Spot the difference.In the top photo, you can see an example of a £7.50 training T-Shirt from the existing Puma “Spirit” range side by side with the new Newcastle United change shirt with an almost identical design.
Now before I proceed, please don’t get me wrong. I’m not going to try and suggest that the two are actually the same items with just very minor changes in detailing as I haven’t examined them side by side. Nor am I trying to make the general point that replica team football shirts are a rip-off either, Freddy Shepherd and many others have made that point already.
However, writing as a designer myself, it is but one example among many of Puma’s lazy, poor and rehashed designs. The standard of the design is the same as you would expect to find from one of Mike Ashley’s sweatshop brands, and the same is true of the quality too, especially so if you remember the shirts of Newcastle United’s previous supplier, Adidas. For a supposedly premium product, they are an insult to Newcastle United’s fans, not to mention those of other clubs they supply. Then again, I am not a big replica shirt buyer personally, so I would very much like to hear the views of those of you who are.(more…)
No Carroll windfall for Toon.I thought that this one was done a long time ago.
However, rumours have (re)surfaced that despite receiving an absurd fee of £35 million for Andy Carroll when he was sold to Liverpool in January 2011, Newcastle United would still be due to receive 25% of the agreed £15 million fee if he completes a move to West Ham.
This is not true.
The truth is that Newcastle United will only receive a sell on bonus in the highly unlikely event that Liverpool sold him on a higher sum than the ridiculous £35 million they paid for the player. Of course, there is more chance of hell freezing over than this happening, especially now that Liverpool finally seem to be on the verge of putting the Carroll saga behind them.
There was also no substantiation whatsoever for the media stories that Andy Carroll has been “stalling” on the West Ham move in the vain hope that he could make a glorious return to St James’ Park either. (more…)
NUFC Blog’s latest piece on metro.co.uk is out now!This is a fairly brief note to let you all know that my latest blog for Metro.co.uk is now published.
Entitled “How the Wilfried Bony to Newcastle United story started,” it takes a look at how a piece on this site extolling the virtues of Vitesse Arnhem’s prodigious striker eventually led (via the Telegraph) to a full blown Newcastle United transfer rumour which even incurred the wrath of Derek Llambias according to the Journal (which made my day incidentally).
It is not a rare occurence by any means, with so called journalists from virtually all the major media organs constantly taking their inspiration for specious transfer stories from the most unlikely sources, then trying to give them a veneer of respectabilty by using stock phrases such as “sources close to the club,” “it is understood that…” or whatever. (more…)
Owen: A bit of backtracking.“Newcastle fans, following my Football Focus interview, plenty of you tweeting me saying you don’t blame me for getting injured but for leaving when we got relegated.”
“Despite the club saying they did, they didn’t ever offer me a new contract despite them putting it in the press that they did. How could they when they had just been relegated? It would have been financial suicide. I’ve seen it a million times, a club will blatantly lie to their fans to take the moral high ground leaving the player with no leg to stand on. I’ve taken the stick for years which is fine but you really don’t know half of it. All will be revealed one day.”
Tweeted Michael Owen on his final season at Newcastle United. Then however, he backtracked somewhat, updating his Twitter with the following:
“Just to clarify. My tweet yesterday referred to no contract offer after Newcastle relegation. Which I said was understandable. Newcastle did make me an offer to extend in 2008 when Joe Kinnear was manager. Apologies to the club if there has been any confusion. I just didn’t want the fans to think I had deserted the club after relegation. I didn’t.” (more…)
Ashley: £100 million windfall.It may not have escaped the attention of you fans out there that Mike Ashley has recently had a windfall of around £100 million after selling aprroximately 7% of his holding in tacky sportwear retailer, Sports Direct.
Reading about it in the Guardian’s “Market Forces ‘blog” this morning as I enjoyed my Eggs Benedict. I noticed this part of the article:
“Supporters of Newcastle United, which Ashley owns, must be hoping some of the money is destined for new players in the summer.”
Which made me curious. If YOU were Mike Ashley, and you wanted to invest the whole of that £100 million in Newcastle United, how would you spend it?
After all, Ashley and his Tat Direct have already had tens of millions of pounds worth of free advertising out of the club, so it would only be fair! Of course, as Ashley is as tight as a gnat’s chuff, it probably won’t happen. But nonetheless, I thought it would be an interesting excercise in seeing how you might want to improve the club. (more…)
