Can no one else see that it makes sense?

All I see on the Internet is articles about how hacked off toon fans are with Ashley , and seems like a similar theme on here.

I really don't see the big issue with re naming the stadium for extra income. It is the future of football to find addition income streams with financial restraints coming into effect. And it won't make any difference , well still all call it st. James park.

Other clubs in the EPL will follow and it seems Newcastle fans are just getting laughed at by supporters of other clubs for over reacting .

 

I agree

 

It's the principal of it that upsets me. Money isn't important when it comes to the name St James' Park.

If we had a different owner I may feel different, but any cash that is brought in, if any, we'll only see a fraction of it!

 

Surly the principle isn't worth 10million? Id imagine any extra income earned for the next few years will go to Ashley to repay the debt that's left but after that...and in the long run once the debt is pad of their will be extra income for the benefit of the club.

 

You seriously believe Mike will put the club first before earning himself some money?

 

I don't have a problem with the re-naming of SJP. The problem I have is the bullshit reason for doing it. Yes it will bring in new revenue 'for players Newcastle fans are craving'. However I cannot see the money being spent on players.

There's only one place the money wil be going an it will be going in the dark deep pockets of Mike Ashley.

I won't even be surprised if we don't sign a striker in January and I bet most posters on this forum wouldn't be surprised either.

 

Why do we still have this?

The published accounts show Fat Mike has taken no money out of the club, this is not Ashley lovers speak, this is not Sports Direct PR this is not propaganda, this is a fact . . . . . written . . . . . in black and white . . . . . in a legally binding document.

 

The only money Ashley has ever 'taken' out of the club is the loan that he gave us to stop us going under (doing a Leeds, Pompey etc). The intrest free loan that he's paying back slowly every year...

I don't like the new stadium name but stuff like this has to be done. Times have changed. We didn't agree with Pardew but that worked out. We didn't agree with getting rid of Carroll, Nolan, Barton but that's all worked out.

Next year these new financial laws come in and the only way we can get more 'income' to spend on players is by fully commercialising the club. Advertising everywhere possible. If it gets us another 10m extra compared to the Villas, Evertons etc then imo it's a good thing.

 

I'm laughing at you because of your naive attitude to this...
Anyone who makes the "financial" argument has already lost the debate because you have exactly zip evidence. It would be different if you had a company PAYING for the rename, as then you genuinely would have a heritage vs money debate. We do not have this however as Mike is sponsoring himself, and that gives us nothing except wounded Mackems the chance to make light of their own situation with a few laughs at our expense. No extra money whatsoever.

You further lose credibility because any comeback about how this "temporary change" is just going to be replaced soon by an actual sponsor can easily be destroyed with past history. Sportsdirect@St james' Park was just an advert. NOBODY TOOK IT UP. Why is this different? It isn't. He too has offered every advertisement board in St James' to other companies, which has also failed, resulting in SportsDirect everywhere, including on the roof.
THERE IS NO BASIS FOR THIS ARGUMENT SO JUST STOP IT. Sorry about shouting, but some people obviously need to wake up.

So you are left with nothing of "sense" to argue back with.

What I heavily suspect Ashley is doing, knowing that no sponsor in their right mind would want to do what he proposes, he has deliberately made it public so the FANS cough up a good amount each year to keep our own Stadium name. Think about it. The publicity would have been easily avoided had he handed an "Owen style dossier" around to discreet potential suitors... But he didn't do that, and nobody is asking why...

 

In principle and if

A) we were moving to a new stadium.

B) We kept SJP somewhere in there

Then No it would make perfect sense, after all Man Citeh are doing the same thing to get around the financial regulation due to come in next season (I Think)

But to get rid of SJP completly no not happy with that.

 

Although I appreciate the financial benefits of a sponsor paying £10million per year for the naming rights to SJP, I cannot help thinking that a new sponsor will not come in. In fact I don't even think that Mike Ashley is considering anyone other than sports direct.

He bought the club to raise his company's profile abroad, especially in the far east. I doubt if sports direct will pay anything for the naming rights, just as I doubt that they are paying for all the advertising hordings around the ground. Next year it will be our shirts.

My worry is that this will deprive the club of huge income streams, with Ashley's main company reaping the benefits of free advertising.

Both Ashley and Llambias are proven liars which makes it difficult to believe a word they say, so until I see another company's name at SJP i will assume the worst.

 

With regards to the name change. Do I like it? No. Is it the way football is headed? Yes.

