Howay

Regarding the journalists who attack the fans for being complicit, what are our choices? We have no power to stop it, so we’d have to effectively remove football from our lives. Even if we could kick up a huge stink and have the sale blocked/make the buyers lose interest we are then back to Ashley farting into our face while Charnley pins us down, which is basically cutting footy out our lives anyway. My opinion of these pricks is honestly so low that I think if we did kick up a huge fuss and somehow block/deter the deal there’d be a ton of articles calling us xenophobic/racist cunts who obviously just want a Geordie to own the club. Then they’d go back to howling laughing at us being abhorrent under Ashley, and whenever we complained they’d have a new point of “well they could have had the Saudi owners and been competing with Manchester City by now”.

Spot on, all the points would be palmed off as “whataboutism” but they all stand if you steamroll into the path of morality. You can’t just reject all counterpoints as whataboutism which is what they’re doing. Aye, as above they’re steamrolling into morality but being selective with it which is always a dicey thing to do. By all means highlight the deplorable behavior of SA, but what about all of the shirt manufacturers and their use of sweatshops? How many people die or have their lives ruined from those practices? All of the points ewerk listed should be brought up, and many many more. How can they pick and choose the amount of deaths, or manner of deaths that deserve questioning? The question you highlight about how these journalists think we should proceed hits the nail on the head. It’s perfectly fine to say you’re highlighting issues but give no view on resolution, but the moment you start passing judgement on those like Howe, or the supporters, I would argue they’re obligated (including you Bird, you patronizing cunt) to explain what should be done. Take the absolute approach and cease all business with them, all well and good but can we agree that historically hasn’t worked well? Do we take the role of world police and attack them, install a government of our choosing and force our beliefs? Again that hasn’t really worked well in many (if any) cases, maybe this soft power play of creating a dependance on the west, it could lead to change, and when it doesn’t (e.g. Russia) you have a leash that you can severely pull in and attempt to force them to back down, the issue? Engaging with a horrific regime leaves a bad taste in everyone’s mouths, but this is the play the Government are making and you can’t shame people like Eddie Howe for going along with that, unless of course you are able to provide a preferable alternative (even then it’s more the responsibility of the Government and not a fucking football manager). It’s almost as if this is a highly complex, nuanced issue and isn’t quite as straightforward as they’re all making out. Again, no issue with them calling out SA, writing articles about how they’re despicable and shouldn’t be involved in football (may want to start including all the other horrible cunts involved too though) but attacks against people like Howe, or supporters are just unwarranted.

Spot on. The article that Meenzer recently posted that was an interview with MBS really highlights your point about the importance of western influence if a more progressive SA is what people want, they discuss how Biden is ignoring him and MBS basically says if I don’t look west I’ll just look East. Shut these people out and things don’t improve there, additionally it’s not going to be some overnight thing if we do allow them in it’s going to take a long time. Obviously keep pressure/highlighting all of the wrongs they do, as I do think it is important (likely via better channels than sports writers but it is what it is), but this obsession about shutting them out because they’re awful won’t lead to any change within SA. The two ideals can’t really go hand in hand imo, if you don’t want anything to do with them and want them shut out the country that’s an acceptable stand point but people also have to then accept the chances of them changing is significantly narrowed by that - shutting them out doesn’t force change it just means they look to leaderships more accepting of their indiscretions.

Thread of Howe’s response. Not sure what else they could possibly want or expect after that, I’m sure they will keep repeating it though.

They’re not winning, Donny Van De Pipsqueak and Debby Alli have to line up against the mighty Sean Longstaff. That’s the turnaround thanks to Eddie, I genuinely think even Longstaff will boss that.

Luke Edwards article about Bruce in 3…2…

Then we will go a goal up and they’ll all leave again, as they have the last few games.

Maybe he should call them out, probably get fired and then the owners can get someone like Thomas Tuchel, or basically any other football manager that would gleefully take the job.

