Happy Face

Thanks folks. Much appreciated. Funeral done yesterday. Lush day. Hungover

I've never had the pleasure of Ryder's conversation. I avoid him like the plague on Twitter. The couple of blogs I did for them were sorted with Douglas.

Aye, it's been a hearbreaking loss. I have to cobble together information from a load of sources. Here's my stats bookmarks Stats Football Squads Minutes Played ELO Ratings Expected Goals Soccer Stats Bootiful Game: Football Infographics EPL Opta Stats | Newcastle United FC Articles FootStats - Complete UK Football Statistics Analysis - League Tables Four four two Statszone Historical Domestic Results NUFC match history Soccer Base Squawka.com Statto Whoscored Transfermarkt Premier League Comparisons

I was making the same point 3 weeks ago maaan. Just updated it tonight https://twitter.com/bigchrisholt/status/895010093535817729

How did you know? ...Oh, Ashley!

I have it at £42m

Aye, that's what I mean, that's why the whole Stark sister storyline was such a pain when it used up valuable time. It seemed to result in Little finger's death only to give them something to do and provide them some tension, but he could equally have been ran over by a horse while out for a walk. The question of whether or not they are friends seemed completely inconsequential, throughout the season, when everyone else is teleporting about the place trying to sort out the fate of the world. Their entire journey for the season can be summed up by "Arya returned to Winterfell" She's still hard as nails. Her sister is still Queen of the North, despite not having nowt to do in reality but sit on her hands.

100% It's on Kodi in HD now too so we've watched it a dozen times in the house.

Captain Underpants - loved it. Really really funny. Only 5 star film I've got in my list for 2017 so far. Also saw it at the Jam Jar cinema in Whitley bay which is excellent if you're closer to the coast than the Tyneside cinema, can't stand the multiplex and don't mind waiting a few weeks after the release date.

I enjoyed the scene. Not sure it was worth dedicating the Stark sisters arc to for the whole series though. I'd have preferred they spent more of that time on people travelling places. I'm the first to complain about all the walking in Lord of the Rings but the way people were teleporting all over in this series and using crows like mobile phones was a complete gear shift from the time investment put into previous seasons.

au contraire. Hooked as ever. That's the problem! Telling the kids I couldn't play because I was writing up another meaningless/purposeless/transient/ineffective/timewasting paragraph on why terrorism isn't a religious statement but a political one. Can't have that. Once they're telling me to stop being so embarrassing I'll be more regular again. Not doing the predictions like. Said last year, Fish is welcome to enjoy people complaining about his scoring system & submission rules

I'm not saying one tit was THAT bigger than the other, but I reckon she couldn't avoid swimming in circles.

Thankyou. I knew I wouldn't be alone. Mrs HF rolled her eyes when i pointed it out.

Lying to someone never keeps them sweet in the long run. If Rafa knew it he wouldn't have to name the owner as being the problem when it came to transfer delays. There's clear discord with Rafa and Ashley fighting each other to protect their own interests. Looks like rafa has won this round with Murphy though, so that's great news.

Spot on. Never had a problem with it. Ashley makes his bed by lying to managers, rather than being able to bring them along with that vision. "Rafa, you'll have to sell to buy this summer, but in January and next summer, there'll be cash raining about you. You can see we gave McClaren £80m so there's evidence of this."

It's not about mental prices at all. We can't pick up any cheap deals either. Rafa is raging we've missed out on loans and free transfers as much as the brinkmanship with Murphy over a couple of million. In what world do prices drop and better players become available (3rd and 4th choices) as the window wears on? I can't believe how delusioanal some fans remain after 10 years of this shit.

He's already said himself he's never been given an amount that the club can spend (according to press). His concern isn't the transfer kitty. Loan signings and free transfers have gone begging when we have one of the lowest wage bills in the division.

Even cheaper for Ashley to lend the club it. he won't though, because you then have nowt to spend next summer.

£79m equal share is spread over 10 month, so would be £8m a month, but we get a bit more in the summer and winter windows. Don't know what it is. Maybe enough to buy Murphy with a higher offer? Not going to be a kitty to get much more though.

Who puts up that guaranteed income up before it arrives? Whole ethos is we'll only spend what we have, not what we're due.

Ashley's been very consistent that NUFVC has to wipe it's own nose. The club hasn't got much money. He put £15m in last year, so the bank balance is zero if he had to make up the losses. Income this year is spread over the whole season. He told rafa that money would be available though. He had to in his mind. If Rafa had walked in the summer then Season Ticket saless would have bombed.

I think both parties have spent the summer mindful of what can be brought to evidence when it gets down to the court case. Privately I think Ashley promised funds for transfers and an increased wage bill to keep Rafa happy. Keegan says he always got told what he wanted to hear by Ashley, and then he wouldn't hear from him again. Rafa, learned from Keegan though, he wanted a public assurance that he would get funds before he would commit longer term. Ashley had season tickets and kit to sell, so he was careful to say that Rafa can spend every penny that the club generates. With nowt in the bank and payments coming monthly rather than in bulk before the window closed that was about as worthwhile as the promise of "no capital outlay" but many took it as a positive promise of £150m revenues being spent in the summer. Ashley covered his arse for any court case when he could say the cupboard was bare. Rafa's gone further than Ashley, he's saying publicly that Ashley personally promised there was money for transfers AND WAGES (which is important when it comes to free transfers and loans). If Ashley doesn't refute that, either publicly or in writing then his position is weakened when he gets to court. If Rafa walks before the window closes then the club can always say "we still had business to do" and rafa has no case, so I don't think he'll go until early September. I'm not confident he's going to get anything near what he wanted though. Question will be whether he's satisfied enough to plough on with what he gets or thinks he's been set up for a fall, can't achieve mid-table comfortably and jumps ship.