in line with Serie A of the time - an 18-team league. Funnily enough, that principle was also quickly forgotten …)

I think those who doubted also have their answer re the club’s seriousness re PL regs and FFP. Staveley being pally with Masters these days is another clue. I suspect the PL got assurances re NUFC’s model - off the record, of course. The club will be grown in a measured, sustainable fashion. This does not mean that the club won’t reach where PIF wants it - but it will take years of gradually increasing commercial deals (with reasonable separateness from PIF) to get to where they want to go. A true 5-10 year plan. So for those worried about NUFC re this, don’t be.

The PL is a joke mind. They played games with our takeover then dropped everything literally the day after KSA paid off Bein. Then within a week of the govt’s outlining of new governance for football, they shit their pants and get tough on Man City. It’s a complete disgrace, and there should be an independent body running the game. Charges going back to 2009 for City - as if the PL were blind to this. For what’s its worth, I’d be amazed if titles are stripped - but I’d also be surprised if there aren’t serious consequences. Significant points deductions, fines and UEFA bans (European qualification is still in the gift of the FA, not UEFA).

Yep, add me to that list - sums up what I’d want and also the truth of the past 18 months. Ashley’s incompetence fucked the club, and we haven’t been bankrolled - PIF have put about £30m in so far, which wouldn’t be outlandish for any new owner. Sensible ownership without the stain and hassle of a dictatorship’s wealth fund would be ideal

He’s from Blyth, though - haven’t they heard? I think you’re right, BTW. Though I suspect Trippier vs Rashford is the one which could really count. I wonder how far up Trippier will risk going? We’ll do a high press no matter what, but I’m curious to see if Trippier will be a little deeper than normal.

And played for four seasons before Sky invented football, so somehow his actual goal tally is curtailed. Shearer is, in reality, the fifth highest scorer in top flight history. Kane will be around 30th at the moment. Edit: this also makes Shearer the highest scoring player of the last 50 years, and by a comfortable margin

The side are well balanced at the moment; Burn moves inside when we’ve our first XI in the side allowing Trippier to push forward, changing to a back three with Bruno sat ahead. We attack and defend on the flanks in threes - Bruno to the right, Willock / Joelinton to the left supporting the winger and FB. Squad depth, not formation, is the problem for me

I think I’ll stick with Howe’s tactics tbh. They seem to work reasonably well, and generally the football hasn’t been bad either. Bruno works really well where he is - I’m sure more quality will be added in the summer so we can start putting the chances away.

I got through about a minute or so and had to close the video. It felt like one of those really cheap mid-00s satellite channels where after 2am they start doing horoscopes, only with an added ransom demand video vibe.

He’s clearly a much better player than I’d grown to believe him to be - and that scoring run was unmaintainable. It is definitely clear that the mid-season break has given opposing teams and coaches time to work on effective methods of shutting down the Trippier - Bruno - Almiron attacking one-twos. Certainly the ‘one-two-flick over the top to Miggy’s run’ isn’t being bought quite as readily. I do think Almiron’s general regression to the mean is being in part driven by Trippier’s downturn in form - it isn’t all down to Miggy. Trippier’s all-round game doesn’t look anything like as good as it did pre-WC to me. I’d be surprised if he’s here in a couple of years time - but I can say that about a few members of the team / squad who I think have nothing but credit in the bank over the past year or so. The club will, ultimately, move past them. I also think there is a good chance that the club might just take the opportunity to cash in this summer - not just because of his contract, but because his stock is unlikely to be higher. But I’m content that if they do, it will be because it is for the betterment of NUFC - and I’d be more than happy to see the lad stay for the medium term.

Howe and his team has coached some of these players well past where their normal peak would be, and we’re forgetting that quite a few still won’t be making the journey mid-term. The likes of Almiron have regressed closed to the norm as teams have learned how to track him - his peak form was 100% down to Howe recognising how best to utilise him. I wouldn’t be surprised to see the likes of Miggy moved on in the next 12 months or so - and for far more money than they’d have commanded 12 months earlier. It’s astonishing what Howe has managed to do with what still feels like a mid-table side. The likes of Bruno, Isak, Botman, Trippier, Pope are genuinely first-rank footballers who would not look out of place in most top-six sides - the others have been coached and drilled superbly. Soon enough having players like that in all 25 available slots will be the norm - but that’s a couple of years away. Patience, all - it will come

Will do ?

Owners putting money doesn’t count towards FFP - I didn’t forget; it doesn’t count. That’s how teams with super rich owners can’t simply buy their way out of FFP. £13.7m is worse than £10m, of course. I’d read projections of a £50m loss - if that’s not the case, fair dos. But any loss would then mean that losses in 2022-23 (this year) would be strictly limited. And 2023-24 would be hampered by losses in 2021-22 and 2022-23. They have to play it smart otherwise you can get snookered by it. Yes, transfers are amortised, but wages aren’t - and we’ve got a massive wage bill relative to income. Commercial deals in the next couple of years will mean these issues will dry up.

That’s going back to 2020-21 which will drop off eventually - and that was a £10m loss adjusted for COVID. 2021–22 wasn’t impacted by COVID and we racked up a £50m loss. The COVID year will move off the books soon.

It’s year-by-year on a three-year rolling average. They are hamstrung this season - getting better sponsorship deals in the summer doesn’t fix 2022-23’s accounts, and we ran up losses last season.