Llambias understands the importance of St James’ Park.

Posted on November 4th, 2009 | 45 Comments |

It's good to talk
It's good to talk
Derek Llambias explains about the renaming of Newcastle United’s stadium.

The upshot is that St James’ Park will not be lost. The names of sponsors will just be added to the front of it in the manner of something such as ‘Sports Direct @ St James’ Park‘ or ‘Pampers @ St James’ Park‘.

Llambias goes on to say that he and Mike Ashley are fully aware of the tradition involved with things like this but that they are looking for ways to maximise revenue for the club. Llambias explains that Mike Ashley is a ‘football fan’ and understands the sensitivity around this issue.

Of course Llambias was instrumental in the constructive dismissal of Kevin Keegan and subsequent attempts to cover up the club’s actions at the tribunal, so believe what you will.

I am told it’s now the 21st century and can reveal an exciting new technology called ‘video’. This is kind of like moving pictures of a person which are recorded and then played back. I doubt it will catch on but I understand it’s trendy on blogs these days, so there now follows one of these moving pictures with the Llambias interview (hopefully).

Amazing – whatever will they think of next?

NUFCBlog Author: Hugh de Payen I'm a baby-boomer of the punk rock persuasion, currently exiled in Somerset for crimes committed in a previous life where locals keep trying to poison me with something called 'scrumpy'. Hates sprouts, coat-hangers, Cilla Black, ornaments, Steven Seagull movies and 50 Cent (he's not worth 10). Hugh de Payen has written 634 articles on this blog.

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45 Responses

  2. damned if you do, damned if you don’t…… MA & DL chose to say nothing and they get stick for not communicating with the fans. They come out a tell the fans what their plans are and they get stick from the fans. In a way, I feel sorry for them. I know that they have heaped a lot of this pain upon themselves but it has now come to the stage that no matter what they do it will be slammed by some fans. I don’t believe that MA is the devil and that he is hell bent on tearing our club apart. I think there are a lot of angry Newcastle fans out there that are secretly enjoying this. It gives them something to be angry at. I’m pretty sure that if MA was the best owner in the world of football, the same induviduals would be just as angry at something else. I have read enough blogs over the past few years to see the amount of hatred being spouted on sites like this… It’s time to move on, support the team, enjoy the team and get remember why we love this team… It’s about the boys on the park and our love of the beautiful game of football…….

  3. I agree, with the name change as long as the name St James remains somewhere there. It brings in much needed revenue.
    The only issue I have is wether the club or MA will see the revenue earned.
    Here in South Africa, the Bulls Rugby team play at Loftus Versveld (The best rugby team in the world with a historic background. But now it is known as (Sponsor) Loftus Versfeld, and everyone just refers to it as “Loftus” anyway.
    So ease up on MA on this one… It actually makes good sense as long as the cash is re-invested. Hopefully in a good pacey forward and a centre back.

  4. Aussie Magpie Fan:
    Do you really believe that people are just angry because they have nothing better to do?
    People are angry because Mike and chums have made our club a disgrace. I won’t go into everything yet again, but I personally will never never forgive them and I won’t be happy until they are gone.
    The above interview is more than likely lies, which is why I never even bothered to watch it. Thats how much I trust in these people who run NUFC, when you are proven to lie it’s quite hard to get people to listen.
    Paul
     

  7. What makes Mr Lickspittle think we are foolish  and naive enough to believe one single word he utters?  I for one do not.

    As far as I am concerned it has, is and always will be………………………..
    NEWCASTLE UNITED AT ST JAMES’ PARK.   Nothing more, nothing less.

  8. did anyone else notice how all of Ashley’s monumental c**k-ups came in the period after chris mort left? kinda makes me wonder who is actually pulling the strings in this laurel & hardy partnership….

  9. I’ve watched it again now, hoping to see something to let me know I was wrong. Surely if Stu79 can see some honesty in the interview then it’s worth another gander?

    He truly is a cardboard cut-out. So I’ll forgive him for his usual reluctance to go in front of the cameras.

