oldtype

What I would like to see is Spain v. Stoke. It would have to be on a Wednesday night. A rainy one.

Just watching the highlights, the only England highlight in the entire first half seems to be that really shit long shot that Lampard hit from 40 yards out.

Was wondering when somebody was going to make a Mike reference in this thread.

England are doing about as well as an average side trying to stifle a vastly superior side can.

For Mike Ashley, Newcastle United only exists as a vehicle to maximize revenue for Sports Direct. Selling advertising earns the club money, but doesn't earn Sports Direct any money. Advertising Sports Direct benefits the business he really cares about.

Non-league glory hunters.

Wouldn't put it past Ashley to threaten to fine any member of the staff that fails to refer to the ground by its "proper" name in interviews.

Would be wonderful to see Gateshead in the 3rd round playing a Premiership side. I have this unhealthy attachment to them because I play them on FM every year.

Let's just pray that Ashley doesn't know about Red Bull Salzburg.

QFT shirt sponsors is a different matter imo, be fucking mental to turn down an existing revenue stream He might be daft enough to try it. Shirt sponsorship from other company = money for NUFC Sports Direct shirt sponsorship = money for Sports Direct I've always defended him when people claimed that he was "pocketing club money," saying that would be illegal/impossible. Well, it looks like he's gone and found a legal/feasible way of doing just that

Let's not kid ourselves. The name of the stadium is not going to become anything other than Sports Direct Arena at any point during Mike Ashley's tenure here,

We've been over this several times, but I don't see how he'd be marketing his goods in the Far East given that he doesn't even have shops here.

"Sack the board" is secretly his favorite song and he's missed hearing it.

That sort of thing will never happen. Especially not when we're 3rd in the league. He's got absolutely nothing to worry about. If (big IF admittedly) we stayed thrid in the league, would we ourselves have anything to worry about Well, no, but that's not the point. People wouldn't stop going even if we were relegated. Heck, people didn't stop going when we actually were relegated.

I agree that I'd find him distasteful if we were a toon player. He's not though, so might as well laugh at him

That sort of thing will never happen. Especially not when we're 3rd in the league. He's got absolutely nothing to worry about.

At this point he's figured out that fan-organized protests are a joke and he can get away with just about anything. Eventually the fans will tire and he'll get off with no consequences. Just like he did with Keegan, SD.com@StJamesPark, Hughton, the Newcastle United letters etc. etc.

Was thinking about ways to speak out against this in a reasonable manner... Do you think a letter-writing campaign to major media outlets/commentators asking them to continue to refer to the ground as SJP be feasible? Granted, knowing Ashley, he'll probably sue them all

I'm back to mostly just wanting him to keel over and die.

Exactly. You can't buy class. Apparently you can sell it pretty effectively though.

Fenway, Yankee Stadium, Dodger Stadium, Wrigley Field, Soldiers Field.... All the grounds that have been standing for anywhere near as long as SJP has have kept their original names. I personally can't think of a single comparable example. If this was a new stadium they were naming this would possibly bother me less. Can't even imagine the shitstorm it would cause if they tried to go and rebrand Fenway

Media is having a field day with this. Laughing stock of England again in one fells swoop. Congratulations you ridiculous cunts.

They invented this, man.

There's a huge difference between selling naming rights to a brand new stadium and defacing a name that has nearly a century of history and tradition tied to it. Not even the Americans would accept something like this.

I honestly can't be happy about anything we achieve on the pitch anymore as long as the current regime is in charge. Instantly just saps all the joy out of everything.