Can no one else see that it makes sense?

No mate, I bitch at you because you have nothing to say and you say it too loud. You spent all of the summer claiming we were doomed and going to get relegated, the transfer policy was crap and you were wrong . . . . . . on a massive scale if you look at our current league position. Is there not the teeniest tiniest possiblity you could be wrong on this one too hmmmm?
No one is going to call it Sports Direct Area, the fans won't, even Jeff bloody Stelling has said he won't call it that, Newcastle Council are refusing to change the signs, the station name's not going to change so it'll end up being a total non-event.
Mike Ashley can call it The Sugar Plum Fairy Arena if he's wishes, he'll be the only one, everyother normal rational person, football fan of any team will call it St James's, 100+ years of history & tradition doesn't get wiped out just because Mike Ashley wants to change the name of the ground.

I understand, I get it, you don't like Mike Ashley, but your mad vitriolic, acerbic rants are just boring now. You're boring, same crap different day.

 

Anyone listen to all of Total sport what email did the he read which he wasnt supposed to

 

I disagree with all of this bar the obvious part of not being able to trust Mike Ashley's statements in point 3.

How on earth is better for a company to takeover the naming rights of St. James Park than *the current one*? I dont knwo if its wishful thinking on my behalf, but i'd assume the whole reason MA has renamed to what he has, is to make it MORE appealing for someone else to take over the name. If another company took straight over from St James then THEY would be the ones facing this backlash and it would all be about Mike Ashley selling us to whatever company it was. Bad PR for both sides.

At least taknig over from *the current name* means they wont take all of this bad press. It will never be seen as a positive in the fans reaction of course, unless this new company bought the naming rights, renamed it St James Park and just kept their logo on the shirts and around the oards on the stadium, but thats not going to happen.

Yes the heritage is destroyed, even if we're all going to call it St James Park in the same way that Valley Parade is Valley Parade, the Gallowgate has always been the Gallowgate and the Leazes End is still the Leazes End, but thats the way football seams to be going... Any extra revenue is good for the club at the end of the day.

People would be a lot more welcoming to this if A) The fans could actually trust the words coming from Mike Ashley and B) The name of the stadium was a little bit more upmarket than *the current name*...

Time will tell whether the club see any of this sponsorship money or whether anyone big actually comes in for it.

I dont expect the money to go straight into transfer funds, i dont see why anyone would, since we all know what our owner is like, but i do see it going into the team. Just so that NUFC is run on NUFC money rather than Mike Ashleys personal wealth.

I am worried however, that our shirts willl be the next thing to go down the Sports Direct route...

Apparently they have to find this sponsorship by the end of December for next seasons shirts? So someone most be lined up surely... Obviously finding another shirt sponser was too hard on its own though.

 

He's also deliberately picked this weekend to do it in my eyes, knowing he doesnt have to hear the fans backlash at a home game for another three weeks... I just hope its not called *the current name* for long.

 

I think it's here for quite a while

 

The thing is , he won't even change it after Sports Direct Arena. That will be our stadium's official name for as long as the ****s are there.

Renaming it to SDA won't give us 10m but will only give Ashley's **** more publicity and advertisement.

People seem to forget that before Sports Direct Arena it was sportsdirect.com @ St James' Park and it was called that so that other sponsors would come in and name the stadium after themselves , provided they pay the needed 10m.

But no , he's just gone and scrapped St James' Park and called it the Sports Direct Arena.

 

You've just answered your own arguement there mate, it was called sportdirect.com@St James Park, no one called it that and it'll be exactly the same with Sports Direct Arena, everyone will still call it St James's Park. 100+ years of history doesn't disappear overnight because Fat Mike decides to change the name.

 

I definitely will and hope everyone else does as well

 

I wonder if there will be any pressure put on Sky to force JS to use the ground's official name? To me the whole thing stinks but we're already starting to see the Ashley apologists on the forums starting to spin it... Maybe it is the 'future of football' but at least the other clubs that are doing it are actually selling the rights to someone who is paying in actual money.

I agree that the fans will always call it SJP (I still sometimes refer to SoL as Roker Park!) but eventually the rest of the country will begin to refer to it as SDA just like they do with other grounds. It's bad enough to do it to a new ground but to do it to one of the 'heretige' grounds is worse. I'm not sure Ashley ever forgave you lot for the KK reaction and he seems determined to stick it to you at every opportunity. What the hell happened to the Carroll money? Oh yes I forgot - the Ashley apologists have the accounts to show that you were not lied to and screwed over by him. Sorry - I cannot get used to this doublethink.

 

Well if Jeff Stelling says he's still going to call it SJP as long as the fans do that's good enough for me

 

Completely right.

Can't believe the amount of people who defend Ashley's every move as if he can do no wrong.

 

True!

I would love it if he did that!

 

By who? I think James Murdoch has a few other things to worry about at the moment, Mike Ashley has no ties with Sky, how would he be able to put pressure on Sky?

 

http://www.skysports.com/opinion/story/0,,12088_7302390,00.html

"I much prefer Eastlands but the day that I hear the bulk of City fans calling their ground The Etihad and the bulk of Newcastle fans calling theirs whatever the new name is, I'll be happy to fall into line."

 

There's other ways of making cash for the club, we don't need to sell the naming rights.

People will be saying we should be changing the name of the ****ing club next!

I understand the aim now is for the club to be self sufficient but we cannot forget the clubs tradition. I don't want the stadium renamed, and nor do most Newcastle fans.

 

Well advertising money influences TV - maybe Sports Direct don't spend any money; I wouldn't know but you probably do as you apper to be a spokesperson for them.

 

Like what? What will raise an estimated £10M a year?

I don't see Sky being pressured by an upstart like MA, he's not a very likeable or popular man and not just around Newcastle or football in general. If Sky were going to back the name changing they wouldn't have let Jeff Stelling say what he has in his blog on Sky's Main Football page, I expect they have very tight editorial control on these things.

 

Agree............don't think for a moment the w*nker wouldn't change the name of the club because he WOULD!............and we'd get fed the £10m extra will help the club..........blah blah

 

Really? The main ways he can raise additional cash for the club without incurring any further expenditure are:

1) Increase ticket prices
2) Increase the cost of merchandise
3) Increase the costs of match day catering and hospitality etc
4) Sell valuable players
5) Job cuts to back room staff

These all hold inherent risks.

Charging more for tickets and many will think that they simply can't attend anymore. This leads to a loss of revenue.

Charging more for merchandise will lead to a reduction in sales; loss of revenue instead.

Charging more for a beer or a pie will lead to a reduction in sales; loss of revenue instead.

Selling valuable player will cost the club league position, end of season revenue and potential relegation; all losing revenue even though he may have collated £10 million but unable to spend it.

Job cuts mean cutting the skilled people who aid and assist in generating revenue. You only do that when you're in trouble. Cut training staff such as coaches and the squad suffers.

Pray tell how £10 million per annum can be generated for the club without the club spending any extra?

 

Add to that that Lambiarse has already said merchandising sales have been poor so we can probably strike off raising the prices on that.