Topic: Newcastle - RIP Jamal Khashoggi; Free Salma al-Shehab

[thaddeus]

Looks like the USPGA are learning first hand what the Saudi blood money can do. Lots of big names resigning from the USPGA and signing on to the LIV rebel league. Allegedly Phil Mickelson is getting $200 mil and quite a few others are jumping on to the blood trail.

Newcastle are going to blow everyone out of the water in a few years, competition as we know it, is dead.

Give it 10 years, maybe less, and it'll be a straight out arms race between state-owned clubs.  Within a generation it's moved from wealthy local businessmen to international billionaires to sportswashing states.  Both of the two former types of owners had to run as businesses or the money would run out - simply not the case for the state owned clubs.

Man U have burned money in recent years trying to keep pace.  If they actually start spending wisely and become competitive the state-owned clubs will just raise the bar until even the commercial juggernaut that is Man U can't keep up.

FSG and Klopp have done an amazing job to keep pace with Man City until now.  As others have posted elsewhere, no other club has been remotely competitive with them for five years now.  I may be being overly pessimistic but it feels like this summer could be the one where Man City raise that bar out of reach (splurging sums on Haaland that no other club in England could contemplate and then talking of making further signings!).  At the same time we're looking like selling (arguably) our best player of 2022 because that's how a business has to operate.

The Premier League must be aware that the global appeal of the league will diminish if it's Man City and Newcastle playing in a league of their own.

[boots]

That shithouse golfer moaning about taking the money so he isnt having to play for the rest of his life despite earning 73 fucking million so far. 73 million and he's pleading poverty. c*nt.

The Suadi's etc have already infiltrated UEFA and FIFA, so it could be said their taking over the sport already I guess.

[El Festino]

Newcastle United to ditch shirt sponsors and seek more lucrative deal
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/newcastle-united-to-ditch-shirt-sponsors-and-seek-more-lucrative-deal-8s0gr9p8q?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1654764818


City v2 here we go.

[Red-Soldier]

Newcastle United to ditch shirt sponsors and seek more lucrative deal
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/newcastle-united-to-ditch-shirt-sponsors-and-seek-more-lucrative-deal-8s0gr9p8q?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1654764818


City v2 here we go.

I predict a £1 billion pound deal with Saudi airways 

[Red-Soldier]

Newcastle United to ditch shirt sponsors and seek more lucrative deal
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/newcastle-united-to-ditch-shirt-sponsors-and-seek-more-lucrative-deal-8s0gr9p8q?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1654764818


City v2 here we go.

Newcastle, the richest club in the world after last year’s takeover by Saudi Arabia’s public investment fund (PIF), which is worth over £700 billion and took an 80 per cent shareholding in the club, have a kit deal worth £6.5 million a year, less than Crystal Palace or Burnley.

[BarryCrocker]

Newcastle United to ditch shirt sponsors and seek more lucrative deal
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/newcastle-united-to-ditch-shirt-sponsors-and-seek-more-lucrative-deal-8s0gr9p8q?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1654764818


City v2 here we go.

So, when do they sign the £100 million a season deals with Saudi Aramco, Saudi Telecom, the Saudi National Bank etc?

Now

[HeartAndSoul]

Newcastle United to ditch shirt sponsors and seek more lucrative deal
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/newcastle-united-to-ditch-shirt-sponsors-and-seek-more-lucrative-deal-8s0gr9p8q?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1654764818


City v2 here we go.

So they will magically go from having a £9 million shirt sponsor to probably £60-£70 million a year 

If that happens, I hope other teams kick off as to how they are legitimately getting these sort of deals when they couldn't a year ago.

No wonder, they'll just get away with it just like City with their Etihad deal. 

[BarryCrocker]

So they will magically go from having a £9 million shirt sponsor to probably £60-£70 million a year 

If that happens, I hope other teams kick off as to how they are legitimately getting these sort of deals when they couldn't a year ago.

