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

[gjohnson]

People sitting around waiting for an 'announcement' as if thats all that it needs. They clearly haven't met the criteria to pass the fit and proper persons test else we would have heard about that.

 

17 weeks and counting since they first agreed a deal to buy the club. The situation wont develop from here imo and it'll remain as a stalemate.

 

The situation will develop as pif wont wait around forever.

 

Also Ian Mearns MP made an interesting point last night, at what point does Ashley consider this a restraint of trade.

 

Though there own rules don’t appear to have a set timescale for a decision, however a court could rule that this delay is not reasonable and does constitute a restraint of trade.

 

Don’t think it will come to this though as I expect decision in next 2 weeks.

 

Mike Ashley thought lockdown was a restraint of trade

[Whitley mag]

People sitting around waiting for an 'announcement' as if thats all that it needs. They clearly haven't met the criteria to pass the fit and proper persons test else we would have heard about that.

 

17 weeks and counting since they first agreed a deal to buy the club. The situation wont develop from here imo and it'll remain as a stalemate.

 

The situation will develop as pif wont wait around forever.

 

Also Ian Mearns MP made an interesting point last night, at what point does Ashley consider this a restraint of trade.

 

Though there own rules don’t appear to have a set timescale for a decision, however a court could rule that this delay is not reasonable and does constitute a restraint of trade.

 

Don’t think it will come to this though as I expect decision in next 2 weeks.

 

Mike Ashley thought lockdown was a restraint of trade

 

Very true, however without having any sympathy for the cnut, you could argue he has a case this time.

 

 

[Groundhog63]

People sitting around waiting for an 'announcement' as if thats all that it needs. They clearly haven't met the criteria to pass the fit and proper persons test else we would have heard about that.

 

17 weeks and counting since they first agreed a deal to buy the club. The situation wont develop from here imo and it'll remain as a stalemate.

 

The situation will develop as pif wont wait around forever.

 

Also Ian Mearns MP made an interesting point last night, at what point does Ashley consider this a restraint of trade.

 

Though there own rules don’t appear to have a set timescale for a decision, however a court could rule that this delay is not reasonable and does constitute a restraint of trade.

 

Don’t think it will come to this though as I expect decision in next 2 weeks.

 

Mike Ashley thought lockdown was a restraint of trade

Like this much

[Dokko]

They really should have just done it my way and have the uk parties buy the club and sell the 80% stake at a later date to pif.

[Shadow Puppets]

They really should have just done it my way and have the uk parties buy the club and sell the 80% stake at a later date to pif.

 

How exactly would that have been any different? ?

[mouldy_uk]

Ah I forgot about this thread, I remember when I used to load it multiple times a day 

[Miggys First Goal]

I would completely be on Ashley’s side if he decided to sue the PL over the length of time this takeover decision is taking.

[TK-421]

They really should have just done it my way and have the uk parties buy the club and sell the 80% stake at a later date to pif.

 

How exactly would that have been any different? ?

 

I guess if Staveley and the Reubens could have bought it and done the takeover, then its just bringing PIF in later, and any piracy or others issues wouldn't have held up the actual takeover.

[Jackie Broon]

People sitting around waiting for an 'announcement' as if thats all that it needs. They clearly haven't met the criteria to pass the fit and proper persons test else we would have heard about that.

 

17 weeks and counting since they first agreed a deal to buy the club. The situation wont develop from here imo and it'll remain as a stalemate.

 

The situation will develop as pif wont wait around forever.

 

Also Ian Mearns MP made an interesting point last night, at what point does Ashley consider this a restraint of trade.

 

Though there own rules don’t appear to have a set timescale for a decision, however a court could rule that this delay is not reasonable and does constitute a restraint of trade.

 

Don’t think it will come to this though as I expect decision in next 2 weeks.

 

 

 

There is a set timescale, 5 working days, the rules are silent on what happens if that isn't met but there is a timescale in there.

[Kanj]

They really should have just done it my way and have the uk parties buy the club and sell the 80% stake at a later date to pif.

Yep. Allowing PIF to work with the gov to handle the piracy and tv rights issues without a takeover going about in the background.

[LoveItIfWeBeatU]

"NUFC's takeover" is the new "Schrödinger's Cat".

[Jackie Broon]

They really should have just done it my way and have the uk parties buy the club and sell the 80% stake at a later date to pif.

Yep. Allowing PIF to work with the gov to handle the piracy and tv rights issues without a takeover going about in the background.

 

There's no guarantee that the Saudis won't fail the O&D test (although it seems very unlikely) and that would involve them upping the amount they're putting in from £60m to £300m.

