The Fish

Why would the Saudi Prince entertain that though?

Yes, Saudi Arabia does care how they're perceived by the wider world, in so much as they don't want their apalling human rights history to be the focus. That why they've tried to use sports to wash that blood away. The media's outrage is fickle as fuck. They don't care about Sheffield's ownership, yet it's the same family (right?). They don't care about Man City until they do. They care about what generates interest, and Newcastle United, for all it's faults, is box office and the potential owners are a stick to beat us with. Were the media the arbiters of what's acceptable, they'd be poring over most of the owners in the Premier League. You're not a billionaire by being a sweetheart after all. I'm sure if the Mexican group were the ones submitting papers to the FA the media would be forensically pulling them apart looking for Cartel links or whatever. I'm a little more confident of it going through this time, mostly because of Caulkin, but that confidence is tempered by Ashley. Here is exactly what he's claimed he wants; Filthy rich oil state with an extra zero in their bank balance who can take Newcastle forward. And he's taking a pounding the press, and Sports Direct stocks are tanking and the pandemic could cause untold financial chaos to the league. But I'm sure he'll still try and weedle extra money for this and that, I'm sure he'll still want to keep merchandising, and SD advertising, I'm sure he'll still be an arsehole to deal with. So for that reason I'm still confident the sale won't go through, I'm just not 100% convinced it won't.

If 'smaller' clubs are up against it because of COVID19, Sunderland can't be too far behind given their financial troubles, right?

No idea how I'm going to keep sane working from home. I'm a creature of habit and sitting at the table, trying to work on a laptop instead of being in the office is weird. Especially as the wife has a 1,000 piece Winnie the Pooh jigsaw just begging to be finished...

And if you could get some fat pig-fucking moron to call me boring, state that 87% of people from Blyth are ugly and brag how he's going to have 19 pints the minute he's off the intravenus drip...that'd be nostalgia-tastic.

Did I not mention I've got a wife and kid... sounds like somethingI would have brought up ad infinitum. Finally told to work from home, and because the office is shut down, no fucker can get on. So I'm on hold with IT and waiting for a call from my boss demanding to know why I'm not showing as available. So, have a missed anything? Guessing t00nraider is still pretending to be a Newcastle fan, J69 is still killing joy with gay abandon and essembee is still remembering that important date?

Liverpool? Absolutely fucking not sunshine.

Born with two silver plums in his mouth.

First time I've been actually excited about a match day in ages, inexplicably. Shit match. 2-0 win. 1 O.G. and a penalty. ASM gets injured. Bentaleb to get a red.

Sure, you can avoid the obvious if you want, but it just makes you look at best ornery, at worst stupid.

Not the same chart, but to give a comparison 18/19 vs 19/20 so far

He might be limited, but his effort and PASHUN more than makes up for it.

We should be rock bottom on 15pts, were it not for huge slices of luck up front and at the back.

No idea. Probably has a lot to do with having shit players and a shit manager? They're properly fucked now. It's more than likely they're not getting promoted, which means a 3rd season in the 3rd tier of English football. They are a League One club now. Not just a "big club" passing through. Gone are the parachute payments, gone are the players who could return big money, gone is the interest from investors (£10m loan is a joke).

I'm thoroughly enjoying their troubles. I don't want any club to go bust, but a spell in League 2, or the Vanarama Conference would be fucking hilarious. The way they're twisting themselves in knots about our season is fascinating. They're attempting to get the ideas that the team is shit but under performing, the new manager was shit but is the reason for our lofty position, the old manager is chequebook manager despite getting fuck all backing, the owner is mint, all to work together with the results being better than expected. If I was a mackem I'd be having a got at the dwindling attendances, the piss poor performances of the strikers, bemoaning Newcastle's luck and leaving it at that. Nice, safe and easy to argue.