The hardest working 'tiny minority' are working their bollocks off tbf .... .... doors open 10.30am, dancing starts at 11am. I really hope Look North cover this https://www.wegottickets.com/event/477982
Outsider view the north east very dimly. I always used to think York was the centre of the universe until I met some Londoners at uni in Southampton!! Absolute crash landing of expectations! Foreigners hadn’t even heard of it. All they know is London and the north west.
I was brought up in rural County Durham but I've lived in Bradford, Leeds, Birmingham, Leicestershire, Surrey, Hertfordshire and I travel widely for work. Some people I come across have very little clue what the NE is like, some imagining it's like its depicted in Get Carter still, others are very aware of the region and know what's there and appreciate its charms. I've never met anyone who views it dimly though and many have very positive impressions. I've also met plenty of people in foreign countries who are aware of the cities, at least, in the NE. Its bound to be less well-known abroad than places like London or Liverpool but you could say that about numerous parts of the country (and of course we are bound to be less familiar with certain parts of most other countries than their major cities). I don't understand this desire to cast the NE as some kind of unevolved backwater when it's most certainly not.
I've no desire to do that, as I love the place, but there is an element of truth about it hence the Northern Powerhouse proposal. It is what it is and we're all speaking from personal experience, no one is right or wrong. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_Powerhouse
Think Mike is looking for something a little bit cheaper than them, this season they need to keep the purse strings tight.
If the Mags must keep protesting they should at least get their sums right. They wonder why the media aren't interested but its simply that Ashley is running the club as a business which, under the current circumstances, is quite sensible. Newcastle will never again challenge the top 4 clubs, that boat has sailed some time ago. Shepherd and Hall spent the clubs money, put them in massive debt and got nowhere. Before them Newcastle were an average club with wildly fluctuating gates. What those two did was create a sense of entitlement that's manifesting itself now. This current fake claim that Mags don't demand to be challenging at the top is nonsense. If they only want 'a team that tries' and top half finishes why were Robson and Pardew kicked out .... the narrative was that they'd 'taken the club as far as they could and someone else was needed to finish the job'. Attempting to get into the Europa games isn't worth the bother. Chelsea made about £20 million for actually winning the trophy which isn't a great return on the increased squad you'd need plus the potential effect it has on your league position. Spending big money to hope to go up a few places, or enter the Europa league, isn't an investment ... it's a massive risk that Ashley won't take. No one else seems to want the club either so the Mags, imo, should just support the club then hope they stay up and win a trophy. Winning half a dozen games, off to Wembley and winning the FA Cup would be much more exciting than slogging into the Europa League. Benitez seemingly had no interest in competing in the cups. All this 'protesting' is daft, pointless and just a little embarrassing ... ... if it's also putting off prospective buyers they're also holding the club back, exactly what they accuse Ashley of doing.
Pardew walked, he wanted the job at Palace, however many fans certainly did want him sacked. I believe the board offered him a better deal to try and keep him. I think top four is an exaggeration, I personally would expect a club of our size to be on level with the likes of Everton. And that's not beyond reason, it's something they could achieve, but Everton maintain that position by occasionally NOT selling their best players. Newcastle United under Ashley is a selling club, and that sucks because it's essentially just acknowledging we have the draw to bring in decent young talent, but we would rather not use them to achieve any progress.
And Robson? BTW didn't Everton, despite all that expenditure, ambition and big claims, only finish 7 or 8 points above Newcastle ... ... which proves my point, what's the point? I'll guarantee many Mags will look back at the Ashley regime and feel slightly uneasy at how they regarded him. I still believe the takeover will happen but your excitement will be very short lived. I believe the 100% of the purchase price will be loaded onto the club as debt and income used to finance high interest repayments. Ashley, despite his sharp practices, has to operate within certain restrictions whereas a foreign Middle East owner can vanish behind a mountain of affiliated companies, solicitors and a 'consortium' of faceless associates. You only have to look at Man Utd to see how a club can be crippled by 'investment' and owners 'pushing the club forward'. Man City, on the other hand, have owners throwing their own money into the club which they'll never see again.
