AyeDubbleYoo

There's no brand I want on our stadium, it doesn't matter who it is.

i think most of us feel the same, people won't be so upset about all this if we actually get paid good money for it. I'm not bothered that it's Ashley or that we aren't getting money for it right now. Some things are more important than money and the name of SJP should be forever. Otherwise football is really nothing more than a business any more.

'The Sports Direct Arena Story' C***s. Fucking hell that's appalling.

Mike Ashley is a successful businessman who obviously knows how to make money, but I don't understand the logic behind the unbreakable link he has created between Sports Direct and NUFC. It can only harm the club, put off potential sponsors and cost NUFC money. I guess he knows all this and just wants exposure for Sports Direct, without worrying about the financial impact on NUFC. But since he's the sole owner of the club anyway, that doesn't really make sense either - while he's helping Sports Direct/himself, he's harming NUFC/himself. Surely the best thing would be to run them both in their own best interests? I'm confused TBH.

Would like to know how many of those are new grounds. Bay Arena - Bayer Leverkusen - 1958 Signal Iduna Park - Dortmund - 1974 badenova Stadium - Freiburg - 1953 Imtech Arena - Hamburg - 1953 AWD Arena - Hanover - 1954 Rhein Energy Stadium - Koln - 1923 easycredit Stadium - Nuremberg - 1928 Mercedes Benz Arena - Stuttgart - 1933 They are the older stadiums in Bundesliga 1 which have been renamed multiple times for many years. There are even more lower down the leagues. In deals which got the teams money. I'm not arguing against the people saying his brand being advertised is wrong. I am arguing with the "we have sold our history" people. I don't quite get your logic though, just because other teams have done this, it doesn't mean it isn't selling your history or your identity. Maybe other clubs have sold their souls, it doesn't mean we should be happy we're doing it. Go have a look on a video site at fans of those teams and then tell me they have sold their souls. You're missing the point, I'm not saying anything to do with the fans. We might recover in a few years time, and stop being annoyed about this. New generations might forget it was ever called SJP, so it won't matter to them. People who don't appreciate the symbolism of football will continue to ignore its importance. But that doesn't mean this move is right or should happen. Fundamentally in a perfect world it shouldn't but we live in reality and in reality FFP dictates the need to sell the stadium naming rights. Well that's a pretty hard point to argue over, as we would need to explore and discount all of the other ways of raising revenue or reducing outgoings. You think it needs to be done, I disagree, there's not much either of us can prove beyond that.

My bullshit. Show me anything I have posted that isn't a solid fact. I'm pretty sure you said I was a tosspot. That's definitely not true. Or is it? :'(

The whole cockney thing is truly bizarre, Mike Ashley isn't a great guy but he's about as much a cockney as Bobby Robson. I know this isn't the time...

Would like to know how many of those are new grounds. Bay Arena - Bayer Leverkusen - 1958 Signal Iduna Park - Dortmund - 1974 badenova Stadium - Freiburg - 1953 Imtech Arena - Hamburg - 1953 AWD Arena - Hanover - 1954 Rhein Energy Stadium - Koln - 1923 easycredit Stadium - Nuremberg - 1928 Mercedes Benz Arena - Stuttgart - 1933 They are the older stadiums in Bundesliga 1 which have been renamed multiple times for many years. There are even more lower down the leagues. In deals which got the teams money. I'm not arguing against the people saying his brand being advertised is wrong. I am arguing with the "we have sold our history" people. I don't quite get your logic though, just because other teams have done this, it doesn't mean it isn't selling your history or your identity. Maybe other clubs have sold their souls, it doesn't mean we should be happy we're doing it. Go have a look on a video site at fans of those teams and then tell me they have sold their souls. You're missing the point, I'm not saying anything to do with the fans. We might recover in a few years time, and stop being annoyed about this. New generations might forget it was ever called SJP, so it won't matter to them. People who don't appreciate the symbolism of football will continue to ignore its importance. But that doesn't mean this move is right or should happen.

