Various: N-O has lost the plot over potential end of Mike Ashley's tenure

[Guest neesy111]

Why did they not reject Man City take over bid then?  Man City were dog shit before that and had less of a global reach than us.

Their former owner was pressured by the Premier League to sell after an arrest warrant for him was issued and his assets frozen, meaning he had no money to run the club.

 

As the Premier League had urged him to sell, and he had no money to keep the club going, they weren’t in a position to reject it.

 

PL/FA rules at that time also forbidded an owner with a criminal record from owning a club.

[gjohnson]

Why did they not reject Man City take over bid then?  Man City were dog shit before that and had less of a global reach than us.

Their former owner was pressured by the Premier League to sell after an arrest warrant for him was issued and his assets frozen, meaning he had no money to run the club.

 

As the Premier League had urged him to sell, and he had no money to keep the club going, they weren’t in a position to reject it.

 

PL/FA rules at that time also forbidded an owner with a criminal record from owning a club.

 

There was also no Global pandemic, no accusations of piracy, and no objections from Amnesty or fiance's of murdered journalists.

[prefabtoon]

Richard Masters. Quote I Don't Think Timing Is An Issue Here. The premier League will not be rushed into making a decision about the takeover. Just ties in nicely with TheMag  Are Premier League Still Playing for time, On Newcastle takeover. They maybe haven't found any red flags. But they are desperate to do so. They are Still hoping one of the Buyer or Seller pulls out. Or the WTO report finds some damming evidence. When it publishes it's report on the 15th June. The takeover has just been a total witch hunt. by the media, the government, and Quatar who have an awfull lot to loose if this gets passed.

[LFEE]

Richard Masters. Quote I Don't Think Timing Is An Issue Here. The premier League will not be rushed into making a decision about the takeover. Just ties in nicely with TheMag  Are Premier League Still Playing for time, On Newcastle takeover. They maybe haven't found any red flags. But they are desperate to do so. They are Still hoping one of the Buyer or Seller pulls out. Or the WTO report finds some damming evidence. When it publishes it's report on the 15th June. The takeover has just been a total witch hunt. by the media, the government, and Quatar who have an awfull lot to loose if this gets passed.

 

Hopefully more stuff like this Nationally will help push things along...

 

[NE27]

Richard Masters. Quote I Don't Think Timing Is An Issue Here. The premier League will not be rushed into making a decision about the takeover. Just ties in nicely with TheMag  Are Premier League Still Playing for time, On Newcastle takeover. They maybe haven't found any red flags. But they are desperate to do so. They are Still hoping one of the Buyer or Seller pulls out. Or the WTO report finds some damming evidence. When it publishes it's report on the 15th June. The takeover has just been a total witch hunt. by the media, the government, and Quatar who have an awfull lot to loose if this gets passed.

 

Other than media shitstorm I honestly don't see why they wouldn't want this to go through?

 

I'm sure the fear of losing out on potential serious investment in their league isn't lost on them.

 

And don't they already have findings of WTO report, or am I making that up?

[r0cafella]

Richard Masters. Quote I Don't Think Timing Is An Issue Here. The premier League will not be rushed into making a decision about the takeover. Just ties in nicely with TheMag  Are Premier League Still Playing for time, On Newcastle takeover. They maybe haven't found any red flags. But they are desperate to do so. They are Still hoping one of the Buyer or Seller pulls out. Or the WTO report finds some damming evidence. When it publishes it's report on the 15th June. The takeover has just been a total witch hunt. by the media, the government, and Quatar who have an awfull lot to loose if this gets passed.

 

Other than media shitstorm I honestly don't see why they wouldn't want this to go through?

 

I'm sure the fear of losing out on potential serious investment in their league isn't lost on them.

 

And don't they already have findings of WTO report, or am I making that up?

 

According to media reports they do yes.

[AyeDubbleYoo]

Richard Masters. Quote I Don't Think Timing Is An Issue Here. The premier League will not be rushed into making a decision about the takeover. Just ties in nicely with TheMag  Are Premier League Still Playing for time, On Newcastle takeover. They maybe haven't found any red flags. But they are desperate to do so. They are Still hoping one of the Buyer or Seller pulls out. Or the WTO report finds some damming evidence. When it publishes it's report on the 15th June. The takeover has just been a total witch hunt. by the media, the government, and Quatar who have an awfull lot to loose if this gets passed.

 

Hopefully more stuff like this Nationally will help push things along...

 

 

I think it's more because Mike Ashley is still our owner than we're stuck between owners. If the takeover didn't exist, I have no doubt he'd be doing the same thing.

