PIF and RB Sports & Media

[Hovagod]

14 minutes ago, mighty__mag said:

Find it slightly weird, UAE have never played at the Etihad, Qatar played at Paris?

 

 

They go on about not being owned by the state, but want their National side here.

 

If it became a regular thing I'd wonder why, if its just a one off then I'd try not to overthink it too much.

 

They don’t actually ‘go on’ about not being a state. In the documentary they dismiss it as ‘rubbish’. I wouldn’t mind a bit of going on if it meant they could explain decisions like this one in more detail

[TheHoob]

The PL statement when the takeover happened didn't say they weren't owned by the state, it was that the club wouldn't be controlled by the state. 

 

 

Edited August 16, 2023 by TheHoob

[HaydnNUFC]

Reckon yi fatha is going to go to one of those and celebrate Saudi goals like Newcastle goals because of the 'fewm' it will cause when in actuality it's just going to make him look like a relentless doylem.

[Miggys First Goal]

£5 a ticket? If SJP isn’t crawling with Just Stop Oil protestors I’d be very surprised. 

[mighty__mag]

3 minutes ago, Hovagod said:

They don’t actually ‘go on’ about not being a state. In the documentary they dismiss it as ‘rubbish’. I wouldn’t mind a bit of going on if it meant they could explain decisions like this one in more detail

 

The general perception is we are state owned, oil club etc. (Media, other clubs fans etc)

 

Played down by Saudi Arabia don't own Nufc, the PIF own us, and also the British media don't understand what PIF is.

 

But now Saudi Arabia will play at SJP.

 

Like I've said, if it became a regular thing I'd start to overthink it, right now I see it as a nice advert for all things Saudi, let's face it they're already the talking point of football regardless if the National side have a friendly at SJP.

 

 

[jack j]

38 minutes ago, Miggys First Goal said:

Going to be class when MBS rolls into town for this. 

More chance of seeing MBS than the SMB for a game up here

[Guest]

Seems absolutely nonsensical to me - not only does it (understandably) invite more allegations but also the stadium will be empty. You only need to remember how poorly attended the Euro games were at SJP and that was a competitive international tournament. I can’t see this benefiting anybody at all, terrible decision.

[jack j]

1 minute ago, Toontimes said:

Seems absolutely nonsensical to me - not only does it (understandably) invite more allegations but also the stadium will be empty. You only need to remember how poorly attended the Euro games were at SJP and that was a competitive international tournament. I can’t see this benefiting anybody at all, terrible decision.

Euros? That was nearly 30 years ago ffs

[Guest]

So what? I don’t believe there will be any more enthusiasm to watch a couple of pretty crappy foreign sides than there was then. People were pretty enthused about Newcastle then too but the passion fans have for NUFC doesn’t pass on to watching any teams (unless they are locally based).

[dcmk]

I'll imagine the money being given to us for hosting this helps to explain the why behind this idea.

[nufcnick]

23 minutes ago, TheHoob said:

The PL statement when the takeover happened didn't say they weren't owned by the state, it was that the club wouldn't be controlled by the state. 

 

 

 

Exactly this, I don’t understand why people can’t get that through their heads 

[Guest]

1 minute ago, dcmk said:

I'll imagine the money being given to us for hosting this helps to explain the why behind this idea.

I’m sure you are right from our perspective but will it be worth all the negative feedback we will get. And if they pay us loads questions will inevitably be asked about that too.

[midds]

Seemed like an inevitable move eventually. Let's face it, we're owned by a horrible regime and we're going to get a load of stick in the media for the foreseeable. It's the trade off that's been discussed on here many times, if we're happy to accept the benefits of the Saudis pumping millions into the club then we've got to take it on the chin when the (largely justified) criticism comes our way. Don't see how you can have it both ways 

[Dr.Spaceman]

People are looking for reasons to kick off about our ownership as if they've just learned about it, for whatever reason. This sort of thing was always going to happen and I think some people need to stop following the club for the sake of their own blood pressure.