No wonder, they'll just get away with it just like City with their Etihad deal.

New Sponsor Alert.

[Kopenhagen]

And the charade begins as predicted.

League will be dead in 10 years. Super League back on the cards inside three years.

[PaulF]

Give it 10 years, maybe less, and it'll be a straight out arms race between state-owned clubs.  Within a generation it's moved from wealthy local businessmen to international billionaires to sportswashing states.  Both of the two former types of owners had to run as businesses or the money would run out - simply not the case for the state owned clubs.

Man U have burned money in recent years trying to keep pace.  If they actually start spending wisely and become competitive the state-owned clubs will just raise the bar until even the commercial juggernaut that is Man U can't keep up.

FSG and Klopp have done an amazing job to keep pace with Man City until now.  As others have posted elsewhere, no other club has been remotely competitive with them for five years now.  I may be being overly pessimistic but it feels like this summer could be the one where Man City raise that bar out of reach (splurging sums on Haaland that no other club in England could contemplate and then talking of making further signings!).  At the same time we're looking like selling (arguably) our best player of 2022 because that's how a business has to operate.

The Premier League must be aware that the global appeal of the league will diminish if it's Man City and Newcastle playing in a league of their own.

How many states are going to join this farce. If it's always a two horse race between City and Newcastle, the fans will leave in droves.  ( I know the circumstances are different, but I feel it will do to the PL what's happened in Scotland where only once in a generation does anyone challenge the Glasgow clubs).

How long before we see the first $1bn transfer.

[Tobelius]

That shithouse golfer moaning about taking the money so he isnt having to play for the rest of his life despite earning 73 fucking million so far. 73 million and he's pleading poverty. c*nt.

The Suadi's etc have already infiltrated UEFA and FIFA, so it could be said their taking over the sport already I guess.

Now now.
We don't know if the poor fella's had an eye on a humble must have £70 mil mansion and this inflation's propably making lobsters and caviar terribly expensive.

[lfc_col]

And the charade begins as predicted.

League will be dead in 10 years. Super League back on the cards inside three years.

It's no good if the likes of city psg and newcastle are involved in it

[Nobby Reserve]

It's no good if the likes of city psg and newcastle are involved in it

Exactly.

Expand the scope a little - shit, I don't care if fucking Everton are included (always need a whipping-boy). But any new European Super League needs to exclude any club owned by a state.

[El_Frank]

How many states are going to join this farce. If it's always a two horse race between City and Newcastle, the fans will leave in droves.

I posted elsewhere previously about this and I believe it's ultimately what they want. Matchgoing fans do not equate to as much income as global TV audiences will. They know that in time an oil club or a state club will have more appeal to those watching on in places like India or Nigeria. The season ticket holders ultimately won't matter. You either accept the death by a thousand cuts and cling on to attending the match or you let it go and they manage to get those from further afield to take a trip instead. Either way, it'll be viewers rather than supporters that will bring the money in to their required knee-deep levels.
So they kill the competition in the leagues in order to create demand for a super league so that those aforementioned foreign fans get to see their PSG vs Man City-type matches every week.

A part of me thinks this will be stopped before it gets to this level, but most of me thinks the cuts have long since started and we're already kinda used to them. A really sad situation for the once beautiful game.

[Legs]

The other option is would City owners pull out if they couldnt compete ?

This happened in France with Monaco and PSG no point spendimg mlions/billions to finish second.

[Hedley Lamarr]

The other option is would City owners pull out if they couldnt compete ?

This happened in France with Monaco and PSG no point spendimg mlions/billions to finish second.

The reason Monaco threw their cards in was because the bloke who owned them got divorced and basically had to give away half his worth, 3.3bn or something.

[KlurgenJopp]

That shithouse golfer moaning about taking the money so he isnt having to play for the rest of his life despite earning 73 fucking million so far. 73 million and he's pleading poverty. c*nt.

The Suadi's etc have already infiltrated UEFA and FIFA, so it could be said their taking over the sport already I guess.