[ED209]

Did anyone ever say why the stewards were called in on Monday?

[The Prophet]

Ah the conspiracy theorists are back, wonderful. The PL will want this to go through, their brand stands to lose too much investment if it doesn't.

[Happinesstan]

Ah the conspiracy theorists are back, wonderful. The PL will want this to go through, their brand stands to lose too much investment if it doesn't.

 

That's pretty much a conspiracy theory.

[Dr Jinx]

It’s not comparable. Outrage culture hadn’t really kicked off at that stage. Nobody really used Twitter.

 

Certainly entities using the internet to manipulate a narrative wasn’t as sophisticated as it is now.

 

This is all new as far as a club takeover goes. It also doesn’t get much bigger which is why everyone seems to have an opinion on it and why there are so many obstacles to overcome.

 

At the end of the day, the people with objections are not wrong morally. Their motives are a different story however. All we can do is hope that the PL can differentiate and decide they won’t be used as a puppet in a geopolitical situation.

[Guest reefatoon]

Richard Masters. Quote I Don't Think Timing Is An Issue Here. The premier League will not be rushed into making a decision about the takeover. Just ties in nicely with TheMag  Are Premier League Still Playing for time, On Newcastle takeover. They maybe haven't found any red flags. But they are desperate to do so. They are Still hoping one of the Buyer or Seller pulls out. Or the WTO report finds some damming evidence. When it publishes it's report on the 15th June. The takeover has just been a total witch hunt. by the media, the government, and Quatar who have an awfull lot to loose if this gets passed.

 

Hopefully more stuff like this Nationally will help push things along...

 

 

I think it's more because Mike Ashley is still our owner than we're stuck between owners. If the takeover didn't exist, I have no doubt he'd be doing the same thing.

 

Exactly right. It's Mike Ashley being Mike ashley.

[Scotty66]

How can the WTO report hold any weight anyway?

 

It's not a court of law ruling and isn't it said to be heavily influenced by Qatar?

 

Maybe the PL have asked MBS for proof against the evidence but then how is that fair as you can't keep asking for documents or proof everytime something goes against them. And just because they can't hand in the sufficient proof to aid the innocence, still doesn't mean they are guilty and should be refused.

[Chris_R]

Ashley will just be hoping he can take the money and the new owners will have to do the refunds.

[James]

Ashley will just be hoping he can take the money and the new owners will have to do the refunds.

 

No these assets will have to remain in club accounts

[Matt]

Ashley will just be hoping he can take the money and the new owners will have to do the refunds.

 

That would almost certainly not be allowed by the sale agreement and if it were, the agreement would command a corresponding adjustment to the final consideration paid.

[Shearergol]

Did anyone ever say why the stewards were called in on Monday?

 

I don't think they were.

[Minhosa]

Seeing a lot of talk about the PL only being interested in money etc etc which might be the case but I think in this specific situation it's actually 'legality' that is their top concern/issue.

 

Put yourself in their shoes here for a minute;

 

1) Decide to reject the takeover based on piracy concerns then almost certainly prepare for a well funded legal challenge from people (in Staveley) who are not afraid of fighting people in the most powerful courts in the land (Barclays), the second richest UK family (who happen to fund the current party in power) and one of the richest men in the world who you've just embarrassed in possibly the most high profile manner. You don't say no to people like him. I'd imagine this Qatar interference has only strengthened his resolve tbh.

 

2) Decide to accept the takeover then you have to be absolutely watertight on your decision making processes based on the law/PL rules as they stand because you're very likely to become embroiled in legal challenge from Qatar/Bein in respect of them dropping £500m for TV rights that, in their view, have had their value reduced due to piracy and the PL's lack of integrity by becoming an enabler for the Saudi regime to get much much closer to the action.

 

Now, either way, they're in for a tough time no matter which way they decide to go.

 

They have to therefore put this in the hands of the Lawyers and say 'give us a steer here' and then somebody at the PL will need to play God and make the call, probably based on the least damaging interpretation of the legalities against their current rules.

 

We have to hope this call falls in our favour.

[gjohnson]

It’s a good thing for the PL to have another successful team, that argument makes no sense. More fans more money, more reach. More PR

 

Yes that is true, but it doesn't happen immediately. It takes a few years of success for any particular team to generate money for the PL.

 

Leicesters year was the most entertaining in bloody ages, but almost certain the PL income was down that year, as they didn't have the reach of the traditional 'big' teams

[Shadow Puppets]

Seeing a lot of talk about the PL only being interested in money etc etc which might be the case but I think in this specific situation it's actually 'legality' that is their top concern/issue.

