Magpies eye chance to take flight with new owner

53 Responses

1. Chuck, it’s time to move on to new pastures, and also to calm your fantasies. Chelsea and Man City both got in a few years before the financial fair play regulations came in. They spent what they liked for a few years and in the process turned their clubs into a much bigger revenue generators before the new financial rules came in. Newcastle United won’t have that, and they also have far more competition now. There are still only four Champions League places but there’s a top six or seven now.

   As far as the diversication of Saudi industry goes, in financial terms this takeover isn’t much different to your beloved ‘Fig Newtons’, it’s tinsel and PR to normalise KSA, attract inward investment and act as a publicity vehicle for the real businesses, like the huge air carriers from the UAE. You can hardly avoid names such as Emirates, Etihad etc in the Premier league nowadays.

   On your doom and gloom about the virus, as things stand, the current crisis is as nothing compared to the great ‘flu of 1918, 1919 and 1920, which lasted for three years all told and killed tens of millions. What came after it though? the ‘Roaring Twenties.’ Worst of all was the Black Death which wiped out half the population of 14th Century Europe, but it also led to a better deal for peasants and an increase in longevity.

2. Worky
   Actually I have no fantasies about winning anything, I just state facts and being I’m aware of what occurred when “Citeh”was bought by whichever Gulf Oligarch
   and the reason they are presently in trouble through not obeying the fair play rules, it ain’t brain surgery.
   On the other hand it appears only one person cashed in with a winning bet, on Leicester winning the Epl Championship, strait outta the Championship League, which indicates any side can win that coveted piece of silverware . NO ?
   .As far as I’m concerned as long as we have a competitive side and can compete with the top six, I’m happy enough.

   C’mon “Fig Newtons” just attempting to express the fact, that although the kingdom is primarily a producer and seller of oil, the Prince now ruling Saudi has reached the conclusion it may end soon (remember coal) and wants to re-invent the country
   as a modern state, before it’s too late and definitely has the dosh to do it.
   Possibly his purchase of NUFC has an ulterior motive, that as a major owner of a top EPL side it may increase his ability to purchase a broadcasting license, which he presently lacks and looks to be the reason for this interminable wait. for the sale to conclude.

   Look this is the 21 century, not the middle ages nor the end of ww1 and it appears though it’s a killer pandemic it may differ from former pandemics, as a
   man made or possibly an experiment gone wrong, not condemning anyone as it’s not at all certain, but there have been suggestions by some.
   Hopefully there’s a number of countries working to develop a some kind of anti-dote or medication to counter the pandemic, which may take years to develop.
   And this problem may be around for some time, it being difficult to detect and it’s looking for people around my age, and here I am in the heart of the epicenter,
   ah well, I have had a decent run in life.
   Oh ! bye the way what is or were the Roaring Twenties in regard to the Pandemic ,
   the only Roaring twenties I’m aware of is in the latitudes of the twenties, when at certain times of the year the wind blows hard much like some of my blogs
   .

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   kingdom
   ,

   well apparently the new ruler has
   declared a change in the country’s economy , investing the current wealth owned by the Saudis in becoming a modern industrial nation, Before the country runs out of it’s present oil wealth.
   Whether that means becoming another major aircraft stop or whatever,
   Hey ! those Typhoon aircraft cost a lotta dosh.
   So tell me how did the Black Death, (which also had it’s origin in Asia ) which you added to the story end and what was the cure for the Spanish Flue ?
   This is the twenty first century and not the Middle Ages, where modern pharmaceutical manufacturers can hopefully create a drug to counter this latest
   threat.
   On the other hand we may be in for a much longer period of time dealing with this facel-ess and deadly pandemic encountered in this the twenty first century, some
   claiming it’s effects may last for years.
   And one has only to read about the fear of entire countries economic existence
   becoming threatened with calls for the re-opening of business everywhere, long before seeing any real reduction of sickness or death and certainly before most countries are prepared .

   plus

   I also noticed

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3. What is it with you oldies and boring, unappealing biscuits? I used to put it down to war and postwar austerity but you’re a Yank. My mother used to eat ‘Rich Tea’ biscuits, which are the most boring, undigestible biscuits in human history, I’d rather eat dog biscuits! I’m from the spoiled generation, I won’t even get out of bed for something that isn’t dripping in chocolate and also has a nice bit of fruity flavour in it or something like that.

   Chuck, you are thinking of the ‘Roaring Forties’, the ‘Roaring Twenties’ was the 1920s, which was a time of growth and gaiety, though it did all go pear shaped again in the decades after.

   I know it’s the 21st Century, Chuck, but maybe the House of Saud can bring the middle ages back to Tyneside? They could restore the Gallowgate to its original use or have floggings at half time?

4. Worky

   I guess I might have accidentally struck your funny bone in one of my rants, as it’s not often you add humor to your blogs .
   Actually I prefer “McVitties Digestives” the most dunkable biscuit however not a fan of the chocolate covered type, apparently some clever idiot combined the two and came up with flavors that just don’t work in combination .
   It’s amazing the number of biscuits that originated in the UK and have been copied by others .
   Also the amount of jams, I guess you guys are born with a sweet tooth, I’m particularly fond of Chivers Olde Marmalade , to go with my morning toast and coffee, an interesting story is the introduction of marmalade by a Dundee jam maker (a woman) who bought an entire load of oranges from a Spanish vessel in the harbor
   and experimented with them, until viola ! we had “marmalade”, the rest is history.
   Though I was informed the Scots know how to market stuff, who swears by wrapping the delicacy in a tartan/plaid wrapper alone adds an additional 20% to the selling price..
   One doesn’t often think of the UK as an exporter of foodstuff, but it may surprise one to find that they still dominate certain markets, certainly for afternoon tea stuff, plus the tea market itself is also dominated by “olde” English products.
   Well in the hopefully near future we may be lacking those home made articles like
   football players , being we will have big time johnnies (bit of jingoism) playing for the Toon, apart from the Longshank bros. who I hear will get contracts.
   As for the sale of the club, nowt good comes easy, though I don’t think it’s any fault of Ashleys, more like a political situation that the government wants to pretend they are being diligent in examining the why’s and wherefore’s., but when it’s a case of selling arms to a big customer, then it’s a done deal except if there’s some major reason other than their murdering one of their own citizens, hey take my word for it, the government are far too involved with Both the Pandemic and Brexit to bother with a football take-over.
   And you guys have Boris to deal with for the next five years, and bye the way
   why is it that no one appears to want the shadow PM gig, however nice to see Jeremy back to where he belongs, biting the heels of his own party, one would think he would keep a low profile following his fall from grace.

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5. I lost my virginity in Dundee, and I also spent a night in the Police cells there when I went back up for second helpings. If Dundee is the capital of marmalade, then Tiptree in Essex is the jam capital of the UK. My Dad used to be hooked on Tiptree lime marmalade, which is worth a go if your taste in Marmalade is a bit ‘kinky’. Their jam is very nice too but I like the French ‘Bonne Maman.’ I like my Marmalade quite bitter with huge lumps of orange peel, none of this ‘fine cut’ rubbish! Have you ever tried Frank Cooper’s Oxford Marmalade?

   As I recall, the idea of sticking a small rag on top of a jar of preserve and knocking the price up reached its zenith in the reactionary 80s. Everyone was into the Edwardian country cottage thing. They didn’t make jam but there was a chain of twee, middle class homeware shops called ‘Laura Ashley’ who became huge punting all that kind of lifestyle in Thatcher’s Britain. I think they may have gone bankrupt recently?

   They probably won’t admit to it now because no-one likes to look like a mug, but a lot of Corbyn’s supporters in the Labour membership were conned into voting for Starmer as leader, and they’re now having a huge case of buyer’s remorse as he takes off the mask and reveals his true saurian countenance. The leaked Labour report on how the right of the party did everything they could to undermine their leadership (including sitting on anti semitism cases) and make their own party lose the 2017 election has re-started a war which was just starting to die down. It’s over 850 pages but I still read some big chunks of it and it isn’t going to go away for a while yet. If you think that Labour did badly in the last election, their opinion poll ratings have actually gone down since then. At the election it was 32.9% of the vote, now it is 31%.

6. I quite like Fig Rolls as it happens. They’re number 2 in the biscuit league, just behind Wagon Wheels and just ahead of Custard Creams.

