Amanda Staveley

[Yorkie]

Dusting down and rolling sleeves up? Maybe she doesn't read the forum.

[wormy]

20 minutes ago, Yorkie said:

Dusting down and rolling sleeves up? Maybe she doesn't read the forum.

 

 I've decided she's just throwing a bit of cheeky banter our way.

[thomas]

nbthree3 had to have snuck that in on the copy/paste

 

edit: nope, it's in the article

[Kanj]

She never gave up. She’s a legend in my eyes. Now it’s time to build this club. We’ve got a lot to fix and change. 

[KDT]

30 minutes ago, Yorkie said:

Dusting down and rolling sleeves up? Maybe she doesn't read the forum.

Just as I thought another Stewart Donald, they'll be asking us to clean the roof in no time.

[ianovthetoon]

41 minutes ago, nbthree3 said:

https://www.shieldsgazette.com/sport/football/newcastle-united/exclusive-amanda-staveley-on-her-ambitions-for-newcastle-united-steve-bruces-future-and-her-message-to-fans-3412282

 

Asked if she had considered walking away, Staveley said: “I didn’t think it would be quite this difficult!

“But I have to say it’s worth it. It’s worth every sleepless night, because we are there, and we’re just excited about starting the work we need to start.

“Some days, I think, a year ago, there was some pretty dark days, and I thought ‘we’re not going to get there’. You just have to dust yourself off. My dad says ‘you never give up’.

 

Asked if a decision had been made on the future of Bruce, Staveley added: “At the moment, no.

"We really need to assess what we have, what we need, and how we’re going to build this, and how we’re going to build the club up. We’ve got to get investment into the Academy, investment into the training ground, into players.

"We’ve got an incredible group of players, but they need nurturing. It’s not just about investment into managers and individual players, it’s about looking at a plan that works together … that will get us to the top of the Premier League.

 

“We appreciate the gem we’re custodians of, and we’ll make sure that every single part of this club is dusted down, and we’ll invest in all levels. We’ve got to. It’s critical. It can’t happen without that.

"Please, rest assured we understand we’ve got a big job to do, and we’re not scared of rolling up our sleeves and getting on with it quickly. But, sometimes, we don’t want to make hasty decisions when we don’t know where we are today and what we have.

Too many dust downs in that article. She’s definitely spoken to the cabbage 

[NE27]

54 minutes ago, nbthree3 said:

and we’ll make sure that every single part of this club is dusted down

 

It was old man Bruce all along!

[Dinho lad]

1 hour ago, Yorkie said:

 

Oh shut up. 

 

You're bothered because she's more manly than you. 

[Lazarus]

5 hours ago, TRon said:

Want to hear chants of "MANDY STAVELEY'S BLACK AND WHITE ARMY!!" ringing round St James against Spurs. 

 

We can change it to Bruno Conte if and when that happens. 

 

[Nasdotin]

 

 

Great woman

[NE27]

1 minute ago, Nasdotin said:

 

 

Great woman

 

Why are you spamming this into every thread man?!

 

 

Edited October 8, 2021 by NE27
GRAMMA

[Chris_R]

There's at least 2 threads that you haven't posted that in yet.

[Nasdotin]

1 minute ago, Chris_R said:

There's at least 2 threads that you haven't posted that in yet.

U like new owner?

[Chris_R]

1 minute ago, Nasdotin said:

U like new owner?

I like that the old owner is gone.

[Chris_R]

2 minutes ago, Nasdotin said:

U like new owner?

 

Actually, I'll indulge you.

 

I have serious reservations about Saudi Arabia as a country / regime. I have also worked in Saudi Arabia for many months, travelling there on 8 occasions. I've worked in Jeddah, Riyadh and Dhahran. I've taken their money and have local people there I class as friends, whose houses I've been to and families I have met. I'll likely be back again soon, probably next year. If I'm going to do that in my professional life, it would be massively hypocritical of me to sack off the football club I've supported all my life over this new ownership.

 

My overriding feeling now is one of relief. I have hated my football club and what it has become for a decade at least, and that has left me with no football to enjoy or to watch, and no team to support. To have the opportunity to have that back again because we now have an owner who promises to at least try to improve is a massive relief. I can still enjoy that side of things whilst continuing to have deep reservations about how the Saudi state operates.

 

 

[arnonel]

15 minutes ago, Chris_R said:

There's at least 2 threads that you haven't posted that in yet.

This is going to happen a lot now. Only joined 18mins ago.

 

Forum is going to start getting bombarded

[54]

 

[Guest reefatoon]

Just now, arnonel said:

This is going to happen a lot now. Only joined 18mins ago.

 

Forum is going to start getting bombarded

 

Aye, riddled with salty mackems, crying their eyes out.