 

Put yourself in their shoes here for a minute;

 

1) Decide to reject the takeover based on piracy concerns then almost certainly prepare for a well funded legal challenge from people (in Staveley) who are not afraid of fighting people in the most powerful courts in the land (Barclays), the second richest UK family (who happen to fund the current party in power) and one of the richest men in the world who you've just embarrassed in possibly the most high profile manner. You don't say no to people like him. I'd imagine this Qatar interference has only strengthened his resolve tbh.

 

2) Decide to accept the takeover then you have to be absolutely watertight on your decision making processes based on the law/PL rules as they stand because you're very likely to become embroiled in legal challenge from Qatar/Bein in respect of them dropping £500m for TV rights that, in their view, have had their value reduced due to piracy and the PL's lack of integrity by becoming an enabler for the Saudi regime to get much much closer to the action.

 

Now, either way, they're in for a tough time no matter which way they decide to go.

 

They have to therefore put this in the hands of the Lawyers and say 'give us a steer here' and then somebody at the PL will need to play God and make the call, probably based on the least damaging interpretation of the legalities against their current rules.

 

We have to hope this call falls in our favour.

 

Well put. This has nothing to do with us being NUFC...this is an incredibly difficult thing for the PL to manage their way through. It’s nonsensical for our fans to expect this to be rushed through simply because the fuckwit of an owner we currently have isn’t refunding money. It has huge implications for the PL whichever way they do with it.

[jdckelly]

It’s a good thing for the PL to have another successful team, that argument makes no sense. More fans more money, more reach. More PR

 

Yes that is true, but it doesn't happen immediately. It takes a few years of success for any particular team to generate money for the PL.

 

Leicesters year was the most entertaining in bloody ages, but almost certain the PL income was down that year, as they didn't have the reach of the traditional 'big' teams

I'd love to see some sort of study on tv viewing figures for all games, social media engagement etc etc comparing the figures between seasons where theres a tight title race with Leicester (or hell Chelsea or City) winning and Man Utd or Liverpool running away with it (obviously can't really use this season due to the disruption).

My guess is there would be higher viewing figures and general engagement when Man Utd or Liverpool are winning it compared to Leicesters title win.

[gjohnson]

It’s a good thing for the PL to have another successful team, that argument makes no sense. More fans more money, more reach. More PR

 

Yes that is true, but it doesn't happen immediately. It takes a few years of success for any particular team to generate money for the PL.

 

Leicesters year was the most entertaining in bloody ages, but almost certain the PL income was down that year, as they didn't have the reach of the traditional 'big' teams

I'd love to see some sort of study on tv viewing figures for all games, social media engagement etc etc comparing the figures between seasons where theres a tight title race with Leicester (or hell Chelsea or City) winning and Man Utd or Liverpool running away with it (obviously can't really use this season due to the disruption).

My guess is there would be higher viewing figures and general engagement when Man Utd or Liverpool are winning it compared to Leicesters title win.

 

Exactly what I mean. If Leicester had challenged for several years, or been consistently in Europe, they'd attract more fans and push the viewing figures back up. At present it is the usual suspects that generate the majority of PL income and takes a while to change. eg Spurs are appealing to watch now, but when they were the mid-table team they didn't get half as much interest. It's taken them what 10? 15? years to become established Euro challengers.

[Guest godzilla]

Don't think I've seen or heard anyone stating that it will be turned down. A few saying why it should be, but none stating that they actually think it will be. Think it's pretty safe to say though that nothing has been 'signed off', and the longer it goes on suggests that there are issues still to resolved, otherwise it would have been sorted already.

 

Are all parties working through the issues amicably to resolve the piracy issue? Maybe, but the (alleged) sound bites of frustration coming from the Saudi sources are going against this.

 

Are the PL awaiting the publication of the final WTO report to use this report to justify knocking back the takeover? Maybe, but they have had the draft report (allegedly) for over 3 weeks, so why wait a further 5-6 weeks until the report is officially published to knock it back.

 

There have been positives and negatives coming out from day 1 and nobody is still in the know as to what is really happening. Nobody can be really confident that the takeover is going to happen and yet also nobody can be really confident that it isn't going to happen. Only their own opinion can be the basis to make a judgement currently.

 

The Premier League have not handled this very well, Masters should have came out and stated a firm no comment instead of his bungled waffle, which left more questions than answers. For a major organisation, it has not been handled very well.

 

Just going to have to let it play out people, as nobody really knows what the f*** is going on. What will be will be, but again it's the fans and the club being left in limbo.

