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…)
Ashley's ninjas move in.“All this was inspired by the principle – which is quite true within itself – that in the big lie there is always a certain force of credibility; because the broad masses of a nation are always more easily corrupted in the deeper strata of their emotional nature than consciously or voluntarily; and thus in the primitive simplicity of their minds they more readily fall victims to the big lie than the small lie, since they themselves often tell small lies in little matters but would be ashamed to resort to large-scale falsehoods. It would never come into their heads to fabricate colossal untruths, and they would not believe that others could have the impudence to distort the truth so infamously. Even though the facts which prove this to be so may be brought clearly to their minds, they will still doubt and waver and will continue to think that there may be some other explanation. For the grossly impudent lie always leaves traces behind it, even after it has been nailed down, a fact which is known to all expert liars in this world and to all who conspire together in the art of lying.”
Sign the petition, complain to the BBC.“The BBC’s governing principles, closely associated with its first Director-General, Sir John Reith, are to educate, inform and entertain the whole nation, free from political interference and commercial pressure. These ideals continue to underpin an enduring vision of the BBC as the “national” broadcaster. Such a broadcaster should have a remit to provide high (benchmark) quality content, across the full range of broadcast genres (with a particular focus on impartial news and current affairs services), free at the point of use and without advertising. This is what, in the opinion of many, the BBC ought to stand for. The merits and implications of these features, in a changing world, have been at the core of our inquiry.” parliament.uk website.
As some of you may know Newcastle City Council have written to “the media” in that London, asking it to desist from using the name “S_____ D_____ A____” for the home of Newcastle United, and return to referring to it by its correct name, St James’ Park.
This comes after Labour and Liberal Democrat councillors came together to pass a motion opposing Mike Ashley’s decision to rename the stadium after his tacky and disreputable sportswear company, and their subsequent refusal to rename street signs in the area. The council’s letter read:
To be replaced by Sports Direct?Newcastle United’s stadium renaming farce has caused quite a stir, although a ‘top marketing consultant’ hails it a success. Meanwhile Northern Rock have pulled out of the shirt sponsorship deal early. Are the two events related?
A marketing gadgie called Jonathon Gabay, who is – according to his website – “trusted by some of the world’s top brands”, has hailed the St James’ Park renaming debacle ‘a good decision’. This might be expected because, according to The Journal, he was ‘unofficially consulted’ about the renaming by the club. Anyway, he said:
“It’s a good decision because of what it’s going to do.
“I couldn’t say what sort of company will come forward. That’s not for me to say but I think there will be a lot of brands that realise the opportunity.
“I already believe sponsors will know what a great place the North East is – the region, the football, the fans – and being associated with that is a fantastic opportunity for brands.
“If there were a suitable brand then I couldn’t see how it can be something that the fans wouldn’t like if the money would be put back in the club to help them do even better.”
And with that last sentence he perhaps hits the nail on the head with: “if there was a suitable brand”. (more…)
