Rayvin

Yeah I mean, that's the consequence of Brexit in two ways IMO. Firstly a direct one given that Remainers just won't back them now because of their policy, but also in the sense that they've fucked around on this for so long that even if they pivoted back to Remain, they still wouldn't win some people back because of their sheer incompetence in getting to this point.

How could I forget.

Does stuff like that still happen? When was the last time a PL team had to play an outfield player in goal in a league game I wonder.

Well I didn't think the poor lad should only get a series of posts that he can't make any sense out of Not that he'll ever return to read any of it.

Tbh I was wavering back and forth between trying to be helpful and also being really bitter about it

Weren't Barcelona looking at Martinez not long ago, or was that just tabloid nonsense? Never rated him very highly but the first season of him being here might be ok, since Rafa's defensive discipline will still permeate through the squad. Year 2 is where the wheels will come off.

We all wanted him to stay, which should tell you enough. Unfortunately our club is run by morons so it wasn't possible. Truthfully I don't know what the circumstances of your league are, Rafa has always been good at going up against teams that are perceived to be 'better' and getting results out of them - if Dalian are a Chinese footballing superpower then I'm not so certain he's a good fit for you, but frankly it's really hard to say given the highly variable standard of your league. He was well loved and engaged with our city and fanbase. He's extremely competent.

I think it speaks volumes that the only time they're able to throw that out there is for the women's world cup Wasted some good banter on something most people don't give a fuck about because they're unlikely to get the chance in the men's version.

Agree with this. If they're really and genuinely selling the club, you would think deals like this would have to be signed off by the buyers at this stage, or indeed simply not happening at all. Ashley can clearly do whatever he wants while it remains his club of course, but if I was BZG all this transfer activity would have raised my eyebrows. Not a good sign IMO.

Because all they want is to win the argument. I seriously think it's nothing more than the desire to win that's pushing us towards this now. I reckon that even if you announced to the Brexiteers that immigration would increase following Brexit, they'd still want it done.

Have been to DaLian, it's ok. Unsure about the Hong Kong of the North label but its been a few years, I guess. Having lived in China before I can say confidently that i would not now choose to live in China. But I guess £12m a year might swing it.

Not true for contracts I've had. All kinds of rules and requirements can apply post-employment. Typically it boils down to just shutting up about the business you left.

It's a fair point I suppose, I just don't think he has the balls for shutting down Parliament. There'd be a legitimate argument for his assassination if he did.

Labour need to be dragged kicking and screaming into Remain or a GE is going to finish them off, let alone the Tories.

Of course, I'm not exactly clear that a GE would solve anything..

The EU will give us an extension if we fall into a GE, I think the signs for that have been pretty clear.

I think the guy has some valid points mixed in there but basically agree. I cannot understand this rush to defend Putin these days. At one point in time the left loved the guy because he was sticking it to the yanks, and now the right love him cos he's broadly on their side concerning liberalism. Why the collective are incapable of understanding that this is not a man who has our best interests at heart, and whatever the Americans may or may not have done is irrelevant to his threatening our way of life.

Truth be told, I've boycotted SD for years anyway. And I can stop going to the few games each season I go to.

Don't think boycotts will work in the end, I'd be amazed if enough people are mobilised to do anything. It's been death by a thousand cuts, just a slow sink into the mire - people are more likely to just accept it that way. I'm just not gonna bother worrying about it anymore, it's Ashley's club now - the parts of it I used to recognise and love are basically gone.

Hard to argue with that tbf. How depressing that man is.

Honestly, you can see in the way the club is run that he doesn't care about the small to medium stuff. The fact that Charnley is our MD is one thing. For maybe £1m a year more, he could have someone dynamic who could maximise commercial opportunities and really work to develop a vision and overall club strategy that would pay off in both the short and long term. But he won't do that because he doesn't really care. It's actually a strong testament to how fucking solid this club is as an institution that it has so far more or less survived Ashley's rank incompetence and disinterest.

Also think, considering his position at Sports Direct, we probably get about 5% of his attention. I would be amazed if he genuinely gave a shit about anything going on here beyond the headline issues like relegation or big transfers.

I've known plenty of rich, self-made men, and all of them have been incompetent, needing to hire specialist managers to take care of and run their businesses for them. Ashley hired Charnley, an overpromoted halfwit. Being a good entrepreneur is not the same as being a good manager.

If it was a smokescreen, how has it been used as one? It's not like the club has blamed the takeover for failing to come to terms with Rafa. If you mean that supporter rage is deferred because we hold some optimism that the end remains in sight, then I'm not entirely certain that will survive beyond the takeover falling through anyway. That being the case it would have been better for them to just do what they've done without the takeover at all - they've now lined themselves up for two bouts of supporter anger rather than just one. And the point I always come back to with these conspiracy theories about Ashley - what makes anyone think he gives a flying fuck about how angry we are? He couldn't give a shit man, no way all these events are just machinations to try to placate supporters. If this shit happens it's because they're woefully incompetent, not because they're implementing some devious strategy.

Almost anyone? If Ashley signs the guy up to a one year contract, they could get paid a few million in compensation for 6 weeks work. And the owners may well give the guy a chance anyway.