[jackyboy]

Listening to her speak, she is just a class act. Can you imagine Ashley or Charnley making such an inspirational announcement

[Bishops Finger]

16 hours ago, CFlan said:

is this the queen’s  Christmas speech?

It is for me, and I love her already 

[Guest reefatoon]

The fella on the official twitter account must be loving it now. Before yesterday, it was dogs abuse on every post. It's all love now.   His job has just got that little bit more pleasant.

[Happinesstan]

3 minutes ago, Chris_R said:

 

Actually, I'll indulge you.

 

I have serious reservations about Saudi Arabia as a country / regime. I have also worked in Saudi Arabia for many months, travelling there on 8 occasions. I've worked in Jeddah, Riyadh and Dhahran. I've taken their money and have local people there I class as friends, whose houses I've been to and families I have met. I'll likely be back again soon, probably next year. If I'm going to do that in my professional life, it would be massively hypocritical of me to sack off the football club I've supported all my life over this new ownership.

 

My overriding feeling now is one of relief. I have hated my football club and what it has become for a decade at least, and that has left me with no football to enjoy or to watch, and no team to support. To have the opportunity to have that back again because we now have an owner who promises to at least try to improve is a massive relief. I can still enjoy that side of things whilst continuing to have deep reservations about how the Saudi state operates.

 

 

Genuine question. How do your friends feel about life in general? Do they share any of the criticisms that the west focus on? E.g. do you have any married friends and do they conform to the culture, and are they happy to do so.

Full disclosure; my concerns re SA are less to do with their domestic situation, and more to do with their position in the world, so your answer likely won't change my opinion. Unless of course you say they absolutely hate everything about the place.

[Chris_R]

Just now, Happinesstan said:

Genuine question. How do your friends feel about life in general? Do they share any of the criticisms that the west focus on? E.g. do you have any married friends and do they conform to the culture, and are they happy to do so.

Full disclosure; my concerns re SA are less to do with their domestic situation, and more to do with their position in the world, so your answer likely won't change my opinion. Unless of course you say they absolutely hate everything about the place.

 

Almost everyone wants progress, but admittedly at different rates. Many admit for example that they drink alcohol, and are happy that women are getting to drive now. I've had political debates over there where I bemoaned Brexit, where one of the guys said "At least you got to decide", though I doubt he'd have said that if he wasn't in a safe environment where nobody could overhear him! Generally, the young are more desiring of change and at a quicker rate than the older people who have already seen a massive change from their youth when they were basically a nomadic people with a desert lifestyle. For those older people, they've already lived through change far beyond anything we can comprehend and are understandably struggling with the concept of too much more.

 

One of the guys I know best out there is an older man, maybe 55-60. He does admit progress is needed and indeed wanted but is scared of losing his cultural identity and I do understand that. He's shown me much of that culture, I've been to his house for traditional Arabic coffee and I had a meal with him there, he's taken me into the desert and to their markets, I've been to local restaurants with him. He's right that his culture is unique, and fascinating, and it therefore is important. He doesn't want to be "westernised", but he does realise that progress is necessary. But progress is not necessarily westernisation, and nor should it be. He's a staunch Muslim, and any change must fit in with his religion.

 

Some of the younger guys are well up for change though. Although the country is officially "dry", homebrew is rife and if you're in Dhahran then getting a car over to Bahrain to get smashed on a weekend is something that loads of people do, including many locals. I've seen so much progress over the years I've been going there. When I first went, there wasn't even any cinema in the country. Now it's there. Women can now drive. You can get tourist visas now which until about 2 years ago was impossible. Alcohol will be available in certain areas very soon. It IS moving forward, and remarkably quickly considering, but you simply cannot rip up a country's identity overnight, you have to bring the people along with you and that's taking time. People need time to adapt.

 

Clearly, shit like beheading criminals and chopping up journalists is beyond disgusting. I cannot and will not ever make excuses for some of the things there. But America executes criminals too, the Saudis are not unique in this. Religion also plays a massive part in the local people's lives with the call to prayer playing out from dawn to dusk and work stopping when it does. Restaurants close, shutters come down on shops. It's strange when you first see it but you adapt. I personally think all religion is utter nonsense but again, there's fundamentalist Christian countries (Again, America!) where things are just as crazy so I won't single out Islam for criticism on that front.

 

I don't know any women there. I'm basically not allowed to interact with any local ones, so I've only got male perspectives as far as locals go, but they genuinely think that many of their customs are not to degrade or subjugate women, but for their protection. They believe men cannot be trusted not to assault or abuse women, so they cover them up. To us it's a fucked-up view, but then there's cases like Sarah Everard. Indeed every week, loads of women are abused and raped in this country. Clearly we shouldn't put everyone in a Burka, and I see education of men as the solution rather than that, but it's hard to say with a straight face that the Saudis are completely crazy about men being untrustworthy around women. As I say though, I am yet to get a local woman's perspective on that, and doubt I ever will.

