The "delighted Ashley has gone, but uncomfortable with Saudi ownership" thread

[Disco]

I’m sure this will lead to hyper normal takes.

[huss9]

ooo, wonder if he takes in a home game?

[TRon]

1 hour ago, TheBrownBottle said:

 

I love the ‘footballer will change KSA’ shite. 
 

Ever notice how no-one ever suggests that the footballer might go there and become a Wahhabist crank?  I think that’s more likely (even if unlikely) than Jordan fucking Henderson changing KSA into a liberal democracy. 

 

Why would they need to spend billions on buying football clubs to change them into Wahabist cranks? I really don't see any chain of thought where that would work.

[TRon]

This whole debate around Saudis ploughing billions into football is an interesting one though. You just have to look at the PL club following around the world to see there is a massive and growing fanbase across Asia and Africa for football. It makes sense for projects like the Saudi Pro League to try and get their own thing going, although it's a huge undertaking. China tried to do something similar, but maybe for political reasons decided to focus on developing locally first which for them probably makes more sense.

[GeordieDazzler]

1 minute ago, TRon said:

This whole debate around Saudis ploughing billions into football is an interesting one though. You just have to look at the PL club following around the world to see there is a massive and growing fanbase across Asia and Africa for football. It makes sense for projects like the Saudi Pro League to try and get their own thing going, although it's a huge undertaking. China tried to do something similar, but maybe for political reasons decided to focus on developing locally first which for them probably makes more sense.

China was people trying to curry political favour with the state whereas In Saudi it is the state.

[TRon]

1 minute ago, GeordieDazzler said:

China was people trying to curry political favour with the state whereas In Saudi it is the state.

 

Which people were trying to curry favour?

 

 

[Mills and Boon]

1 hour ago, Whitley mag said:

Some Newcastle fans deserve Mike Ashley to return due to being ungrateful thick cunts, who can’t go 2 weeks without a signing, have a melt down if we lose and really lose their shit if PIF have the audacity to spend their money on another sporting venture.

 

A far more appropriate topic for discussion.

 

Are you in my WhatsApp group?

 

Absolutely sick of the flappers every time any player goes anywhere except to us

[TheBrownBottle]

23 minutes ago, TRon said:

 

Why would they need to spend billions on buying football clubs to change them into Wahabist cranks? I really don't see any chain of thought where that would work.

It wouldn’t - what I was criticising was the notion put out that a handful of footballers going to Saudi Arabia is likely to change the culture there.  What is never suggested is the opposite - that perhaps footballers will move there and change to conform with that culture.  And the latter, while unlikely, is still more likely than the former. 

[TRon]

16 minutes ago, TheBrownBottle said:

It wouldn’t - what I was criticising was the notion put out that a handful of footballers going to Saudi Arabia is likely to change the culture there.  What is never suggested is the opposite - that perhaps footballers will move there and change to conform with that culture.  And the latter, while unlikely, is still more likely than the former. 

 

I guess it depends on what you consider is the more attractive culture. My view is that the world is moving in a more accepting and modern direction including Saudi Arabia, and therefore I see the place opening up rather than closing down.

[Kid Icarus]

3 hours ago, Likelylad said:

I've just heard someone say on TS that Henderson could be an agent for change by going to Saudi. 

Now the others have their heads in the Saudi trough. The whole conversations changes. 

It's absolutely unreal how deluded some people are like.  The west is completely beholden to SA's whims, but a few footballers or 'getting them around the table' is going to change things.

 

 

Edited July 14, 2023 by Kid Icarus

[gbandit]

None of them actually believe it though, it’s just their way of allowing themselves to be on board with the idea by finding an angle that feels like it’s coming from a good place. Either wilfully lying to themselves or just wilfully lying to others 

[WilliamPS]

The deal with th footballers going to Saudi is take the money and keep your mouths shut. They won’t be agents of change, they are being shovelled full of gold to prevent change.

 

Btw reports MBS is going to come to the UK on a government visit. If he gets entertained at Buckingham palace it’s a bit much to give a football club a load of grief 

[Kid Icarus]

20 minutes ago, gbandit said:

None of them actually believe it though, it’s just their way of allowing themselves to be on board with the idea by finding an angle that feels like it’s coming from a good place. Either wilfully lying to themselves or just wilfully lying to others 

There will definitely be a bit of that like, but I do think Gary Neville genuinely believes that we can do the hearts and minds thing. And there are people like that.

 

 

Edited July 14, 2023 by Kid Icarus

[huss9]

47 minutes ago, WilliamPS said:

The deal with th footballers going to Saudi is take the money and keep your mouths shut. They won’t be agents of change, they are being shovelled full of gold to prevent change.

 

Btw reports MBS is going to come to the UK on a government visit. If he gets entertained at Buckingham palace it’s a bit much to give a football club a load of grief 

always been one of my main gripes with the media.

[TRon]

43 minutes ago, WilliamPS said:

The deal with th footballers going to Saudi is take the money and keep your mouths shut. They won’t be agents of change, they are being shovelled full of gold to prevent change.