 

In the case of Staveley she probably doesn't have that kind of money and I don't think the Rubens are interested in being anything other than minority partners, they seem to have been involved only on that basis since the first attempt to by the club. That's not even considering the potential cost of investing in the club to turn back the rot of Ashley's neglect on top of the purchase price.

[madras]

People sitting around waiting for an 'announcement' as if thats all that it needs. They clearly haven't met the criteria to pass the fit and proper persons test else we would have heard about that.

 

 

 

More importantly, the length of time in discussion means that they obviously have not 'failed it' either !!

Either you pass a test or you don't!

 

For some odd reason we seem to be somewhere in between. That should be impossible.

 

Think doing a test at school, a test for your driving licence or any other test. Would you ever get the answer "You haven't passed, but you didn't fail"?

People sitting around waiting for an 'announcement' as if thats all that it needs. They clearly haven't met the criteria to pass the fit and proper persons test else we would have heard about that.

 

17 weeks and counting since they first agreed a deal to buy the club. The situation wont develop from here imo and it'll remain as a stalemate.

Im the same with the car, if its fails its MOT I scrap it and get a new one.

[Guest chopey]

Its getting fucking ridiculous now

[Waddles mullet]

Quick question for anyone on Twitter is that ToonMouthTyne that Burnsie kid??

 

Aye

[manorpark]

People sitting around waiting for an 'announcement' as if thats all that it needs. They clearly haven't met the criteria to pass the fit and proper persons test else we would have heard about that.

 

 

 

More importantly, the length of time in discussion means that they obviously have not 'failed it' either !!

Either you pass a test or you don't!

 

For some odd reason we seem to be somewhere in between. That should be impossible.

 

Think doing a test at school, a test for your driving licence or any other test. Would you ever get the answer "You haven't passed, but you didn't fail"?

People sitting around waiting for an 'announcement' as if thats all that it needs. They clearly haven't met the criteria to pass the fit and proper persons test else we would have heard about that.

 

17 weeks and counting since they first agreed a deal to buy the club. The situation wont develop from here imo and it'll remain as a stalemate.

Im the same with the car, if its fails its MOT I scrap it and get a new one.

 

 

The new owners will be trying to resolve the issues that the Premier League are asking them to resolve.

 

There could be no other logical reason for such a lengthy delay.

 

That is why I see the takeover as being so very definitely successful . . . in due course !!

[madras]

People sitting around waiting for an 'announcement' as if thats all that it needs. They clearly haven't met the criteria to pass the fit and proper persons test else we would have heard about that.

 

 

 

More importantly, the length of time in discussion means that they obviously have not 'failed it' either !!

Either you pass a test or you don't!

 

For some odd reason we seem to be somewhere in between. That should be impossible.

 

Think doing a test at school, a test for your driving licence or any other test. Would you ever get the answer "You haven't passed, but you didn't fail"?

People sitting around waiting for an 'announcement' as if thats all that it needs. They clearly haven't met the criteria to pass the fit and proper persons test else we would have heard about that.

 

17 weeks and counting since they first agreed a deal to buy the club. The situation wont develop from here imo and it'll remain as a stalemate.

Im the same with the car, if its fails its MOT I scrap it and get a new one.

 

 

The new owners will be trying to resolve the issues that the Premier League are asking them to resolve.

 

There could be no other logical reason for such a lengthy delay.

 

That is why I see the takeover as being so very definitely successful . . . in due course !!

Thats where I am. Until its off, its on.

[Whitley mag]

I certainly don’t think the Saudis decision to ban bein looks as bad now as when first announced. After the initial reaction by journalists, it seems to have gone very quiet, and the PL haven’t released a statement as some journos suggested.

 

Ian Mearns made an interesting comparison last night, if a foreign broadcaster say China wanted to broadcast in the U.K, we would have every right to deny them.

 

The PL choose to lump their package together for the MENA area, therefore they can’t just expect every country within that region to accept this broadcaster.

 

Taking into account the geopolitical situation the Saudis have every right to deny who they want, Bein could be broadcasting propaganda messages during the adverts (probably very likely from what we’ve seen so far).

 

I actually think this weeks announcement can have no bearing on test, so in conclusion I think piracy measures have been taken and in next 2 weeks we’ll be the richest club on the fucking planet.

 

 

 

 

[BlueStar]

Its getting fucking ridiculous now

 

"Getting"

[Toon No9]

People sitting around waiting for an 'announcement' as if thats all that it needs. They clearly haven't met the criteria to pass the fit and proper persons test else we would have heard about that.

 

17 weeks and counting since they first agreed a deal to buy the club. The situation wont develop from here imo and it'll remain as a stalemate.

 

The situation will develop as pif wont wait around forever.