    I’ll also stand by my theory that this is damage-limitation following the fall-out. He’s not convincing me with this frankly uninspired and hollow cliches to explain his understanding of this club. He would have sold the name down the river, had we not started to kick up a fuss. I’m sorry if this seems obtuse but the evidence stacks up against Mr Llambias and I’m not buying it.

    I’d get a better spokesperson lads…….

  10. The plastic sincerity is overpowering, wonder if he had lessons from his friends at Sky Sports…..

    and I wish I had a fiver for every time he says “so”

    But I’m still not clear what it is he’s saying?? He appears to be selling an email address???

  13. Thats how much I trust in these people who run NUFC, when you are proven to lie it’s quite hard to get people to listen why should we trust them now? have you noticed his Pinocchio nose is getting Bigger And Bigger

  14. go stick your jumbo screen up fat mike’s jumbo .com you couple of compulsive liars – always  bending and twisting the truth bet you’s cant  lie straight in bed.

    THEIR NOT TO BE TRUSTED UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES.

  16. now we know hes not selling we should give him the biggest protest in the history of  any football club

  18. bowburnmag says:
    November 4, 2009 at 9:13 am
    I’ve watched it again now, hoping to see something to let me know I was wrong. Surely if Stu79 can see some honesty in the interview then it’s worth another gander?

    I never said honesty.  That isn’t a trait I would attach to Llambias or this regime.

    I just didn’t think he came across as bad as everyone was saying.

    Although I’m inclined not to believe.  I still believe one of the biggest things Ashley could do was to replace Llambias.  That could possibly be seen a ‘meeting halfway’  between fans and Ashley.  It won’t happen of course, I’m just saying what I would do.   But then again that’s common sense isn’t it?

  19. At last, BBM, Roy Cropper, et al telling it like it is! 
    Llambias’ statement seemed insincere…because it had NO SINCERITY IN IT WHATSOEVER!! 
    To release a statement, to the effect that, the naming rights are up for sale; which you later recant…throwing in a jumbo telly (for a little “Smoke and Mirrors”) is as staggeringly stupid an act of “Public Relations” ( and we all know what that’s code for) as I have ever seen.
    These people are not to be believed, trusted or supported in any fashion. Mike’s £20m has been swallowed up by running costs (as predicted); and he and his monkey are currently laughing at…erm….I mean looking at Chris’ player wish list. Presumably they’ve told him it’s been a lean year for Santa, and not to get his hopes up. 
    Llambias’ quote in the Telegraph made me laugh out loud: “If Chris wants a player for a million quid, we’ll go out and get him for the team” What year does he think it is ………1978?
    Stardust’s reaction? Typically wet! If you can’t defend the indefensible “sunshine” , you should just come out and say so, instead of pussyfooting around it.

  20. Excelsior says:
    November 4, 2009 at 12:20 pm

    Aye ya righ about the amount of money – £1m quid or so….

    That’s not going to buy much is it? 

    If Ashley really is focused on us getting promoted he really needs to invest more than that in January.  It isn’t a case of  the club don’t have the money’ it’s a case of we need the money and we  DO have a source of wealth in our owner don’t we?

    Lets see how desperate he is to see us go up….

  21. if jonas is off in jan,lets hope the money from his sale goes straight back in to invest in a replacment,but i doubt it,its not ashleys way is it.

  22. What I’d like to know is how much Sports Direct is paying Newcastle United for the stadium naming rights.

  23. He’s already stated the case for his defence. If Chris wants to spend a £1m on a player they will go and get him but they would prefer ‘loan signings’.

    Hughton will struggle to find one player, never mind several for a £1m each (or a little bit more, I would hate to be seen to be pedantic), that we so desperately need. Ergo, we will get loan players and they have stated that now so we can’t say we weren’t warned.

    What happens if we can’t renew the current loan signings? And god forbid, we sell someone without a direct replacement lined up and in the bag?

    I’m trying not to think about it…..