 

I also know lots of expats over there. They are generally just there for the money, think the country is a shithole and spend their days getting hammered on homebrew in the compounds which are almost entirely westernised. The compounds I've stayed on even have bars selling alcohol, brewed by the expats in their houses. Most of the expats seem like borderline alcoholics which is hilarious given it's a dry country, but there's sod-all else to do because they have to start work at 6, are finished by 2, and once back in their compound there's literally nothing to do except eat, watch TV, or get pissed. Most of them don't speak a word of Arabic, even if they've been there 30 years, and just work, shop, and then go straight back home. To be honest I think I've seen more of the country than many of them have.

[Happinesstan]

1 minute ago, Chris_R said:

 

Almost everyone wants progress, but admittedly at different rates. Many admit for example that they drink alcohol, and are happy that women are getting to drive now. I've had political debates over there where I bemoaned Brexit, where one of the guys said "At least you got to decide", though I doubt he'd have said that if he wasn't in a safe environment where nobody could overhear him! Generally, the young are more desiring of change and at a quicker rate than the older people who have already seen a massive change from their youth when they were basically a nomadic people with a desert lifestyle. For those older people, they've already lived through change far beyond anything we can comprehend and are understandably struggling with the concept of too much more.

 

One of the guys I know best out there is an older man, maybe 55-60. He does admit progress is needed and indeed wanted but is scared of losing his cultural identity and I do understand that. He's shown me much of that culture, I've been to his house for traditional Arabic coffee and I had a meal with him there, he's taken me into the desert and to their markets, I've been to local restaurants with him. He's right that his culture is unique, and fascinating, and it therefore is important. He doesn't want to be "westernised", but he does realise that progress is necessary. But progress is not necessarily westernisation, and nor should it be. He's a staunch Muslim, and any change must fit in with his religion.

 

Some of the younger guys are well up for change though. Although the country is officially "dry", homebrew is rife and if you're in Dhahran then getting a car over to Bahrain to get smashed on a weekend is something that loads of people do, including many locals. I've seen so much progress over the years I've been going there. When I first went, there wasn't even any cinema in the country. Now it's there. Women can now drive. You can get tourist visas now which until about 2 years ago was impossible. Alcohol will be available in certain areas very soon. It IS moving forward, and remarkably quickly considering, but you simply cannot rip up a country's identity overnight, you have to bring the people along with you and that's taking time. People need time to adapt.

 

Clearly, shit like beheading criminals and chopping up journalists is beyond disgusting. I cannot and will not ever make excuses for some of the things there. But America executes criminals too, the Saudis are not unique in this. Religion also plays a massive part in the local people's lives with the call to prayer playing out from dawn to dusk and work stopping when it does. Restaurants close, shutters come down on shops. It's strange when you first see it but you adapt. I personally think all religion is utter nonsense but again, there's fundamentalist Christian countries (Again, America!) where things are just as crazy so I won't single out Islam for criticism on that front.

 

I don't know any women there. I'm basically not allowed to interact with any local ones, so I've only got male perspectives as far as locals go, but they genuinely think that many of their customs are not to degrade or subjugate women, but for their protection. They believe men cannot be trusted not to assault or abuse women, so they cover them up. To us it's a fucked-up view, but then there's cases like Sarah Everard. Indeed every week, loads of women are abused and raped in this country. Clearly we shouldn't put everyone in a Burka, and I see education of men as the solution rather than that, but it's hard to say with a straight face that the Saudis are completely crazy about men being untrustworthy around women. As I say though, I am yet to get a local woman's perspective on that, and doubt I ever will.

 

I also know lots of expats over there. They are generally just there for the money, think the country is a shithole and spend their days getting hammered on homebrew in the compounds which are almost entirely westernised. The compounds I've stayed on even have bars selling alcohol, brewed by the expats in their houses. Most of the expats seem like borderline alcoholics which is hilarious given it's a dry country, but there's sod-all else to do because they have to start work at 6, are finished by 2, and once back in their compound there's literally nothing to do except eat, watch TV, or get pissed. Most of them don't speak a word of Arabic, even if they've been there 30 years, and just work, shop, and then go straight back home. To be honest I think I've seen more of the country than many of them have.

Thank you for that response. You have confirmed many of my thoughts on the matter, mostly that they're people just like the rest of us.

Having stopped drinking 6 years ago I do worry that people going out to get pissed is seen as progress, but I guess it's a freedom. 

[Dinho lad]

 People just like the rest of us..? You needed a post on a messageboard to really be sure of that?