[Unbelievable]

Seeing a lot of talk about the PL only being interested in money etc etc which might be the case but I think in this specific situation it's actually 'legality' that is their top concern/issue.

 

Put yourself in their shoes here for a minute;

 

1) Decide to reject the takeover based on piracy concerns then almost certainly prepare for a well funded legal challenge from people (in Staveley) who are not afraid of fighting people in the most powerful courts in the land (Barclays), the second richest UK family (who happen to fund the current party in power) and one of the richest men in the world who you've just embarrassed in possibly the most high profile manner. You don't say no to people like him. I'd imagine this Qatar interference has only strengthened his resolve tbh.

 

2) Decide to accept the takeover then you have to be absolutely watertight on your decision making processes based on the law/PL rules as they stand because you're very likely to become embroiled in legal challenge from Qatar/Bein in respect of them dropping £500m for TV rights that, in their view, have had their value reduced due to piracy and the PL's lack of integrity by becoming an enabler for the Saudi regime to get much much closer to the action.

 

Now, either way, they're in for a tough time no matter which way they decide to go.

 

They have to therefore put this in the hands of the Lawyers and say 'give us a steer here' and then somebody at the PL will need to play God and make the call, probably based on the least damaging interpretation of the legalities against their current rules.

 

We have to hope this call falls in our favour.

 

On a legal level waving through the takeover has nothing to do with Qatar/Bein does it? They own the broadcasting rights for a specified period of time for a specified region. Surely they don't have a say in which teams are in the league and who their owners are? On an informal level I understand they can exert huge (commercial) pressure on the PL, but I don't see how they could legally challenge beyond that option being open to any other outsider to the specific deal in question.

[Minhosa]

Seeing a lot of talk about the PL only being interested in money etc etc which might be the case but I think in this specific situation it's actually 'legality' that is their top concern/issue.

 

Put yourself in their shoes here for a minute;

 

1) Decide to reject the takeover based on piracy concerns then almost certainly prepare for a well funded legal challenge from people (in Staveley) who are not afraid of fighting people in the most powerful courts in the land (Barclays), the second richest UK family (who happen to fund the current party in power) and one of the richest men in the world who you've just embarrassed in possibly the most high profile manner. You don't say no to people like him. I'd imagine this Qatar interference has only strengthened his resolve tbh.

 

2) Decide to accept the takeover then you have to be absolutely watertight on your decision making processes based on the law/PL rules as they stand because you're very likely to become embroiled in legal challenge from Qatar/Bein in respect of them dropping £500m for TV rights that, in their view, have had their value reduced due to piracy and the PL's lack of integrity by becoming an enabler for the Saudi regime to get much much closer to the action.

 

Now, either way, they're in for a tough time no matter which way they decide to go.

 

They have to therefore put this in the hands of the Lawyers and say 'give us a steer here' and then somebody at the PL will need to play God and make the call, probably based on the least damaging interpretation of the legalities against their current rules.

 

We have to hope this call falls in our favour.

 

Well put. This has nothing to do with us being NUFC...this is an incredibly difficult thing for the PL to manage their way through. It’s nonsensical for our fans to expect this to be rushed through simply because the fuckwit of an owner we currently have isn’t refunding money. It has huge implications for the PL whichever way they do with it.

 

Cheers - I wanted to get my thoughts down as I don't think there's been much coverage at all about the consequences for the PL of saying yes.

 

Like I don't think this is purely a question of  'do we have a legal basis to say no?', I think it's possibly just as strongly 'what does the relationship with one of our largest TV rights holders look like should we say yes?'.

 

You'd have to presume that would be strained at least.

 

I've seen lots of comments, probably made them myself tbf, of 'just do a deal with KSA for the TV rights, at a minimum of the same level' which guarantees a financial pipeline long into the future but, if there was any danger of that being discussed as an option leaking, then the whole thing is nuclear with BEIN.

 

Therefore, all in all, a bit of an unwelcome clusterfuck for the PL who could probably have done without this Saudi involvement happening now given everything else going on with Covid/Restart etc etc.

 

You'd have to assume that they'd realised the potential for KSA to buy in at some point (be that with Man Utd, us or someone completely different) but I don't think the timing suits the PL at all.

 

Also a total hospital pass for Masters.

 

Welcome to the PL...............here's a hand grenade for you.

 

Hence why I think it has to come down to legal interpretation only and, in taking that interpretation, making decisions based on risk (legal, financial, reputational aspects all taken into account).

 

Messy as fuck for them in fairness to the slow cunts.