Within about 10 years I predict almost all teams will have done the same thing.

The thing that worries me is that they're using the excuse of 'showcasing' the idea to potential investors again. More free advertising for Sports Direct.

 

Your last point is valid, and it would have made more sense from everyone's point of view to actually contact the large corporations on the quiet and just say "Look, where it says St James' Park it could say **insert random company name here**" but the bolded bits are bollocks I'm afraid.

He is paying a minimal amount to the club at the moment yes, but Sports Direct is not the long term sponsor here and it is MA's best interests for them NOT to sponsor the club on the cheap. I can't imagine turnover of Sports Direct will decrease by £100m over the next 10 years if they don't sponser us whereas by getting someone like O2, or some other massive company, to sponsor us then the club is guaranteed £80 - £100m extra revenue over the next 10 years. Assuming DL's figures are to be believed.

Secondly, no-one took up the other offer because SD @ SJP meant everyone called it st james' park still, even the media, so how could a company see the benefits of buying the naming rights etc only for their name not to be used? The difference now is there is no St James' Park in the name, companies can see the benefit.

Again, I think he could have gone about it in a different way but I can see why he's doing it.

 

Once again something **** happens at our club and we just accept it, and some even try to justify it.

Sorry but it doesn't wash with me. He's renamed St James' Park for **** sake!

 

Imagine going to Anfield and seeing the sign in the tunnel saying "This is the Standard Chartered Arena".

It's a matter of pride, and regardless of the money the club might earn in the future because of this, it was the most obvious, ludicrously obvious way of putting our noses out of joint that anyone could think of. Barring perhaps renaming the team Fat Idiot Geordies United. Seriously, if the Chronicle had held a poll to find the least popular decision Ashley could have made, this would have been it.

 

You should have saved me time in rebuttle by putting the following in bold...

"whereas by getting someone like O2, or some other massive company, to sponsor us then the club is guaranteed £80 - £100m extra revenue over the next 10 years. Assuming DL's figures are to be believed.

Secondly, no-one took up the other offer because SD @ SJP meant everyone called it st james' park still, even the media, so how could a company see the benefits of buying the naming rights etc only for their name not to be used? The difference now is there is no St James' Park in the name, companies can see the benefit."

The amount of conjecture in those statements renders them useless, in my humble opinion. There has hardly been a clamouring of companies bashing down the gates so far, we've only had one rumour, and that is possibly unfeasible.

As I have said, IF (and it's bigger than caps locks will allow) we get a company paying 10 mil a year, then you can have this financial debate, and it will perhaps be a good one. At the moment you only have this conjecture, while I have past history of our club under Ashley to smatter you with.

At the end of the day though, I'm still on the heritage side of the fence... Some things are worth more than money, and people giving the financial debate often seem to neglect that reasoning in other aspects of their support... If money is so important to you... Support Blyth Spartans or Gateshead... They have similar entertainment for less money...

I want St James' to stay until the ground is torn apart. It's a legacy, not an investment opportunity.

 

Fair enough, this is obviously where we disagree. There is no doubt that heritage is a massive part of any football club and I, like you, would ideally not like to see it taken from in front of our eyes. But the world changes, money is influential in the game now like it or not and the successful clubs nowadays are the ones that have been able to adapt with this change.

As for the "if money is so important to me" argument, nah I spend a **** load coming up from Milton Keynes a few times a season to get to games and I wouldn't change that for the world. Money isn't important to me in that sense but it is bloody important to a football club if it wants to compete.

 

that's the crux of the matter yes it makes sense yes every club will eventually do it when they see the money they can make it's who's doing it is the problem most fans have

 

For me you have a similar lack of respect for our heritage then. Everyone to their own. I'd have no problem with it if we were moving to a new stadium but I can't put a price on some things. Its akin to changing the team colours. We're selling the soul of football in this country and losing sight of the fact that sport is not always about business and the bottom line.

 

There are a number of problems with this whole thing, as I see it:-

1. Changing the name to Sports Direct Arena does not create any new revenue for the club, as there has been no suggestion that SD are paying a penny for this. It's free advertising for them, pure and simple.

2. The chances of a major sponsor coming in to buy naming rights was greater if they were replacing an iconic name, like SJP. Buying the naming rights of SDA is surely less of an attraction, especially as time passes?

3. Can we trust Ashley to use such money to purchase new players, in the light of past lies? Eg., "The ground will remain SJP as long as we are in charge" and "All of the Carroll money will be ploughed back into the team"