The Fish

Mental.

Is he still the lowest paid of the ... best paid directors in the Prem?

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.

Wherever he chose would be semi-retirement.

He's got a chance of winning a few more domestic trophies and potentially the Champions League, all the time living in Paris and playing with Mbappe and Neymar etc. Not sure he'd fancy the Premier League, living in rainy Cheshire and playing with Fred and Matic.

Seemed to very highly rated, I would have expected bigger clubs than those two going in for him?

What'll happen to Eduoard?

Space samurais? Should be way cooler than it is.

That's Star Wars, you fool. Marvel is WAY cooler

You seem to know a lot about it Scotty boy. Did the pacemaker put paid to your Power Mincing™ days?

Yeah, but do you reckon those clubs were paying all of their wages?

I dunno, Lejeune, Muto, Saivet will have been on decent wages.

LGF

Yet the Chronicle still run stories about players 'we've been linked to' applying zero thought to the story. e.g. there's a £50m defender who Man City, among others, are after and a 28yr old. Ashley's Newcastle are not spending £50m on a player and they're not buying a 28yr old.

Maybe, I dunno though. I don't think ASM is Benitez' kind of player, I don't think they'd spend £50m on ASM, and I don't think we'd sell him unless the bid is ridiculous.

Recent 6yr deal, would take north of £50m to get him, surely.

Could be worse. Ashley could have thrown a Pardew contract at him. This, for me, is another example of the powers that be showing themselves to be perfectly happy to tread water until the sale to the Saudis is resolved one way or the other. See also loan deals and contract extensions for existing players.

I think the suggestion is that he's always been on a rolling contract and the club have exercised the extension instead of fixing it. So he had 3 years, he's still got 3 years.

Edwards (I know, I know) says he has a 3yr rolling contract.

That ruse didn't even get me the job.

Took a bit longer than that.

Off to the Cotswolds in September, staying near Cirencester. Thankfully all the planning has been done by Mrs Fish, because I know fuck all about the Cotswolds. Edit: Reading that sentence back reminds me that I'm regularly shocked by the ways my life has changed in the past 4 years.

Headrow House is good. Tapped and Brewery Tap are all right. Whitelock off the main street is a real old pub. What Newcastle equivalent are you after?

So, 越变越一样 then?

The fuck are you on about?