Even With Mike Ashely’s Troubles, He Still Wants The Shirts Off Sevco Fans Backs.

Earlier this week, during my two days off, an email dropped into my inbox from a Sevco fan and occasional blogger asking if I had seen the ridiculous “third kit” story on their website. I went over, read it, and was slightly puzzled.

“What’s the story?” I asked. “Puma have given them a third kit which is actually not much of anything.”

I confess; I am not up to date on Sevco kit manufacturing!

“Check the prices,” he said. And I did.

Not only is the “new” third kid – which as some of their fans have pointed out, is basically a plain black top with some minor design details and looks suspiciously like the goalkeepers top from last year – retailing at £55 but so are the back-in-stock home kit (from last season don’t forget) which just a few months ago, before they ran out, were trading at £20 each.

The fury on their forums is palpable.

It’s all being directed at one man; the enemy. Mike Ashley.

It hasn’t yet dawned on them that this is now a “joint venture” and that those prices were agreed in their own house.

But you have to take your hat off to the Englishman; he gets it. Even when he’s not got his troubles to seek, and Newcastle are under the spotlight, he still finds time to give the good citizens of Sevconia a good old fashioned screwing.

They are beside themselves with anger.

They cannot believe that the merchandising deal they were told would be good for them and the club can have resulted in a retail price this high, whilst the club has also assumed total responsibility for their share of unsold merchandise and the running of the Sevco shop.

This is not what was advertised.

Except it’s exactly what was advertised; they were just reading in the wrong places.

This site and others told them that deal was still slanted massively in Ashley’s favour.

Those consoling themselves with the idea that it’s “only for one season” are in for the shock of their lives when it is renewed on a rolling basis next year … and the year after.

And the year after. And the year after.

Football shirt prices are astronomical anyway but Celtic fans who have paid big bucks for the shirts this season – my away top is one of the best purchases I’ve made this year; I love that thing – know at least that they are spending it “in-house” and that our club gets a fair share. Sevco fans know their “fair share” is at, best, a 50/50 split with Ashley after the manufacturers cut (by far the biggest slice of the pie) and unsold stock is deducted … not much of a deal.

And this, don’t forget, is last season’s shirt … it’s unclear whether they have a new manufacturer lined up for the next campaign, but one would think that the first new design (and what, really, can you do with a run-of-the-mill blue jersey anyway?) will hike the price up even more.

The reality of this is still setting in for their fans; it’s them, not King, not some mystery benefactor, not boardroom businessmen, who will have to pay through the nose if they want to see their club even hang onto our coat tails.

To be fair, King has told them this enough times; they have to outspend our own fans if they want to catch up. And as I’ve proved repeatedly, the historical fact is that over the last 20 years our fans have outspent theirs time and time and time again.

Ashley doesn’t care either way.

He long since decided that the Peepul were dumb enough that he could dip his hand in and out of their pockets at will. He made good money even before the new merchandising deal and the end of the “boycott” – don’t let anyone tell you different.

What brought him to the table was the promise of more.

On his own terms, too.

I personally think they missed a trick with the marketing here. They could really have bled the fans dry had they adopted a familiar slogan, and slapped it all over everything.

“New shirts on sale! Going for £55!”

Simple minded suckers would have bought the lot.