YorkieG
Player Valuation: £500k
@catcherintherye I'm not gonna sit here and claim that I know to an absolute certainty the ins and outs of the structured deal and/or Amanda Staveley's credentials. But funds were transferred, a deposit was paid, and Ashley loaned £150m to the buying party as a demonstration of commitment to the sale (he would get it back immediately, of course). They have also engaged sports lawyers who will be on God-knows-what an hour to guide them through the arbitration process, which has already begun and then recommences in January. Meanwhile the case is concurrently being considered by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (or at least it hopes to; there is a jurisdiction hearing on the 29th of September to determine whether or not Newcastle's case against the PL can actually be heard in that particular court). This is all fact.
That's an awful lot of time and money spent on some intricate ruse. Why would Staveley and the Reuben's et al be interested in that sort of charade, not to mention the bigwigs at the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia? Or if Staveley was a timewaster, why wouldn't Ashley say so, as he did when she first came to the table with another deal (which obviously didn't carry water) in 2017?
Re your point (2). I know, agreed; that's what I said.
Re point (3) They pulled out in the last week of July after the Premier League made no decision after 15 or so weeks of supposed tussling over evidence regarding the separation of PIF from the Saudi state.
Re point (3) again; human rights sadly had absolutely nothing to do with it. There's a chance it may have had something to do with it at some point in the process, had the Saudi state been put through the O&D Test, but it wasn't. Possibly one reason why they were so anxious to prove separation between it and PIF.
None of this has come from bias sources or Ashley cronies; these are accepted accounts of what happened. Unless the likes of Matt Slater at the Athletic (to name one of many examples) are in on it as well.
As for the rubbish about Mbappe etc. That was always a total cringe and I didn't subscribe to any of it. Re Rafael, I wanted him back of course, and given his comments at the start of the season ("we thought something would happen, it didn't, and that's it") - he was interested. Unless he was duped by it all as well.
I have absolutely no affection for any member of the consortium; no reason to fight their corner or argue in their favour. They ultimately mean absolutely nothing to NUFC and, clearly, have fundamental issues which may never successfully traverse the Premier League's tests. So hopefully you see all this as a fairly unbiased take.
That's an awful lot of time and money spent on some intricate ruse. Why would Staveley and the Reuben's et al be interested in that sort of charade, not to mention the bigwigs at the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia? Or if Staveley was a timewaster, why wouldn't Ashley say so, as he did when she first came to the table with another deal (which obviously didn't carry water) in 2017?
Re your point (2). I know, agreed; that's what I said.
Re point (3) They pulled out in the last week of July after the Premier League made no decision after 15 or so weeks of supposed tussling over evidence regarding the separation of PIF from the Saudi state.
Re point (3) again; human rights sadly had absolutely nothing to do with it. There's a chance it may have had something to do with it at some point in the process, had the Saudi state been put through the O&D Test, but it wasn't. Possibly one reason why they were so anxious to prove separation between it and PIF.
None of this has come from bias sources or Ashley cronies; these are accepted accounts of what happened. Unless the likes of Matt Slater at the Athletic (to name one of many examples) are in on it as well.
As for the rubbish about Mbappe etc. That was always a total cringe and I didn't subscribe to any of it. Re Rafael, I wanted him back of course, and given his comments at the start of the season ("we thought something would happen, it didn't, and that's it") - he was interested. Unless he was duped by it all as well.
I have absolutely no affection for any member of the consortium; no reason to fight their corner or argue in their favour. They ultimately mean absolutely nothing to NUFC and, clearly, have fundamental issues which may never successfully traverse the Premier League's tests. So hopefully you see all this as a fairly unbiased take.
