The Fish

Shut up, he finally became interesting.

They don't and wont. Not in this system where getting and keeping "power" every election is the be all and end all. Too many "career" politicians who're competent at politicking but useless at governing. The populace is too distracted by sound bites and faux outrage to truly consider longer term policies and politics. Also they treat politics as if it's a team to support, and will vote for their team instead of the party that proposes the best policies.

Hands up who noticed a tattoo?

I don't love them, I love you. You're my sun and stars.

Don't remember anything about him being injury prone or anything, as far as I know he was kept out of the Dortmund team on merit (perceived or otherwise).

Sershul Meeja's fault that.

I'm sure even if we are taken over by oil rich Saudi Princes with Rafa Benitez given a vast transfer budget, we'd still find a way to Newcastle it up.

What is it with them and trying to make football friends? https://www.readytogo.net/smb/threads/boro-fans.1401269/

And I get that, but the public announcement of openness to a sale, the meetings with Staveley, the PCP link, the due diligence and Benitez' demeanour all point to forward movement in this regard. Were there no announcement, no meetings, no link to weighty suitors, no announced due diligence, and if Benitez was as sullen as he was when the Summer window shut, I wouldn't believe these rumours for a second.

He is, and if the interested parties weren't PCP and Staveley I'm convinced he'd fuck it up. But they're keen to buy, he's keen to sell and get out of here. I'm sure there'll be frustrating negotiations about the price and I'm sure he'll chance his arm quibbling about keeping Sports Direct involved in our retail arm, but he wants to sell and they want to buy so there'll be compromise on both sides.

Staveley's attendance, people in the press being confident, Benitez' change in demeanour, Ashley's rhetoric, the people we're linked to. The latter is because if it was someone unknown; "Far East Investors", or "A consortium of local businessmen" I wouldn't expect the rumours to have any basis. These PCP folk have previously shown serious interest in buying a Premier League side, so they're no joke.

My clearest earliest football memory came when I was 15. I'd been going on and off with my mate when his dad couldn't go, or just his dad when my mate couldn't go. This time we all went for the Leicester game in 1997. Jim took us to the Union Rooms, found a corner and snuck me a pint which he'd never done before. We walked up to St James and got something from Greggs on the way, and stood watching the crowds on Strawberry Place and eating the sausage roll. Vividly remember Jim saying he thought we'd lose, but then he always thought we'd lose. Took our seats in the east stand nearish to the Gallowgate. Elliott put us 1-0 up early doors, but it wasn't a great game and when Matt Elliott equalised there was a sense in the crowd around us that it'd been coming. By 3-1 Jim was fed up and wanting to leave "to beat the rush" and it was only because my mate was moaning on that he wanted to stay that we got to see Shearer's hattrick that won us the game. I couldn't see his second at all and just went off the crowd noise, but when our 4th went in I only missed who put the ball through for Lee. Ended up two rows down and no idea how many seats across. Think it was the first time I properly bruised my shins on the back of the seats. All the way home on the Metro Jim was saying how he knew we'd pull it back I'd been to games before, but none of them stick in the memory as vividly as that one.

If this takeover fails, can you see Ashley spending the kinds of sums Benitez will be happy with? If Benitez isn't happy can you see him sticking around? If he doesn't stick around can you see another manager doing enough with this squad to keep us up? Within the context of a niggardly owner. If we go down again will Ashley throw the kind of money he did last time? We don't have the saleable assets we did then to fund it. and so on. fwiw, I do think the takeover will happen.

One of those that improves the players around him too. Just by taking up good positions, timing passes well and being calm under pressure.

Can't find a "final version" for the 15/16 season, but yeah he only managed 40 odd days outside the bottom three and zero days outside the bottom 4. by comparison, this was them in 2016/17

Mark Douglas suggested that the 2 month prediction may be over the top.

Aye, I'm a big panicking princess Gan suck off a spud.

I'm just hoping there's some new news during the International break. Even if it's just evidence that the takeover is actually happening and nothing else. We're at a real tipping point; if the takeover doesn't happen I expect Rafa to leave, if that happens I expect us to go down and doubt we'll bounce straight back. If the takeover does happen Rafa will stay, bring in some new players in January and we'll kick on and not be worried about relegation for quite some time.

And he hardly left them safe and secure, he left them in a similar state to the managers that preceded him.

To be fair, Gullit didn't take a pay out when he was binned off, unlike Dalglish.

Is that all he does? He doesn't hold up play, lead the line, bully defenders or owt? Weird how your eyes are different to mine.

Booze probably?

Shut your noise you old cunt.

How about an NSFW Spoiler, you massive bellend.

I respect people will have differing opinions to me, but you're just offensively wrong.