Takeover back on - DEAL DONE

[Blue & Maroon]

Also I'm sad I'll probably never get to go to an away game whilst they are in charge, no big home games etc just because of the demand.

[Remember Colo]

Also I'm sad I'll probably never get to go to an away game whilst they are in charge, no big home games etc just because of the demand.

And you can be sure ticket prices are going to go up too. If the club achieves the success people are hoping for and envisioning, you can be sure there are negative consequences that come with it - just as there are City, Chelsea, Man U fans that have been left behind the past 10-20 years. Doesn't mean people shouldn't be excited today - those are just the costs of success.

[Blue & Maroon]

Also I'm sad I'll probably never get to go to an away game whilst they are in charge, no big home games etc just because of the demand.

And you can be sure ticket prices are going to go up too. If the club achieves the success people are hoping for and envisioning, you can be sure there are negative consequences that come with it - just as there are City, Chelsea, Man U fans that have been left behind the past 10-20 years. Doesn't mean people shouldn't be excited today - those are just the costs of success.

Oh yeah, even teams that achieve success naturally leave people behind. It just makes me very melancholy

[Colly]

I do wonder about that. I've said for years one of the few positives of the Ashley era is the ticket pricing (I pay less now then I would for the equivalent seat under Shepherd, and it's monthly payments rather than having to credit card it like I did then), particularly for cup games. Given how little ticket revenue means now it would be a nice PR move to not hike them, but who knows. Bracing myself for Champions League ticket prices...

[krully]

Also I'm sad I'll probably never get to go to an away game whilst they are in charge, no big home games etc just because of the demand.

And you can be sure ticket prices are going to go up too. If the club achieves the success people are hoping for and envisioning, you can be sure there are negative consequences that come with it - just as there are City, Chelsea, Man U fans that have been left behind the past 10-20 years. Doesn't mean people shouldn't be excited today - those are just the costs of success.

I still see plenty of empty seats in chelsea and city grounds

[Remember Colo]

And you can be sure ticket prices are going to go up too. If the club achieves the success people are hoping for and envisioning, you can be sure there are negative consequences that come with it - just as there are City, Chelsea, Man U fans that have been left behind the past 10-20 years. Doesn't mean people shouldn't be excited today - those are just the costs of success.

I still see plenty of empty seats in chelsea and city grounds

That's kinda my point. We can laugh and say they don't have enough fans, but the real issue is that they don't want to pay 95 quid to see their beloved team play (and those are just for the best PL matches).

[Donkey Toon]

Be interesting to see what the fans who objected so much to the renaming of the stadium do when it gets renamed again as part of a super-lucrative advertising deal? Make the same fuss or accept it because of the s***-tonne of money it brings in?

Because they are going to have to go for those sort of deals if they want to bring in the money for players that the fans want but also stay ahead of the FFP regulations.

[bodacious benny]

I still see plenty of empty seats in chelsea and city grounds

That's kinda my point. We can laugh and say they don't have enough fans, but the real issue is that they don't want to pay 95 quid to see their beloved team play (and those are just for the best PL matches).

Pretty certain Man C season tickets are very cheap, and you can pick up tickets to most CL matches for £25-£30. In their case they just really don’t have a huge fan base. Chelsea, like most london clubs are / will always be expensive. I’d be amazed if the day comes in the CL where SJP isn’t sold out regardless of opposition.

[Don Sholeone]

Be interesting to see what the fans who objected so much to the renaming of the stadium do when it gets renamed again as part of a super-lucrative advertising deal? Make the same fuss or accept it because of the s***-tonne of money it brings in?

Because they are going to have to go for those sort of deals if they want to bring in the money for players that the fans want but also stay ahead of the FFP regulations.

It wouldn't be completely well received but it definitely would receive less backlash than before. I think the difference is at that point Ashley already had the majority of the fan base turning on him, mixed with the tacky brand, it was always ending in disaster. Football fans are fickle though, if they were to do it and bring in a substantial amount of funds and bring in top players, then they would gladly turn a blind eye, but that's football now.

[Donkey Toon]

Be interesting to see what the fans who objected so much to the renaming of the stadium do when it gets renamed again as part of a super-lucrative advertising deal? Make the same fuss or accept it because of the s***-tonne of money it brings in?

Because they are going to have to go for those sort of deals if they want to bring in the money for players that the fans want but also stay ahead of the FFP regulations.