Then you've got Phil Mickelson, who Forbes estimate has made over $800 million in his career, kowtowing to the Saudis too. Gross.

[Persephone]

Then you've got Phil Mickelson, who Forbes estimate has made over $800 million in his career, kowtowing to the Saudis too. Gross.

And this after he basically called the Saudi's murderers last year. It's an absolute joke, none of these men have any decency or honour but Mickelson is the worst. Pond scum, all of them.

[JRed]

And this after he basically called the Saudi's murderers last year. It's an absolute joke, none of these men have any decency or honour but Mickelson is the worst. Pond scum, all of them.

Maybe they’ve been made ‘an offer they can’t refuse’. None of them looked happy about it in the pressers.

[Kopenhagen]

Exactly.

Expand the scope a little - shit, I don't care if fucking Everton are included (always need a whipping-boy). But any new European Super League needs to exclude any club owned by a state.

Well, yes, that would be the idea. Or they implement a mechanism to actually enforce a spending cap - similar to North America sports - which is punishable and enforceable by the members in the league, not some gutless, putrid, corrupt sanctioning/organizing body like UEFA.

Abu Dhabi and Saudi may concede to the caps simply because they realize they are nothing without the other clubs. United, Liverpool, Arsenal, etc., lend Abu Dhabi prestige simply by dancing with them. Their "achievements" are nothing without the prestige clubs.

[Egyptian36]

Well, yes, that would be the idea. Or they implement a mechanism to actually enforce a spending cap - similar to North America sports - which is punishable and enforceable by the members in the league, not some gutless, putrid, corrupt sanctioning/organizing body like UEFA.

Abu Dhabi and Saudi may concede to the caps simply because they realize they are nothing without the other clubs. United, Liverpool, Arsenal, etc., lend Abu Dhabi prestige simply by dancing with them. Their "achievements" are nothing without the prestige clubs.

It will never work. You are not dealing with normal clubs but countries, they will use hidden payments and find loopholes. They have thousands of companies that they control and make these companies pay any amount to anyone.

The issue is not Newcastle and City owners but the UK government and the Premier Leauge. They wanted this and did everything they can to make it happen. They will do whatever it takes to make City and Newcastle owners happy and get a slice of the money they are throwing around.

[JRed]

It will never work. You are not dealing with normal clubs but countries, they will use hidden payments and find loopholes. They have thousands of companies that they control and make these companies pay any amount to anyone.

The issue is not Newcastle and City owners but the UK government and the Premier Leauge. They wanted this and did everything they can to make it happen. They will do whatever it takes to make City and Newcastle owners happy and get a slice of the money they are throwing around.

This is the thing, we are dealing with countries, they are no longer football clubs but a part of the Abu Dhabi and Saudi states.
They do not comply with rules and regulations as a proper club owner would do. They just make their own rules.

[thaddeus]

And this after he basically called the Saudi's murderers last year. It's an absolute joke, none of these men have any decency or honour but Mickelson is the worst. Pond scum, all of them.

(Apparently) Mickelson's involvement is because he has gambling debts that no honest man can pay.  This is his get out of jail card.  The talk is that the $40m of confirmed gambling losses is a massive underestimate.

As a past-his-prime golfer at the risk of being declared bankrupt and with reduced future income I can see why he'd selfishly take the blood money.  I just wish they'd say they're only in it for the money instead of all the contorting and gaslighting, I can only assume their fat pay cheques came with a requirement that they don't reference the fat pay cheques.

[BarryCrocker]

(Apparently) Mickelson's involvement is because he has gambling debts that no honest man can pay.  This is his get out of jail card.  The talk is that the $40m of confirmed gambling losses is a massive underestimate.

As a past-his-prime golfer at the risk of being declared bankrupt and with reduced future income I can see why he'd selfishly take the blood money.  I just wish they'd say they're only in it for the money instead of all the contorting and gaslighting, I can only assume their fat pay cheques came with a requirement that they don't reference the fat pay cheques.

