Premier League 2011/12 Season

St James' Park IS Newcastle United FC. It is a worldwide icon- only the Tyne Bridge carries the same international resonance as SJP does so far as Newcastle, Tyneside and even the North East of England goes. That is what makes it such an attractive advertising prospect for the fat fuck. All that lovely sponsorship in live, televised games in China, Singapore etc etc from 'his' stadium.

I honestly hope someone does this cunt.

MTF

 

It's up to the Press and the Media now....MOTD always introduce games by saying things like....."Guy Mowbray followed this one at Old Trafford" or "John Motson was at Anfield".....if they veto this stupid fucking name change it would go a long way to undermining Ashley.

 

Loftus Road is iconic.

 

I think the new name has a nice ring to it. Fair play to Ashley for dragging you boys into the 21st century. Bravo.











This post is sponsored by sarcasm.

 

He's a team I'd pay to watch every week:

--------------------------- Pat Bonner

-----------Carles Puyol Ronald Koeman Gabriel Hienze

-----------------------------Paul Lambert
------------Xavi Paul Scholes Paul McStay Paddy McCourt

--------------------Peter Beardsley Henrik Larsson


(im bored)

 

::

 

Whether there's an anti-Fifa agenda behind it or not, they should be allowed to wear the poppy on their shirts. I don't even watch the England team anymore, and yeah there's probably an ulterior motive behind them kicking up a fuss, but it's not right that they can't wear them.

 

FIFA have their rules. My attitude is respect them, or leave and form a new federation. Being honest, England always seem to look for beef. They wouldn't join the first three World Cups. All this talk over corruption, they had Prince William on their 2010 bid team.....a joke. His Uncle is a bent bastard and Willies wedding just set the tax-payer back a few bob.

If we allow slogans on the shirts, we'd end up with Northern Ireland commemorating their glorious Orangers or the Iranians celebrating dead Israelis or some such nonsense.

Its not a go at England, but the Press in England always interprets it this way. Some day Sepp Blatter is going to die and a quest will begin for a new enemy.

 

My work round here is done...

MTF :bears:

 

"Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley is setting fire to a famous history, writes Henry Winter - It is one of the great walks for a football obsessive. Out of Newcastle Central Station and past the Chronicle seller shouting “World Exclusive! New deal for Toon tea-lady”. Cross the road, and climb the hill through ginnels heaving with Newcastle United supporters drinking on pavements, debating affairs of Geordie state, like why doesn’t Fabio Capello come to the North East, how great is Fabricio Coloccini, and what the hell is Mike Ashley playing at? - Henry Winter, The Telegraph

On you go, avoiding the temptation to detour down that cobbled street with inviting Chinese restaurants and carry on, skirting the old city wall, and staring ruefully at the empty space where the Scottish and Newcastle brewery used to stand proud, pumping out semi-intoxicating gusts.

The torrent of fans quickens towards the stadium – all the lads and lasses, all those smiling faces, stopping off at Shearer’s or The Strawberry where the dress-code is black and white. Even in winter, the terrace is busy, short sleeves still in order.
On you go, past the fans holding copies of the Gallowgate parish news aka The Mag fanzine, finally stepping under the steel-girdered canopy of a stadium that dominates a city’s skyline and thoughts, home of a famous club for 119 years. Finally, you enter the … Sports Direct Arena. What?! The match-day journey to the stadium formerly known as St James’ Park has suddenly lost some of its charm.

Some of Newcastle's soul has been sold by Ashley’s sad decision to set fire to substantial pages of the club’s history book. One of the many joys of attending games at St James’ Park was that the place housed some of football’s better principles: a commitment to entertain a group of passionate fans. It’s about shared heritage, about pride in the club. Ashley threatens those traditions with his myopic approach to maximising income.

Like an overeager house-seller, Ashley is tarting up his property.

Some of his tactics are sensible, tackling wages, trimming the squad, and things seem to be going well. The team are third, albeit with the season’s assault course about to intensify, and Ashley’s controversial appointment of Alan Pardew has been vindicated.

All seemed well on the Tyne, so it is baffling to see Ashley risk the feelgood factor for £10 million a year. Tradition matters in football. An appreciation of a club’s history adds to its uniqueness, augmenting its value emotionally and financially. What has happened at Newcastle this week is disrespectful to fans, to those who make that voyage up the hill, who will always be the lifeblood of the club.

Ashley should have consulted with supporters rather than with “international branding experts’’, in the words of his managing director Derek Llambias. The timing of the announcement could be perceived as cynical, coming in international week with fans not due back at St James’ Park for a fortnight. By which time it will be the Sports Direct Arena. Cheap. Newcastle’s fans deserved better."

http://www.true-faith.co.uk/tf/features.nsf/0/62D2B48C150A6EF380257945002D7415?OpenDocument

MTF :bears:

 

Supermac :bears:

Macdonald hits out at St James' Park rebranding: The new name is crass and an insult - Malcolm Macdonald, The Mail

Some, dare I say, cynics outside the North East might wonder what all the fuss is over this Sports Direct Arena business in the current financial climate.
Let me put them straight: it matters because it is, quite simply, a home from home for Newcastle fans.

This ground matters to those of all ages because of the club’s heritage. It is a ground whose mere title evokes memories of the swashbuckling endeavours of heroes throughout the ages.

From Jackie Milburn to Alan Shearer, from Hughie Gallacher to Kevin Keegan, from Wyn Davies to Andy Cole and Peter Beardsley to Andy Carroll, it’s a ground that strikes a chord with Geordies whenever they hear the name St James’ Park.

It’s had the title since it was built and no-one should meddle with it. The ground is part of Geordie history, part of the area’s cultural fabric.

