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Burb

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Everything posted by Burb

  1. I doubt Ashley has suddenly called his dogs off, having spent months preparing these legal steps. Either the Premier League have reached out with some kind of olive branch or (most likely) some administrator at Blackstone Chambers sat on the wrong part of their keyboard.
  2. Well he says that it's "partly supposition", which probably isn't enough to publish such an accusation, particularly given his outlet's whole shtick is quality.
  3. I was talking via Twitter DM with a very respectable journalist (out of politeness I won't say his name, although I'm sure I could ask to reveal it if required), and he thinks that there are strong disagreements within the Premier League about whether they actually want the takeover to go through or not, which has led to very mixed messages being communicated to NUFC and the buying consortum. On another note, an opinion I keep reading on Twitter is that Blackstone Chambers wouldn't have agreed to take on Ashley's forthcoming case against the Premier League unless they were sure they had a very strong argument; in your opinion, Isegrim, how much logic is there to this theory?
  4. Sorry only just logged back in. This feels a little out of date now but anyway: -Not necessarily. -Why would the court case be held in the UK? The key word was "dodgy"; short of sending in the British military to occupy Qatar and overthrow their domestic court system, there is no way the Premier League could "force" the Qataris to make good on their payments. Of course it would invalidate the Premier League/beIN contract meaning that the Premier League can resell the outstanding years for the MENA rights, but the Qataris could challenge this in the UK courts (see below points), and the Premier League would be negotiating any new contract from a very weak and desperate position. -Almost all of which goes directly to the clubs. But disregarding the financial aspect, what of the optics of the Premier League going to court with its biggest foreign partners over their purported failing to support them in a dispute about piracy? All the Premier League has is its branding. -I agree but it doesn't discount that beIN have been very productive partners for the Premier League and that losing their interest would be a significant blow to the market value of their rights in the MENA region. They are also an organisation and country that have their manipulative little fingers in many different pies all across world football. They hold the considerable influence to be a very damaging enemy of the Premier League, whether we like it or not.
  5. Thanks, I signed. I'd edit your original post too just in case people don't see your correction here
  6. Everything feels very grey. The Qataris don't have to prove anything to cause damage to the Premier League - -They could stop broadcasting Premier League matches in MENA until 2022 and hurt the product's popularity -They could withhold due payments (justified as "compensation" through a dodgy Qatari court ruling) -They could utilise their bottomless moneypit to take the Premier League through an expensive and tedious court case in the UK (regardless of whether they actually won it or not) -Even simply refusing to bid for future media rights would lose the Premier League a very valuable customer, and potentially even make them a very influential enemy It doesn't matter that the Saudis probably deserve to pass the O&D test far more than they deserve to fail it, the Premier League want their hands to be completely tied in front of beIN in approving this deal. If the approval can be interpreted in any way by the Qataris as a subjective decision for Saudi Arabia against them...
  7. Indeed thanks. Personally my mind keeps coming back to beIN Sports having submitted a QC's report to the Premier League detailing why they believe there is a legal case for rejecting the Saudi bid: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/lawyers-report-urges-premier-league-to-block-newcastle-takeover-h5mv83jq3 I would bet anything that the Premier League are using this as a road map in order to approve the takeover in an entirely legally watertight manner, knowing that they are likely to have to head off the points raised by beIN within the report afterwards, in as transient a fashion as possible. Therefore, whilst the distinction between the PIF and the ruling government may be a possibly, even probably legally watertight assertion - and they certainly cannot reject the takeover based on this - it is also not an unchallengeably definitely legally watertight assertion, and so the Premier League need the Saudis to help them out by making it such.
  8. Totally agree, it just seems like the PL are trying to build a case, not for court, or even specifically for the outcome of this O&D test, but because they foresee this big bust up with beIN coming and they need powerful arguments to minimise the outrage of the Qataris as you say, essentially "we drove a really hard bargain, in the end the Saudis' legal entity argument was just too clear cut". Out of curiosity Isegrim, if the Premier League did go down the path that some seem to suggest - indefinitely stalling their decision, allowing the Saudis' exclusivity to lapse, Ashley then negotiating with a rival bidder and the Premier League approving that rival bidder (either because they can conduct two O&D tests concurrently or because Ashley withdraws the Saudis' bid) - would the Saudis have any means of legal recourse against the Premier League, or is the no timeframe for the O&D test essentially a catchall loophole for the Premier League to exploit in this situation?
