Rayvin

Yeah also fair, I just figured a DoF could at least fill in the obvious gaps we have. But the whole club needs a better operational structure to it. I am confident they can manage that long term really.

I was pleased with Emery and was ready to give them full credit. I'm not pleased with the way we've lost the whole thing due to an apparent lack of professionalism. Even if Emery was disingenuous which tbh I'm not sold on, we shouldn't have announced/leaked it to the press only to be made to look clueless hours later. Its not going to help us look stable and competent, which is what we will need to attract the people we want. Credit where its due is all well and good but they're not beyind criticism either ffs.

I'm aware of all that mate, thanks Just wanted to contribute my opinion same as everyone else. Have previously said that the speed of the approval has caught them out and that it's the main problem. They've been caught unprepared while during their first attempt at buying us they had options lined up beforehand. People have indicated previously that they'll have consultants in but I'm not actually convinced based on how things have gone so far. I think they're relying on Charnley. That needs to be rectified quickly and I hope they can see it. And as per the thread about us getting relegated, I'm not even that fussed if we go down. What I can't abide is the mistakes being made that are slowing things down.

You mean because he's more likely to accept it/easier to bin off? Maybe. If its going to be Howe we just need to get it done one way or another, this fiasco has gone on long enough.

Totally agree but not sure we have time.

It's being said all over the place now but I want to add my voice to it since I was saying it a couple of weeks ago too. Having a lot of money and skill with investments does not make you qualified to run a football club on an operational level. They need this done basically now IMO, whoever it's going to be, then we should urgently hire a DoF. Get the decision making that pertains to football out of the hands of bean counters and political actors.

So he's potentially pissed off that it was leaked to the press as basically confirmed? Why would we leak that anyway? And tbh I can see the argument about lack of clarity over approach - Howe to Emery is a contrast indeed. Suggests that we're really looking for the manager to bring in a vision and implement it.

They're prioritising the League Cup man, had to make some sacrifices somewhere

Aye tbf, that was actually quite enjoyable for a fancam. Nice to see our fans in general not taking themselves as seriously as the wannabe pundits you get elsewhere.

Do you think he's a good choice to pull us out of relegation?

I didn't choose it for myself, but if the shoe fits...

Aye and shouldn't be an issue at all for a club that just paid £8m to Steve Bruce for the privilege of getting us half relegated.

If it's easier, just accept that we're going down. It's not going to matter much in the overall scheme of things since the new owners will need a few years to get us ticking anyway. This season just doesn't matter all that much compared to having been taken over full stop.

Still though, highlights the fact that a DoF is something we need to get in place asap following this appointment.

And which makes Rafa staying with us when we went down all the more impressive. He really would have been the ideal choice, it's a shame we missed out.

We don't need to get back to midtable though we just need to not be adrift by January. If we're within 2 or 3 points of 17th when the money starts to make itself felt, we'll be fine.

Aye it would be a serious concern for me if I was a Sunderland fan. But then judging by what I'm reading on RTG, a solid number of them occupied themselves with racially abusing people and throwing coins at kids rather than watching the match, so maybe they're not even there for the football. At least none of them punched a police horse though.

It was nice of Sunderland themselves to honour it though. Fitting tribute tbh, classy club.

Chelsea are league leaders, we were never going to win this one anyway. At least it's out of the way and the new owners are hopefully now quite close to providing some better options for management. It is what it is.

There are some very odd ones out there mind - people have gone way off track from just he and she. "fae", "faer" and "faeself" are some that I've seen around - but I also saw some pushback because it technically counts as the appropriation of pagan culture

Aye that's it - it's just about normalising it as others have said. I have to say, I'd never really given it much thought until this conversation, but I suppose I'd be ok adding it to my email signature if it helps people to feel more comfortable. Makes precious little difference to me personally.

This was more or less the line Jordan Peterson took to become the poster child of the Alt Right (wrongly, IMO). He wouldn't be forced into particular forms of speech, but would call any student by whichever pronouns they wished to be called by if asked directly. My view on this is otherwise entirely aligned with PL's tbh.

I imagine we've all seen the headlines about this lad but it's nice to see that even under our morally dubious ownership, the club has supported him. It is worth noting that a reasonable number of (apparently) Saudi fans of the club are being less inclusive in the comments and being called out by other fans. Could be an interesting dynamic longer term.

Do hope they both recover well though

Yeah I've heard of a few people in the same households as those who have it somehow avoiding catching it too. Just be as careful as you can be I guess. Force them to live in the shed for a while, as long as you agree to pay for therapy afterwards?