Verbal

If your entire business model is predicated on subscriber-funded sports journalism, it's no surprise that they're in trouble. There's been no sports to report on, anywhere, since March. While their budgets may be distinct their funding is not. It's from venture-capitalist sources largely, and they would have had an expected 'burn rate' (that is, the period in which you run at a large loss while you try to drive your competitors out of business), and that burn rate has presumably been exceeded. Hence the cutbacks in the US. They've also run into trouble in the US because their competitors' content is often available for free. Something that's equally true, more or less, here.

The Athletic is in trouble. In the States they've cut staff pay by 10% and have announced redundancies. Soon to follow here.

So Lighthouse, here's a question. You have a poster making a false comparison between a single black man making a false claim with the complaints of numerous black players and others in the game that they are increasingly the targets of racism. I've seen exactly this language used by National Action and BNP supporters. It is a blatant and nasty racial smear. What are you going to do about it?

When black and ethnic minority players talk, have a little humility and at least listen. You only see a tiny portion of what they see. You just turn up to the ground on match days. There's so much more going on in the experience of black players that you don't see. READ the Guardian article, then come back and say this is all 'isolated'. And for heaven's sake drop the one-bad-apple argument. It's self-serving and - without confronting the actual evidence being offered by people who've looked at this closer than you or have lived it - dishonest. By the way, I applaud Lord Crap's honesty and concern - not a lot of times I'd say that, perhaps. But he's right.

Fake news. P*ki bashing is just a bit of fun, right? https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11669/11675571/liverpool-fan-racially-abused-by-fellow-supporter-thanks-merseyside-police

Well this never happened. https://news.sky.com/story/west-ham-club-vow-to-ban-fans-who-engaged-in-antisemitic-chanting-in-manchester-11693403 This guy is black, so clearly lying. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/47919248 And who cares about Salah? He's a Muslamic, so deserves it. https://edition.cnn.com/2019/04/12/football/mohamed-salah-chelsea-fans-racism-spt-inlt/index.html

Well said. And since you've now been accused of being 'sanctimonious' by a poster on a forum that now waves through racist posts without a murmur, here's a sanctimonious article - no doubt all made up by a sanctimonious journalist, written for a sanctimonious newspaper. https://www.theguardian.com/football/2019/apr/12/racism-english-football-parks-premier-league-special-investigation

Happy 'Were out of the EU' Day (part 2) everyone!

Borrowed... Brexit Plan “B” * Quietly Revoke A50 * Tell Brexiteers we’ve left with “No Deal / WTO” * Send all Brexiteers Blue Passport covers * Create special lanes with long delays for UK Blue Passport holders at airports / ports * Charge them for roaming / data * Give them food / medicine ration books * Get on with life Brexit sorted.

I fear you're going to be proved horribly wrong. Capitalism to the Chinese Communist party means patronage. The centralised system picks up failing bits of the economy, and other bits it wants an interest in, because it has the power to do this, and because it wishes to co-opt and control Chinese entrepreneurs. It's much more usual for assets snapped up in this way to be squeezed, or for indebtedness to the state to be increased with demanding loan conditions. (On a much grander scale, take a look at how the Sri Lankans have had to hand over their state-owned ports to China as a result of 'investments' under the notorious Belt & Road Initiative). IF it's true that the CCP has its hands on another chunk of the Gao empire (and it would be surprising if it hasn't), it's almost certainly not good news for Saints.

Control and influence are two different things, especially in China. It's worth the League's while asking questions.

After the Telegraph's ex-political commentator Peter Oborne's renunciation of Brexit, here comes another. Nick Ferrari. https://www.lbc.co.uk/radio/presenters/nick-ferrari/exasperated-reveals-hes-finally-given-up-brexit/ The trickle will soon become a flood, especially if we have another long extension.

That was me. Cut the crap or I'll tell Soros to do it again.

Well I never. https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/brexit-made-tories-jihadist-party-14263471 Brexit Jihadism is now officially a thing.

This site must do more to combat racist postings. It contains far too many rants against Jews, Arabs, Muslims in general, and black men who dare to venture an opinion - all without the merest murmur of complaint from the site owners. Not a peep. Please take responsibility for this content and act - because not doing so is making things worse. It's interesting when an old thread is resurrected to see how the diversity of opinion among posters has vastly narrowed down, particularly over the last three years. You've just lost another good poster in Bexy. There are many others who've dropped out without saying why, but the racist neanderthals roaming free on here are likely to be one very good reason.

Politically you're very close. Hypo is one of the most strident and unpleasant racists on here, for reasons that are utterly baffling. Unfortunately the site is somewhat infested with them. Even one of the mods - Lighthouse - can't help slip into trashing an uppity black man, and he's supposed to be regulating racist crap off of this place! He has form. It's good to see the resurgence of anti-racist campaigning in football, but someone should pay a bit more attention to the role played by forums like this one. In that regard, this place should get its house in order. It won't. But it should.

The usual whitesplaining drivel anyone should expect on the 'Let's gripe at the uppity black man' Saintsweb thread part 1,779. Honestly, how the hell do you know this?

How many is 'many', Geert? Evidence please.

Tick tock...

Brilliant. The EU defeats Brexit Jihadists (hereafter BJs) by the simple method of making things idiot-proof.

"An act of white Jihad." Hmmm.

Honestly, JiJo, this is one of your weirdest posts yet - and there's plenty of competition. A deal to keep a scientific project going on short-term funding after a no-deal crash-out represents the tiniest fraction of a single per cent of the British economy. It hardly amounts to a saviour deal for no-deal, does it.

I condemn it absolutely. It would not surprise me in the least that this appalling behaviour is defined as a war crime. It's happened many times before. But the problem you have is that you just self-declared as an antisemite. You've assumed that because I condemn anti-semitism I am bound to support atrocities committed by Israel. Which is of course a classic Jew-hating equation. Jews = Israel, and if Israel is bad, Jews must also be bad. Well done you! You're a true Corbynista!

They were all imbeciles. I walked through them last night, down Whitehall, across Parliament Square and along College Green, and it's hard to imagine any other circumstance in which such a horde of sad sacks would be drawn together in one place. There were only two types. Hardcore, ferociously angry EDL supporters; and hardcore, ferociously angry OAPs, who all, oddly, seemed to be wearing white mops on their heads. And yes, unlike the remoaner march, they were resolutely all white and almost all men. Violence was always an inch away, and their hatred of anyone not them was palpable.

The DUP (Nigel Dodds) have now come out in qualified support of remain. "We will look at any option. At the end of the day why should we believe that it was right to vote Leave? When we were in the EU people were quite happy with that in N Ireland because we were there together with everybody else." Christ, this is so weird.