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

[Ben]

1 minute ago, Viana said:

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. I just don't feel like I can enjoy this anymore and it just makes me very sad. 

Capitalism bought the EPL in the 90s this is the result unfortunately 

[Holloway]

This in the middle of a match, gtf man 

[RUHRLYASLEEVESUP]

Just now, Viana said:

Honestly that's exactly why I wrote it. I've got the game on, and I'm not mad at them I'm not really anything. 

See you tomorrow Hugo 

[Darth Crooks]

You feel what when you feel when you feel it man. I don’t feel great at this insistence on Saudi green each season. 

[TheBrownBottle]

21 hours ago, Darth Crooks said:

You feel what when you feel when you feel it man. I don’t feel great at this insistence on Saudi green each season. 

I don’t even think it’ll be PIF insisting - it’ll be Castore and other NUFC board members wanting to lickspittle them.  Like anticipating what an emperor wants for their birthday. 

[Rafalove]

Well done to Adam for covering this.

 

 

 

[Barnes23]

He's just interested in generating clicks

[Kid Icarus]

They literally all are, who cares.

[Conjo]

If I ever create a youtube channel about something that interests me I'll certainly not be one of those cunts who wants others to watch my videos

[madras]

Just now, Conjo said:

If I ever create a youtube channel about something that interests me I'll certainly not be one of those cunts who wants others to watch my videos

But you obviously don't want people to watch your videos by not creating videos.

[TheBrownBottle]

 

[Yorkie]

1 hour ago, Rafalove said:

Well done to Adam for covering this.

 

 

 

 

Props to the 'NUFC supporters against sportswashing' lads and bollocks to any daft fuckers too thick to understand their cause, but Christ they could do with a more engaging figurehead.  15 minutes straight of pure waffle.

[St. Maximin]

Well done Adam. Only thing more he could have done is disable the comments. 
 

Actually think as well as being thick a lot of our fans are really weird. Who said you had to like your owners? You can appreciate them taking over your club, but they’re ultimately here to make money in some way or another and you don’t owe them anything. 

[TheBrownBottle]

2 hours ago, St. Maximin said:

Well done Adam. Only thing more he could have done is disable the comments. 
 

Actually think as well as being thick a lot of our fans are really weird. Who said you had to like your owners? You can appreciate them taking over your club, but they’re ultimately here to make money in some way or another and you don’t owe them anything. 

It’s really odd when you think about it.  I remember reading once (think it might have been David Conn) it being said that Newcastle has a ‘cap-doffing air’; that there is almost a feudalistic desire to love those with money and power.  The owners aren’t in charge of the club because they have a sense of noblesse oblige - they’re there to make money, with a nice dollop of ‘cleaning’ it on top.  

[patrone]

37 minutes ago, Warrior1 said:

I just want to say it's been really good to read some of the stuff on here, and I think it's a really important conversation to have. 

 

And I think as Newcastle fans and as Geordies we do have a voice and have the power to speak up about these issues.

 

Just because we support the club, does not mean we need to support the ownership. 

 

I'd encourage everyone to have a read of this https://www.theguardian.com/football/2023/sep/06/fans-have-power-newcastle-fans-urged-to-speak-up-against-saudi-regime

 

 

 

 

 

Hello Mr Hird ?

[80]

9 hours ago, Warrior1 said:

I just want to say it's been really good to read some of the stuff on here, and I think it's a really important conversation to have. 

 

And I think as Newcastle fans and as Geordies we do have a voice and have the power to speak up about these issues.

 

Just because we support the club, does not mean we need to support the ownership. 

 

I'd encourage everyone to have a read of this https://www.theguardian.com/football/2023/sep/06/fans-have-power-newcastle-fans-urged-to-speak-up-against-saudi-regime

 

 

 

 

Just read this article. To be frank, I have no real problems with Saudi involvement.

 

Still, I thought this paragraph was interesting:

 

Quote

“They should not underestimate the power one word can have,” said Hathloul who suggested that fans might start unfurling homemade banners, or even small placards, bearing the names of alleged victims of Saudi human rights abuses during matches. “The fans have power. Even having a banner at a match which says ‘Free Salma al-Shehab’ – a PHD student at Leeds University sentenced to 27 years imprisonment for tweeting – can have an impact.

 

It makes me reflect on the efforts the club is currently putting into making sure everyone in our stadium, or eligible to apply to enter it, is as identifiable as possible. Collecting data might just be about preventing ticket trading between fans, but it can be used in all kinds of totalitarian ways.

[timeEd32]

Quote

"If sportswashing is going to increase my GDP by 1%, then we'll continue doing sportswashing," Bin Salman said. He told Fox News: "I don't care [about the term]. I have 1% growth in GDP from sport and I am aiming for another 1.5%. Call it what you want - we are going to get that 1.5%."

 

https://www.bbc.com/sport/66874723

[aa5773]

Well, not a news here... we always know that the prince doesn't care about the term "sportwashing". For him it's always about how the country can move from oil dependency economy into other type of economy like tourism and sport.

The term invented by the west and have no bearing at all to people in the kingdom

 

 

 

Edited September 22, 2023 by aa5773

[Superior Acuña]

Alreet that's that then.

[Kid Icarus]

'It has no bearing at all to the people in the kingdom'

 

Couldn't agree more, that's the point.

 

 

Edited September 22, 2023 by Kid Icarus

[TheBrownBottle]

3 hours ago, aa5773 said:

Well, not a news here... we always know that the prince doesn't care about the term "sportwashing". For him it's always about how the country can move from oil dependency economy into other type of economy like tourism and sport.

The term invented by the west and have no bearing at all to people in the kingdom

 

 

 

 

Of course it is.  Of course it is.

[The Prophet]

People will still delude themselves PIF isn't a key tool in the KSA economy.

[Whitley mag]

6 minutes ago, The Prophet said:

People will still delude themselves PIF isn't a key tool in the KSA economy.

It’s the sovereign wealth fund for the country of course it’s a key tool, not sure where anyone is deluding themselves on that.

 

 

[Dr.Spaceman]

29 minutes ago, The Prophet said:

People will still delude themselves PIF isn't a key tool in the KSA economy.

 

Who's doing that? Of course it's a key tool in their economy, they literally tell you that themselves on their website 

[Jackie Broon]

54 minutes ago, The Prophet said:

People will still delude themselves PIF isn't a key tool in the KSA economy.

 

I assume you mean in terms of ‘separation’. There seems to be a lot of misunderstanding and misinterpretation of the separation issue.

 

The issue wasn’t ‘separation’, the issue was ‘control’; whether the Saudi state could control the club (not specifically MBS; the state itself). From the details released in the High Court case the club’s argument against that was on the basis of legal separation of PIF from the state, but that was not accepted by the PL. The PL’s position was that, irrespective of any legal separation, the state could control the club and so the state itself should undergo the owners and directors test.

 

None of us know what was in the ‘legally binding assurances’ that finally convinced the PL to allow the takeover, but it seems very likely that it was an assurance that, even though the state could control the club, the state would not be involved in the club’s decision making. Again, probably not MBS specifically as he clearly would be involved in his role as the PIF chairman.

 

All of these 'look, this proves PIF isn't really separate from the Saudi state' comments are probably meaningless because that's probably not the basis on which the takeover was allowed.