Newcastle offers many things to the visitor of the North as well as the people who reside there. The city is currently under going a great transformation to make life easier for the commuter and a more pleasant experience for those who live there. Along with support from Comic Relief the city council has begun developing the area and injecting the money back into the city. This month has seen two key elements to the future of the city happen and this article will highlight why Newcastle is becoming a leading city in the UK.

After two years in the making the newly completed single-carriageway is set to open. The stretch of road is almost 2 miles in length and was implemented to reduce noise, pollution and improve safety. Graham Dakin who spoke on behalf of the Highways Agency said: “It has been a complicated job.” He then went on to explain that: “We looked at a dual carriageway but it wasn’t justified economically”. Eileen Charlton, chairwoman of the Haydon Bridge Village Bypass campaign acknowledged that the “new road would transform the area.” People hope that the introduction of the new bypass will make the village a lot cleaner, quieter and safer place to be.

Another great aid to the community was given in the form of Comic Relief, which has provided finical help to an organization called Acane situated in Byker that that was set up to bring the community together. Aimed at allowing people to integrate into the community regardless of your racial background or religious beliefs the centre has already helped plenty of people find their feet in the area. Situated in Raby Cross, the centre is a great starting point for people looking to make connections that will enable them to build a social life and future in the community. Acane was given £100,000 over three years by Comic Relief to support its work and Gaby says the funding was essential. The development of the area and benefit to the people was noted by Konomo Fogbia who explained “Life in Newcastle wasn’t really so good then (before the centre). People did not know about asylum or refugees, like when you walked on the streets sometimes people shouted at you.” The area has now become a more welcoming environment to people and the centre has played a large part in that.

These two elements alone will have helped bring the community closer together and make the city a safer place. If you are looking to become part of the community and are looking to rent property in Newcastle it will be well worth your while looking for agents that specialize in Property Letting in Newcastle.

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This article was written by Tom Sangers on behalf of Martin and Co Newcastle, who provide Property Letting in Newcastle through http://www.newcastle-upon-tyne-martinco.co.uk/.

Newcastle Upon Tyne – Tyne and Wear – is the most fun you can have in any English city outside London. It’s utterly modern, yet its distinctive “Geordie” culture of hospitality is steeped in tradition. It is a city that values the arts in all their forms. Any day you might see a poetry reading on Eldon Square, street theatre, public sculptures or an open air concert. The city also has other treasures in world class galleries and museums.

The combination of old and new make an architectural time machine of the city centre. From Castle Keep, built circa 1170 under Henry II, Hadrian’s Wall heads east to Wallsend. From its roof you get a fantastic view of the ultra modern Quayside regeneration development, from its bars, galleries and restaurants, Sir Norman Foster’s Sage Concert Hall and the transformation of Gateshead Quay. This is not including the vista of Newcastle’s array of famous bridges, now framed by the double parabola of the Gateshead Millennium Bridge, which tilts like a blinking eye to allow ships to pass up and down the river.

In the centre, Roman, medieval, Jacobean, Georgian, and Victorian building styles sit comfortably alongside Chinatown and the mammoth Eldon square shopping and entertainment malls. The happy jumble helps make Newcastle feel especially cosmopolitan. The dashing modern signature of the Quayside rivals the Paris Bercy complex.

For visitors, Newcastle’s quirky jigsaw of sights and activities is a glittering invitation to understand why the city is called the party capital of the north east. Walk round the city, and you’ll see the variety of ingenious ways Geordies turn local history and culture into something more heroic – and elevate habitual good humour into world-class bonhomie.

Appropriately, Earl Grey, the nineteenth century political social reformer idolized for establishing Newcastle’s prominence, is actually best remembered as a delicate kind of tea.

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For a wide selection of Newcastle hotels just click http://www.smoothhound.co.uk/newcastl.html.

Situated on the River Tyne in northeast England lays the flourishing, lively and diverse city of Newcastle. It is not only a busy commercial centre, but has also adapted itself into a demanding centre for tourism and arts. The city boasts of many attractions and has also a busy regional airport. While roaming around the city is a good way to enjoy the city, use a Newcastle car hire for your journey towards various popular places outside of walking distance. The city lies at the joining point of the A1 or the main East Coast route from London to Edinburg and the A69 or the East-West route to Carlisle and M6. All of these roads are in great condition and waiting your Newcastle car hire travels.