7. Actually if you like dates and figs try “Ma”Amoul”, probably sold in “Harrods food halls” plus I recommend Tunisian dates, the de-pitted type.
   Of course the Scotts are excellent inventors of baked tea time snacks , especially
   the Short-bread , overpriced in their plaid wrappers, but hey !
   While were on the subject of food and the Scotts, they were in their time the favorite mercenaries hired by the Swedes, being they carried there own supply of food, consisting of a bag of oatmeal, which they cooked foe themselves (possibly add a bit of turnip/swede too and viola dinner, ) they (the Swedes) hired them also for their ability to endure hardship and were decent fighters, well recommended.
   Nay deep fried Mars bars in em day’s.

   As for seemingly interminable wait’s, the final realization we have finally got rid of this shyster, and have the wealthiest owners in the EPL will I’m sure make things
   a lot better in comparison to a hope of avoiding another relegation, hopefully the fans ambitions may not reach fruition for a couple seasons or more, for me just having a competitive side is enough.
   Though not many of our competitors sound very happy, a bit of jealousy I imagine
   One never knows when things like this happen, is it destiny , luck or just the fact the fans deserve it and we are getting our just due . ?
   As for Labour, it will once again become a “Blairite Party”, much like the Liberals
   and possibly form some sort of coalition, being once Maggie destroyed both an industrial UK, for a service industry, most Britons also exchanged their identity to “middle class”, which in turn gave thought to the probability that in fact they may, actually be so, and acted accordingly.
   .
   Change happens and we have to adapt, whether we like it or not.

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8. I’m very much afraid that it will take much longer than expected to finally get rid of this scary Pandemic, a no see-um, no feel-um, no smell-um scare’y monster that is threatening our planet in a way we never imagined and who knows it may be a permanent habitué, being it was I assume created within a lab.
   And unfortunately we have reached a stage where countries are becoming broke, with a majority of people unemployed and production down. which in turn effects the Markets and yes no doubt some countries will just go broke.
   At present many are attempting to force change, to either open up industries a choice between living through the Pandemic while ignoring the health issues, or awaiting the Pandemics end then attempting to rebuild, a choice not given yet by most governments,
   Which may result in a form of anarchy, hell we were doing a good job of destroying the planet as it was ,without any help from The Corona virus, perhaps Mother Nature has sent us this particular virus (one that no-one knows anything about) to make sure we “Get it” before it’s too late .
   Yes sir folks, things will never ever be the same if we are fortunate enough to come out of the situation we are in, there will have to be changes made everywhere and god only knows what the economic consequences will be for us.
   Ah well , there’s a certain luck in being an octogenarian, and having had an interesting life, though I do feel a certain empathy for the young who bare no responsibility.

9. Chuck, I’m sorry, Hugh has made me realise that I was rather harsh about your Fig Newtons, they’re nowhere near as bad as Rich Tea and the figs would be quite nice if it wasn’t covered in so much of that biscuit dough. Incidentally, on the subject of biscuits, I am currently ramming some Lyons Jam Teacakes down my cakehole!

   The main thing with Shortbread is the amount of butter it has in it, the real stuff has loads of butter in it, it’s far more expensive but it’s worth it. The butter is the flavour and the texture.

   Stop winding me up about the Saudis!

10. Yes, Shortbread is pretty good. My mother used to bake the stuff and it was awesome. Those Lyons Jam Teacakes look nice too. I have to be careful because I can be an accomplished snacker if I allow myself to.

    I like a Garibaldi too, as long as they don’t skimp on the currants.

    Must stop thinking about biscuits or I’ll be mounting a raid on the Co-op later.

11. Bisquwits Bisquwits I love Bisquwits from ‘figgy’ Newtons, Garibaldi, there’s only one that I don’t get that’s ‘Oreos’ The one that out shines all the rest the one that is the Creme- del- a-creme the Rolls Royce of bisquwits is:
    Borders Dark Chocolate Gingers If you haven’t tried them you are missing out!!
    Hell I’m a man that has had army ‘Hard Tack’ the only waterproof biscuit known to man, you could tile your roof with them.

12. Both you guy’s “owe me one” in the words of NYC Police dept. at least I believe this where the expression originated.
    for what ?
    For taking you to a different place , away from the boredom of the pandemic and all of the crap attached too it, that arises when one thinks of it.
    Too visions of all of the yet untried goodies you might miss out on if you succumb
    to this un-smellable , untasteable ,scarey , where one is unaware whether they have become a carrier or not.
    Plus it’s over a month and still no sign of any testing centers, oh ! sure our idiot president insists on telling us that tests are available while taking up valuable tv time muttering or attempting to read out numbers of availability of all sorts of medical assistance, what a clown, makes Boris look like a genius. Who despite
    all the protection available managed to contact the virus himself..
    Whadayagonnado !

    Anyhow enough with the horror stuff, I suggest you both take a hike to the goodues shop and load up on goodies and a few bottles or whatever your get high stuff is, because this unknown virus may be around for a good while yet

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13. Chuck Are you still ‘supping’ Amstel, I seem to recall back in the day you would always sign off by saying ” Well I’m off for a Amstel”
    I maybe old but the memory’s still sharp!

14. Hoppy craft ales are my tipple, particularly an IPA.

15. Hugh, on the subject of Lyons, did you ever see that thing on TV about the Lyons ‘LEO’ project? It was a bit of a milestone in computing history.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LEO_(computer)

    I’m just old enough to remember Lyon’s Corner Houses and the waitresses in their neat black and white uniforms. They ran the Wimpy Bars as well, they were a giant empire that all started in Newcastle. I used to like Wimpy Bars, my favourite was the ‘Big Bender Meal’, which was the cause of schoolboy laughter the non-PC 70s. Maggie Thatcher worked as a chemist for Lyons before she ruined Britain.

    Nutmag, I’ve had those Border biscuits, which are nice but I’m not a big ginger fan nowadays so I haven’t tried the Ginger ones. When I worked in Oxfam, they used to sell nice biscuits like those Border ones, but they had Cranberries and Coconut in, Cranberries are very nice in biscuits if you haven’t tried them already?

16. Worky, interesting stuff about LEO computers. I’d never heard of that one. I remember ICL of course, which LEO merged into according to Wiki, although all my 80s mainframe computing was on IBM machines.

17. Hugh, I saw LEO at the Science Museum. They have a few old ‘celebrities’ from the world of computing in there. It did bugger all for Lyons though, it cost them more money than it saved but that’s often the case. Xerox PARC did bugger all for Xerox, but what came out of it, windows, mice, F keys, Object Oriented computing etc shaped the future of computing and made many of world’s biggest companies. It wasn’t so good for IBM and their mainframe monsters either. Even though they brought out the original IBM ‘PC’, it was Bill Gates and Paul Allen who did well out of that project.

    Chuck, so far this CoVid-19 has been a virus of rich countries full of people flying everywhere for leisure and business. We’re all dropping like flies in the US and Europe but countries like Vietnam and Ethiopia have been pretty much unscathed if the figures are to be believed. Vietnam is a country of almost 100 million, but they haven’t registered one CoVid-19 death yet.

18. Will the end result (the sale of NUFC) continue to be something objectionable to most football fans, or is it all about jealousy ?
    Personally I believe so, otherwise why object, being there is no crime involved .
    Oh ! but what about the killing of Khashoggi,
    Erm ! sorry but that’s an ongoing investigation in Turkey, though it appears the Saudis have chosen their own victims in the kingdom and has nothing whatsoever to do with the sale of a football club, thousands of miles away and over a year after the death in question.
    And if the British Government had wanted to become involved, why wait ?
    Look the truth of the matter is I suppose, that most of those in parliament are loath to blame The Saudis for anything that might interfere with the massive amount of arms sales between the two , plus the operation of ground control personnel (British) who control targeting and other technical advisory jobs that are awaiting the eventual take-over by locals, as yet untrained, which is commonplace in Saudi side they discovered their first barrel of oil.

    Ah well I suppose it’s a relief from the daily bombardment of Coronavirus info, usually describing the same old nonsense and we now know even less about it than
    we did months ago, with Government (if one can call it that) clueless and doing little but play political games, each one shit scared about what to do or what to say, which usually ends in condemning some other country’s attempts at control , or find someone to blame, in which Chna appears to be the designated
    victim.
    I’m afraid this virus could be natures way of giving us a final warning as to how we just continue to destroy the planet, even though we are all aware of it,
    And the fact there’s a football club that is for sale in Newcastle has little of any consequence and no one appears to consider that fact
    The Saudis along with their British technicians are using British supplied bombs, aircraft and guidance systems and destroying what there was of Yemen, in the name of god knows who ?
    Ah Well !