I don't think anybody disagrees that the club should be looking for new and better ways to raise more money. It's just that this shouldn't be one of the options they're considering.

It means they've heard a rumour and have to fill column inches when nothing has actually happened yet.

Obviously German fans are just as passionate as anyone else, but what does that mean? All it shows is that it's possible to rename the ground of a club that has passionate fans... not that the fans like it or should accept it.

Would like to know how many of those are new grounds. Bay Arena - Bayer Leverkusen - 1958 Signal Iduna Park - Dortmund - 1974 badenova Stadium - Freiburg - 1953 Imtech Arena - Hamburg - 1953 AWD Arena - Hanover - 1954 Rhein Energy Stadium - Koln - 1923 easycredit Stadium - Nuremberg - 1928 Mercedes Benz Arena - Stuttgart - 1933 They are the older stadiums in Bundesliga 1 which have been renamed multiple times for many years. There are even more lower down the leagues. In deals which got the teams money. I'm not arguing against the people saying his brand being advertised is wrong. I am arguing with the "we have sold our history" people. I don't quite get your logic though, just because other teams have done this, it doesn't mean it isn't selling your history or your identity. Maybe other clubs have sold their souls, it doesn't mean we should be happy we're doing it.

It doesn't even matter to me where the money goes, that's not the point. If I could guarantee that 100% of it would go on new players, that wouldn't make it any easier to take. It's a disgrace.

I think it's more about the fact that the mood is high right now, as opposed to following a possible three consecutive defeats.

I hope the media continue to call it SJP, but I'm not sure they will.

Is there a worse brand in the world than Sports Direct? Unless it's going to be the Klu Klux Klan Arena I'm struggling to think of one.

Surely it's not as simple as that though? There are a load of ways to raise money and cut costs. Every club in Europe hasn't renamed its stadium for a corporate sponsor. Has it?

Would be crazy if they did as I think the number who wouldn't buy it would be a hell of a alot. That's not to say they wouldn't use http://www.soccerscene.co.uk/ instead so it's still his brand but less fans will know it's his. I agree, but then the logic of renaming the ground or plastering it with SD logos doesn't make sense to me either. I just don't think Ashley cares about the bad reaction locally, his eye is on the international exposure for his brand. Difference is shirt sales bring in a huge revenue still for the club. Putting logos up all over the stadium doesn't stop many fans from turning up and good results on the pitch gives him the exposure. Losing shirt sales costs him cash which he doesn't need to do. I hope you're right.

Would be crazy if they did as I think the number who wouldn't buy it would be a hell of a alot. That's not to say they wouldn't use http://www.soccerscene.co.uk/ instead so it's still his brand but less fans will know it's his. I agree, but then the logic of renaming the ground or plastering it with SD logos doesn't make sense to me either. I just don't think Ashley cares about the bad reaction locally, his eye is on the international exposure for his brand.

I don't think everything Ashley has done is wrong, it's just that he's primarily a "stack em high, sell em cheap" tacky businessman and will apply those principles to whatever he does. The renaming thing is for me the worst thing he's done so far - I generally agree with his principles on how the club should be run but some things should be mor important than finance. Obviously he won't understand that, that's the issue.

Exactly, nobody is saying anyone else isn't a 'proper supporter', all I was saying is that the landmark and the importance of the stadium to the city might be more acute for someone who has grown up around it. As Gimp says, it's more the lack of empathy that's a bit worrying. Sure you could argue that this is the way football is going everywhere, but if so it has lost something very fundamental and fans can't be expected to agree with it.

Fair enough, maybe that was going too far. But what I'm suggesting is that generations of people's families have grown up with SJP at the centre of their lives. They see it every day, they visit it every weekend, they talk about it every minute. It's not even just about the football club, it's about the identity of Newcastle itself. You're as much of a fan as me or anyone else on this forum, but surely you can understand how strong your feelings might be about this if you had grown up in the city?

It's obviously going to be Sports Direct, if it's anything else I'll be absolutely amazed. In a good way, but still.