SJP Forever! Some United supporters it has to be said were fairly laid back about the attempt by the current “southern-based tenants” to consign the name St James’ Park to history. The geordies amongst us, who were brought up the correct way, refused to give up our history without a fight. The name means a lot to us. It did to our fathers and grandfathers. There’s too much of our lives, our memories, our passion and our families histories tied up in the cathedral on the hill. It will always be St James’ Park.
Some people wondered about Newcastle City Council’s support for the fans’ view – in refusing to change any of the signage in the city – all signs still point to St James’ Park. A publicity stunt? No – an acceptance of reality? yes. The southern tenants squatting in St James’ Park have even muttered about taking legal action against the City Council – now that would be a popular move Mr Ashley – NOT!
The point is that the naming of the ground after a T-shirt shop is transitory, temporary. Even the current tenants admit it, and claim to be actively seeking another sponsor, another name to plaster all over St James’ Park and point at the TV cameras, in return for a fast buck. So why should the city council spend ratepayers money changing the signs, just to have to spend even more ratepayers money changing them again when a new sponsor is found? And all of this when the country is allegedly skint, and the London Government is taking money away from our council (and the NHS, the schools etc) to pay for their 6-week Olympic extravaganza? (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…)
The Hitman.When Norwich City rocked up to Saint James’ Park on Sunday with Paul Lambert (manager) and Delia Smith in tow, it was going to be a great opportunity for a bit of revenge after the mauling we took away to them earlier in the season.
Last time out we were missing a few key players in defence and midfield. This time we had a better squad to pick from, but still missing a couple in the shape of Cheik Tiote and Ryan Taylor. No matter,the game kicked off and Newcastle got straight on it. Captain Coloccini misplaced an early pass out of defence that went straight to a Norwich attacker, but Yohan Cabaye was quick to mop up, spun around and lofted a sweet ball right into the path of Pipiss Cisse, whom had beaten any offside trap expertly. John Ruddy, the Norwich ‘keeper, rushed out to close him down but he still had plenty of time to trap, then try and lob it into the Leazes net. Unfortunately, he couldn’t quite get enough height on it and Ruddy duly picked it out of the air.
That spurred the team on though and it was all Newcastle for the first 10 minutes. As the clocked ticked towards the 12 minute mark, a great bit of Hatem Ben Arfa tenacity from deep in his own half, where he won the ball back from the opposition and turned it into attack. First feeding Cabaye, who returned to Ben Arfa, the ball then found it’s way to Guthrie who curved a great ball out to Jonas on the left. One touch later he whipped an excellent early ball into the Norwich area that found the marauding Cisse around the penalty spot. His deft, glancing, sidefoot shot then crashed into the top left corner of the Leazes goal. Newcastle United 1, Norwich City 0. (more…)
ClattermoleVenue: St James’ Park. Date: Sun 4th Mar 2012. Kick-Off: High Noon. Referee: Mike Dean. Crowd: 52,388
This was without a doubt a game of twos! Two totally different halves, two penalties, two red cards, two goals and two managers who should know better, being caught up in the rivalry and squaring up to each other both verbally and physically.
It was raining before the game, and it rained a bit during the game, but the wet weather could not dampen the electric atmosphere of the latest Tyne-Wear derby at St James’ Park, NE1. Already assured of a sellout crowd fired with the usual local pride and passion, United fans were further emboldened by the news released 24 hours earlier, that both Tim Krul and Fabricio Coloccini had signed contracts tying them to the club for the next 5 and 4 years respectively.
First Half
The referee Mike Dean blew his whistle to start the game and nothing happened, as the crowd noise was so intense that Sessegnon, who was waiting to get things under way, didn’t hear it. Eventually we got going however to a wall of boos for the Mackems. There were exactly 32 seconds on the clock when the mackem thug “Clattermole” ignored the ball completely and scythed down Tiote in what was clearly one of those “let him know you’re around” early tackles. He should have been given a straight red card but got away with a yellow, probably because it was so early in the game. Sadly though, this tackle signalled Sunderland’s clear intent to make this a very physical game, and this not only set the tone for the rest of the half, but meant that some of the football went out of the window as United were forced into a war rather than the possession game we have come to expect this season. (more…)
Identity crisis for our ground.The renaming of Newcastle United’s ground continues to rankle people, this time in parliament where a Commons motion has been taken out to object to it.
Ashley’s plans to rename St James’ Park after his T-shirt company have certainly caused a stir, one that stretches as far as House of Commons.
12 MPs have signed a Commons motion condemning Ashley’s attempts to strip away 100 years of history in favour of shifting a few more shirts. Those that signed the motion – should you wish to either vote for them or pelt them with eggs, depending upon your particular stance on the matter – are Labour MPs Ian Mearns, Pat Glass, Catherine McKinnell, Chi Onwurah, Nick Brown, Ian Lavery, Dennis Skinner, David Anderson, Mary Glindon, Stephen Hepburn, Alex Cunningham and Sir Alan Meale.
Their motion brands the act as ‘corporate vandalism’ and David Anderson, Labour MP for Blaydon, said:
“They’ve got no interest whatsoever in the ordinary football fan. They are ignoring the people who have made this the club what it is, who spent more than 100 years building this club up into an icon for our region.
“It is total disrespect for the history and culture of our region.” (more…)