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19. Will the end result (the sale of NUFC) continue to be something objectionable to most football fans, or is it all about jealousy ?

    Personally I believe so, otherwise why object, being there is no crime involved .
    Oh ! but what about the killing of Khashoggi,
    Erm ! sorry but that’s an ongoing investigation in Turkey, though it appears the Saudis have chosen their own victims in the kingdom and has nothing whatsoever to do with the sale of a football club, thousands of miles away and over a year after the death in question.
    And if the British Government had wanted to become involved, why wait ?
    Look the truth of the matter is I suppose, that most of those in parliament are loath to blame The Saudis for anything that might interfere with the massive amount of arms sales between the two , plus the operation of ground control personnel (British) who control targeting and other technical advisory jobs that are awaiting the eventual take-over by locals, as yet untrained, which is commonplace in Saudi side they discovered their first barrel of oil.

    Ah well I suppose it’s a relief from the daily bombardment of Coronavirus info, usually describing the same old nonsense and we now know even less about it than
    we did months ago, with Government (if one can call it that) clueless and doing little but play political games, each one shit scared about what to do or what to say, which usually ends in condemning some other country’s attempts at control , or find someone to blame, in which Chna appears to be the designated
    victim.
    I’m afraid this virus could be natures way of giving us a final warning as to how we just continue to destroy the planet, even though we are all aware of it,
    And the fact there’s a football club that is for sale in Newcastle has little of any consequence and no one appears to consider that fact
    The Saudis along with their British technicians are using British supplied bombs, aircraft and guidance systems and destroying what there was of Yemen, in the name of god knows who ?
    Ah Well !

    o

    o

20. Is the fact NUFC is for sale and to one if the wealthiest if not THE wealthiest
    country one could wish for, a problem for not only all of the other EPL sides, but also have certain fans and so called local sports writer finding objectionable reasons for condemning it,

    Personally I believe so, otherwise why object, being there is no crime involved .
    Oh ! but what about the killing of Khashoggi,
    Erm ! sorry but that’s an ongoing investigation in Turkey, though it appears the Saudis have chosen their own victims in the kingdom and has nothing whatsoever to do with the sale of a football club, thousands of miles away and over a year after the death in question.
    And if the British Government had wanted to become involved, why wait ?
    Look the truth of the matter is I suppose, that most of those in parliament are loath to blame The Saudis for anything that might interfere with the massive amount of arms sales between the two , plus the operation of ground control personnel (British) who control targeting and other technical advisory jobs that are awaiting the eventual take-over by locals, as yet untrained, which is commonplace in Saudi side they discovered their first barrel of oil.

    Ah well I suppose it’s a relief from the daily bombardment of Coronavirus info, usually describing the same old nonsense and we now know even less about it than
    we did months ago, with Government (if one can call it that) clueless and doing little but play political games, each one shit scared about what to do or what to say, which usually ends in condemning some other country’s attempts at control , or find someone to blame, in which Chna appears to be the designated
    victim.
    I’m afraid this virus could be natures way of giving us a final warning as to how we just continue to destroy the planet, even though we are all aware of it,
    And the fact there’s a football club that is for sale in Newcastle has little of any consequence and no one appears to consider that fact
    The Saudis along with their British technicians are using British supplied bombs, aircraft and guidance systems and destroying what there was of Yemen, in the name of god knows who ?
    Ah Well !

    o

    o

21. Chuck, you’re having a little ‘straw man’ argument with yourself there. I’m a Newcastle United fan and this takeover is a problem for me, does that mean that I’m ‘jealous’? Secondly, implying that the only thing that is problematic about KSA is the murder of Jamal Khassoggi is a bit like implying that the only thing problematic about Stalin’s Soviet Union is the fact he had Trotsky assassinated whilst ignoring the other 20 million+ who were slaughtered.

    KSA isn’t one of the richest countries in the world, it’s very unequal and you only see a very select band of rich Saudis in places like London and New York with their Rolls Royces and their apartments on Fifth Avenue. The average Saudi takes home far less than people in the US or the Western European nations and in terms of GDP they just about get into the top 20.

22. Worky
    The long awaited signing of the contract has more to do with unlicensed re-broadcasting or piracy of one of saudis-Arabias neighbors tv broadcasts, actually of football games.
    Khassaggi has never been mentioned and rightly so, being it had nothing to do with the UK, it’s the rivalry’s between Perishing Gulf area Oligarchs really.

    Was it about the relentless strafing and bombing of Yemen with the help of British military personnel and equipment. then sure I may object , but to state the Khashoggi murder had anything to do with the hold up is not a valid argument the UK, having had nothing to do with the Khashoggi.

    Look the Middle East is probably the most confusing area in the world, to attempt to classify the politics of any of these countries is impossible and much the same
    for those that come under the general umbrella of islam, I mean how many different groupings are/were there fighting in Syria ?
    You are experiencing a situation where the UK wants an “all clear” and hopes the rest of us believe it was all about due diligence, which will satisfy the Saudis and not threaten those valuable contracts;

    It takes a special person to object to the takeover, when here we are amid a Pandemic virus, where thousands are dying daily, others have no income from the general stoppage of available work, the Saudis are relentlessly bombing Yemen and a ten year war in Syria continues, with hundreds of thousands of refugees
    pouring into Europe, and you are concerned about the death of one person.

    Yes I do believe most of our competition in the EPL don’t want to see more clubs entering the league with unlimited funds, it would be stupid to claim otherwise it’s only natural they prefer clubs with limited resources and I am only stating the reality when I say some fans and spokespersons for other clubs are jealous, No !

    And hey I just want to say, those Newcastle United writers (the likes of Lee Rider. which is also a brand name for an old manufacturer of Blue Jeans) are simply awful .
    , though the local papers were always the Pitts, other than “The Cronics” Football Final on Saturday evenings.

    And yes I have visited Saudi Arabia a number of times and believe it or not saw nothing disturbing, though one has like in any country to obey the rules, one particular occasion when looking for a US electric plug- in fitting I found myself in
    Jedda’s gold street, where gold was openly on display, yet there was no fear of anyone chancing to steal any, as the punishment was to lose a hand,
    Scarey !

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23. From the sound bites we hear, it appears Gareth Bale is to be our first signing, with loads a dosh available, not exactly the way I or many of the fans would do it.
    But I get the idea that it takes an earth shattering transfer to attract other top level talent a monkey see, monkey do, situation.
    When in fact it should be the job of agents to find players, if they don’t understand the fact that NUFC have a (full stadium) of fans over fifty thousand every home game and that’s under an owner who is tight as a drum,, combine that with having the Saudi prince who has the use of a three hundred billion bank account, by far the wealthiest owner in the EPL, and hello ! what player with a normal intellect wouldn’t jump on that.
    Well from what we hear from most fans and observers is one needs to make one or more deals for BIG stars, apparently, despite being a top ten club in both the EPL and for a hundred years since they began for the majority of time in the old first division, add to that the fact that they were considered the twentieth richest club in football at various times.
    And though the last thirteen years have been poor both as far as the general quality of the side’s football is concerned, due to our owner hiring cheap . hiring cheap managers, resulting in only ( a hope to survive in the PL) and now having more money available, it seems some of those same fans believe whatever they read by pundits that may know less than themselves.,
    Though I am sure the word is out that in fact the Geordies have mega bucks available, which should attract the fading stars to ensure a decent pension from that last contract, the pundits are claiming, yes you got the money, but they also want championship football, which is the dumbest excuse yet .
    Would any of them, on contemplating years later think “yes I played in a couple of the champions league games but missed out on an extra million or more by not signing for the Geordies, I think so !
    Soh ! don’t listen to the football morons, the ex players and lousy managers who supposedly know whats happening, but in fact are wrong more often than right. .

    th

    0 by playing a defensive tactical game (boring) still

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24. Thought I might bring a a comment concerning the Saudi take-over which anyone with a curiosity about should read. (being it’s as complicated and unknown as the corona-virus)
    In any case , its in the BBC sports section and fully explains the why’s and wherefore of the current position. ( it’s a bit difficult to find)
    A key statement is ( The Premier League, cannot act as Moral Arbiter against owners) and unless there is a clear link between an individual who has been convicted in some court of law or tribunal, there’s no case.
    The fact is, only the US Senate has reached such a decision , which will not be considered as one of the two deciding factors above.
    Well don’t take my word for it, unless you don’t care .
    Which I guess the government is glad of, being they can still visit The Saudis and gratefully accept whatever goodies they may be offered.
    So Relax folks, it will happen this week,

25. It seems few understand that the trial for the murder of Khashoggi was concluded, resulting in five death sentences of five of the so called perpetrators and a number of jail sentences, for others.
    Held in Saudi Arabia, due to the fact the murder took place on Saudi territory, which was the Saudi consulate, which is recognized as such.

