NUFC Blog on metro.co.ukMy two latest blogs for metro.co.uk are now up!
The first one, entitled “Pardew – Is he deluded to the point of insanity?” takes a look at some of the talking points from Monday evening’s game with Manchester City. Talking points such as the gossip surrounding Yohan Cabaye and not least, something all we Newcastle United fans have become wearily familiar with, Alan Pardew’s total lack of a grip on reality in his post-match assessment of games.
The second one is called “Were Newcastle’s ‘Three Stooges’ in Nice to sell Cabaye or buy Cvitanich?” (The sub-editor changed the original title so don’t blame me!). Basically, it is my ruminations on what Newcastle United’s “Three Stooges,” Alan Pardew, Joe Kinnear and Graham Carr might have been doing at Nice airport, where they were spotted and photographed by a Northumbria University student and Toon fan who calls himself “Sewelly” on Twitta. (more…)
NUFC Blog on metro.co.uk As some of you may already know, I am currently the Newcastle United blogger for metro.co.uk, and my preview for Newcastle United’s 2013-14 season has now been published on my metro blog site. In it I was asked seven questions:
Hopes for the season? Predicted finish? Biggest worry for the season? Key player this season? One to watch (which up and coming could make their breakthrough)? Best place for a pint? Stand with the best atmosphere?(more…)
Wonga: Sinking their teeth into the North East. A radio programme which is well worth listening to if you’re a Newcastle United fan is BBC Radio Four’s “the Lending Game,” a 40 minute look at Wonga’s controversial sponsorship of Newcastle United.
This is what the online blurb for the programme says:
“As Wonga moves into the mainstream with its sponsorship of Newcastle United, is the so-called payday lender responding to, or shaping, changing attitudes on money and morality? Chris Bowlby goes back to his teenage home on the Tyne to look at the rise of Wonga through the lives of the Toon Army.”
Amongst other things, it contains a fairly revealing interview with Newcastle United financial director, John Irving, who told Chris Bowlby that the clinching factor for working with Wonga was the company’s desire to “work with us on fans, the Academy and the Newcastle United Foundation,” who work with the Wonga customers of the future, youngsters from underprivileged families in the North East. However, the interview with Irving is abruptly halted later in the show by a female press officer (possibly Wendy Taylor) when the interviewer brings up controversial subject of former refusenik, Papiss Cisse, who was still in discussions with the club over wearing the shirt when the programme was being made. (more…)
Joe Kinnear welcoming new signing Loic Remy to the club.Speaking in another ‘exclusive’ interview with Mike Ashley’s Sports Direct News, Alan Pardew was repeating his protestations that Joe Kinnear was only brought into the club to work on the financial side of transfers like Derek Llambias before him.
Anxious to reassure worried fans that he is still in charge of all football matters (please kill us), and that Kinnear was only brought in to make life easier for himself and Mike, Pardew explained:
“It’s quite simple really, it’s not too different to what we had before with Derek Llambias. Mike and Joe work the finances of the football club. Therefore I have to make sure, with Joe, that we’re approaching players in the right financial bracket for us and that we’re doing the right amount of scouting.
“Joe’s job is to co-ordinate that and put it all together. So he has my input, he has Graham Carr’s views and also Mike’s opinion as well in terms of the finance.
“Basically, he gives me a ballpark figure of the sort of player we can perhaps afford and me and Graham give him the targets we think it works for. Joe then works towards finding a solution and it’s as simple as that.(more…)
.“It’s a big statement by Wonga to say: ‘We want the naming rights and we’re going to give it back to the fans and the community’.”gushed Derek Llambias.
“Getting the St James’ name back is fantastic. It is a clever move in terms of getting fans in a good place.”
“For so long, Llambias and owner Mike Ashley were associated with taking unpopular decisions (“We started off poorly,” he admits) but the announcement of a controversial deal with Wonga yesterday was significantly sweetened by news about the stadium name.” purred the Journal’s Mark Douglas.
Yet the sums just do not seem to add up. It was trumpted by Llambias that the new sponsorship deal with Wonga would be the club’s “biggest-ever commercial deal.” and when asked if the total deal amounted to £8 million per season, he acknowledged that sum was “not far off.” £6 million of this is going into the main shirt sponsorship side of the deal. As I pointed out in this earlier piece, this is actually slightly below the mean figure of £7.36 million for Premier League shirt sponsorship. However both Wonga and Llambias have made much of the fact that a further £1.5 million will go into the club’s Benton Academy and the Newcastle United Foundation, where Wonga will be getting involved with future customers local youngsters from underprivileged families. (more…)
