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

[Haz]

10 hours ago, Vinny Green Balls said:

The Saudis have committed all sorts of atrocities in Yemen in the last five years. They’ve also created a massive humanitarian crisis in the form of mass starvation and a cholera epidemic as a result of the blockade. Just a friendly reminder what awful pieces of shit run the country.

Very true. However, through it all, we've sold them cutting edge fighters/attack aircraft. Also a Shit load of small arms/ battlefield weapons. We've had "defence advisors" deployed for years. Very few have railed against this over the years. So in a sense we shouldn't bother ourselves too much, since successive governments got into bed with the Saudis for years. 

[triggs]

Mad how people on here use a Tory led government (who everybody on here hates) to make some point about why they should care about the Saudis' wrongdoings

[Miercoles]

7 hours ago, TheBrownBottle said:

Honestly, if the US Treasury buys us then it is relevant.  But until they do, it is whatabouttery

 

Yeah, you're right. I don't stand behind the post.

 

Maybe I'm just trying to convince myself that everything's okay with the club because everything's wrong in the world.

[St. Maximin]

57 minutes ago, triggs said:

Mad how people on here use a Tory led government (who everybody on here hates) to make some point about why they should care about the Saudis' wrongdoings

Surely the point is more to add context in response to all the criticism of Newcastle fans being comfortable with this?

 

Does anyone else feel ever so more increasingly more comfortable the longer we’ve been owned by KSA and the better we’ve become? At first there was much needed relief and we were also fighting relegation. Now we’re in the CL, spending increasingly more money and constantly surrounded by positivity, I’m worrying a bit more perhaps out of guilt given all the abuses continuing to go on while we’re out celebrating the significant impacts of Saudi investment. Not that we ourselves have anything to apologise for. 

 

 

Edited August 24, 2023 by St. Maximin

[Tiresias]

I just don't get how people are all everyone is shitty and horrible too doesn't then come to the conclusion that none of this shit should ever be anything to do with our, or any, football club and it's sheer madness that it is. As said plenty of times, I had no say in ownership so I do not feel totally unable to enjoy the benefits, I don't think any of our fans have to give a shit, I just don't get people seemingly now 'supporting' saudi arabia as if they are NUFC now. They just are the ones giving us money, for different reasons which may or may not work. 

[St. Maximin]

1 hour ago, Tiresias said:

I just don't get how people are all everyone is shitty and horrible too doesn't then come to the conclusion that none of this shit should ever be anything to do with our, or any, football club and it's sheer madness that it is. As said plenty of times, I had no say in ownership so I do not feel totally unable to enjoy the benefits, I don't think any of our fans have to give a shit, I just don't get people seemingly now 'supporting' saudi arabia as if they are NUFC now. They just are the ones giving us money, for different reasons which may or may not work. 

Agree but I think very few people seem to be supporters of KSA. I think those that do feel the need to defend them are probably getting a bit defensive or trying to justify the takeover to themselves. 

[Pata]

9 hours ago, triggs said:

Mad how people on here use a Tory led government (who everybody on here hates) to make some point about why they should care about the Saudis' wrongdoings

 

That's not really the point. It's just a counter to the argument that Newcastle fans should do something but the 'leaders of the free world' in USA and UK are both absolutely fine with having Saudi-Arabia as their allies and are happy to sell them weapons. I'm not comfortable that we are owned by them but fuck anyone who says it's the duty of NUFC fans to fix the human rights issues in Saudi-Arabia or save the Yemeni children. I just want to watch football.

 

 

Edited August 24, 2023 by Pata

[Menace]

Basically. The Saudis are a nasty lot, but unfortunately now people expect us to walk away from a club some of us have had very close since birth. Not really right is it.

[Hovagod]

27 minutes ago, Pata said:

 

That's not really the point. It's just a counter to the argument that Newcastle fans should do something but the 'leaders of the free world' in USA and UK are both absolutely fine with having Saudi-Arabia as their allies and are happy to sell them weapons. I'm not comfortable that we are owned by them but fuck anyone who says it's the duty of NUFC fans to fix the human rights issues in Saudi-Arabia and thus make the world a better place. I just want to watch football.

 

 

 

Good post. But why endorse them in any way? Why have flags celebrating the anniversary of the takeover? Why not just accept the good luck and move on accordingly? I could have mentioned head scarves and Saudi flags but we accept that’s the morons amongst us. Why do the groups being featured in gushing documentaries blindly get involved? As a fanbase I would like to think we are better than such embarrassing servility. 

[Geogaddi]

If the majority of this country can vote for the Tories then accepting the Saudis as owners is still the least of our problems.

[Hovagod]

Just now, Geogaddi said:

If the majority of this country can vote for the Tories then accepting the Saudis as owners is still the least of our problems.

As pointed out, lots of us hate the Tories and our owners

[OCOCOL]

I’m probably going to word this really hamfistedly (is that a word) but here goes. 
 

I’ve seen a few younger lads at matches with Saudi flags, Iocal accents but if I’d guess south Asian heritage but not I suspect Middle Eastern. I can understand why they’d embrace some (in my opinion) fairly superficial diversity at the top given where we’ve been in the 80s and early 90s as a homogenous fan base not especially welcoming to minorities (albeit reflective of the area) but waving Saudi flags and celebrating all things KSA (id call out any supporters - those wearing headscarves etc was cringy and semi offensive even if well

intentioned) but at the villa game the only lads I seen with Saudi flags seemed to celebrating the “otherness” of KSA as an anti establishment stance. 
 