  25. BBM, so what you’re saying (or, to be precise, what Llambias is saying) is that Ashley will give naming rights free to Sports Direct but will cough up a £1m here and there for Hughton to strengthen the squad. Maybe. If he feels like it.

    Don’t think Ashley got a very good deal for the club there.

    Sports Direct and Newcastle United are completely different legal entities, albeit owned by the same chump.

  26. bowburnmag says:
    November 4, 2009 at 12:41 pm

    Llambias did that they didn’t wat to sell an players in Jan that’s one of the reasons Ashley has put money in.

    I mean he could be talking sh1te as per, but he has gone on record as saying that.

    Still really looking forward to January – Will be very interesting.

  27. well according to jonas agent he can go in a decent offer comes in,but knowing these clowns they will get ripped off like they did with given..

  28. To be fair Hugh…..

    “The money that Mike put in last week     (£20M) was to cover costs like wages and so on because we wanted to keep the core of a squad together which would have the best possible chance of being able to get us promoted this season.

    “It has not been put aside for transfers.”

    Stu79 – “because we wanted to keep the core of a squad together” – that implies, they’ve always had promotion on their mind, even though we were for sale. A contingency plan? Now I know they’re having a laugh :)

  29. “We are currently talking to two 16 year-olds from Ireland who we are going to sign for our Academy”.

    That’s quite funny like. No disrespect to the lads or owt. And of course if they’re quality, then great……in four years time. What about the here and now? Talk about ‘knowing your customers’…….

  30. Does anyone know where Mike’s big telly is going to go?  I know we aren’t bursting to capacity at the ground, so is he going to rip out one of the corners and put it in there?
    Knowing this lot we’ll end up with some old B&W wooden DECCA telly from 1973 purched on a stick just in front of the Milburn stand.

  31. BBM – Yep.  We will have a cracking squad in the Rayman Premier League Northern Section.

  32. In the interests of fairness, he does say –

    “But there will be money invested in the team because the most important thing is getting us up – and if Chris feels the team is short in a particular area, we want to be able to do something about it for him.”.

    But why does it seem like an after-thought? Surely, you lead with this? First team is what’s important. Let’s spend a few million, putting a squad together that will not only get promotion but is capable of hanging around next season when it does.

    Maybe I’m being harsh, what with me being a club-hater?

  33. BBM – I too despise the club and everything that goes with it, and I agree with what you are saying.  It’s no good just buying players who will be good enough for the hear and now.  We have to buy players who while aren’t quite the finished article, they will be good enough for the Championship and will develop in the PL.

  34. MT – my theory is they’ll stick it in front of one of the stands. And then all those supporters who say results are what is most important can swap seats with those who want to enjoy the spectacle. And the results-oriented people can just sit and watch the scores come through on Sky Sports and forget about what’s going on, on the pitch? That’ll be SkySports at St James’ Park of course…..

    Nah, they’re not that daft.

  35. MT – turns out I didn’t see the best bit. Not sure how I missed it –

    “When we have achieved that and this team is back in the right division we will focus our energy on making sure we have a team which can keep us there.”

    That’s some great planning that.

  36. bowburnmag says:
    November 4, 2009 at 1:26 pm

    No BBM you’re not a club hater you are talking like a football fan, someone who has been involved in football a long time and who knows what is needed.

    Llambias isn’t that person.  I still maintain Ashley would do himself a hell of a lot of good if he replaced him with someone who knows about football and finance.  Rick Parry say?

  38. Llambias reckons Ashley might look at getting a partner in if we get promoted.

    That would suit him down to the ground.
     
    Dunno about everyone else though…

  39. just a point, seeing as we now play at sportsdirect.com@st james park, exactly how much money are sportsdirect.com going to be paying us for the rights? the £20m in so far is the money for running costs – becasue he is the owner  but putting his company name on the ground is a seperate issue surely? cough up chubby, there’s no free advertising here!!

  42. maybe so BBM, he can put the money he saves into that “couple of million” he’s put aside for transfers…