[Guest]

15 minutes ago, midds said:

Seemed like an inevitable move eventually. Let's face it, we're owned by a horrible regime and we're going to get a load of stick in the media for the foreseeable. It's the trade off that's been discussed on here many times, if we're happy to accept the benefits of the Saudis pumping millions into the club then we've got to take it on the chin when the (largely justified) criticism comes our way. Don't see how you can have it both ways 

I agree totally but I just cannot see what PIF hope to achieve with it either. Perhaps it will draw a big crowd and prove to be a real spectacle for them, but I cannot see it myself.

[Guest]

7 minutes ago, Dr.Spaceman said:

People are looking for reasons to kick off about our ownership as if they've just learned about it, for whatever reason. This sort of thing was always going to happen and I think some people need to stop following the club for the sake of their own blood pressure.

My blood pressure is fine (!) but the issue is not what our supporters think about it. It is about the negative publicity it attracts for the club.

[jack j]

 

Ffp fiddling and not sportswashing

Makes a change

 

 

Edited August 16, 2023 by jack j

[TRon]

28 minutes ago, Toontimes said:

I’m sure you are right from our perspective but will it be worth all the negative feedback we will get. And if they pay us loads questions will inevitably be asked about that too.

 

It's a Saudi problem tbh, if they are happy to get negative feedback, let them get on with it. I'm sure they must have considered the drawbacks as much as the benefits of such an exercise.

 

From a NUFC fan point of view I would just stay away from it, not something I am interested in.

[Jaqen]

Thought they were holding state executions at SJP judging by some of the reactions I've seen. 

 

It's a couple of international friendlies that will get a load of kids and families into the ground for those prices who either can't afford or have access to tickets otherwise. 

 

Was more annoyed when we had the Rugby and Ed Sheeran there. 

[r0cafella]

18 minutes ago, jack j said:

 

Ffp fiddling and not sportswashing

Makes a change

 

 

 

Lol we will be lucky to get a couple of mill, really won’t impact much. 
 

Let’s just fold the club though so people like Ziegler can be happy. 

[TheBrownBottle]

46 minutes ago, midds said:

Seemed like an inevitable move eventually. Let's face it, we're owned by a horrible regime and we're going to get a load of stick in the media for the foreseeable. It's the trade off that's been discussed on here many times, if we're happy to accept the benefits of the Saudis pumping millions into the club then we've got to take it on the chin when the (largely justified) criticism comes our way. Don't see how you can have it both ways 

Yep, Faustian pacts and all that.  

[Dr.Spaceman]

1 hour ago, Toontimes said:

My blood pressure is fine (!) but the issue is not what our supporters think about it. It is about the negative publicity it attracts for the club.

 

Has the takeover not already attracted a certain level of negative publicity though? At this rate I don't think there's much more we can (realistically) do to make the situation any worse than it is. This doesn't do that in my opinion as it was always on the cards. Soon as we had a whiff of the green third shirt we knew what their involvement was going to be like.

[Kanj]

I've actually gotten used to the negative stick we get by the press, and i'm numb to it now. I've made peace that we'll get pelters for hosting this at SJP, but I also know that We as a fanbase don't get a say in that matter. 

 

I get more irked by the roadblocks put in place limited our growth. Just where I am mentally. 

[Nucasol]

I’ll just laugh at the memes of Holt, Delaney and Pandit’s heads superimposed onto drug addict bodies. Let them keep gnashing and wailing, couldn’t give a shit about their poison pen articles any more.

[number37]

There could be some positives about this. I don't know if there'd be a large number of travelling fans but it might be a nice opportunity for those who have never visited the region or even the UK to see what we have to offer. Even as a tourist destination, I think we're criminally overlooked and even though I quite like us being Britain's best kept secret, we do have some pretty good stuff. 

 

On the High Street here we've got the Job Bullman for connoisseurs of high quality food and drink (to have a night off from high quality food and drink). We're just down the road from Scotland for those Costa Ricans who want to remind our friends in the North about the greatest night in fitba history from Italia 90. South Koreans love their technology so they'd have a great time down at the County Durham EPCOT Centre - Beamish: City of the Future.