[OCOCOL]

28 minutes ago, Hovagod said:

Good post. But why endorse them in any way? Why have flags celebrating the anniversary of the takeover? Why not just accept the good luck and move on accordingly? I could have mentioned head scarves and Saudi flags but we accept that’s the morons amongst us. Why do the groups being featured in gushing documentaries blindly get involved? As a fanbase I would like to think we are better than such embarrassing servility. 

meant to reply to this 

[madras]

1 minute ago, OCOCOL said:

I’m probably going to word this really hamfistedly (is that a word) but here goes. 
 

I’ve seen a few younger lads at matches with Saudi flags, Iocal accents but if I’d guess south Asian heritage but not I suspect Middle Eastern. I can understand why they’d embrace some (in my opinion) fairly superficial diversity at the top given where we’ve been in the 80s and early 90s as a homogenous fan base not especially welcoming to minorities (albeit reflective of the area) but waving Saudi flags and celebrating all things KSA (id call out any supporters - those wearing headscarves etc was cringy and semi offensive even if well

intentioned) but at the villa game the only lads I seen with Saudi flags seemed to celebrating the “otherness” of KSA as an anti establishment stance. 
 

I've seen no Saudi flags since the early days if the takeover.

[OCOCOL]

4 minutes ago, madras said:

I've seen no Saudi flags since the early days if the takeover.

3 young lads in family enclosure v villa 

[Hovagod]

5 minutes ago, madras said:

I've seen no Saudi flags since the early days if the takeover.

Saw one at wolves last year 

[OCOCOL]

My ST is in gallowgate but took the bairn via ballot.

 

the only other time was in Leazes L7 v palace in carabao cup. Similar profile of flag waver. 
 

just didn’t sit right. Totally support inclusion and a broader fan base especially younger fans but in the palace game especially the flag waving seemed slightly antagonistic 

[madras]

3 minutes ago, OCOCOL said:

3 young lads in family enclosure v villa 

L7 Milburn ? I'm up there and didnt see. It's a big area so not saying it didn't happen, but you know what young'uns are like for trying to wind others up.....especially from a safe distance.

 

 

Edited August 24, 2023 by madras

[OCOCOL]

Just now, madras said:

L7 Milburn ? I'm up there and decent see. It's a big area so not sayingbit didn't happen, but you know what young'uns are like for trying to wind others up.....especially from a safe distance.

yeah I agree both times I’ve mentioned seemed young daft lads trying to be provocative. We’ve all been young snd daft though 

[OCOCOL]

For context I wouldn’t want to see a red hand of Ulster flag or anything else that could be construed as provocative. If we sign a Saudi superstar player then yes crack on 

[Ronaldo]

56 minutes ago, Hovagod said:

As pointed out, lots of us hate the Tories and our owners

 

A lot of us being what, less than 1%?
 

Re. owners, not Tories.

 

 

Edited August 24, 2023 by Ronaldo

[OptimusSlime]

5 hours ago, madras said:

L7 Milburn ? I'm up there and didnt see. It's a big area so not saying it didn't happen, but you know what young'uns are like for trying to wind others up.....especially from a safe distance.

 

 

 

There was 3 student looking lad’s possibly Saudi tourists in L7 for Villa wearing flags like capes. 

[GeordieDazzler]

29 minutes ago, OptimusSlime said:

There was 3 student looking lad’s possibly Saudi tourists in L7 for Villa wearing flags like capes. 

Yeah I sit in level 7 and saw those lads in the queue. Pretty certain they were Saudi. 
 

fwiw they seemed pretty quiet and it didn’t seems like they were trying to wind anyone up. 

 

 

Edited August 25, 2023 by GeordieDazzler

[Whitley mag]

I’ve got no problem if Saudi’s want to bring their flags to the match, certainly wouldn’t offend me or anyone I go with.

 

To be honest I can’t even say I’d be arsed if the Moscow branch turned up with a Russian flag.

 

Each to their own and as long as they’re here to support NUFC that’s good enough for me. 

[Viana]

I think I may have crossed a threshold with this, and I'm unsure if I can go back across it. 

 

I enjoyed pre-season, I even went to one of the games, and it was good fun seeing a local lad score the goals. But I keep reading more and more about what they're doing in Saudi Arabia, and the sheer magnitude of PIF and it gets harder and harder to accept. I know this is where the game has gone at the top level. I know I'd likely never see us win anything without this kind of ownership. 

 

It's just not what got me into football. I watch how someone like Man City play and it's nigh perfection for 90 minutes. That's not what I got into it for. I accepted and I almost enjoyed the imperfection. It's what made it feel like something. I don't know if my soul is railing against modern football as a whole and this is just a symptom of it, but either way it doesn't feel right. I know our government does shit, all governments do barbaric things, but they don't own my football club. 

 

Edit: The reason I wrote this down now is because usually I'm quite excited for a game regardless of opponent, but after for some reason it just didn't feel that way today. Maybe it's temporary, maybe it isn't, but here felt as good a place as any to write about it. 

 

 

Edited September 2, 2023 by Viana