Newcastle is considered as a hub city of England because of its exceptional architecture, business and culture. The city is also home to Geordie culture and has its own dialect along with its rich heritage of folk music and dance. With a Newcastle car hire you can set out for sightseeing towards the renowned Gateshead Millennium Bridge, which is famous for its physical dominance and aesthetic beauty.

The other places worth visiting with a Newcastle car hire could include, the Central Arcade – a fantastically protected traditional shopping centre, which also contains the Tourist Information Bureau, along with Windows of the Arcade – one of the oldest music shops in the area.

Visitors can also drive towards Grainger Town, which lies at the heart of this historic city. Enjoy a wide array of finest buildings and streets within this area of the city like Grainger Market, Theatre Royal, Grey Street and much more. Of all the streets, Grey Street has the distinction of being chosen as England’s finest street in 2005 through a survey of BBC Radio 4 listeners. You should definitely head for Grey Street and see what all the hype is about.

Like other parts of the world, in Newcastle also you can find Chinatown, which contains a variety of Chinese shops and restaurants. With a Newcastle car hire, you can easily reach this point to enjoy the unique Asian culture and cuisine. If you are an art lover, you can drive around different art galleries and museums. For example, at Opus Art Gallery, you can appreciate and purchase master-pieces of contemporary art from various artists.

You can also visit the Biscuit Factory located at Stoddart Street, which is Britain’s biggest original art store and is over 35,000 square feet in area. It has two floors of exhibitions that will keep you busy for hours at a time. You can buy Paintings, drawings, prints, sculpture, jewelry, ceramics and glasses made by different artists from all over the world. There are truly a lot of great things to do and see in the beautiful city of Newcastle.

Newcastle United

Yes We Can

Yes We Can

Cassidy Byrne writes articles for http://www.decodecarhire.co.uk/

With a 2007 population of 271,000, Newcastle is located in northeast England on the north bank of the River Tyne. Newcastle was named for the 1080 castle (still existing) that was built by the son of William the Conqueror, Robert II, and has come through many changes over the centuries. Emerging as a center for wool trade and coal exports, it evolved into one of the world’s largest shipbuilding and repairing centers by the 16th century. These industries have now largely disappeared, and Newcastle is now known more for its business and culture.

Newcastle is a city of beautiful bridges, with the 1928 semicircular iron Tyne Bridge an icon of the city. Another fine bridge is the 1849 High Level Bridge designed by Robert Stevenson. The award-winning Gateshead Millennium Bridge is a modern tilt bridge designed for pedestrians and bicycles.

The center of the city is in the neoclassical style which was originally built in the 1830s and was recently refurbished. There are also many wonderful parks and open spaces in Newcastle, as it is quite a green city. The Town Moor is a particularly huge and a popular spot, as it goes right up to the home of the Newcastle United Football Club, the mighty St. James Park. Some other buildings of note include St. Nicholas Cathedral which dates from the 14th century and features an unusual lantern spire, and the magnificent Catholic Cathedral Church of St. Mary, built in 1844.

There are many sites to see and places to enjoy such as the quayside area, which is a cultural mix featuring bars and nightclubs coexisting with modern arts, music and many different cultural experiences. Newcastle also has a great Chinatown which features its own Chinese arch. Newcastle hosts the traveling Hoppings funfair which occurs in the last week of June and is said to be the largest in Europe.

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Alyssa has been an online writer and publisher since 2001. Check out her latest website which is all about how to shop for decorative bath towels, as well as what to look for when buying large bath towels. You can find out more at http://decorativebathtowels.org/

Gateshead vs Crawley

The goat gave me a lollipop.

Gateshead won.

We had a curry at Valley Junction afterwards.

Fuck you Mike Ashley and your £600 season tickets.

I always remember going to Highfield Road to see Coventry play. I went to see them against Newcastle on many of an occasion, which was usually quite good. I remember when Coventry were a force of football, a well run entity with a bright future, but it all in sorts, slipped away. Which is a story that Newcastle United fans are all too familiar with.

So, last night, Newcastle travelled, not to Highfield Road but Coventry’s new(ish) arena of football, the Ricoh Arena to take on Colenman’s struggling sky blues. What did we learn? We learnt that our back four at the moment is very secure. Although Coventry pushed and probed us, we managed to keep all major attacks contained, except the hair-raising moments, including McIndoes’s pop at goal and Best’s shot clattering off the woodwork.

We soaked all of the pressure up and then turned the heat on Coventry. It was a clear indication of the gulfs between the two sides as Newcastle fully seized control after breaking the deep Coventry line that was bravely keeping it 0-0. Newcastle took their chances and proved dangerous when needed.