Everton are like a fly in a conservatory ... ... they'll keep banging against the glass until they're exhausted then fall back down again.
Yeah always the team that ‘could’ impact the top 6, but never do. They do look strong this season though, Leicester look very close to Arsenal for me, really strong, and West Ham could be half decent as well, they were poor against the Toon but I actually thought they had a lot about them in the City game, was never a 1-4. What’s in Ashley’s favour, is hat he knows there are then 11 teams that are very similar, and they’ve only gotta beat 3 of them 11. 2 in real terms as Norwich are nowhere near. He will fancy them odds without spending.
Teams like Arsenal, Spurs, Chelsea will always take a dip as they 'rebuild' but will always come back, London is London. It's funny to watch the PL now, massive clubs on the precipice being manipulated by agents & players dragging them into huge debt. If the Glazers or Abramovic ever go those clubs will have problems that could push them down the 'Elland Road'.
Chelsea maybe, certainly not United though, there’d be a queue of Billionaires round the block for United. It’s shown though, it can be done right, Liverpool are making profit now despite paying huge fees, City allegedly are (think we all know those numbers are manipulated), and didn’t Chelsea as well? It shows though, you’ve got to be in the top 6 to make it work. The fees are ridiculous. The biggest one for me that barely gets a mention is what Chelsea paid for Kepa. £71 million for a marginally above average keeper, went a bit under the radar. They are the ones in bother as Abramovich runs them like Short. Everything he puts in is a loan to himself. https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/amp....guide-2017-18-accounts-manchester-united-city Figures are always a year behind as you know but fascinating reading. Chelsea currently £1.25 billion in debt to their owner.
I used to live next door to Abramovic as it happens, never met him though. Yeah, Chelsea are in a Catch 22 situation aren't they? Abramovic has made them unsaleable but has little further interest in them. But no one can buy them because it would be much cheaper to buy Fulham, build a stadium straddling the Thames and bring Howe in to get them promoted.
Well, he isn’t allowed a visa for the UK now is he? So he’s never going to be as involved as he was. Fulham is a mad one, any debt never matters as they own the stadium and it’s land. Likely the most valuable asset any club on planet earth owns, can you even comprehend the value of that land to a developer? I have to say I love it round there, it’s beautiful.
It's a great Stadium but they don't make enough of the river imo ... ... it would be great if Sunderland made more of ours in the future.
We missed a trick not glazing that side of the stadium really, imagine the impact of the whole back of that being transparent. Would be something. I’ve said for years Sunderland needs to invest in the banks of the Wear and the 2 fantastic beaches, but Sunderland council have he vision of a fire damaged mole.
I think everyone was appaled by that mate, I personally think it's one of the worst decisions the club has ever made. And I don't mean purely in the terms of directly replicating their finishing position, I mean just not considered bottom of the relegation potential relegation fodder. It feels to me we are consistently one managerial change or one sale away from a relegation. We have the ability to be more than that. Maybe top ten or at least top 12 and an occasional cup run? Sure our league positions were fine with Rafa, but he didn't even attempt a run with a cup. I am perfectly fine with Bruce, as long as he is given some backing and gets a chance to bring some progression to the club. Thats not insane entitlement to me. By the way, that takeover is dead in the water mate.
Rafa was a bit like Moyes with us. Knew the score when he took the job. Knew the general ability of the squad. Came in, stated ‘players aren’t good enough’, complained about conditions, no faith in his squad (which was nowhere near as bad as his management made it appear). One was despised one some kind of cult hero. Bruce will do every bit as well as Rafa would have, and he will appreciate having a 1 of 20 job in the biggest league there is. Rafa thought he was bigger than the club, it’s borderline insanity the hero worship that followed him about the place.
