The Fish

I don't understand the point you're trying to make

The agony they must feel at every false dawn is... I can't find a better word than delicious. They get a billionaire who backs them to the hilt, but Short fucks it up. They get a clean financial slate and their new owners are engaging with the fans and one is even a PR person!!! but the pair fuck it up. They're 'bought' by a billionaire, but he doesn't actually own them outright, and even if he did, it's trust fund money and not really his own. Two consecutive relegations, lowest league finish in their history, 4 seasons in the third tier, two failed play-off chances, a team of nobodies managed by a nobody owned by nobodies. Now they're in the second tier with one of the lowest valued squads and they're talking about promotion like it's a serious possibility. All the while they're proclaiming some intangible superiority to their erstwhile rivals who are owned by people staggering wealth, managed by a respected coach, entertained by English and Brazilian internationals. Like I said, delicious.

Hear, Hear

Heading into Wilmslow later, my expectations are very high.

It's not FFP that's limiting our spend, it's strategy. We could blow our wad this window and spend a couple hundred million without falling foul of FFP. I think it's prudent not to for a couple of reasons. The kind of spend that would get us into the CL conversation is huge and we're currently unlikely to attract the level of player that would return on that investment immediately. If we were in West Ham's position and 3-4 £50m players would secure CL, it would make sense for us to do it. If we splurge big in our first summer window under new ownership, it would set the tone that we're a big spending team and the Newcastle tax would be huge every window, regardless of our league position. If we spend £200m this window, that would impact FFP down the line unless we pull in huge sponsorship deals. It's my view that there's a pot we're happy to spend from, but it's more than £60m. I mean, we've already spent £24m on a LB and a 'keeper we're talking about £30m for Botman and similar for Ekitike, so that's £90m. I think if we were to sign those two players and then someone like Paqueta became available at a reasonable price, we'd spend on him too.

Or a lad. C'mon Paddocklad, you're better than this.

I think you're attributing to him more long-term planning than he is capable of. Honestly? I think he's seen youtubers get famous and thinks because he has a modicum of success it's just a matter of time. He's got little to no original content, the production values are poor, his editing is amateur and he has all the charisma of a 3 pin plug. If he wants to make something like this work, he's got to be more creative, he's got to find a niche and exploit it. like, this matchday video for example. It's garbage. His delivery is flat, there's nothing he's saying that adds to the shonky video work. Compare it to this kid; Now, neither are my cup of tea, but the second one is much better than Pearson's

Yeah, if this was the final few days of the window I'd be a little worried, but it's not. Not even close, so people getting in a tizz because we've only signed a good PL left back who's already proven at the club AND England international 'keeper, they need to grow a spine, grow some balls and grow the fuck up.

No doubt, when we were linked with Choudhury on loan, I couldn't give enough of a shit to pore over anything. He might have been a decent player but because of a decade of Ashley and underwhelming transfers I knew he wasn't going to be great. Fucking Hell even with Saint-Maximin I knew that even though he was an exciting talent, the expectation that he'd have a suspect attitude, or not great end product or he'd be inconsistent came so easily. # Now, with Bruno, and Burn and Targett I had genuine faith that they'd, at worst, be good and certainly be better than what came before them.

I said the same when we first signed Dubravka on loan. I didn't think the 'keeper was a priority position, but then it shows I know fuck all because we were much better as a team when we brought him in.

One of the issues with the rumour mill running 24/7 and the emergence of sofa-analysts is we build up every player we're seriously linked with. We read articles about him, looks at his stats, watch compilations and a lot of it leans whichever way our bias wants. Ekitike maybe a great prospect, and everything I've read and seen suggests he is. But maybe, he's not. Maybe other options would fit better in the squad, or adapt better to the PL. The alternatives we've heard about are the likes of Raphinha, Hazard, etc. but, for all we know, Ashworth and the scouts have 3-4 other young kids with potential that we've not heard a real peep about? I do think this is another example of the club proving that, despite our attributed wealth, we'll not be held ransom. We won't pay the Newcastle tax.