It wouldn't be completely well received but it definitely would receive less backlash than before. I think the difference is at that point Ashley already had the majority of the fan base turning on him, mixed with the tacky brand, it was always ending in disaster. Football fans are fickle though, if they were to do it and bring in a substantial amount of funds and bring in top players, then they would gladly turn a blind eye, but that's football now.

Yeah that about agrees with my take on it as well. To be fair the fans weren't given much in compensation or incentive to lose the history of the ground's name under Ashley. Personally I would agree with any fan that objected to the change unless a significant amount of money that would materially advance the fortunes of the club was received.

[beatski]

Bring back the Wonga Dome

[Tsi]

I'd love to see this https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/58820061 done with our academy.
Brightons academy is seen as one of the best around

[Colly]

Just sounds like cheating...

[bodacious benny]

Isn’t that what happened with Freddy Adu lol

Allegedly much older than he was so looked incredible at ‘youth team’ level

[beatski]

Obafemi Martins would be perfect in that role for us

[Tsi]

Wouldn't say it was cheating as it's done a lot in Europe and a lot of teams here are looking at implementing it after Brighton. Besides it's not a team full of overaged players it's only one player which most teams do at some stage with players coming back from injury etc..
I don't think they play every game either they do train every day with the young players though.
I personally think it'll help our academy players kick on more and a lot of these ex players end up in coaching roles for the clubs when they finish being mentors.
I think it can only be good for the club.
For me the most exciting part of this takeover is finally sorting out our academy.

[Shola's Answering Machine]

https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/sport ... 021-10-09/

Premier League clubs demand emergency meeting over Newcastle takeover


Oct 9 (Reuters) - Premier League clubs have reached out to the league with complaints about Newcastle United's takeover by a Saudi Arabia-led consortium and are pushing for an emergency meeting next week, the Guardian newspaper reported.

The Premier League announced on Thursday that Newcastle had been sold to a group consisting of Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, PCP Capital Partners and RB Sports & Media. read more (https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/sport ... 021-10-07/)

The investment group had previously made public a 305 million pound ($415 million) bid to buy the club in April 2020. That deal collapsed three months later amid scrutiny from the league, which came under pressure to stop the sale due to concerns over alleged broadcast piracy in Saudi Arabia.

The piracy dispute involved Qatari-owned beIN Sports, the league's broadcast rights holder across the Middle East, which had been barred from operating in Saudi Arabia. That ban was lifted on Wednesday, clearing a major hurdle to the takeover.


The Guardian said the 19 Premier League clubs are understood to be united in opposition to a Saudi-led consortium being allowed to buy out former owner Mike Ashley.

The clubs have also raised concerns that the league's brand "could be damaged" by Saudi Arabia's PIF - chaired by Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman - taking an 80% stake in Newcastle, the report added.

On Thursday, Amnesty International urged the Premier League to change its owners' and directors' test to address human rights issues. read more (https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/sport ... 021-10-07/)

Human rights groups have condemned Saudi Arabia's efforts to "sportswash" its human rights record but the kingdom's government denies allegations of human rights abuses and says it is protecting national security from extremists and external actors.

[bodacious benny]

Ahahaha “damaging the leagues brand”, and the “big 6” trying to walk away didn’t damage the brand? Shady Russian businessman owning a club doesn’t damage the brand? Countless betting firms sponsoring clubs don’t damage the brand? Oil money from Abu Dhabi doesn’t damage the brand? Man C / Brighton players sexually assaulting women doesn’t damage the brand?

In reality when the dust dies down, a new big hitter in the league will enhance the brand. In theory we’ll be able to attract some huge names to the league and that’s all a lot of sponsors, viewers around the world will care about.

[Don Sholeone]

Read that last night, they can't do anything and they know they can't do anything, apparently the main issue they have is that they weren't told about it passing before it passed so basically sounds like they are mad they couldn't lobby the PL again to get it held up. The arrogance of it is astonishing. Especially after the ESL saga and the amount of dodgy owners already in the league, some even having human rights issues of their own. Nothing more than sour grapes.

[Colback's Orange Tufts]

For all the talk of PIF resources, apparently their debt is growing https://www.ifre.com/story/2776475/pif- ... qxqfmqp24b.
A huge welfare state and low taxes and the oil price aint covering it. Would be quite funny if we got a morally bankrupt takeover that then also had to reign in spending. Or sell us on.