  9. Seems like the "end-game" to the successful conclusion of these negotiations. The Premier League are briefing the media in a manner similar to that seen in any high-profile negotiations, for instance where we saw the UK and EU governments briefing en masse about how the Brexit withdrawal deal was close to collapse in the final days before the negotiations' deadline. It puts pressure on the other side for last concessions and makes it look like they have driven a hard bargain on the eventual successful conclusion of the negotiations. The PIF can now make some superficial changes to their decision making structure and it'll be done.
  10. Agreed but what else, other than a promise, can the Saudis offer the Premier League that they won't go back to faciliating piracy once approval for the takeover is given? Essentially the one magic question the Premier League really want answering is: "What reassurances do we give our broadcasting partners when they ask us why we have given the thumbs up to a country that stole from all of us?" Something tangible that the Premier League could point to, showing that approving the takeover had indisputably 100% solved the piracy issues, would be dynamite.
  11. I'm really curious as to whether Saudi Arabia can offer anything more than a promise to the Premier League that they will not facilitate piracy in the future? On the face of it the Saudis banning beIN until at least 2022 (when they can outbid beIN on the next contract) combined with Saudi Arabia owning a Premier League club but being unable to legally broadcast any games to citizens, would seem the perfect cocktail for future piracy offences by Saudi Arabia no matter how many promises they make and how pure of heart those promises are right now. Can the UK government step in and agree a potential punishment trade embargo on Saudi Arabia if the Saudis recommit offences, can the Premier League enact punishments directly on Newcastle United for what their owners do, can the Premier League freeze all future investment and relationships with Saudi Arabia etc etc?
  12. What’s your basis for fearing it will be rejected? It's a strange one. When I look at this deal in a cold-blooded, logical fashion, I am certain that the decision to approve this deal was made by the Premier League long ago. This is because the legal basis to block the deal seems infinitely flimsy at best and non-existent at worst, and the benefits of this deal to the Premier League and English football infinitely outweigh the downsides. Richard Masters has been a sales and marketing guy within the Premier League for many years, so there is no-one better placed than he to understand the benefits of foreign investment into the Premier League. Some time ago, I considered that between the end of this week to next week would be when the deal was officially approved. This is because from a PR management viewpoint the media fallout of the announcement had to be managed, and the best place for this is buried at the beginning of Project Restart, avoiding it being fed any additional momentum by the WTO ruling occurring after its announcement, and burning out before the summer transfer window. The actions of beIN Sports this week have reasserted this thinking; of course as major stakeholders, the Premier League will have been treating beIN Sports extremely courteously during this takeover and giving them gracious thank yous every time they volunteered their generous help with the investigation. beIN's startling upscaling of aggression in the past week is a Qatari trademark indication that things are not going their way at all however. Paying for a QC's report backing their view to be the sent to the Premier League epitomises this, and gives an indication as to what the Premier League may have hinted to beIN about their own thinking for the legal basis of blocking the deal. That is my logical viewpoint, but the paranoia that keeps nagging me is that we are in particularly emotional times. Will Richard Masters and co. find the calling of the media-created "People's Champion" option irresistible - reject the deal, ignore the long-term drawbacks, receive the temporary faux-adulation of beIN, Fifa, Uefa, rival league associations, the British media et al.? I seriously doubt the Premier League are so stupid.
  13. Never really related to Ben Stiller's character till now
  14. Putting "NUFC" in your name was a nice touch, now nobody thinks you support a rival team.
  15. As a Leicester supporter that line about our title win is ridiculous. We wouldn't have even been in the Premier League without our own rich (and many-sided) owner.
  16. Cover needs to be something positive doesn't it? Not sure having this takeover drag on and on is much of a PR overcoat for them. Rather it builds on the aggregate pressure.