Ameobi took the first goal and then a spritely Ranger broke his goalscoring duck to net the second, finally putting the creative and unlucky Coventry to bed.

We saw out the game quite comfortably, and now we sit pretty at the top of the table with a seven point cushion. Congratulations must go to Hughton for equalling Keegan’s 1996 seven game winning streak, however we don’t want a repeat of Keegans antics two months later, resigning after thumping Spurs 7-1.

One step at a time, but Christmas might be one to celebrate this year.

note: According to Hughton, Carroll’s midnight monday arrest was in no way linked to his exclsuion from the team last night, none whatsoever! You make your own minds up about that.

Another week, another ‘Best of the Noughties’ debate with my colleagues at CJS.  This time the challenge is to pick the best team of 11 players who have played in the Premiershiep in the past decade.  Not an easy task…

Goalkeeper: Shay Given It is a travesty that even if Manchester City are successful over the next couple of years, a player of Given’s class will retire with a sparse trophy cabinet.  A terrific shot-stopper and a great presence in the box despite not being the biggest of ‘keepers, he is one of the most dependable players in the league’s history.  And he always had plenty of chances to showcase his ability, playing behind Newcastle’s comical defences.  If only he were English.

Left back: Stuart Pearce ‘Psycho’ gets in ahead of Ashley Cole because he is a natural leader; in a team full of captains, Pearce would be the captain.  He is as hard as nails (remember when he tried to “run off” a broken leg while he was at West Ham?) and he strikes a dead ball very nicely indeed.

Centre back: Jonathan Woodgate Maybe a controversial choice on account of his ’sicknote’ reputation, but justifies his place easily.  He reads the game more naturally than Rio Ferdinand, and is comfortable on the ball.  He is composed at the back even when his side are under pressure, and his disciplinary record is excellent too.  He knows when to put a foot in and when to stand back and invite a mistake.  Needs a haircut, though.

Centre back: Tony Adams Never achieved the international recognition he should have done, and famously pictured with donkey ears by the Daily Mirror after an old goal at Old Trafford, Adams’s career may well have been on a downward trajectory in the Noughties but his role as the linch-pin of Arsenal’s famous defence in the 1990s and as captain of the double-winning side of 2002 sees him take the shirt ahead of John Terry.

Right back: Gary Neville The model of consistency for both England and Manchester United in the early part of the decade, his formidable relationship with David Beckham needs replicating.  Two defensively-minded full-backs frees up the midfield to get forward.

Left wing: Ashley Young Another choice which may raise a few eyebrows, but Young is the complete package.  He is exceptional with both feet, and his ability to cut inside from the left and take on defenders is unmatched.  Another one who can take a great free kick, he will also win a side plenty of penalties with his jinking runs into the box.

Centre midfield: Frank Lampard In the rather trite Lampard v. Gerrard debate, there is only one real winner.  Lampard has been the more consistent of the pair and his England form means he merits being picked ahead of Gerrard, who is talismanic for Liverpool but seldom fails to replicate it on the international stage.  Contrast Lampard’s reaction to going through a sticky patch for England and being booed by his own fans at Wembley; he upped his game, scored some goals, and was once more the golden boy.  Resilient, hard-working and a goal-threat.

Centre midfield: Patrick Vieira Providing the muscle and shouldering the water-carrying responsibilities in the heart of the pitch, Vieira gets the nod ahead of his international colleague Claude Makelele.  Michael Essien, too, gets an honourable mention.  But it is Vieira, whose ability to drive his team forward to success has never been replaced at Arsenal, who takes the other midfield berth.

Right midfield: David Beckham Does this one really need explaining?

Striker: Fernando Torres If this had been written a few weeks ago then it may well have been Thierry Henry, but after his handball robbed the Irish of a place in next summer’s World Cup he loses out to Torres.  The one foreign player in the Premier League I really wish was English, Torres has speed and skill to spare and his finishing is ruthless.  Expect to see him adding a World Cup winner’s medal to his Euro 2008 one.  And probably the World Cup Golden Boot, too.

Striker: Alan Shearer The man guarantees goals.  Simple as.  Like Given, his loyalty to Newcastle deprived him of the honours which his talent so clearly warranted.  His ability in the air and holding the ball up can bring other players into the game, making him the perfect foil for Torres.