He's won $95m in prize money alone and a rumoured additional $700-800m off the golf course. Taking into consideration tax and agent fees he should have cleared at least $200-300m.

[El Lobo]

Maybe they’ve been made ‘an offer they can’t refuse’. None of them looked happy about it in the pressers.

They don't look happy because they're getting asked the questions other sportswashing stooges should be asked, and they think if they look all sombre and sad people will think 'Aww come on this is a bit much now, they're only golfers trying to put food on the table'

[Red-Soldier]

It will never work. You are not dealing with normal clubs but countries, they will use hidden payments and find loopholes. They have thousands of companies that they control and make these companies pay any amount to anyone.

The issue is not Newcastle and City owners but the UK government and the Premier Leauge. They wanted this and did everything they can to make it happen. They will do whatever it takes to make City and Newcastle owners happy and get a slice of the money they are throwing around.

Exactly.  When the government and governing bodies are in on it, there's not much you can do.

[Mister Flip Flop]

So they will magically go from having a £9 million shirt sponsor to probably £60-£70 million a year 

If that happens, I hope other teams kick off as to how they are legitimately getting these sort of deals when they couldn't a year ago.

No wonder, they'll just get away with it just like City with their Etihad deal.

"Other teams" will do fuck all as long as the scouse aren't winning anything.

FFP is gone and it's open season on corruption. I'd hoped maybe the Chelsea situation would have opened a lot of eyes into a need to clamp down on the City's and Newcastle's of this world but nowt has happened. Look at the Haaland deal as an example ffs. Paying him x amount on the books and god knows what behind the scenes for opening up hotels or making a once yearly apperance at some football school for kids in Abu Dhabi.

[Tobelius]

"Other teams" will do fuck all as long as the scouse aren't winning anything.

FFP is gone and it's open season on corruption. I'd hoped maybe the Chelsea situation would have opened a lot of eyes into a need to clamp down on the City's and Newcastle's of this world but nowt has happened. Look at the Haaland deal as an example ffs. Paying him x amount on the books and god knows what behind the scenes for opening up hotels or making a once yearly apperance at some football school for kids in Abu Dhabi.

Well,at least a coalition led by the Saudis and including Abu Dhabi hasn't attacked another country like Russia.Oh Wait..

[thejbs]

This is it. Spending caps mean nothing when you’re state run. There’s nothing to compel Saudi Arabia or Abu Dhabi to publish accounts, so they can funnel anything they want through back channels. Spending and salary caps will only affect the non-state run clubs.

[Dim Glas]

Saudi Arabia’s Court of Appeal has decided to uphold a death sentence for child defendant Abdullah al-Howaiti.
The Saudi justice system continues to rely on the torture-induced 'confession' of a 14-year-old boy to convict him for a crime he could not have committed.

https://twitter.com/Reprieve/status/1536452527302000644?s

Out of sight, out of mind eh NUFC fans.

Honestly, imagine being ok with the football club you love being owned by this. Disgusting.

[Red-Soldier]

Saudi authorities seize rainbow toys in crackdown on homosexuality

Pencil cases, skirts and hats among items targeted for ‘contradicting Islamic faith and public morals’

Saudi officials have been seizing rainbow-coloured toys and clothing from shops in the capital as part of a crackdown on homosexuality, state media has reported.

The kingdom opened to tourism in 2019 but, like other Gulf countries, it is frequently criticised for its human rights record, including its outlawing of homosexuality, a potential capital offence.

Items targeted in the Riyadh raids include bows, skirts, hats and pencil cases, most of them manufactured for children, according to a report broadcast on Tuesday evening by the state-run Al Ekhbariya news channel.

“We are giving a tour of the items that contradict the Islamic faith and public morals and promote homosexual colours targeting the younger generation,” an official from the commerce ministry, which is involved in the campaign, says in the report.