 

Btw reports MBS is going to come to the UK on a government visit. If he gets entertained at Buckingham palace it’s a bit much to give a football club a load of grief 

 

Well that's capitalism in a nutshell, footballers are going to SA for money, which is how capitalism works. It's how our whole way of life is set up basically, which is why we'll go along with most stuff even at govt level as long as there's enough money in it. How else did the Premier league get to be the most successful in the world?

 

 

[gjohnson]

3 hours ago, TRon said:

This whole debate around Saudis ploughing billions into football is an interesting one though. You just have to look at the PL club following around the world to see there is a massive and growing fanbase across Asia and Africa for football. It makes sense for projects like the Saudi Pro League to try and get their own thing going, although it's a huge undertaking. China tried to do something similar, but maybe for political reasons decided to focus on developing locally first which for them probably makes more sense.

And that's worked so well for the Chinese football profile. The MLS has been trying for as long as I can remember (25 odd years) and it's still seen as a retirement home or backwater for the best players. Until they can produce teams that regularly take on and can compete with the traditional heavyweight teams (either by name or success) they'll never be able to catch up. 

 

I've seen kids all over here wearing PSG/Barcelona/Real Madrid tops, but doubt a single one of them could identify a shirt from a Chinese or Saudi team without them being on TV here or playing teams they know regularly 

[TRon]

1 hour ago, gjohnson said:

And that's worked so well for the Chinese football profile. The MLS has been trying for as long as I can remember (25 odd years) and it's still seen as a retirement home or backwater for the best players. Until they can produce teams that regularly take on and can compete with the traditional heavyweight teams (either by name or success) they'll never be able to catch up. 

 

I've seen kids all over here wearing PSG/Barcelona/Real Madrid tops, but doubt a single one of them could identify a shirt from a Chinese or Saudi team without them being on TV here or playing teams they know regularly 

 

I think for the MLS the challenge will always be for a homegrown love for the game to get it to grow strong roots there. My impression is that in the US the love in North America is mainly from those who have football through their ancestral heritage, so can imagine there would be lots of interest in European clubs, but it still seems to play second fiddle to American Football, baseball and basketball as a major sport.

 

 

[gjohnson]

2 hours ago, TRon said:

 

I think for the MLS the challenge will always be for a homegrown love for the game to get it to grow strong roots there. My impression is that in the US the love in North America is mainly from those who have football through their ancestral heritage, so can imagine there would be lots of interest in European clubs, but it still seems to play second fiddle to American Football, baseball and basketball as a major sport.

 

 

Football will always be 5th choice in North America behind NFL, Baseball, Basketball, and Ice Hockey.   Even 'college' football over there gets bigger crowds than most of our games...over here that would be like Northumbria Uni drawing Nufc sized crowds. Different culture plain and simple

[gjohnson]

So are PIF/ Saudi actively avoiding buying our dead wood to avoid scrutiny while chucking stupid amounts at our rivals to let them strengthen and more than likely overtake us next year.....I'll get the tin-foil...

[madras]

1 minute ago, gjohnson said:

So are PIF/ Saudi actively avoiding buying our dead wood to avoid scrutiny while chucking stupid amounts at our rivals to let them strengthen and more than likely overtake us next year.....I'll get the tin-foil...

More simply, other clubs dead wood isn't really dead wood. Still decent players but in some cases coming g to the start of the ends of their careers and others who are still good enough to play prem regularly as opposed to ours who many championship clubs aren't really sniffing at.

[relámpago blanco]

6 minutes ago, madras said:

More simply, other clubs dead wood isn't really dead wood. Still decent players but in some cases coming g to the start of the ends of their careers and others who are still good enough to play prem regularly as opposed to ours who many championship clubs aren't really sniffing at.

HEel of a difference between Mendy and Darlow for example.

[madras]

2 minutes ago, relámpago blanco said:

HEel of a difference between Mendy and Darlow for example.

Henderson and Hendricks, Fraser and Fabinho.

[gjohnson]

2 minutes ago, relámpago blanco said:

HEel of a difference between Mendy and Darlow for example.

Well yes that's obvious, I just don't understand the strategy of funnelling millions to our rivals to let them get ahead while we are their main representative in the EPL and we are supposedly hamstrung by FFP. 

 

 

[leffe186]

On 14/07/2023 at 19:44, gjohnson said:

Football will always be 5th choice in North America behind NFL, Baseball, Basketball, and Ice Hockey.   Even 'college' football over there gets bigger crowds than most of our games...over here that would be like Northumbria Uni drawing Nufc sized crowds. Different culture plain and simple

You cannot compare college football in the US with anything in the UK. Not just different culture, a completely different system from start to finish.

 

IIRC more people watch football in the US than (Ice) Hockey. Certainly far more people play it.

 

 

[madras]

4 minutes ago, gjohnson said:

Well yes that's obvious, I just don't understand the strategy of funnelling millions to our rivals to let them get ahead while we are their main representative in the EPL and we are supposedly hamstrung by FFP. 

 

 

Because we are not the be all and end all of their plans ?