Newcastle Lead The Way
On the way home this evening there was sound emitting from the airwaves from the Geordie Nation that was so horrific I thought Jimmy Nail had released another line dancing album.
The cause of their ire was that the Sid James had been renamed the “Sports Direct Arena” in tribute to where 92.9% of Newcastle’s disposable income is spent. Off course I am being flippant. That’s Primark.
While Mike Ashley can’t be called a trailblazer in stadium naming rights I’m sure this is the first major club that has renamed their original home and I really can’t see what the problem is.
Football is made of memories and football fans are creatures of habit. Celtic Park is no longer the place of the jungle but we still reminisce about the sight, sounds and smells. A change of name won’t change what we have witnessed on the pitch.
Fans will still call the ground what they always have. Parkhead, Celtic Park or Paradise even though the ground is unrecognizable probably from the first time they went there the tag hasn’t changed.
The modern game is now so detached from what it was when Pathe covered it and our own club is no longer the club we romanticise or were taught about. It’s all about branding and our tops are currently branded by chemical p*sh in a joint sponsorship that no-one wanted.
This is the next step no matter the protests.
I fully expect those naysayers to be the same that shout for our absent major shareholder to plough in millions for no return or without alerting the bods in Nyon who are looking closely at any clubs finances who are being bloated by illegal steriods. So, I have the solution.
£8m a year Mr D?