Gesturing towards a rainbow flag, a journalist adds: “The homosexuality flag is present in one of the Riyadh markets.” The colours send a “poisoned message” to children.

The report did not detail how many shops were targeted or items seized, and Saudi officials did not respond to a request for comment on Wednesday.

The rainbow raids come as Saudi Arabia has banned films that depict, or even refer to, sexual minorities.

In April, the kingdom said it had asked Disney to cut LGBTQ references from the Marvel film Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness but Disney refused.

Saudi regulators objected to a 12-second scene in which one character refers to her “two mums”.

An official said at the time the government was trying to work with Disney to find a solution but ultimately the film did not screen in Saudi cinemas.

Tuesday’s report showed stills of Benedict Cumberbatch in Doctor Strange and of “apparently foreign children waving rainbow flags”.

Disney’s latest animation, Lightyear, which features a same-sex kiss, has also been banned in Saudi Arabia and more than a dozen other countries, according to a source close to Disney.

Riyadh has not commented on that film but it has not appeared among the listings in large cinemas.

Saudi Arabia lifted a decades-long ban on all cinemas in late 2017, part of a social overhaul spearheaded by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman that is shaking up the conservative kingdom.

The country has since achieved significant growth in cinema ticket sales, with revenues totalling $238m in 2021, a 95% increase on the previous year, according to a report by Variety magazine in January.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jun/15/saudi-authorities-seize-rainbow-toys-crackdown-homosexuality

[LovelyCushionedHeader]

Saudi authorities seize rainbow toys in crackdown on homosexuality

Pencil cases, skirts and hats among items targeted for ‘contradicting Islamic faith and public morals’

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jun/15/saudi-authorities-seize-rainbow-toys-crackdown-homosexuality

Not to worry - Newcastle will be inciting change. And if that fails, maybe a bit of golf will do the trick.

[Dim Glas]

Saudi authorities seize rainbow toys in crackdown on homosexuality

Pencil cases, skirts and hats among items targeted for ‘contradicting Islamic faith and public morals’

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jun/15/saudi-authorities-seize-rainbow-toys-crackdown-homosexuality

and next season when the PL does it’s usual Rainbow Laces campaign, no one will bat an eyelid at Newcastle and Man City joining in.   

[Chakan]

Saudi authorities seize rainbow toys in crackdown on homosexuality

Pencil cases, skirts and hats among items targeted for ‘contradicting Islamic faith and public morals’

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jun/15/saudi-authorities-seize-rainbow-toys-crackdown-homosexuality

Phew was getting worried there were too many colors in that part of the world.

If only they could outlaw rainbows somehow.

[El Lobo]

Mike Ashley should start selling them big mugs in rainbow colours, that'd really trigger Newcastle fans

[JRed]

Seems the Geordie LGBT+ group are not changing Saudi beliefs after all.

[Son of Spion]

Yet these are seen as 'fit and proper' owners. 

[Mister Flip Flop]

Fit and proper owners

https://news.sky.com/story/saudi-authorities-seize-childrens-rainbow-patterned-toys-for-promoting-homosexuality-12634912

[Tobelius]

Fit and proper owners

https://news.sky.com/story/saudi-authorities-seize-childrens-rainbow-patterned-toys-for-promoting-homosexuality-12634912

Just cultural differences.

More cultural differences https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/03/15/saudi-arabia-mass-execution-81-men

And some personal differences https://www.cnbc.com/2021/02/26/us-intelligence-concludes-saudi-crown-prince-mohammed-bin-salman-approved-killing-of-journalist-jamal-khashoggi-.html

Bravely fighting terrorism https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/interactive/2022/saudi-war-crimes-yemen/

[thejbs]

Fit and proper owners

https://news.sky.com/story/saudi-authorities-seize-childrens-rainbow-patterned-toys-for-promoting-homosexuality-12634912

But the investment fund of Saudi Arabia is nothing to do with the government of Saudi Arabia. Honest.