NUFC kits & merchandise

[JonBez comesock]

49 minutes ago, HaydnNUFC said:

Personally have a lot of thoughts on this debate and reasons why I’m uncomfortable with that kit. Those that say ‘we are going to be sponsored by Saudi companies et al, you are comfortable with that why not this’. Because I didn’t really expect this. Probably naïve of me, but Manchester City have never had an away kit comparable to the kit of the UAE national side or the colours of the UAE flag or Abu Dhabi flag. I wasn’t aware PSG ever had anything similar to Qatari colours until yesterday. Chelsea’s colours have always been blue, white and red. 

 

Saudi Arabia has a putrid regime which still has capital punishment by beheading, executes LGBTQ+ people, doesn’t treat women right and is doing horrid things to the people of Yemen. I know why they bought us, to paint their country in a positive light, I’m aware of that and know what KSA do and always will be. But I cannot walk away from my club. Always has been my club, always will be. Will continue to support it as I always have done and that won’t change because the owners have changed. 
 I don’t want my club wearing a kit that is identical to the kit of their national team. And imo there’s no way to justify it. “look at the 99-00 kit!!”, “we’ve worn green in the past!!”, “look at this club’s kit!!”. Pointless whataboutery deflecting from the point.

 

We’ve been taken over by Saudi Arabia and we could be looking exactly like their national side in some away games next season. I’m just inherently uncomfortable about it.

 

Hopefully the design is pulled and this can all be put behind us.
 

We are PIF owned (from Saudi) 

 

If they want / approved this strip then it’s their call 

 

We play in black and white …..(75% of the time) …..we will have a huge array of different coloured away kit  in the future (as we have in the past)

 

if it sells a few more shirts in Saudi and gets us a few extra £££ for players (so be it)

 

If they hadn’t of bought our club , they would of bought someone else 

 

Sports-washing is a made up word ….every football club (& many other sports) are in some way sportswashing, including a lot of amateur clubs, for the simple fact that all sportswear manufacturers are using sport to normalise their name/brand, whilst trying to deflect the fact that they use or have historically used child labour in 3rd world countries.

 

All of this publicity in regards to Saudi (in my opinion) is just shining the light on them even more 

 

So my hope is , that things slowly begin to change in Saudi (even baby steps)

 

Sky - constantly show adverts (to visit Saudi) yet the sky presenters keep asking questions to the golfers / boxers / football managers 

 

100% hypocrisy 

 

I don’t agree with what goes on in Saudi Arabia and want it to change 

 

I also want Newcastle to have ambition and compete 

 

However I will not spit my dummy if we wear a white and Green away kit.

 

 

 

 

Edited May 13, 2022 by JonBez comesock

[TheBrownBottle]

I’ve no doubt it’ll be used on the inevitable two/three trips to play KSA clubs in friendlies, whether it is the second or third kit.

 

We all know who owns the club, this stuff is just the beginning.  Our owners refused to sign up to the UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights.  They aren’t just a bit iffy, they’re one of the most vicious, abusive, and oppressive regimes on earth.  The KSA-inspired away kit is the least of it, for me - if we ever become any good, you can expect our star players - in NUFC regalia, which will be more like a livery - to be featured in adverts extolling the virtues of a regime which still tortures and executes people for the ‘crime’ of wanting the right to vote or for being homosexual.

 

I’m expecting more and more of this stuff - the surprise to me is that they’ve scored such an obvious PR OG for so little gain. 

[Disco]

Buzzing if the keeper kit has shite joggers as standard as a nod to Mohamed Al-Deayea tbh.

[The Prophet]

I see plenty of blue tick journos have used this is an opportunity to get stuck into the fans.

 

Surely that sort of behaviour just facilitates the sportswashing they're supposedly called out, by creating an us v the rest of the world mentality.

[Kid Icarus]

17 minutes ago, The Prophet said:

I see plenty of blue tick journos have used this is an opportunity to get stuck into the fans.

 

Surely that sort of behaviour just facilitates the sportswashing they're supposedly called out, by creating an us v the rest of the world mentality.