    I’m not sure whether the Turks consider themselves as having any jurisdiction, but there were various claims by both countries, where now one hears little, perhaps the Turks are letting their claim, die a slow death.
    However the claim by Khashoggi’s wife is no more than an appeal to whoever will listen, which I believe will be ignored by the parliament, knowing better than to
    jeopardize their military sales to the Saudis,
    As for the football League who have little to offer, being they cannot interfere as a moral arbiter against owners, in which case it begs the question, are the Saudis involved in pirating tv broadcasts of one of their neighbors, being the only possible reason for the prohibition of the sale , which considering the present cosy relationship between the Saudis and the UK, will not happen, at least until
    the case against the Saudi’s is proven.
    Plus of course both governments understand the reasons involved and are attempting to convince the public, that a serious attempt to examine the facts surrounding the situation , have been given due consideration and the deal can go through.
    As for the objections by other EPL sides, simply a self defensive matter, I mean no one cares about Khashoggi, or the fact the Saudi’s are bombing the shit outta Yemen, and no other EPL clubs want to compete against another super wealthy side, which is a natural reaction.

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    it was held in Saudi-Arabia

    the rest

26. Between news on when the Grand Reopening of stores, barber shops and especially Beauty Salons should be just around the corner, but whaddaboud the NUFC takeover?
    Looks like at least half of the EPL clubs have objected to the takeover, (quick get the names, so we can concentrate on giving them a hammering when we are fully
    set up ), following say a three year recruiting binge, it’s no other reason than
    jealousy, especially the Man U’s and Citeh’s, who were used to spreading their money around being those below the top ten are in a struggle to survive relegation before the 20-21 season even opens,
    I recall when WBA were the perennial elevator side up one year down the next,
    However the acquisition of many of the second tier clubs has changed most of what, we were used too among the clubs there, to days sides are much stronger,
    Certainly Leicester. Wolves, even Sheffield are examples.
    Plus the fact the EPL, has been (generally recognized) as the toughest league in football, and pays (in general) the highest wages.
    Apparently Parliament will be the final word, whose plate is full with (The Pandemic and the final stages of Brexit)
    And who there, Labour or Tory is willing to threaten those rewarding contracts
    that are essential to the economy of the UK .
    Ged- it, !
    The waiting and anxiety of fans is only to ensure that they believe that Parliament
    has undergone a form of due diligence and therefor find no evidence of crime, which will ensure the deal goes through.
    I have even read some misguided NUFC fans are objecting, to the sale
    and find that a bit ridicules, especially if they find out that the charges have nothing to do with the death of Khasoggi, but to an unproven act of “pirating a tv broadcast”, which any knowledgable football fan can tell them is even in to-day
    world commonplace.
    So Relax folks !

    l

    parlors

27. Chuck, spare me the rationalisations, you didn’t even read my comment judging by your reply as once again, you are just putting forward straw man arguments, arguing against things I didn’t say and in some cases, suggesting I said the exact opposite of what I did say. Your analysis of the Middle East is lousy too. Even journalists on the Chronic are uneasy about what’s going on.

    Disconcerting to see so many #nufc fans parroting lines / Tweets / information sowed by Saudi bots. And then interacting with them too.

    This #nufctakeover has taken us to some really strange places already…

    — Mark Douglas (@MsiDouglas) May 13, 2020

28. Worky
    How does one” not read “a comment by you and then invent a straw man argument about it.?
    And what exactly did I claim you said which was the opposite of what you actually mentioned ?
    As for my analysis (another random ?) of the Middle East, what exactly did I say that you believe to be lousy ?

    Then injecting an article by Mark Douglas, who I assume works for the Chronic and claims there are lines being Parroted from Saudi (bots) , no really ?
    Puhleez !

    And why shouldn’t one be allowed to mention whatever they like or feel to be the truth surrounding this the biggest happening to occur since Maggie Thatcher destroyed the local economy.
    After all we are subjected too the same information
    As for paying attention to ( Journalists ) at that rag, which I only remember being the only paper that gave results and tables for just about every club, both big and local, the “Football Final”, which I doubt has long since disappeared.
    Too bad ,as to refer to any of those employed at the Chronic as journalists, is an insult to journalism
    The only reliable truth is that parliament will keep this decision at arms length, being the costs of both Brexit and the Pandemic , will prevent them from threatening certain trade deals.

29. OK folks, it’s about time these bullshit anti sale clubs and those in general opposition for reasons they won’t discuss, few who have had a last thirteen or so years of being owned by a control freak who used the club as an adjunct to his main business and now should deserve an owner who can afford to splash the cash as they say.
    But no , it seems a maximum of present EPL clubs object to the sale, advancing all kinds of reasons, (all of which have proven to be not a legal reason) when everyone understands the real reason is they will be difficult to beat following a splurge in signings, which could put them in the top six
    and compete with any other club in the division, yeh that’s it folks.
    I just read an article by that renown (journalist ?) face it we all know that sports journalism is the lowest form of writing.
    Who attempts to explain whats happening, well they have tried using Khashoggi
    and other reasons , but it really boils down to an accusation (as of yet unproven)
    that the Saudis have involved themselves to a form of broadcast piracy, by one of the Gulf Emirates.
    Of course there are those who believe the Saudis to be a corrupt nation, but just look around you and you will encounter many more corrupt countries than Saudi Arabia and as far as pirated or streamed broadcasts, some legal others questionable, they are countless and few have been convicted or even charged by whatever organization controls international broadcasting .
    In which case it must be the un-named Gulf State or other clubs in the EPL, or those who believe anything in print.
    However if this sale does not go through as planned, do you think the real owner , yes folks the Prince in charge of their (development fund of around three hundred billion $ will forget it , if you have any doubt, you may be as dumb as our “genius
    journalists” at the chronic.
    And Worky you may just be working yourself out of a job , if you keep on insisting that there is a valid reason to refuse the sale, being your job is part and parcel of
    NUFC being an EPL side.
    Sure there are other or another group who claim they are in contention to buy the club, but do they have the dosh we can expect from the Saudis , meaning perhaps another Ashley or worse, I don’t know? sounds like a dumb idea to me .And I fail to remember any such nonsense going on about a sale, when just about every EPL sides sales have gone through without any challenge.
    I say the sale will go through, being our elected officials are aware of those big bucks to be spread out over future years in order to bring Saudia Arabia into the twentieth century, could very well depend on this particular sale.
    Ged-it !

    I say the three hundred billion

    state or

    gulf

    gulf state

    /

    9

30. OK folks, it’s about time these bullshit anti sale clubs and those in general opposition for reasons they won’t discuss, few who have had a last thirteen or so years of being owned by a control freak who used the club as an adjunct to his main business and now should deserve an owner who can afford to splash the cash as they say.
    But no , it seems a maximum of present EPL clubs object to the sale, advancing all kinds of reasons, (all of which have proven to be not a legal reason) when everyone understands the real reason is they will be difficult to beat following a splurge in signings, which could put them in the top six
    and compete with any other club in the division, yeh that’s it folks.
    I just read an article by that renown (journalist ?) face it we all know that sports journalism is the lowest form of writing.
    Who attempts to explain whats happening, well they have tried using Khashoggi
    and other reasons , but it really boils down to an accusation (as of yet unproven)
    that the Saudis have involved themselves to a form of broadcast piracy, by one of the Gulf Emirates.
    Of course there are those who believe the Saudis to be a corrupt nation, but just look around you and you will encounter many more corrupt countries than Saudi Arabia and as far as pirated or streamed broadcasts, some legal others questionable, they are countless and few have been convicted or even charged by whatever organization controls international broadcasting .
    In which case it must be the un-named Gulf State or other clubs in the EPL, or those who believe anything in print.
    However if this sale does not go through as planned, do you think the real owner , yes folks the Prince in charge of their (development fund of around three hundred billion $ will forget it , if you have any doubt, you may be as dumb as our “genius
    journalists” at the chronic.
    And Worky you may just be working yourself out of a job , if you keep on insisting that there is a valid reason to refuse the sale, being your job is part and parcel of
    NUFC being an EPL side.
    Sure there are other or another group who claim they are in contention to buy the club, but do they have the dosh we can expect from the Saudis , meaning perhaps another Ashley or worse, I don’t know? sounds like a dumb idea to me .And I fail to remember any such nonsense going on about a sale, when just about every EPL sides sales have gone through without any challenge.
    I say the sale will go through, being our elected officials are aware of those big bucks to be spread out over future years in order to bring Saudia Arabia into the twentieth century, a lot could very well depend on this particular sale.
    Ged-it !