  17. No. It's spelt exactly as it sounds. I agree that the Premier League are deliberately slowing this process down to make it look at though they've conducted a particularly thorough process and thus insulate themselves against criticism. I think however, that this is a really stupid approach to take by the Premier League. All taking this approach has done is given more and more time for more and more criticism of the deal to build up on top of itself, leading to a snowball effect where critics are being emboldened by their perceived strength in numbers and the perception the deal is "stalling" because of their efforts. Ultimately the Premier League have really shot themselves in the foot, only adding to the peception that this takeover is "controversial", creating a bigger and bigger decision with accompanying fallout for themselves to deal with when do actually finally make it. The smart play by the Premier League was dumb and innocent, waving the deal through after the standard three or four weeks. "Oh well we conducted our standard checks and left it to the government to guide us on political issues" would have played much cleaner for themselves than the sh*tshow of right now that they have provided both circus tent and faecal reserves for.
  18. Leicester fan here. Just coming on to (hopefully) congratulate you guys on your much deserved takeover. I must say from my perspective, I don't understand the outcry regarding the Saudi Arabians taking over your club at all. If one looks back, every single "benevolent" and "good" owner of a Premier League club in recent memory has bought their club for underlying motives. For instance, we know Roman Abramovich bought Chelsea to raise and cleanse his public profile as an unscrupulous and powergrabbing oligarch during the break up of Soviet state assets. Abu Dhabi bought Manchester City to enhance their standing in the West with a view to diversifying their economy. Even my beloved former Leicester City owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha bought Leicester City in the midst of suspicion regarding his state-backed monopolisation of Thailand's Duty Free market and his role in attempted coups. The core questions are these though: What were the positives and what were the negatives of these purchases; do the positives outweigh the negatives? The positives that these acquisitions brought need little explanation. Despite initial short-term hatred from rival clubs, these three clubs have provided some of the greatest footballing stories of recent memory, adding untold extra layers of intrigue, interest and as a result incredible long-term growth and prosperity to the Premier League. Similarly, local areas around the clubs have been significantly invested in and thus transformed, substantially increasing wealth, jobs and standards of living. The Saudi Arabian takeover of yourselves will surely yield similar rewards for the Premier League and local area. The negatives are however indiscernible; potentially they have helped Abramovich, Srivaddhanaprabha and Abu Dhabi in their home power plays against whatever similarly shady rivals they were operating against, but I can't pretend to be an expert on these matters so as to offer a proper analysis of them. The same can be said for so many of the sports journalists we are seeing now who suddenly seem to be experts around the complexities of Saudi Arabian politics and governance in the Middle East. In this way, resistance to your takeover is seeming to revolve around this issue of morality, and television rights. As I can see has been covered by others numerous times in this thread already, the Premier League can't resolve the alleged issue of Saudi Arabian piracy by ostracising them completely. We can see from history that ostracised individuals actively resist the wills of those they've been ostracised by. The Premier League needs to get the Saudis around the talking table, strengthen the volume of mutually beneficial dialogue between the two and work together as collaborative partners to address this issue. Similarly, the moral issue doesn't land at all. The simple recent increase in journalistic activity on Saudi Arabia is evidence enough that this deal has drastically increased public interest in Saudi Arabian affairs, and will continue to do so as the profile of Newcastle United rises under their leadership. This then increases public interest and scrutiny of the regime's activities, and consequently public clamour for action regarding alleged misdeeds will rise in parallel. Accordingly, our governments therefore feel more pressured to act, and will have increased influence over Saudi Arabia to do so with due to their mutually beneficial collaborative relationships, and the increased array of sanctions to threaten Saudi Arabia with that come with the closer economic integration exampled by this deal. So, from both a television rights and a moral basis, the best long-term play is to support this deal. I do not know if it is just the media's self-designated duty to support whichever side of the argument necessary to herd the opposing factions into the fight ring in the most explosive and best selling fashion possible, or whether the coronavirus epidemic is making them all especially sentimental and clouding their ability to make a long-term and logical interpretation of this takeover, but I feel really sorry for you guys having to put up with it all. I have my fingers crossed that it is sorted imminently.
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