Umbro.Now that the Newcastle Evening Chronicle has had it’s “Mike Ashley is a lovable cuddly owner and doesn’t eat babies after all” week, and everybody swallowed it (aye right!) I suppose it’s safe to have the odd Mike Ashley story on this venerable blog? Woah! Who hoyed that rotten tomato??
Mikey’s company, S_____ D_____ (hereafter referred to as “SD” or there’ll be lines all over the place!) is reported by The Scotsman to be in the hunt to buy the Umbro brand – wot makes the kit for the Ingerland team. The brand is currently owned by US Company, Nike (the one with the big “tick”), who bought it for £285M in 2008.
Now correct me if I’m wrong here, but I would have thought that any brand associated with Ingerland would have to be carefully marketed. Y’know, the same way they do with the footy team, tell everybody it’s top notch when really it’s crap. It’s amazing how many people swallow that rubbish every time a big tournament comes along LOL! But if anybody can market the brand, Mikey can. Luckily, Umbro is also associated with other, more notable (and successful) organisations like Glasgow Rangers, Livingston, Manchester City and the mighty Republic of Ireland – the best national team in the British Isles, but then I’m biased! (more…)
The end of the season is finally upon us. A season in which defied all expectations. A season where even the most optimistic of Toon fans would have struggled to predict what would be.
Newcastle United gate-crashed the top six, and also knocked on the door of the Premier League’s top four. As it turned out at 5pm on Sunday the 13th of May 2012, Newcastle United were confirmed as finishing in 5th place, above Chelsea, above Liverpool, and above the majority of peoples expectations.
The Europa League awaits the Magpies next season, a new chapter or perhaps a new beginning is on the horizon. But before we look forward into what might be, I’m now going to relive the season that was. Cast my mind back and tell the tale of Newcastle United’s 2011 / 2012 season. I hope you are all sitting comfortably… (more…)
For the sake of poor fans says Llambias.Newcastle United’s Managing Director, Derek Llambias, has been speaking to David Conn for yesterday’s Guardian.
In the interview he spoke on how he has received so much abuse from Geordie ingrates that he doesn’t hear it any more, how Mike Ashley told him that he would have “a horrible job” in May 2008, just before he took over as managing director to oversee Ashley’s Sports Directification of the club, how the club spent all of the £35 million Andy Carroll money (although the club made a mighty profit of £36.731 million on player trading without amortisation in their last set of published accounts). Conn also wrote of many other things Llambias supposedly revealed to him in what is a rather fawning piece overall.
Irritatingly, for much of the “interview,” Conn give his own version of what Llambias told him, rather than just giving the quotes themselves in something which reads like a PR piece, something Llambias usually reserves for his friends at Mirror Group titles such as the Mirror, People, Chronicle and Journal. But I digress. (more…)
How do you feel about the renaming of SJP?Christina from Newcastle University is currently writing a dissertation / thesis on the renaming of St James’ Park by Sports Direct, and part of her research work takes the form of a survey to record fans’ feelings on the project.
It is quite painless and should only take a few minutes, and it would be great for Christina’s project if as many people as possible could fill it in. The greater the sample group, the more accurate it will be in reflecting the feelings of we fans on the scheme.
Here’s what Christina herself has to say about it:
“Hi there! My name is Christina and I am a student in Newcastle University. I am currently writing my dissertation which is about the renaming of St James’ Park. The results of this survey are essential for the research. Thank you very much for taking the time to complete this questionnaire!”(more…)
Derek Llambias: The PR offensive continues.As Mike Ashley’s current PR offensive continues apace, Newcastle United’s managing director, Derek Llambias, claimed that the club have had some “nibbles” from “tyre kickers” expressing interest in the club’s stadium naming rights offer.
In the latest chapter of the offensive, planned on the back of an announcement of reduced losses in the club’s annual accounts after the sale of Andy Carroll, he claimed to “sympathise” with fans concerned over the stadium’s latest name change. I’m flattered to say that he also took a swipe at my own hypothesis as outlined in several previous stories on this blog. My hypothesis being that the sponsorship offer, including the highly questionable “showcase” idea, has broken so many rules of the golden rules of sponsorship, and is so overpriced in comparison to similar sponsorship deals (with one rather dubious exception in the North West), that it seems to be a ruse, something which has been planned to fail from the start, as it has for well over two years so far to Sports Direct’s benefit. (more…)