    /

    9

31. I used to look forward to watching football games, each week- end, then along
    came this f*****g virus , which not only prevented any crowds emerging and a host of other no no’s !
    Yeah, I understand I and a few hundred million others, but I can feel sorry for myself, ain’t no law against it.
    So what does one do during situations like this ?
    Depends on what kinda mood one finds themselves in, there’s always that situation where one realizes this is the perfect time to straighten out all of those jobs one has purposely ignored over the last few years..
    But find that even though those jobs need doing, it’s still difficult to actually get ones-self motivated, so just watch movies on tv, I kinda lean to-wards the Turner movies of the post war years, usually called Film Noire, many based on gangster movies such as those Raymond Chandler novels and filmed in black and white.
    Of course the best known is “The Maltese Falcon”and just about anything with
    Humphrey Bogarde, but Hollywood churned out hundreds of these movies , which were cheap and for their time full of decent actors, you might claim this was Hollywood at it’s best and I am still amazed to find out there are so many I missed having been an avid moviegoer since WW2, where I still recall seeing war-time newsreels. with tanks racing and artillery shooting stuff.
    The main movie was usually something like “Hit The Ice” starring that hot Norwegian olympic skater, Sonja Heiney, and yeah there were blackout rules and other pain in the ass procedures we had to observe, not exactly hand washing or mask wearing, however one thing we had that was good , was national leaders, not like the ass****s we are stuck with to-day..
    But it was a time, the only time, that bears any comparison the way it has reduced most peoples world to both fear and annoyance. like no other and I have a feeling things that the changes made, may stay that way for an unknown period of time and it could be our last warning from nature, that unless we stop abusing our one and only planet we may reach that stage that I sometimes mention, a world without humans, where nature rules is far better place to be for our fellow living
    things.

    Of course

    it’s the ideal situation to

    yeah

    yeah I know I’m just one of many

32. Chuck, sorry it took me so long to reply but I couldn’t take any more about Mohammed bin Salman!

    So you must have over here during the War? I know that ‘The Maltese Falcon,’ I’ve seen it but I know there are lots of very famous film noir movies that are still remembered today like ‘The Big Sleep’ and ‘The Postman Always Rings Twice.’ There were also great British film noir movies as well like Carol Reed’s ‘The Third Man’ with Orson Welles, or ‘Brighton Rock’ with Dickie Attenborough.

    I wasn’t around in the 40s but I know that Humphrey Bogart had certain seemingly conflicting but highly appealing qualities that made him one of the biggest stars of them all. Tough but vulnerable, cynical but caring etc… I read somewhere once that the American Film Institute voted him as the greatest movie star ever. He certainly created a niche for himself.

    My parents used to have a big old Cinema in Seaham Harbour, the cinema stopped showing films in 1968 and my parents took it as a bingo but it looked just like a old fashioned cinema that had been frozen in time like Mrs Havisham’s drawing room.

    This is it now

    http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/18511

33. Worky

    It always appeared to me the difference between US movies and their counterparts around the world was the fact Hollywood, was primarily a business that churned out movies like a fish and chipper on a Friday evening.
    Whereas European cinema attempted to create film as an art form. Fortunately as certain directors moved from Europe to the US and vice versa, for different reasons
    (Sen.McCarthy) the distinction between the two continents narrowed, though
    Hollywood refused to change, it was a money machine.
    And there were few (though some finished works no doubt surprised the studio bosses) like “Treasure of the Sierra Madre ” directed by Walter Huston and starred both his father Walter Huston along with Bogarde and gave birth to the famous Mexican bandits expression, that every filmgoer recognizes, (badges ! we don need no stinken badges) which was probably a surprise to whichever studio put up the money for, that and a few more that sneaked through .
    Of course the studio’s didn’t really care as long as they made a decent profit .
    Of course things naturally change and as directors gained reputations they moved back and forth, some dominating for periods time but the film industry that always turned out the largest amount of films was Hollywood , which with car chases and explosions and other technical devices manage to fascinate younger audiences.
    And being a life-long fan of movies I fid it difficult to watch the crap churned out by the studios. to-day, and with streaming and other devices one can play just about any movie ever made, well most.
    Though I believe there will be a lot of heavy changes to our known world, once we get over this Pandemic, things will never be quite the same and we can only hope that most recognize that fact and act accordingly, or we may end up in a Hollywood scenario with a nightmare ending.

    , apart from the fact in the sixties Adults went to the movies and children watched tv, now Hollywood only makes movies for children

    stu

34. The UK could churn out movies on an assembly line too, especially in the horror department and some of them were still great despite that like ‘The Wicker Man’ the ‘Witchfinder General.’ I had a friend whose Dad you to work in the big British studios like Shepperton and Elstree when they were making films like that, he knew Vincent Price when he was a child, Price used to live over here back then. My friend said he was a perfect gentleman with impeccable manners, he used to him out in his Rolls Royce.

    There are different schools of European film, British, French, German etc. Britain and the US were tied together with a common language (kind of), but all the awfulness in Europe in the 30s and 40s drove some of the very best talent from the mainland of Europe, especially the Germanic countries over to Hollywood, whether it was actors, directors, screenwriters or whatever.

    More of an artform? Maybe but I would also say more ‘controversial’ films could be made. Despite our rather tweedy ‘stiff upper lip’ image over here before the so called ‘swinging sixties’, there were films made in the UK that would never get through the system in Hollywood like Michael Powell’s ‘Peeping Tom.’ People thought it was sick and depraved when it came out but it still got made and released. I suppose the late, great Stanley Kubrick was one of the best examples of an ‘arty’ American director who got totally pissed off with the American studio system and moved to Hertfordshire so he could make his films with more freedom in the UK.

    I can’t stand this ‘franchise’ thing today where they keep regurgitating the same film forever if the ‘formula’ works the first time, or they keep redoing stuff that was done much better decades earlier. Films by committee, written by teams of screenwriters and shaped by ‘focus groups’ is another thing. Great art isn’t made that way.

35. Worky
    Yes We are definitely on the same page here, I sometimes end up on a weekday afternoon searching for some obscure movie house in the lower Eastside showing a German made movie, that represents how things were there during 1948, when former war criminals who had fled to South American havens for Ex-nazi’s, were in fact flying openly back and forth, being no one apart from the group condemned by the Nuremberg trials were ever tried for war crimes.
    Of course the reason was to quickly re-establish the weamach and use them as a bulwark against the perceived threat of a Soviet invasion.
    Of course I found only myself and a couple of older men in the theatre, but it was like many German film or tv series extremely interesting,
    I also caught the series “Alexanderplatz”.a serious political history of politics taking place in Berlin prior to WW2.
    And it was not just German, but also Italian film, the Neo-realistic films of post WW2, “Bicycle Thief” plus their comedy’s, “Big deal on Madonna St.” and that great film done in the style of a documentary “The Battle of Algiers”
    It’s unfortunate that language is such a problem, but I would always prefer to see the particular film in it’s original language to dubbing it, which in my opinion was a last resort,
    Hell while we are on the subject how about Kurisawas movies, especially the one that told the story of the Samuri and his wife told through the eyes of the, bandit the samurai and an observer , the samurai’s story told through a medium .
    Well I could go on but may bore some of you.
    Oh ! almost forgot the great Elstree comedy’s, like Passport to pimlico and the more serious Working Class movies , like “Saturday night and Sunday Morning,”
    and such classics as Room at the Top., and the likes of The Bofors Gun, wonderful movies .
    Yes there was I’m sure a pent up desire following the war, to re-establish the cinema that reached almost every country, certainly the Soviets turned out some
    decent war time films worth seeing and I have to say the propaganda films definitely came with the general attitude of the countries involved, differing in
    intensities some more subtle than others.
    Anyway I’m waiting for the final word on the purchase of NUFC, which should come sometime this year and wish they would get on with it already !

    ‘ Big deal on Maddona St.

    o

36. Having briefly browsed through what appears to be our choice of players, which I found to be either approaching retirement age and way overpriced , with the excuse NUFC will have to purchase a few star players for them to be accepted as a big enough side even though they have the money is absurd., “money talks and bullshit walks seven days a week” ask Ashley !