Cum spuneam și în alte postări d-ale mele urmăresc meciuri de fotbal cât de mult pot. Am câte o echipă favorită în campionatele puternice ale europei și încerc să le urmăresc meciurile cât de mult pot. În România sunt voi fi întotdeauna cu Steaua indiferent de situația de acolo (apropo: Vinde!Pleacă!Mori!), din Spania (țara mea de adopție cică) simpatizez cu „liliecii” de la Valencia CF , din Anglia cu „coțofenele” de la Newcastle (situație izbitor de asemănătoare cu cea a Stelei din păcate…) , din Italia cu „Bătrâna Doamnă” Juventus Torino , din Franța cu PSG iar din Germania cu TSG Hoffenheim. Ciudat sau nu toate echipele menționate de mine au probleme la nivelul conducerii și au o inconstanță teribilă în evoluții (mama lui de ghinion…).

Acum să recapitulez sfârșitul de săptămână.

Am început cu victoria coțofenelor cu Watford în 10 oameni , 2-0. A urmat victoria lui Bătrânei Doamne în fața marii rivale de la Inter Milano (Damn it , Juve ) , echipă care avea să ma dezamăgească azi încasând un sec 1-4 pe teren propriu în Uefa Champions League de la Bayern și să spună adio competiției. PSG continuă în nota obișnuită și mai încasează o înfrângere în deplasare la campioana Bordeaux 0-1 , Valencia învinge extraordinar pe San Mames pe Bilbao cu 2-1 deși bascii au avut un penalty ratat în minutul 90 iar în cele din urmă Steaua învinge , suprinzător sau nu pe Universitatea Craiova în deplasare după joc început bine, terminat bine dar arătând maari carențe în apărare pe tot parcursul meciului. Hoffenheim deasemenea pierde pe teren propriu cu 2-1. Daaaamn it!

Per total aș putea spune că s-au descurcat onorabil nu? Totuși mă nemulțumește crunt jocul tuturor echipelor… Valencia are mari probleme când e condusă și e nevoită să atace , PSG-ul nu se regăsește sub mandatul lui Kombouare și ocupă un modest loc 9 în campionat , Steaua are o evoluție oscilantă 1-2 cu Astra , victorie cu Vaslui , victorie cu Craiova , al naibii de suprinzător . De Juventus numai spun , diferența dintre jocul de sâmbătă și cel de azi fiind enormă , m-au dezamăgit complet. Newcastle continuă seria victoriilor în Championship dar se vede clar că e cu mult peste toate echipele de acolo și ca e echipă de Premier. Nici acum nu-mi explic cum au putut retrogradata anul trecut.

În fine , când susții atâtea echipe (ciudat știu ) e greu să nu te dezamăgească vreuna dar totuși cred că se poate mai mult. Cel puțin în cazul lui Juve cu siguranță. O să încerc să revin cu un post cu rezultatele lor pe fiecare săptămână deși știu că nu mă urmărește mai nimeni dar și-așa lipsa de ocupație e mare

See you soon!

With a little over 4 months into the season it seems that the Magpies are putting the correct pieces togeather to blast back into the Premier League. Yes I know that we have a very long way to go but with the additions of striker Marlon Harewood [on loan from Aston Villa], defender Danny Simpson [on loan from Manchester United], midfielder Fabrice Pancrate, and the re-signing of Peter Lovenkrands Newcastle finds themselves on top of the Championship table. And not JUST in first place either. With Lovenkrands early match goal and Pancrate making his match debut a memorable one with goal number 2 late in the 2 nil win over Watford today Newcastle is now 4 points clear of 2nd place West Brom and a commanding 10 points clear of 3rd place Nottingham Forest. Again I know there is a lot of football to be played but you have to admit that Newcastle seems to be adding all the right pieces.

Newcastle at the moment is a good place to be. Everything is pointing to us going into the precious christmas period with form on our side. Something which counts for everything in this League.

Saturday saw St James Park play host to Swansea City, a team who were unbeaten in 11 games and had soared like a swan upto 3rd in the League at one point. So this made the 3-0 victory taste even sweeter. In all honesty, I wasn’t expecting this type of scoreline. I was expecting a scrappy horrible blustery November affair, which would ineviatably finish in the score-draw type of area. However, two very fine efforts from Harewood, whom has in his handful of games, looked lacklustre and a very well taken goal from Peter Lovenkrands made sure we took all three points before the half time whistle had even blown.

Harewood’s goals caught the eye though. It was, by all accounts a very fine display from the on-loan striker. He led the line very well and used his power on several occasions. When a corner from Guthrie had found its way into the box, via a cross from Smith, Harewood moved well and headed the ball beautifully into the bottom right corner.

