Might Mike Ashley, in fact, be a genius?

[Benjm]

The Bonesaws?

[ursus arctos]

Howay their 'eads

Three words, but work with me here

[MarkF]

The Saudi Ha'weybians

[ad hoc]

Auf wiedersehen, head

[Benjm]

Wor Hackie

[jwdd27]

The Gallows? Great! End

[The Awesome Berbaslug!!!]

Jihadi geordies

[The Awesome Berbaslug!!!]

Geordie Jihadis scans better possibly

[The Awesome Berbaslug!!!]

Genocidal Geordies

[Patrick Thistle]

I imagine they'd keep the name St James' Park as despite being a Christian martyr, St James was beheaded, so it's very on brand for KSA.

[elguapo4]

"I'd give my right arm for a ticket " " That can be arranged " .

[caja-dglh]

Would have been better if they were bought by the Sultan of Broon Ale.

[Patrick Thistle]

I like her. She's bold.

https://twitter.com/zarahsultana/status/1446598722494898178?t=krIIehQc02SNzeaYbPcCwQ&s=19

[Patrick Thistle]

I mean I wouldn't call Mike Ashley an oligarch although he clearly aspires to it.

[caja-dglh]

It rather ignores that folk like Mike Ashley account for 95% of football club ownership for the best part of a century.

[Jimski]

I know a Newcastle fan who is pretty left wing, but also very defensive about this. It's almost an "everyone else is doing this so don't single us out" attitude. I understand and agree that this is not the fault of the fans. I don't even think that fans should feel they have to stop supporting. (I mean ethical consumerism is a thing - and I used to be into it - but it ain't really the solution to anything. Also shit owners come and go. Fans remain.) But decent fans should certainly speak out against it. And put pressure on the football authorities to oppose such moves. And try to get their MPs to oppose it. And mobilise against it.

[DCI Harry Batt]

Decent fans won't be in the stadium. Going in is supporting the Saudi regime. Decent people don't do that.

[Jimski]

Not sure I buy that. May as well say that by posting on twitter one supports the Saudi regime (they have a stake in twitter, I believe.)

[Jimski]

I mean if there were an organised boycott (and I hope there is tbh), then it would be a good thing to support. But anything less is pissing in the wind.

[Jimski]

I thought this was a good article about the whole situation by David Goldblatt -

https://twitter.com/Davidsgoldblatt/status/1446522603603173377

[sw2borshch]

So from my work colleagues who hate the Toon even more than I do (Makems) we have so far 'the Taliban Toon' (OK, could do with some work to become more pithy) and 'they haven't thrown this much cash at a foreign project since ISIS' which I like, but I want a two-word max, easy to say/spread new nickname for them, please share if you come across one...

https://www.thedailymash.co.uk/sport...20211008212884

The Taliban are already taken, sorry.

[Duncan Gardner]

MBS not pleased- thought he was buying Sunniderland.

[Sporting]

Decent fans won't be in the stadium. Going in is supporting the Saudi regime. Decent people don't do that.

Every time I buy from Amazon I'm helping to further burden the load of low-paid and badly-treated workers. I know it's not a direct comparison but where do moral compromises start and end?

[DCI Harry Batt]

If you're happy supporting the Saudi regime because you like watching people play football, you don't get to call yourself decent and have me accept it. YMMV. I'm not proposing a generalised approach to ethical consumerism, which obvs is a bit of a bag of old nonsense. You'll draw the line in one place and I will somewhere else, for sure.

Mostly, though, I'd say "don't pretend - own it. And don't give me that pathetic whining but it's my team crap."

David Goldblatt is usually interesting. I might try to find that off the guardian site.

[Jimski]

Since it's the football authorities that have let this and other deals happen, one might equally argue that all fans should boycott football. (I've heard this view previously expressed by people who don't like football, and see it as a moral cesspit.)

I can't see why Newcastle fans should take responsibility for something entirely outside their control. Taking a stand that might actually achieve something is one thing (which would probably actually be better done as a united front across all fans), but individually feeling obligated to stop attending really doesn't seem to me to achieve anything at all.