    However this being the year of “money”whether through mishandling or overspending or perhaps it’s the Coronavirus, certainly any club asking outrageous prices may in fact have a long wait, which raises the question, why buy aging stars who may give less than expected being they may look at it as their last shot at decent pre= pension contract.

    Better IMO too bring in younger players, who have not reached their full potential
    As IMO ( though the Saudis have unlimited dosh) it would be a more interesting time to watch these youngsters develop, that is under the right manager/coach.

    I’m not suggesting ignore every player over 28 (usually the prime year of many athletes) but concentrate on acquiring those future stars who with the bringing in of a Manager/coach who understands how to build a side and not try and do everything in one season. much as Bielsa has done for Leeds.

    As I stated the deal is done, perhaps unofficially but we have the dosh so lets do this in a proper way being the Saudi’s will still have plenty of dosh for years to come, rebuild the side and once again gather as many new supporters as “Wor Kevin “did during his entertainers years, being the Newcastle supporters have had enough ten men behind the ball sides and no hope .
    Just relax and hopefully we can hire both a decent top management group and the players that will entertain us and win some silverware, either that or chuck out the silverware cabinet, as there hasn’t been anything added to it really, since the fifties.

37. Chuck, you may be a man of mature years but you’re like a daft bairn at Christmas over this takeover. Don’t expect the latest bike with all the best bits on this year, son. I may have said this already or maybe I said it to someone else but Chelsea, Man City and PSG got in before the FFP regulations with enough time to build up their financial profile before the restriction on spending came in. PSG, the last ones were fairly lucky because UEFA were very slow in getting their act together in implementing the new rules. Newcastle United won’t have that and it could make a significant difference. Sheikhs aren’t known for their subtlety so I’m wondering what kind of financial trickery they would try to use to get around it. With Man City it was the ludicrous sponsorship fee from Etihad, a company that was very closely connected with Man City’s owners.

    Aye, I forgot about the Italians, Fellini, Pasolini, Antonioni, Bertolucci and such. I’ve seen ‘Berlin Alaxanderplatz’ too, It was on Channel 4 over here in the early 80s and I stuck with it for the most part because it was quality stuff. It was a bloody long journey though, I remember it had 14 episodes.

    The best little cinema in London is just a short walk from my place and there’s another one next door too, but I’ve boycotted that one. The one I go to is in an old Methodist style hall. It’s a charming little place with a nice bar and they get in directors like Ken Loach to talk about their films and stuff like that. They get some fairly obscure films in there that you won’t see in many other cinemas.

    Going back to Vincent Price when he lived here he used to go out on the town with his old friends Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing. I find it quite amusing to imagine some old drunk in London who’d had one too many looking up and seeing a seven foot tall Dracula, Van Helsing and the abominable Dr Phibes coming towards him all at the same time!

38. FFS ! Just sign the deal already, yes ministers we understand you did a wonderful job on checking everything out and you don’t have to extend this deal a minute longer and sure we trust there’s no ulterior motives involved, (apart from the arms deals, that is)
    And as far as Pochitinno is concerned, screw him, I never wanted him in the first place, I mean what has he won, nowt !
    Plus he has made it absolutely clear the last place he wants to be is managing a football club in Newcastle, ok !
    As for Bruce, C’mon folks we all know why he’s here and why he has to go.
    The point is there are good managers available, yeah I know Benitez is kinda tied up right now, but could have been the ideal candidate IMO.

    The rebuilding will take a lot of work and is bound to be controversial, with each fan having his own choices and , every fan knowing better than both the scouts and management, but we will have a decent top six side and hey, that’s all I want !
    What we do want is to be competitive and play an entertaining game, without putting ten men behind the ball, a necessity at present, being we have a mediocre bunch of players, eh !
    I can’t see much in the way of any football this year, so why not just start the next season a bit earlier.
    I believe now is a good time to splash some cash, being most clubs are either in debt or facing it,
    Especially the continental sides, but would be disappointed if we go for fading stars, which will make the club a joke, lets instead go for a bit of youth, (Ashley style) where we can get rid of them for more than we paid for them.
    And that nonsensical attitude of we have to establish a side with big names before others would recognize the fact we are a side worth signing for.
    Sorry folks, the truth is money talks and bullshit walks seven days a week and everyone has his price, so lets get that sorted out first.
    Then we can have some football, but be sure to beat the living s**t out of all those clubs who objected to the sale.

39. Worky
    What I would like to see at St James is an entertaining side that one can be proud of, a side that entertains, I have never asked for nor want to be a fan of any other side (though I am curious about Bielsa’s Leeds)
    And like every other fan i’m sick and tired of watching a side who’s goals are no more than avoiding relegation.
    When asked by others, ” so ! what kinda side are NUFC,” can only reply” too good for the championship, but not good enough to compete with the big clubs
    Well hopefully those days are over, we got the money and there’s enough of an annual amount to build a top six side, too much to ask for, I think not !
    ‘.

40. So you’re still ‘Bi-curious’ then, Chuck! Bielsa’s Leeds were all set for promotion last season, they were like a Championship version of Keegan’s Newcastle, then they went into a Keegan style end of the season meltdown. They were top again this season before we were so rudely interrupted, but we don’t know if they would have gone into meltdown again like they did before.

    On the CoVid crisis, What I’ve observed makes me very unsure about relying on masks too much because of human psychology. I’ve noticed that people wearing masks feel invulnerable and once they have one on they ignore social distancing far more than people not wearing masks. It’s a huge difference and it doesn’t take long to notice the difference between the behaviour of people wearing masks, and not wearing masks.

41. worky
    You mentioned most of the directors of note except “Pontecorvo” the director of “The Battle of Algiers “obviously a film buff ” !
    Unfortunately finding a decent movie these days is not like the sixties, I recall when there were at least half a dozen located on Broadway, between Columbus Circle and 96th. St.where one could take their choice of outstanding movies, mostly imported and where every show was a’ double-header , two for the price of one.
    Yeah, there was The New Yorker and the Thalia, two outstanding movie theaters, that guaranteed a decent movie, strange how we received the best of imported films , I suppose there’s too much competition with computers that can be a two way street.
    But as I remember the same thing applied to the UK, where in Newcastle there was something called I believe, “the Newsreel’ that I attended as they selectively
    showed classics such as “Sammy the Operatic Whale” with the voice of hollywoods Nelson Eddy, added to what seemed to be an hour long undercard
    which was done by Disney I believe.
    Unfortunately to-days Hollywood efforts are based primarily for teens and younger, all loaded with robots , explosions and other recent technology and since “The French Connection” a car chase has become mandatory, ah well !

42. Chuck, I thought it was Steve McQueen in ‘Bullitt’ that started all the car chases? that was in 1968. There was the car marketing too. It was well known the good guys drove Fords, and the bad guys drove whatever was Ford’s biggest rival. In Bullitt, Steve McQueen famously had a Ford Mustang and the baddies had a Dodge Charger. Over here you’d have a TV cop show like ‘The Sweeney’ and the coppers had a Ford Consul GT while the villains would have a Mk2 Jag, or something else from the British Leyland stable. They’d deliberately make the Ford look faster and handle better than the Jag even though the opposite was true in real life. Whether it was US or UK, Ford had one hell of a marketing department and they owned the film and TV world.

    When it comes to the amount of films for youngsters, they don’t miss a trick nowadays when it comes to the bottom line. Have you ever thought that when younger children go to the movies, they have to take their parents too and the parents have to pay to sit through it whether they like it or hate it! Having written that I do think that parents are becoming more infantilised too.

    I learned about Hollywood from all the films my parents used to watch, then I did some film studies when I was at Art School, we did stuff like Fellini’s ‘8 1/2,’ Eisenstein’s ‘Battleship Potemkin’ and his use of montage techniques, Bunuel, Jean Luc Goddard etc… the usual film studies stuff. Outside of that I then branched out into looking at other great directors from around the world, Akira Kurosawa, Satyajit Ray and so on…

    I don’t like ‘CGI’ either, that’s another modern cinema thing to moan about. Back in the days of ‘Ben Hur’ or even Gandhi in the 80s, they’d get 10,000 people to show up for a shoot if they needed it and they had the budget, now they just fake it on a computer and it isn’t the same.