 

Also Ian Mearns MP made an interesting point last night, at what point does Ashley consider this a restraint of trade.

 

Though there own rules don’t appear to have a set timescale for a decision, however a court could rule that this delay is not reasonable and does constitute a restraint of trade.

 

Don’t think it will come to this though as I expect decision in next 2 weeks.

 

 

WHAT!!!

Are we done with "next week" now?

Is it "next two weeks" doing the rounds now?

[The Prophet]

Given the amount of back and forth between the parties, it's obviously not as simple as it simply passing or failing fough.

 

I personally think if they were going to fail it they would have done so by now. Who knows? Maybe they have.

[RS]

“Soon”

[mrmojorisin75]

Once the season is finished now imo. Then the PL can hide from the fallout for a couple of months.

[ExiledGeordie]

Given the amount of back and forth between the parties, it's obviously not as simple as it simply passing or failing fough.

 

I personally think if they were going to fail it they would have done so by now. Who knows? Maybe they have.

 

I agree. As a few others have said on here it’s probably along the lines of “the takeover will get the go ahead if X,Y,Z is done first” relating to all the piracy stuff. There’s probably all sorts of contractual wrangling and lawyers involved. Utterly tedious the whole thing though.

[huss9]

Extracts from ‘The Magpie Prince: Why Does MbS Want to Buy Newcastle United?’ by Tom Pollitt, published on Inside Arabia;

 

Given driving-bans for entirely different reasons:

 

‘Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MbS) is the de facto ruler of a desert Kingdom where drinking alcohol is officially illegal and, until recently, half of the population were prohibited from driving simply for being women. It may seem surprising therefore that he has taken interest in the rainy British city of Newcastle, a place where it is unofficially illegal not to drink alcohol and where the locals (known as Geordies) are given driving-bans for entirely different reasons.’

 

Penchant for violence:

 

‘In fact, aside from a shared, well-documented penchant for violence, MbS has little in common with Newcastle folk. So, what could he possibly want with them?’

 

Cannot understand a word the locals are saying;

‘For a man notorious for his opposition to freedom of speech, it will be refreshing for him to get involved with a city where outsiders cannot understand a word the locals are saying.’

 

Often becoming violent in order to protect their treasure:

 

‘It is fitting that MbS wants to buy the Magpies, as the magpie is the animal whose lifestyle most resembles his own. The crafty black-and-white birds are known for collecting and hoarding shiny objects, often becoming violent in order to protect their treasure.’

 

Rendered the country scarcely better to live in than Newcastle:

 

‘Saudi Arabia is a country much maligned for its militarism, religious fundamentalism, and human rights abuses. To list just a few of the myriad atrocities, the kingdom routinely executes more people than any other country and is carrying out a harrowing air-war in Yemen that has driven hundreds of thousands into famine and rendered the country scarcely better to live in than Newcastle.’

 

Naturally, Newcastle fans have never heard of him:

 

‘Then there is the widely reported murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul in December 2018, an act for which MbS is widely held responsible. MbS’ brutal crackdown on domestic dissent has also been widely publicized, as have his (largely exaggerated) steps towards so-called “modernization.” Suffice it to say, the prince is a major player on the world stage and you would have to be living in a remote, tribal community not to be familiar with him. Naturally, Newcastle fans have never heard of him.’

 

The internet is full of bewildered members of Newcastle’s “toon army” of fans:

 

‘While MbS is a big fan of flogging, the modern football supporter is more into blogging and vlogging. The internet is full of bewildered members of Newcastle’s “toon army” of fans, barely containing their excitement, desperately trying to figure out who this bloke is and whether he really has £280 billion. Who said football can’t be educational?’

 

Like a Newcastle fan on a night out. “[MbS is] volatile and arrogant:

 

‘The way the CIA describes MbS makes him sound like a Newcastle fan on a night out. “[MbS is] volatile and arrogant,” an anonymous intelligence official told the Washington Post. “Someone who goes from zero to 60 [and] doesn’t seem to understand that there are some things you can’t do.” So, maybe the fans will like the prince when they get to know him.’

 

As yet unidentified language spoken by the people of Newcastle:

 

‘For one thing, he [MbS] would need an interpreter to translate his no-doubt inspiring motivational speeches from Arabic into English and a second interpreter to translate them from English into the as yet unidentified language spoken by the people of Newcastle. In reality, he may not need to do very much.’

 

Many of them would be willing to accept a bid from Lucifer:

 

‘Besides, in defense of Newcastle fans’ willingness to overlook MbS’ crimes, many of them would be willing to accept a bid from Lucifer himself if it meant finally seeing the back of Ashley.’