Bird does aye. It is a shame Howe doesn’t come out and say something mind as it seems like if he does the whole of Saudi Arabia will listen, and immediately change to a full westernized culture that people like Simon Bird find to be the only, and acceptable form of culture. Or maybe the opinion of a football manager is irrelevant? It would be accused of it, but it absolutely isn’t whataboutism to say that someone in a position of running the county, like I don’t know, Boris Johnson? Might be in more of a position where he should speak about these issues, but instead he is signing billion pound deals, and supplying them with fighter jets, and bombs. He’s a fucking football manager man, his job is to talk about football. Just because he is employed by them why does that make him any more qualified or obligated to discuss it? If they want to question the man’s integrity for taking such a job perhaps that’s fine, you’d have to live some fucking life to not be a hypocrite for calling him out for that but by all means jump through those hoops, he can then give an answer that he’s just here to coach footy and he’s buzzing at the opportunity in front of him - again they can read into that however they like. But to say he has some fucking obligation to speak out? Every single manager and player in the league should be asked about it if that’s the case, probably start asking them about every single other ill that happens in the world since those are all important topics too. Additionally, if we are going to be brought up every single time Chelsea are discussed shouldn’t Manchester City be brought up as well? Or are the UAE and all their dealings all above board? Or maybe they’re all perfectly content to delude themselves that there’s true separation between Manchester City and UAE leadership, but don’t want to apply that shit logic to our ownership. As I’ve said all the time, journalists should feel free to attack our owners, fans that support the SA regime in any way i.e. flying flags, defending their actions, etc (again though maybe clarify that it’s a minority of the fan base here), the PL, UEFA, UK Government, FIFA, and whoever fucking else allowed these types of people into football, but it’s completely fucking rich to target Eddie Howe a man that has absolutely no desire to enter the political arena, or the fan base that just wants to watch the team play. Anyway, I wonder how Southgates lads will do at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Hopefully every single manager and player that goes there to play, therefore being just as complicit as Eddie Howe is accused of being here, faces a similar grilling every single time they’re interviewed. Now that I think about it, that might be tough since all these journalists will definitely be boycotting that World Cup right? TLDR: Bunch of sanctimonious, boring, arrogant cunts. You’re a bunch of blokes that write about football for a living man, that doesn’t give you free reign to be the arbiters of every fucking topic and issue known to man. Stick to what you know, feel free to write articles about the state of the game because of involvement of these types but stop passing fucking judgement on everyone from your proper high altar of a… football journalist

Same as all the western Companies that will flood to Saudi Arabia’s new city NEOM. Fwiw I’m more than fine for football to be held to a higher standard if that’s what we decided, it would be incredibly hard to do since anyone excluded but able to do other business in the U.K. would probably be able to sue, but I’d be fine with them trying. Again though that’s not really why most of this outrage is happening, there are no doubt some that truly want it and are consistent, but once there was a whiff of Saudi interest the Chelsea fans did a complete 180 in their opinions while doing mental gymnastics about why it was different in their case.

Tbf they want Storey to take them over and he looks like he needs a good sportswashing.

#vintage #countryliving #freshair #grass

I once looked it up and there was a Liverpool fan who was trying to defend him by saying he got it from a charity, as if that changes the point.

you must have got in before the edit. There’s too many mackem type clubs, hard to keep track of them - the originals are of course the classiest and biggest of the lot though.

To do that he will have to have access to it, currently it’s in mammy’s bank accounts.

Remember under Bruce when we come up against really well drilled sides, no matter what players they had available you knew from kick off the chances of getting much from the game was extremely low. It’s amazing that going into this one we are the well drilled side, and the scouse mackems are a clueless, disorganized mess. Hope we give them another lacing.

Aye that’s how it’s going to have to be, sounds like this bloke is a Chelsea supporter so he likely just wants to save the club and be involved in running it. The excitement that there’s some link to PiF is rubbish really, if the PiF had wanted a side like Chelsea they’d have bought one - they tried to buy Liverpool, Spurs, and Manchester United at various points but were put off by the valuations due to their aims. As you say, they’ll become poor relations and will have to figure out a new way to run - the bloke and his consortium don’t seem to have Abramovich money and are paying a fucking hell of a lot more than he did for it.

I think it’ll be a similar situation to Sheffield United, they’re owned by another bloke from SA. If it goes to him they’ll maybe go on to be somewhat like Arsenal, backed by a decently wealthy consortium headed by the bloke mentioned. Seems like I’m right that the mackems are frothing at the mouth over it, mackems will see posts like mine and think it’s hilarious as they’ll see it as delusion but this purchase would have zero impact on us. It’s a less wealthy version of Chelsea’s current set up, it just so happens the bloke is connected to SA rather than Russia - it’s a step down for Chelsea and zero impact on us. They’re welcome to get all excited if they want but that’s a bit weird given their sudden interest in the denial of SA business in football, surely this should upset them?

Aye the mental gymnastics will be incredible here. You don’t make that level of money in SA without being connected, or in many ways complicit with the leaders of SA. The other piece I’m going to assume without going onto twitter or forums is the Chelsea fans (and likely mackems) will be absolutely over the moon with all of this, all completely into the idea this will make us some type of feeder or secondary club to them - despite it being the same situation as Sheffield United in that it’s just a rich Saudi bloke buying a club.