 

Yeah, completely misplaced and with a complete refusal to accept reality let alone explore any journalistic curiousity about why it's a reality. You'd think journalists would be curious about what makes sportswashing effective and maybe do some digging wouldn't you? For some it seems like their curiosity ends when they're able to put it down to people and things either being good or bad, then moralising about it. Completely infantile. 

[WarrenBartonCentrePartin]

It's still coming back to the rather ridiculous idea that it's down to football fans (Chelsea/Newcastle/Man City) to take the lead on calling out and making a stand against such regimes. I didn't see Holt getting his knickers in such a twist when our lord and saviour Boris de Pfeffel went and begged Saudi to keep our energy supplies going.

 

It's similar, but I'm not saying identical to, when it was expected that footballers would stop schoolkids going hungry.

[The Prophet]

Holt is just a bad faith actor. For example:

 

 

 

 

[Oregon_Geordie]

It's business. All the bed wetters need to wake up.

It's part of the deal, right?

 

Not like they changed the Home or the Away. It's a Third Top.

If it helps expand the Brand and support the club I'll take it. 

 

Bigger things to worry about in the world.

[St. Maximin]

37 minutes ago, Kid Icarus said:

 

Yeah, completely misplaced and with a complete refusal to accept reality let alone explore any journalistic curiousity about why it's a reality. You'd think journalists would be curious about what makes sportswashing effective and maybe do some digging wouldn't you? For some it seems like their curiosity ends when they're able to put it down to people and things either being good or bad, then moralising about it. Completely infantile. 

I don’t think journalists explain why sportswashing is effective because it isn’t really. I always hear them talking about “the latest disgraceful example of sportswashing” or the like without them really explaining how it’s working or is expected to. The clearest signs of it to me are the minority of Saudi apologists in our fanbase, but in the grand scheme of things their impacts are minimal and I doubt the main target of the takeover. 
 

Sure we would effectively be advertising their ‘brand’ through this, whether we like it or not (I’d rather not), but it’s done for economic purposes. 
 

 

 

 

Edited May 13, 2022 by St. Maximin

[macphisto]

59 minutes ago, The Prophet said:

I see plenty of blue tick journos have used this is an opportunity to get stuck into the fans.

 

Almost no sports journalist, apart from possibly those at the Athletic, are in a position to lecture anyone about morality when their front pages print lies on a daily basis in support of this government. Never mind phone hacking and some of them working for the son of a former KGB agent and Murdoch.

[Whitley mag]

3 minutes ago, macphisto said:

Almost no sports journalist, apart from possibly those at the Athletic, are in a position to lecture anyone about morality when their front pages print lies on a daily basis in support of this government. Never mind phone hacking and some of them working for the son of a former KGB agent and Murdoch.

Exactly, we can all have morals and belief’s, but you need to be sure your own house is in order before you start preaching to other people. This is where ordinary folk completely object to the hypocrisy and arrogance of these people.

[relámpago blanco]

4 hours ago, triggs said:

Do you use Russian gas?

Probably but I'm not complaining about us having a white and green shirt

[LV]

I’m hopeful that Saudi will change a little with more exposure to the West and western values, more Western visitors to their country, more Saudi visitors to the U.K. 

 

It won’t happen overnight obviously. 
 

It’s only just about been 100 years since they discovered oil in Saudi, before that they were a very sheltered desert tribal culture with little exposure to the outside world beyond other conservative Arabic/ Muslim nations. 
 

100 years really isn’t a long time in the scheme of things but slowly, slowly things can change. 
 

Perhaps them getting more involved in a global sport such as football will help move that change along. I hope so anyway. 

[duo]

4 hours ago, Rafalove said:

Don’t actually have much problem with  the kit tbh. People are saying it’s sportswahing but I just think it’s a marketing plea to our new Saudi fans. 
 

there is plenty to criticise our new ownership but for me this isn’t it.

If the sales of the kit bring in more players such as Bruno - go for it. We've got to grab the cash where we can atm with FFP.  It's not quite on par with changing the name of the stadium to the Sports Direct Arena - which got far less press.