43. Worky

    Yeah I believe that the great years of film have passed, there was only a few years in between when three movie houses existed closely to-gether in my neighborhood, and they consist of only one now, actually the other two were the ones who showed what IMO were the most interesting, which indicates there is only a market for the car chasing movie or unless at least a dozen people have to be killed in the first five minutes, or explosions galore, must be something that attracts only kids and idiots.
    But I think we are seeing an end to cinema, certainly most old Movie Palaces, which like R/R stations, reflected the wealth of those particular industries, are becoming threadbare in appearance and become more like those tourist attractions a la Empire State or Chrysler buildings and it may not be long before
    such famous hotels as The Waldorf Astoria are torn down and replaced, of course it’s all about money not architecture,
    Certainly the new techniques involved, do in certain cases a decent job, as I watched part of the battle scenes of Troy, where they imposed thousands of Greeks and Trojans (no not the birth prevention trojans) which without those tech-
    piques would have been impossible.
    Though such movies were/are not particularly attractive to me, though I believe
    the director “David Leane” did great visual scenes which we saw more of in some of his movies, like those in a restored version of “Lawrence of Arabia”.
    The one thing we can find positive is the fact most great movies or many of those movies have been restored and one can watch just about any of them through Nex flicks which intern can be shown on most large tv screens.

    Ok this is a football blog and the big news is that NUFC is now the wealthiest club in the UK and we the fans are being subjected to some crap from those opposed to that.
    Then there are those who would like to tell these new owners, exactly who we should buy and how much to offer, I have my own choices but will spare you,
    But PUHleeze no aging stars lookin for a last big deal before retirement. Instead lets sign some young (guaranteed) players and watch them grow and yeah I’m not against veterans, just not a teamfull.
    Looks like a serious bid is in for Coutinho, but as good as he is, I don’t want Bale
    or certain others, hell we have had thirteen years of Ashley’s crap, so whats a couple longer , where we can pick and choose and finally have whatever choices
    we desire, “yeah, that’s what ahm talking bout”

    th

44. Chuck, do I have to explain again what I explained about Newcastle United, the Saudis and the UEFA Financial Fair Play rules? I don’t think I can take it any more! There might be a lot more money to spend than there was under Ashley but it’s far more difficult to do what Chelsea, Man City and PSG did as the train has left the station. Also, there is now a top six or seven instead of a top four so it’s much harder to get into Europe. On the other hand there is still Leicester who have achieved much with a more modest investment than the teams mentioned above.

    I know what you’re saying generally about the cinemas but when I moved to my current location here in London there were no cinemas in my local town centre, now there are two. They’re not the grand affairs that we both remember, they’re more like the cinema equivalent of the craft microbreweries we have on both sides of the pond. I totally agree with you about the building side. Until it had a bad fire in the middle of World War 2, there was a proper old cinema where I live called the ‘Hippodrome’, it’s a Virgin Gym now but before the Hippodrome was a cinema, it was a Music Hall. People mourned the loss of the bawdy old Music Halls when cinemas and dance palaces took them over too, they were a part of society, a part of history that was fading into obscurity. Whatever they are being used for I love those old ‘people’s palaces’ and when things inevitably change, I like to see new uses being found for them that keeps them intact, like when a music hall becomes a cinema, or when the cinema becomes a live music venue or whatever. What I really hate most of all is seeing those grand old buildings come down, or have all the beautiful architectural details ripped out and the building just being turned into another anonymous block full of smaller rooms.

45. Worky
    It would seem that many of the subjects lately come under the same banner ‘progress’ I was brought up with war time cinema together with radio etc.
    I loved the old black and white gangster movies and their stars Humphrey Bogart Jimmy Cagney Edward G Robinson ( who my old man once described as the man who fell down the cellar steps and caught his mouth on a nail ) Even the bit part actors were special people like Peter Lorre. All of these replaced old music hall acts that my dad grew up with. My nearest town back then was the small town of Ashington which had four cinemas it also had ‘twenty six’ working men’s clubs no pubs but two hotels that served the same purpose. Even our small pit village had a cinema. I saw most of them turned into bingo halls.
    Fast forward to the late seventy’s when I moved to this village in Warwickshire. Back then it had a School, Pub, Post Office Two General Stores, the only one that remains is the pub which I may have mentioned before is a ‘would be’ gourmet restaurant. Most of the villagers back then worked in or around the village It was back then I bought a pair of derelict cottages and a little bit of land on the edge of the village. Then over the next forty years I turned it into a great home (living in a caravan for the first three years). Fast forward again to the present My dream home has been compulsory purchased for the building of the HS2 add to that Brexit and a Boris for the next five years can you blame me for getting out. PROGRESS. It has worked well in other ways I suppose I have bought my sons house in Oz giving him the money to build his dream house and have me live near bye in his old one.Covid-19 has slowed things a bit but its worked in our favour getting work done in Oz etc.

46. worky

    No you don’t have to do anything of the sort, especially explain how things work to me, was it not myself that figured out there would be a takeover and gave the obvious reasons as to why ?
    And if you look at history it becomes even more obvious that the successful clubs in this world were the wealthiest, The big two in Spain, Man Utd, & Citeh, Glasgow rangers and Celtic, Beyern and PSG, all of which used money to buy the best players and could afford too.
    Success is built on money and yes there are exceptions to the rule ; like Leicester
    Who surprised everyone, including themselves, of course the clubs that are returning to the Top Division, Wolves, Leeds and Sheffield are different from those
    like Aston Villa and Brighton, who although in different leagues suffer from the same problem, a lack of the main resource , money !
    it appears owners are picking old first division sides, with substantial stadia, as a targeted way of getting into the EPL, being many of the clubs already there have
    been sold and mostly to foreign interests,
    One thing you forget is the fact money is essential and don’t kid yourself Liecester
    are spending like the so called big clubs also’.
    As the Chinese say Heavenly juice works as they pay enormous salary’s in an attempt to compete with the west.
    As for Saudi-Arabia, being a corrupt nation, yeah sure, but there are just as much criminality within the UK, EU, and any country you care to mention, that’s why the football clubs of Europe have rules including The Fair Play rule, which controls the amounts of money clubs can officially use, in an attempt to level the playing field.
    In which case YES I am happy enough and don’t really want to see big bucks spent on ageing stars, but would like to see us sign some younger talents, that could develop into a good side, not an explosive amount on (one particular manager who expressed his distain for both Newcastle and it’s club) screw him !
    The interest could be enormous in watching the development of a winning side, or at least a top competitive side,
    As for a manager, we know that our present manager was hired because no one else wanted the job and good for him he did well, but can you see this guy lifting the European Championship, thought not !
    But one thing that makes me happy is too see the end of our present cheap-ass owner, too bad our ex manager is at present tied up, being he had a plan to revitalize the club, from top to bottom, including training facilities and youth players, ah well, could still happen ?

    o

    b

    cited and United

47. Aye Nutmag, as I mentioned above, my parents took on the closed down cinema in Seaham Harbour and ran that as a cash bingo. I still have all the numbers up there in my noggin from my childhood, Kelly’s eye, number 1, me and you, number 2, cup of tea, number 3, knock on the door, number 4 etc… Do you know who ‘Tom Mix’ (number 6) was? 26 working men’s clubs in Ashington? I’m just old enough to remember when they were all over the place but even so, I’m still shocked. I remember my first trip to working men’s club when I was a bairn, I remember being warned not to make any noise when the bingo was on, they were usually quite loud and raucous but it was like a religious service when it was time for ‘eyes down.’ As my brother once said, ‘you can hear a fiver drop when the bingo’s on.’ .

    I did the same as you, rescuing an old cottage in a village called Easington, not the Durham colliery one but the one on the Teeside / North Yorkshire borders. The only thing was that when I finished it all with all the nice, fancy bits I put in for myself, I decided that I didn’t want to live there! It was out in the middle of nowhere and one of the neighbours was a real four letter word too. That was the end of my property developing days. Didn’t you mention once that the gourmet pub had something to do with Melvin Hayes from ‘It Ain’t Arf Hot Mum!’ or have I got mixed up somewhere?

    I think that nowadays, Peter Lorre would be descibed as being highly ‘niche.’ Like Donald Unpleasance after him, he was a master of the creepy and the macabre.

    Chuck, you seem to settling down a bit now, you were like a bairn who’d had too much ‘Sunny Delight’ before. I know that Leicester did have money behind them, it was just more modest and subtle than the three big oil clubs we’ve been discussing. Looking at the FFP regulations regulations in class war type terms, it could be said that they were a defence of the old ruling class of the game, the aristocracy, the Real Madrids, the Barcelonas, the Manchester Uniteds and the Bayern Munichs against the rising bourgeoisie, the vulgar, tasteless ‘nouveau riche’ of the game.

