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Ah, gone on holiday. Probably the same thing that you told your ugly kids when they asked where Adam Johnson went.

I’ve said the same thing loads to the pricks who say what a fantastic business man he is in reference to how he runs the club. It seems to me he’s not really interested in the club beyond it turning a profit via premier league survival on a shoestring and as an asset. That’s why Charnley keeps his job. He’s cheap and the club continues to tick over. If what the owner said was true about wanting the club to be successful but also living within its means then commercial revenue would be maximised. Likewise the academy would be a priority because you can make money be selling to Championship clubs even if not many players make the grade in the PL. Survival / stagnation is easier. What it ignores is how lucky his high risk strategy has been with our being able to bounce straight back from two relegations. Even under Bruce, a frankly ludicrous appointment, we’ve accrued more points than our football deserves. Given the owner’s inability to learn from past mistakes you’d have to think another spell in the Championship is on the post if he doesn’t manage to sell up first.

It's the stagnation of commercial revenue that I keep coming back to. Ashley's owned a Premier League club that's bobbled around the Deloitte top 20 richest clubs, yet we've been overtaken by Brighton and Leicester, both teams who were in the third tier of English football in 08/09. I mean, Jesus Christ, Brighton and Leicester have spent 4 and 8 years in the top flight respectively during Ashley's 14yrs, where we've spent 12. It should be mortifying to a businessman of his success to have failed so spectacularly, especially when the Premier League has been so successful a product worldwide.

Even more disturbingly, at first glance I thought the thing on the left was wearing a school uniform...

I love how they completely ignore the massive gulf between the Championship and the division they’ve now failed to get out of (at least) 3 years in a row.

Anyone have the boom/bust cycle photo to hand?

If you took this photo, removed everything but their faces, then flew over the Amazon and parachuted in to an uncontacted tribe’s village, showed them it and asked them what they were looking at, they’d say, ” Mackem skanks”.

Ooh, a bit of barely disguised racism from the Mackem…

Dammit, just when a decision is due to be made on the takeover.

You might have more success if you combined Plans A and B.

Do you think this is what fooled Adam Johnson?

Were's the bacon ?

I was thinking bloody hell, Hale & Pace are looking rough these days. Are those really women?

3-2-1 - Essembee wants a word

Beat Port Vale and all is brilliant. This bloke is a , I don't have the words to hand......

Stringer Bell playing Knuckles in Sonic 2 is very, very funny. What a timeline we live in

Esther Dingley: Missing hiker's boyfriend finds her body https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tyne-58159591

Agreed personal terms, for me a great signing and surprising in not only the fact the club has put the money in but also that Arsenal have let such a good prospect go. He has so much potential. Welcome to the club full time Joe!

I thought his blubbing at his farewell presser for Barca was a bit much. The only reason he's leaving is because PSG are the only people willing and able to pay his ridiculous wages.

I thought they only had that keeper on loan last season so were back to the T Rex this year? I totally get Polarboy's point about Everton. Their spending and alledged targets have been so far very modest (even if they haven't been poor signings). After recent seasons, even taking Covid into account, I can't see their fans being happy. If they get off to a poor start Rafa could certainly be feeling the heat.

Also worth noting we just got somewhere near £10m from the Armstrong deal (40% of the 23m profit Blackburn made as iirc he was 25m), so even with that coming in we’re still making fucking zero progress. It’s a fucking disgrace, of course we are used to incompetence but this off season has been an absurd level of neglect from the ownership.

Yeah it should have been a formality

They’re saying an accident is the most likely outcome as well. Fair play to the lad for getting away with it, I say.

And gay. Lolz

I forgot about him as a striker long before that.

Aye. I appreciate it was the EFL and a few people have mentioned ours would have gone through no problem if we were a division lower, assuming a price was still agreed etc. But the double standards are ludicrous given clubs can be promoted to the top flight anyway.

Could be worse…

TBF those takeovers were approved by the EFL rather than the PL and if anything are strong arguments for more stringent examinations when it comes to the takeover approval process. They're totally different from our situation as it's clear that the people looking to buy us have more than enough funds to support the club in perpetuity. It's obvious that this isn't about transparency and due diligence and everything to do with the 'Big Six' wanting a closed shop where no one else can challenge.

And their being subjected to nothing like the same tests the Saudis were either. And, quite apart from anything else, who’s more likely to leave the clubs in a proper fucking mess?

If they were I take back any criticism.

Karma is a busy bitch

But properly constituted PIF, a business entity spending legally earned petro dollars around the world are utterly beyond the pail according to the Premier League? What a load of fuckin shit man

It was part of the bespoken deal.

I could understand if they were protesting against Loose Women

Thick as pigshit these divvies 😂

"Fucking pissing mesel laughing here, like. Ah love the lads, they're ah'll decent kids but yiv got to have done the hard yards up and doon the A1 as part of the 'Toon army' to knaa the score and what the punters want. There'd be fucking H on to be honest with me not getting nominated but Helen Dalby told iz years ago when ah kicked off that ah'd alwiz win it every year so they had to let the other lads have a go but ah had to keep it to mesel so's not to dent their confidence. She even give iz a wink which ah'm fucking sure wasn't just a conspiryan, conspiratery, err not just about this little secret, think it was also a subtle hint that the sword of Ryder might be getting to know the front garden of Dalby if you knaa what ah mean? Lol! Anyways, like the kid who comes last on sports day ah hope they enjoy their token reward. (Ah don't think ah'll come last tbh if me and Hels get it on as ah've had a bit of a lean spell with the fanny because of lockdown an that otherwise yi tahlkin hours!) Laters, Ryder and fucking out!"

He just checked his roast chicken and it needed another 20 minutes.

'You won't be hearing from me for a while'. 24 fucking minutes he lasted.

LM's young'un?

Oooooo curveball

lol do his rip

Taxi!

I enjoyed Promising Young Woman.

No! You need to get some more shower gel by the way.