There’s so many things he can level at the club, but the tweet he’s using there to moan about the club traveling to SA for a training camp literally says “no confirmation where yet, but Dubai & Miami have been floated”, so not SA then? He could have even said something about how we have previously went, but no again they just make shit up to be outraged about. Just for the sake of it let’s act like he made an actual accurate point, like taking on the broader point of us going there in general. The club is owned by a Saudi Arabian fund with a Saudi Arabian chairman, so it’s logical that the club will go there at times - so why bother being outraged about the club going? it’s not like Howe or anyone connected to the club that isn’t the controlling owner will be able to refuse to go is it? It’s a Saudi Arabian owned entity acting in a manner which benefits Saudi Arabia, this will continue to be the case surely it would make more sense to be annoyed with clubs that travel to destinations with similar issues despite having no connection? Or companies who choose to do business with Saudi Arabia? It’s almost like he doesn’t actually have that much interest in the issues he’s indirectly trying to raise, and is simply using it to denigrate Newcastle fans. Seems a bit distasteful to leverage issues like that to have a pop at a fan base you don’t like, but that’s what Exile likes to do while taking the moral high ground of course. Or maybe just stick to the point that they shouldn’t be owners of a football club, why bother twisting in knots to make up things to be outraged about when the main issue is staring you in the face? Of course this is because actually highlighting the true issue exempts Newcastle fans from this faux outrage of blame sharing (other than those which engage in defending SA, donning flags etc), mackems clearly prefer to just make up convoluted things to be angry with to keep the blame on fans/Howe/whoever else that doesn’t make these decisions, or in this case just make something up.

I expected to look at the comments of this and see most of them telling him he can’t read properly, but the vast majority are also saying it’s hypocritical and there’s a media agenda against them, despite Luke’s two posts being basically the same point also: Football discussion in 2022. Can this lot hurry up and get in the fucking bin?

Do these types of people genuinely believe this is the case? A lot of similar and “brilliant work Rob keep it up” type replies too he can keep asking but this will be the reply constantly given, at what point does it just become a self gratifying exercise?

I hate that along with the “I’m not that type of player” shite. It’s dangerous play and he should have been walking off the pitch, Burn is spot on that if it was him he’d be gone - lightweight forwards like Havertz get away with shithouse stuff. Fucking absurd Havertz throwing in the bit about our defenders fouling them, with the clear implication that we’re a dirty side, meanwhile Chelsea kicked us around the pitch. There were two or three kicks to the head of Newcastle players, Havertz red card offense, and then constant other shirt pulling and late tackles. We’ll see where both sides are next season.

Compared to the totally balance view of the below tweet he retweeted: I have no issue with articles about our ownership, the greater issue of owners like them being involved in football etc etc. But the constant snide attacks at our fan base, either via articles or from some of these journalists having digs in the comments, along with this absurd practice of asking Howe about events can all get in the sea. I don’t know what they want or expect Howe to say? And I’m also not having Miguel fucking Delaney question Howe working for who he works for when Delaney works for a paper that’s majority ownership is split between a Russian Oligarch and a Saudi Arabian with close links to the house of Saud. It’s also disrespectful to Howe tbh. It’s also not went amiss the way they are framing Howe’s non-answer as deflection, whereas Tuchels fucking non answer is being hailed as some masterclass of what to say given the “difficult and situation Tuchel is in” - never mind that the exact same attacks re who he works for that are levelled at Howe also apply to Tuchel. Personally I think they’re just being dishonest, and pathetic. As Alex said this is purely borne from jealousy. They’ll disguise it as “important” to raise but if this is really their aim why are they constantly baiting? I agree with Isegrims point that our fanbase shouldn’t defend the owners, I agree wholeheartedly but a lot of these journalists are goading and pushing for that reaction. I’m not saying it’s the right retort, but it’s something they angle for and if you read comments at times these journalists get genuinely nasty towards the fans the way any jealous fan would. If their intention truly is to educate, avoid sportswashing, and stop people from defending the actions of Saudi Arabia etc they wouldn’t be acting in this manner. By making it into the black and white issue they make it (as in the “you should stop supporting Newcastle, that’s the only appropriate response” craic) and then attacking people for supporting their team, then essentially saying “if you support Newcastle you may as well have executed those people yourself”, it’s backing people into a corner where the mental gymnastics to excuse and lessen what SA do happens. Again not excusing people that defend SA in any way, or put on SA flags etc but a lot of the Journalists can fuck right off acting like their intentions are well meaning.

Is Edwards feeling ok today? Or has someone nicked his phone and tweeted for him?