Currently a group-wide conference call that I've spoken about to the team beforehand, talked it up, recommend people join it. You know, that kind of thing. That's me in the back garden, reading the kindle, drinking a bottle of coke for the next hour and 45 minutes then.

I think you're being reductive. Labour isn't likely to fully privatise the NHS and it's such a anathema for the British public to propose it, not even these Tories would run on it. What Renton is saying (and forgive me if I get this wrong) is that, right now, in this non-hypothetical reality whoever has the best chance to defeat these Tories should be voted for. If 50 yrs into the future, Labour has lurched as far to the left as these Tories have done to the right, and the Tories actually occupy a left-leaning centre position, cyber-Renton may actually vote for them.

Goes viral on Tick Tock?

My entire working life is proof that you can toss it off at work way more than you think. Under promise then 'over deliver', never agree to the first timeline suggested, block out chunks of you diary so people believe you're busy, schedule an email to send after hours (and respond to any reply that generates immediately with "I'll have a look in the morning" kind of thing. I'm lucky that I can automate a lot of my work if I spend a little time and effort at the beginning. This morning, I've listened to a podcast, I've fucked about with my football stats excel thing for the coming season for a bit, I've done some exercise in the garden, back indoors to send a few emails with work that was completed by a macro and do a bit of studying of coding that will make my job even easier. Despite this pisstaking, I'm getting a bonus and a payrise. And once I complete this study I should be able to negotiate a paybump or move to another company. Used to work on shifts with the Met police. Honestly, night shifts and weekends were mostly playing football manager, or watching tv. For years I did this for good money.

He's really committing to that bit, isn't he?

To be honest I can see why any young player would be cautious about the move to Newcastle United right now. Ekitike is getting a fuck ton of attention, someone is associating him with some legitimately huge clubs and right now, we're not one of those top top top top top top top teams. Sounds to me like his agent is wanting the best possible deal for his client at the biggest possible club. Well, fine, that's his job. I don't believe that Ekitike is sufficiently mature/aware to make this decision himself and will be leaning on advice from his agent, his teammates, his family. Right now, we've only a few things in our favour for a kid like him; We're a PL team, we can pay a lot of money and he's more likely to get game time. The other clubs mentioned are CL clubs, they won't be paying a pittance and they will convince him that if he's good enough, he'll play. It's different with Botman, he'll have a better idea of his level in the game, he'll see the trajectory this club is on and he'll know that if he shines in the Premier League for a season or two, a massive club will come calling. Even if he isn't in the CL.

Puke Edwards? Jesus...

You, you have.

Dignitas?

Why won't you let me enjoy my contempt?

The end of your penultimate sentence says it all though mate. You're willing to pay for it. The ones I'm talking about want someone else to pay for it. They don't want to end homelessness by providing for the homeless, they want the homeless people moved on or locked up. They would baulk at paying more for the NHS than they do, they want diversity officers and the like fired so they pay less. They don't want provisions made for the youth of today to keep them engaged and out of trouble, they want them locked up and moved on. They think the answer to reducing crime is more crime fighting, not crime prevention. They'd look at the high taxes in the Scandi countries and think the people are being robbed by the government, completely oblivious to the high standard of living that it provides. They're also convinced that their opinion is as valid as evidenced arguments. In that spirit, I think the answer would be found in education, in community engagement and pluralism.

Respectfully, I disagree. I think that there are people who are, at their core, motivated by what is in their interests first and foremost. They're the heroes of the story, they 'deserve' money, respect, freedom. This means they'll willingly accept any story that paints them as the good guys and the 'other' as a threat. They'll willingly accept a political party that feeds their ego with stories like ' Immigrants are taking your jobs', 'Liberal elites think you're stupid and racist' and 'They will have you jailed for saying you're English.' I have an issue with your stats, who's being polled? 85% of the people who answered the survey may well believe that the NHS should be free for everyone. But what's the number for those that voted? It also speaks to the pressure you feel when filling in a survey to appear virtuous, much moreso than the equally anonymous but ultimately more consequential act of voting. I do believe that a decent number of people the world over, likely a majority, are self-centered. There may be a sliding scale of it, but ultimately they're in it for themselves. And everything I've seen politically over the past decade backs that up, in my eyes.