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…)
Mike Ashley: Has he lost all credibility now?After the uproar of the announcement this morning and much discussion with the lads at work, I’ve come to the feeling that Ashley has completely lost any trust that he has managed to claw back over the past few months.
As a previous nufcblog.org article has already pointed out, Derek Llambias has previously gone on record and stated that the St James Park would never be dropped from our grounds name. Bet he regrets putting that comment in the press now.
I honestly think the timing of this announcement is terrible. Newcastle are finally getting themselves back onto an even keel, why risk upsetting the apple cart?
I’m also none too impressed about the way he has suckered people into committing themselves to additional cheap season tickets, and then made the announcement about changing the name. He knows people have paid good money to be there, so there won’t be any risk of financial loss by mass walkouts. I’m sure there will be a few belated protests, but to be honest it’s not going to change anything. (more…)
Same master plan for world domination.In the wake of Newcastle United’s 2-2 draw with Tottenham Hotspur this afternoon, Managing Director, Derek Llambias, has released another club statement.
The statement once sgsin highlights the clubs finances, summer transfers, youth development, managing / coaching staff, training facilities and supporters. Basically, I’m still struggling to dissect the differences between this statement, and the recent Q&A with the Evening Chronicle a few months back.
Either way, it’s good to have some communication from boardroom to fans, and below I have included the whole statement for your viewing pleasure. I hasten to add also that the statement, unsurprisingly, has a little bit of information about our new under-soil heating.
Enjoy…
Introduction
Now that the summer transfer window has closed and the new Premier League season is underway, the board of Newcastle United Football Club wish to present this review of our progress and set out our aims for the 2011/12 campaign and beyond. (more…)
Mike Ashley: No shame.I’ve been thinking about Newcastle United’s membership policy on away matches.
Now, I’m sure you remember our first match of pre-season, where a few morons decided to invade the pitch at Darlington, inciting trouble between both sets of fans. If you can’t remember what I’m referring to, check out Thump’s piece from July, when United announced the membership policy.
There was much debate at the time, as to whether this was the right thing to do. “The minority have spoiled it for the majority” was the cry from some fans. Now I understand there is no excuse to invade a football pitch and cause trouble, but I think this membership policy has many flaws and I’ve been questioning why the club have sanctioned it.
I’ve recently returned to the UK after travelling, so obviously I’ve not been able to see any matches while I’ve been busy enjoying the wonders this planet has to offer. I’m situated in Sheffield at the moment, where some of my family now live. While I’ve been away, Newcastle spent a season in the Championship, meaning certain members of my family could catch the local Newcastle away game.
Being down in Sheffield meant they enjoyed games such as Doncaster, Sheffield Utd, Sheffield Wednesday, Leicester City and Nottingham Forest. They also made a few trips up to St James’ Park also, but getting the chance to see United close by really does help considering not everybody can afford to travel across the UK to see every away game. It’s not that they don’t want to see them all, it’s just that there is a financial crisis going on, we live in a country where every penny someone earns could well be the last and many people’s jobs are not as secure as they used to be. (more…)
