Re-branding: Newcastle Magpies

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/23629379

With Hull City being the latest victims of 'global branding' following on from Cardiff City, I just wondered what Toon fans would think if Mike Ashley decided he was going to follow the same path?

He has previously shown that he has no sense of tradition when he re-named SJP the 'Sports Direct Arena'.

Newcastle Magpies anyone?

 

I remember Red Dwarf used to have something called Zero-G Football. It just kind of all feels like it's heading less 'Wembley Way' and more "WWE".

What does confuse me a bit is the over-commercialization of something inevitably leads to cheapening of the product. At some point we'll reach the zenith and the fall from grace, I reckon, will be nothing short of spectacular. I'm watching Man Utd with great interest this year.

 

I think overall the owners think they're doing the right thing by the club, they are sadly out-of-touch with their fans though.

It's all very well 'moving with the times', but at the risk of alienating the very life-blood of the club seems simply insane.

 

Re: your comments on Coke or McDonalds....£3 meal or 50p can doesn't compare to the hundreds of spondooliks it costs just to watch a couple of games!! What it does do is prove my point - MaccyD's is where it is 'cos it's cheap and easy to get. You can see what has happened with the internet encroaching on football's tv deals, the threat is making it easy to watch. The problem football has is that where McD's not only survives but thrives in economic downturns, football has unsustainable business models to try and achieve. Every year we get further down the road of paying too much - Rooney's £250k per week MUST be the ceiling, for sanity's sake - there's a greater and greater risk of collapse.

What I really, really fail to understand is there doesn't even need to be a rule or a law. If the clubs just got together and said "you know what? we can't carry on with this fcking bullsh!t, none of us are going to pay more than £50k a week to anyone" then it would nip it all in the bud in an instant. Ticket prices could come immediately down, player loyalty would go up, a level playing field would be established. Fck the EU.

 

Voted yes accidently...I hate the idea.

 

Jimmy Hill would be turning in his grave!

It's a lovely ideal about capping wages, but sadly never going to happen.

As far as McD's and CC are concerned, I wasn't actually comparing them to football, just saying that theirs is the branding format that everyone is trying to copy.

 

No

 

Actually, this move does draw a familiarity with something equally despotic, hopelessly commercial and disgustingly rich.....the IPL!!!

Can see it now - The North East Jets take on the Manchester Warriors in four quarters of 'classic football entertainment'. Both teams still have three ref challenges and two power plays, but Manchester already used their multi-ball late in the second quarter. Third quarter on the way, the scores tied at 23 each. Let's see if either team brings a goalkeeper into play. The third quarter coming up next, live and exclusive, only....on SKY BT YAHOO SPORTS.

 

Whoops!

 

No, but, Magpies is as much part of our history as United.

It's an odd one with Hull City and I can't see what market the owner is trying to break into. It's not like Cardiff where they had a particular aim of the Far East paricularly Malaysia.

Who knows in 10 years time it might be common place and Hull Tigers were the forerunners.

I still wouldn't want it for us though, unless it was attached to some multi billionaire with a boat load of cash that made us able to compete at the top table.

Could I be bought? Maybe...

 

It's a nice idea, unfortunately there only has to be one guy that pays someone £55k a year and the spiral starts all over again. Plus I can't see ticket prices going down even if this were to happen. Signing on fees would rise, and the club owners would just sit there looking at the much higher profits they were making.
Of course the world would be a much better place if people just weren't dicks. Unfortunately, like the workshy aresholes that are surrounding me at work today, dicks are everywhere.

 

Summed up nicely. Exploitation, greed, whatever its called - it'll always get in the way. Shamefully, if there was some way I could exploit something to get a 6 bedroom house with a Bentley in the drive, I'd do it.

Dammit. I'm just a d!ck without the money to show it.

 

Rep for you sir!

 

Nobody is disputing the 'Magpies' element of our history, but I could never accept a name-change by way of deleting 'United'.

How about if your new boss came in to see you, told you they are going to change your surname for something more 'commercially viable'?
If it meant more money for you and the company, would you change your surname?

I wouldn't.

 

big no from me.... and this is why....


[video=youtube;tgS1RFk1cU8]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgS1RFk1cU8[/video]

 

It's pretty sad that celebration... i'm prepared to bet they won't be singing that much this season!

Except maybe against us...

 

Its all hypothetical anyway.

But, look at this way.

I think its fair to say, the top Five (maybe Six) are so far ahead of the remainder of the PL with an ever expanding gap between us and them.

You can see this being the case for the foreseeable future - 10 years / 20 years who knows.

As its stands we are one of the clubs in the PL that helps make up a league for Man U etc to compete in.

Being realistic we are scrapping around for maybe 6th downwards, and if we get lucky and one of the others has a poor season, we may get a shout at 5th again.

I cant see us competing to WIN the PL in my lifetime.

The investment needed to catch up the top clubs is way beyond what someone like Ashley is ever going to commit.
I think we all know that for a fact and he is quite content for us to remain in the PL as that will probably satisfy most fans.
Ridiculous as it is, we are talking about 8th being acceptable - what a load of bollocks.

When Ashley does sell up, as he will in time, just a matter of when and to who, the new prospective owner throws in a little bombshell on a name change to Newcastle Magpies.

What then?
Its purely hypothetical in any case.
Personally I don't think it will happen unless its a wholesale PL initiative in many, many years time.
Food for thought though....

 

It makes no difference who the owner is, Hull & Cardiff both have foreign owners, we have Ashley but he cares nothing for traditions either.

I would never accept a name-change at anytime by anybody.

 

So what would the other teams become?

Surely Arsenal, Liverpool, Fulham, Chelsea & Everton would stay with a single word for their team?

"Shorter the better" according to 'Hull Tigers' owner.

Manchester Devils.

Aston Villains.

can't be bothered...

 

Why would Magpies ever be more attractive than United? One's a bird that likes to steal shiny things, the other one's a name shared with Manchester United, one of the more easily recognised brands in world football. I can't see it happening for that reason...

(edit) We'd probably end up being the Newcastle Mackems, knowing Ashley.