The Fish

They can't announce anything until the new owners have got their "Howay the lads" down pat.

That's 12,013,041,800 pennies generated by the club. Looking forward to Benitez getting to spend 'em all.

Asamoah Gyan has reversed his decision to retire and they're wondering if he'd fancy playing alongside the likes of... *googles*... Tom Flanagan? Apparently the 10 goals in 34 games is enough for him to be considered World Class, by some. Dave Cisse got more than that in his first 9 games.

Rumours of Juan Mata.

saving my creative juices for comic book fan fic.

Because other than us, nobody gives them a second thought any more. That's why they've been trying to fabricate an enmity for Portsmouth, or love-ins with, oh, I dunno... lets say Southend. It'll only get worse, the longer they're out of the top flight as well.

Because of the way he writes, I don't think he has it in him to tie it all together. Requires a different approach, imo. I wonder if, after he croaks, someone else will give it a go?

Yeah, GoT's meat and drink is subverting expectations. And while some of the character's ended up taking dramatically different positions come the end, the major players were pretty much as expected; Dany dead, Jon alive but not wanting the throne, Jaime & Cersei dead, Tyrion alive, Sansa leading the Northern powerhouse, Arya fucking off for adventures. Even the way Dany died was a bit... meh. Partly because of Kit Harrington's performance, partly the writing, mostly the speed that they rattled through it all.

All three powerful figures in the country for different reasons. Arya is the one who ended the threat from the dead. Bran is some spooky nigh-on omniscient wizardy bloke, and Sansa is a leader of the entire North. Davos is a landed knight, has been hand of a couple of kings. I'm guessing Brienne is the leader of her house now? I think it's the other way around, I think they knew where it was heading (Arya killing NK, Jon killing Dany then not sitting on the throne, Sansa as Queen of the North, Cersei and Jaime dying together etc.), but had so many strings to tie together, they tied themselves in knots or just cut threads off. After they ran out of books it clearly leapt from a Character driven meander, to a Plot driven railroad. It lost something because of that. Mostly because, in my opinion, there were so many characters whose individual motivations seem to be at loggerheads with the endgame by season/book 5 it could have taken a further 3 or 4 seasons to get a satisfying conclusion. As someone said, it was always going to be an odd episode because we all knew it was the end. I'm overall happy with the way it panned out, even if I've selfish preferences about how they could have got there. (Personally think they should have spent a season building up to the threat from the North being extinguished by Arya, then a season after the end of the NK with the forces of the North moving South, sowing more seeds of Dany's descent into madness and conflict with Jon so that when she goes full Barbecue Bonkers on Kings Landing it isn't as jarring). As mentioned, it was odd Grey Worm demanding justice for Dany, then fucking off forever without any apparent interest in seeing if that justice is served. Read on twitter that the island he's heading to might be pretty, but there's some plague there that the natives are immune to but any visitors all die within hours. Sam breaking out the "Song of Ice and Fire" was fucking cringe mind you. Also made me chuckle when someone suggested the Unsullied start a house. How're the cockless wonderboys going to manage that then?

I know, it's a madness.

Charnley doesn't need to make a decision. He'll know what Ashley will and won't budge on. The sticking points are going to be Benitez' salary, it'll be contract length. It'll be how much control he has over transfers. It'll be knowing exactly what he's got to work with, rather than a drawn out process of misdirection and obfuscation. The club knows what it'll get regardless of their final position from the Premier League 19/20 season. They know what the minimum they'll get from being on tv 0 to 10 games (we've consistently been closer to 20, than 10). They know the minimum they'll get from sponsors. Average gates. Average merchandising and so on. That should give them a pretty good idea of what money they've got coming into the club. Plus transfer fees, which are fairly unpredictable. Plus extra tv, sponsor, prize monies. They should be able to say to Benitez "We're getting in x, we've set aside y to pay for costs and improvements, you get z for players".

Why though? Ashley doesn't give a shit about the club beyond using it at a billboard for his one true love. If Charnley can sort out the pesky business of tying down a manager that guarantees footfall, guarantees Premier League survival and guarantees wider attention than some no mark would, Ashley will be happy as a clam.

I've never seen a woman with a fat arse at the front.

Kind of what you'd expect isn't it? The only ways that was going to be resolved straight away was either total agreement to Benitez's requests, or "um, Mr Ashley says, um, we, um, are going to, um, go a different, um, way, um, thanks though".

No, it really doesn't.

Echo what's been said , Rome is amazing. Mind you saying that I remember a lot of cobbled streets in the older areas, and random flights of stairs.

Think the second bit explains the first bit. Dunno how you slow that down though? Or maybe you could provide a little shove to tip her over the edge? Really enjoyed the episode mind. Cleganebowl was a sight to see. The much lauded Golden Company were fucking worthless though. though they did allow for a mirror image of Jon facing down the onrushing cavalry in the Battle of the Bastards, with their leader bricking it and trying to run instead.

It'll be a curry house with a big fireplace to vomit in.

Can't see Benitez moving to Celtic. Sure they might win every league title going and all their domestic pots, but they can't compete in Europe and Scottish football is a dumpster fire. Can't see Celtic paying that much for a manager when someone far less capable could win the domestic trophies.

If Jon takes the throne, he's likely got to choose between Tyrion and Davos for the Hand (if they both survive), he's got no natural military advisor, no master of coin, no master of whisperers, no grand maester, no kings guard. He's got to rule over a country where three major families are dunzo (Lannister, Tyrell, Targaryen), the capital is destroyed and the crown is likely bankrupt. No wonder he doesn't fucking want it.

Maybe, but we literally saw Jon stabbed to death, Jaime sink into the inky abyss, and so on. I dunno. Didn't Dany hear prophecies about the stallion that would ride the world, she saw visions of possible futures in Qaarth? Do you think the Azor Ahai prophecy will be addressed in the tv show? Nah he was on the beach with Tyrion after the attack. True enough.

Nah, can't see him setting an ambush where he's at risk.

He's been a good servant to the club and instrumental in fostering a good work ethic. Fine with him going if we get a proper left back in to replace him.

He's had his doubts for a while hasn't he? And the previous episode he had a big chat with Tyrion about it didn't he? I think the implication is that he's got one or two out at least, right?

We've seen episodes end with someone apparently dying only for them to have survived, I wouldn't be shocked if Jaime and Cersei somehow survived only to be ended by Dangerous Dany. So are the prophecies are all bokum? Cersei wasn't killed by her little brother, unless you can blame Tyrion for sending them down into the basement? Has Arya killed anyone with green eyes? Dany's got a couple hasn't she? And what about Azor Ahai? And the Prince that was Promised?