The name is known throughout the world — synonymous with attacking verve and entertainment. It’s one of those iconic stadiums and should be left alone.

I know times are hard and I recognise that, as a businessman, Mike Ashley will aim to explore every revenue stream as he competes with the Premier League big-hitters but you do not sell your grandmother — and that is how this feels.

The change is crass and insulting to fans, even those who do not attend matches regularly. This feels like a kick in the teeth for them.

Malcolm Macdonald scored 95 goals in 187 appearances for Newcastle between 1971 and 1976 and is now a radio pundit on Tyneside.

MTF

 

I'd really hope that Celtic Park would never be renamed, but we already have big nike swooshes on the seats in the north stand upper & nobody seemed to kick up about it. The worst thing about the prospect of a full name change is that about a third of fans would just accept it apathetically as the way the world is now. Football's becoming a crass burlesque of itself.

 

Alejandro Faurlin is the most underrated player in the premier league. This, my friends, is a fact.

 

Re-naming is progress mate. Big bucks to be made and that's what counts...

MTF issed:issed:issed:issed:issed:issed:

 

Ireland were fucking hostile tonight.

 

This is the way they wanted it. They made their Premier League, north and south, and this is the end result.

You got Liverpool dragged to the edge of Administration, you got Pompey basically going out of business......nobody is showing up at the Boro games, the Wigan games, the Bolton games, the Blackburn games etc.

You get numpties like Dave Whelan saying its down to "foreign owners".....ballax. Blackburn had their own Abramovich back in the day.

Its gotten to the stage when only the foreign owner can afford to buy a club in England. That's not because of the foreigners. Its because of the Premier League model.

Leeds were driven into the ground. Its the most celebrated collapse in recent English football history. Portsmouth are a close second. Insane wages and the perennial up-down-up-down, the "Richest Game In Football" etc........teams like Chelsea are on life-support, once Abramovich goes Chelsea will collapse, collapse for the want of a foreign owner, not because of a foreign owner.

 

Can Russia wear a St George's ribbon? Ireland wear a lilly at easter? What if Iran wanted to wear some symbol commemorating the overthrowing of the Sha or Venezuala wanted a Simon Bolivar patch on their strip for the anniversary of his death? What if some of the England players don't support the wearing of the poppy while we're in Iraq.

Fifa were bang on and should have stuck to their guns.

 

It's an invitation for all sorts of nonsense. You would have the Northern Irish with some King Billy shite, the Southern Irish would be commemorating the famine and making the English feel bad, the Welsh wouldn't know what to print, probably add an oversized dragon or something. The Iranians would have some Hezbollah shite.

When you listen to people like Alan Brazil talking about "throwing the referee out of the stadium, get in our own ref", all this bollox, it makes me wretch. Shitheads saying how FIFA was "trying to stop people from remembering".

Yeah. OK.

Poppies on armbands? Armbands are for kids who can't swim, and thats how England are going to look versus Spain. Thats the issue. Thats the real issue the English press should be looking at.

We already know their answer.

Fire Capello.

I don't want people here to think this is Anti-British sentiment, its not, not at all.

 

Nothing wrong at all with anti-British sentiment, nothing at all :egypt:

 

There should be a word for the special sense of boredom I feel every poppy week

 

Hmmm. I wear a poppy and have done every year since we were encouraged to buy them at primary school when I was about six. Unlike most of the illiterate bastards around today, I wear a poppy as a mark of pride to the million or so British soldiers who dies in the trenches between 1914-1918. Those poor bastards, dying for nothing at all really, deserve to be remembered.

The modern craze for being 'poppied up' is disgusting IMO. You see a procession of dickheads appearing on TV with dazzling, sparkly poppies which have clearly NOT come from the little box sold at my local newsagent. Are these cunts even contributing to the British Legion? I doubt it. It's become political now- failure to wear a poppy makes you stand out as somehow anti-British/anti-patriotic.

Normally, I'd stop wearing a poppy for that reason alone, because the idea of being part of some sad, political conformance makes me want to spew. But it remains a worthy cause, at it's heart, and it shouldn't be ruined by dickheads. This includes the FA, who should have shut the fuck up and did as they were told. If they REALLY cared about the poppy appeal, they should have quietly donated £1m to the British Legion and left the whole thing alone. Of course, it's much easier and more fun to make a big fucking bitter fuss about sewing (:nono:) poppies onto shirts.

I usually hope england lose when they play football but I have two better than normal reasons tomorrow. This poppy business is one and the £1000 I bet on Spain at evens last week is the other. I hope they get absolutely hammered.

MTF

 

I like poppy week for the history of it all. 11.11.18 is a day which truly will survive the passage of centuries to come, and most of those who fought are now dead. Hearing the last remnants of eye-witness evidence, to a closet historian like me, remains something of a fascination TBH.

MTF

 

0-4, qualification for sure now. Fantastic result. Good to see Keano among the scorers yet again.

 

Would love to see England beat Spain tomorrow and I firmly believe England will prevail

 

FA cup 1st round today. Brentford beat Basingstoke FC 1-0. I would love to get them in the 3rd round. :crafty:

 

Jesus. I'm sweating over the £50 I have on Spain!

 

Oooh interesting. No surprises Spain are dominating possession. England doing ok tho.

 

I quoted the wrong Feebs post there. The mad get has £1000 riding on Spain!!

 

I'm still confident. This is Spain all over, this. Eventually, all this passing forces a mistake. One is all that will be needed.

MTF

 

Poor Feebs. Not looking good so far mate. Jags and Lescott seem to have resumed their solid partnership from their everton years.