 

 

Edited May 13, 2022 by duo

[triggs]

10 minutes ago, relámpago blanco said:

Probably but I'm not complaining about us having a white and green shirt

Aye but you presumably do condemn Russia's actions while using their gas

[Kid Icarus]

36 minutes ago, St. Maximin said:

I don’t think journalists explain why sportswashing is effective because it isn’t really. I always hear them talking about “the latest disgraceful example of sportswashing” or the like without them really explaining how it’s working or is expected to. The clearest signs of it to me are the minority of Saudi apologists in our fanbase, but in the grand scheme of things their impacts are minimal and I doubt the main target of the takeover. 
 

Sure we would effectively be advertising their ‘brand’ through this, whether we like it or not (I’d rather not), but it’s done for economic purposes. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

I think whichever way you want to define it, as sportswashing or the brainwashing of a fanbase or whatever, there's a lot to be said for how a pre-packaged, tribalist set of supporters will to go out and bat for you and your sins if you're associated with their club and appeal to their material interests is a very real phenomenon. How effective that is in softening your reputation is another matter, but I think the first part of it is true and self-evident. 

 

Why journalists seem to have no curiousity about why people might act in this way, in the psychology behind acting in self interest, where people draw their lines, how certain groups are primed for it, how emotional attachments can be exploited, examples of it elsewhere in society, what it tells us and the human condition, how we can work against it etc beyond 'football is tribalist' or 'it's an example of sportswashing' is just baffling to me. I wouldn't mind their complete like of curiousness if it wasn't paired with their know-it-all moralising and self-exceptionalism. 

 

Honestly, if I had the time and also had the motive to do it that they do, it would have been the first thing I'd done.

 

 

Edited May 13, 2022 by Kid Icarus

[wyn davies]

I expect that the new shirt will be a big seller in Saudi, and as for journos sod 'em , not as white as  they think.

[PauloGeordio]

12 minutes ago, wyn davies said:

I expect that the new shirt will be a big seller in Saudi, and as for journos sod 'em , not as white as  they think.

I’m sure they’ll be boycotting the World Cup this year, being all virtuous ‘narl ?

[nufcjb]

Argh. I'm done with these journalists' outrage to be honest. They can whine all they want. I want the Saudis to bankroll the club, get us some great players, upgrade the stadium, build a new training ground and academy, bring investment into the club and city and get us some trophies. They want to make our AWAY KIT white and green? Go ahead. NUFC will always be NUFC. 14 years of Mike Ashley was tough. A bit of white and green on our kit, I can live with. When we go up the league or get into cup finals and win them, I ain't gonna care what colour our kit is. White, green, tea towel patterned? Fuck it. Drrriiinnkkk it aaallll iiinnn maannn.

 

 

Edited May 13, 2022 by nufcjb

[Fantail Breeze]

Still find it really weird how grown men get excited (or apparently in this case, angry) by a football shirt.

 

Black and white home kit ✅ 

 

Does anything else matter? 

[Wilson]

I divn't like it...I'm actually (probably naively) surprised they've dived straight in with it

 

The people comparing it to past strips is laughable mind, it's got absolutely nowt to do with them and I'm pretry sure they know deep down...

 

Having said that, it's not something I'll lose any sleep over, it'll be interesting to see the crowd response when they wear it, particularly from the opposition fans! 

[Whitley mag]

1 minute ago, Wilson said:

I divn't like it...I'm actually (probably naively) surprised they've dived straight in with it

 

The people comparing it to past strips is laughable mind, it's got absolutely nowt to do with them and I'm pretry sure they know deep down...

 

Having said that, it's not something I'll lose any sleep over, it'll be interesting to see the crowd response when they wear it, particularly from the opposition fans! 

The response will be 4 nil to the Saudi boys when we’re romping to another away victory.

[Wilson]

God I hope not. 

[SUPERTOON]

It will be like everything else so far, it will blow over and die down till the next newsworthy story hits the press.

[Wolfcastle]

In essence its only a sort of homage cum commerical stunt - its not a deliberte provocation, slight or insensitive move just because people want to take it that way,  like Rangers (who I like by the way) plumbing for orange away strips now and then or Celtic's Irish colours during the IRA troubles which were far more offensive and worth getting excited about, yet no neutral really did.

 

 

 

Edited May 13, 2022 by Wolfcastle