I think people on Twitter are getting confused. Twitterers are linking this with the BBC article that is quoted on the last page.
It looks like Northern Rock haven't pulled their sponsorship with "immediate effect". Instead, NR have ended their sponsorship "early" but that does not necessarily mean immediate effect does it? The article said that the contract was signed in January 2010 and that they could activate a "get-out clause" after 2 years (presumably January 2012) so the way I see it, we have 2 more months of Northern Rock being on our shirts.
Holy s***, a mackem with a clue. That's quite terrifiying actually, it's like that Dawn of the Dead remake where one of them starts learning to open doors, use guns and communicate.
Uh oh, they're indeed "learning". We're doomed.