48. Worky
    there was always a distinction between the clubs in Europe with the old Italian sides, who’s owners were wealthy industrialists, in Spains Real Madrid were owned by former Franco supporters and wealthy, of course Catalonia’s reply to RM, was a club owned and operated by the people of Barcelona.
    Whereas the post ww2 English first division didn’t really have a dominant club until the Liverpool followed by Man. Utd, reigns , then became a top four, all of which arrived on the scene via good management but primarily by money.
    Unfortunately since our owner was considered a cheap by most fans and refused to engage any top management personnel, being a control freak plus the fact he only used the club to enhance his real business, the rag trade.
    Well the fans have put up with his act for thirteen years or so, and we have now been taken over and about to become the wealthiest club in the EPL, yet you continue to
    describe the Saudi’s as some kind of criminal force who shouldn’t own an EPL club, based on the assassination of Khashoggi,
    Hey ! you can easily switch to being a Sunderland fan, being you have attachments to the area .
    Puleez ! name a country that is more criminal than Saudi-Arabia like the UK for instance, who help the Saudis by providing arms and personal to destroy their neighbors and then explain how one country is more criminal than the other ?
    Why don’t you just relax and consider following thirteen years of crap under a real criminal, ( who treated his workers abominably) the club is fortunate enough to land the richest possible owners, meaning we won’t have to start next season with the objective of ending up in the lower brackets of the league or avoiding relegation.
    It will certainly feel a lot better, to have a side who can compete within the top six of the EPL and finally give the fans a club that can compete against anyone, while abiding within the fair play rules, No ?

49. Nutmeg ,
    I’m sure you have heard the old adage by Rabby Burns, “the best laid plans of mice and men do often go askew”.
    At least I think that’s what the man said, a man it seems that often mentioned mice for some reason, “Ye poor wee coowering timorous beastie, ah what fear beats in thy breestie”
    And yes life does not always concur with ones plans, and of course we all love that cute cottage where we can do the things that please us paint, write , read , cook, etc.
    Until we become bored by the whole shebang , or as in your case the remoteness, though I understand as I find those villages on the northern moors to be attractive, but one has to remember those who decide to settle there, are usually looked upon as blow ins.
    Actually I’m more interested in your emigration plans , you could be the first of a bunch of old timers to head for parts unknown, rather than plant roses or ivy around your cute little cottage.
    Personally I prefer cities the likes of London or New York, with plenty of distractions and would be bored to death in some remote but pretty village.
    Meaning if you intend to go soon, please let us know how you like it and perhaps we will all end up there, though like almost every country it’s not quite so easy to
    gain entry as a long time resident, especially us the over the hill crowd.
    Ah well we will see how things go.
    Being some of us are imid the epicenters of this , probably the worst Pandemic, who’s future and presence is for the most part unknown and which is causing
    more fear by the unknown, where any anti-virus medication is possibly years away, scarey !
    And don’t expect things to remain as they were prior to “covid 19”, there will no doubt be a vast number of changes, especially concerning working from the home, tourism will not attract as many and others will be looking for that remote cottage on the Durham and other northern moors.
    so don’t take the first price offered for the cottage Nutmag.

    ye

50. Chuck, you keep repeating the same points, many of which are logical fallacies that I’ve already dealt with. For instance, Newcastle United is not being taken over by the UK Government so that’s a ‘false dilemma.’ I wouldn’t want the club to be run by Boris Johnson neither! nor Trump!

    Another one is where you keep suggesting that my human rights argument is all about Jamal Khashoggi, which is isn’t what I said. Sadly, he is just one of many human rights issues in KSA. We are just going round in circles as usual.

    Chuck, I was the one who did up my cottage, then got sick of it. Eventually, like yourself, I realised that I’m a metropolis kind of person. I’m a sinner, I like sinning and you can do that sort of thing on a 24 hour basis in places like London and New York.

    Poor old Durham and Barnard Castle have been featuring pretty much non stop in the UK news today.

51. Worky
    Yes it was my local that had Melvin Hayes as landlord or as the locals called him ‘Gloria’ we also had Don Fardon a one hit wonder from the 60s. Even so they were way better than the rubbish we have now.
    Chuck
    I just don’t get the Robert Burns ” Mis quotes” First my house was not a ‘rose covered cottage’ but quite a sizable property, yes on its own outside a small village and for me perfect. Also I can not remember a slightest moment that I’ve felt ‘bored’
    No I do not like cities never have nor do many of my friends. Even you may have enjoyed our weekends with good food wine and discussions. There was always twelve or fourteen but we could have made room fo one ‘toonie’
    I have nothing against city lovers for each their own. For me I would rather be in the highlands and islands of Scotland Orkney being my favourite.
    Yes my move is a big thing but I have spent time out there as I have a lot of family and they are all Austalians now. Another bonus is they play cricket and I love cricket The house is on its own with a great view out to sea I will be as happy as a pig in s***!!
    Makes me wonder about footballers only wanting London clubs they all don’t think like you believe me thank god!

52. Oh aye! Don Fardon! Indian Reservation. He isn’t a one hit wonder any more, his version of ‘I’m Alive’ has been really big in recent years. It was on TV just now in an advert, it often is. Here it is complete with a video set in an old folks home. It also advertises lollys, BMWs and all sorts. They keep mining and recycling the old music because it’s so much better than the new stuff. Here’s the BMW advert as well.

    When I moved into London, I loved the fact that I could see and hear the best music, or the best art or whatever, that I could be involved with things that had a real impact, that I could meet interesting people who were the best at what they did and learn from it etc. There’s a lot of nature around where I live anyway, so much that I wish the foxes would stop having sex all night! They make a horrible noise when they’re doing the do, it sounds like something out of a Hammer Horror film. A few minutes and I’m up in Hertfordshire too.

53. Worky & Nutmeg
    Nutmag I didn’t mean to downgrade your Gaff, being I had only your comments
    to imagine from and only used the term rose covered cottage as the culmination of a number of years reclaiming a pair of derelict buildings and yes it sounds a bit
    too much, so don’t take it personally.
    And hey, “different strokes for different folks”, I like cities and don’t take vacations in isolated areas unless they have something special that gives me pleasure, preferring substantial sized cities,
    I apologize for misquoting Mr. Burns, though I doubt if was the first time it has happened, As I find Lowland Scots to be difficult to either understand and impossible to speak, in fact not a language at all, but a bastardized form of English. Ah well, we all have our communication problems, here in New York it’s
    toity toid and told aveny’yuh, an Irish addition being the sound “TH”is not used in Ireland,
    Though they changed the pronunciation of New Yorkers being over a million Irish immigrants ended up here in the second half of the nineteenth century and words like so-long, was originally Slan ! an Irish term for goodbye.
    Anyhow I digress, but hope you find in Australia a happy ending to what appears to be an interesting life following your ejection by the need for a high speed R/R
    and hope you are adequately rewarded by her Majesty’s Government.
    One thing I have found out about time is, in life timing is everything, and it appears my timing has been pretty good up until now.

    Worky
    I don’t understand why you would think I believed that nufc was being taken over by the British Government, what I was indicating was the fact that smacks one directly in the face, that if it were for Parliament to make the final decision, being there seems to be no real arbitrator in the matter, there wouldn’t be a problem, due to the fact the UK sells an enormous amount of arms to the Saudis and no one wants to jeopardize that, ok . got it this time ?
    And yes you did only name Khashoggi as your only argument, and regardless , to name the Saudis as a criminal family running a corrupt country could just as well be named the UK, no !
    And yes it seems your fellow Duham-ite, the present advisor to “the PM Boris”
    appears to be an arrogant idiot, which I don’t get, being he is the one supposed to advise the PM, not have the PM pull his chestnuts outta the fire, for what appears to be an act of pure arrogance, and if the PM then defends his advisor, who the hell is running things ?
    Hey ! we make mistakes and Trump was possibly the worst, although I don’t believe our next President Uncle Joe is much better, the only reason to elect him would be to get rid of Trump and being he has already agreed to have a female running partner and also agree to introduce some of Bernie Sanders initiatives,
    an improved Healthcare system for all, hopefully getting rid of those predatory insurance companies, which could reduce the costs by approximately a third.
    And bye the way how’s your new Shadow PM doing as I haven’t watched any of the parliamentary debates lately and what has happened to his predicessor safely ensconced amid the back benches, and possibly stirring up trouble for the Jewish members of his party.

    i

    ‘