Swansea couldn’t deal with the crosses into the box throughout the day. This was reiterated when Jonas made a great run down the flank and crossed superbly for Lovenkrands to head the ball home. It was a swift move, enhanced by the skill and speed of Jonas and rounded off by a superb in box move from Lovenkrands.

The icing on the cake was Harewood’s third. Although simple in execution, it was the fact that Harewood was playing with vigour, something he hasn’t done for a considerable few weeks. A cross from Lovenkrands, who himself seemed to have found his feet again, found its way into the path of Harewood who bullied his way onto the end of the ball and directed it home. By the time the half time whistle came, Swansea seemed a well and truly beaten team.

Harper was replaced by Krul at half time after Harper was experiencing back troubles and Swansea hit the ground running. They came forward with purpose and tested Krul on several occasions. With Dyer and Rangel both going close in the second half.

It has to be said though that Newcastle looked good on many occasions. Hughton afterwards was full of praise for the team, even asking rhetorically if Newcastle couldn’t have added a few more. Nice question to ask isn’t it….

Sousa’s comments caught my eye though, he said that Swansea started afraid and were punished. He also said that Newcastle were the in form team and it was very difficult for anybody to catch us or match us. Lets not get ahead of ourselves but its going great guns at the moment.

Yes, I know this isn't a shot from the Newcastle/Swans game: Read the rest of the article, it'll make sense ok?!

It was grim up north for the Swans as soaring expectations were brought back down to earth with three headers at St james Park.  It’s an odd experience, Swansea playing a team like Newcastle – despite losing it’s hard to feel any shame at being bettered by a team that can afford to pay some of their players £50,000 a week.  Likewise, you can’t help but wonder just how satisfying it can be as a Newcastle fan to watch your team triumph every week over sides with a tiny, tiny fraction of the resources at your disposal.  It’s a bit like entering a cheat on a computer game – fun at first but surely it must to feel a bit dirty after a while?

The travelling Jack Army once again did us all proud, and despite losing our un-beaten run the Swans are still one of the form teams in this division and few in South Wales doubt that they can soon put together another impressive string of results.  So no worries as far as where our team is currently at.  But I do have one nagging fear that despite myself I just can’t seem to put to bed.  I don’t really talk about it and neither do most other jacks I know – we’ve been having enough of the good times recently to be able to ignore this fear but it’s always there, gnawing away. 

Leon Britton hasn’t signed a new contract, and it’s starting to look like he isn’t going to.

This is not just me being super-pessimistic (although I am of course.)  This is a genuinely serious matter.  Leon isn’t just an outstanding player, he is the very heartbeat of this side – if you thought the insides of Swansea City as we knew it were ripped out when Roberto Martinez left, imagine the devastation that would be left in Leon’s wake – we’ll have lost an important part of our soul and identity that cannot ever be replaced.

Because Leon is that good.  Although I think Bodde the most genuinely talented player to have donned the white shirt in my time following Swansea, I think Leon Britton has earned the right to be called the best.  He – even more so than Alan Tate – embodies all the changes and great strides forward that this club has made in the last nine years.  He is one of the most criminally underrated players in British football and Swansea’s best-ever kept secret.

Reports suggest we are currently offering him £8,000 to sign a new deal, and this really highlights the differences between a Swansea City and a Newcastle United, who have youth players on better contracts.  Rumours abound about the current state of Leon’s relationship and possible reasons he may want to move away but all we can offer is the best contract we possibly can – can we not push the boat out for the most vital cog in our machine? 

Jordi Lopez apparently takes home £12,000 a week.  I’d be surprised if Cotterill isn’t on something similar.  The thought that we may be trying to play silly buggers with Leon’s contract after the impeccable service he has given us is almost too much to bear and something I don’t honestly belive Huw Jenkins would do.  But the black and white facts are that we don’t have the tiny dynamo tied down to anything like the sort of contract he deserves for anything like the amount of time we need him for.

Leon is a one-off, and we need to give him a contract to see out the rest of his career or he’s going to end up playing his best football for a bigger club than us, and that would be our biggest loss yet.  Sign him, Paulo!

Newcatle îşi croieşte uşor , uşor drumul înapoi către Premier League. A 4 a victorie consecutivă a coţofenelor vine  după un 1-0 muncit împotriva celor de la Preston North End, un meci destul de echilibrat unde experienţa elevilor lui Chris Hughton şi-a spus cuvântul. Mijlocaşul Kevin Nolan şi-a trecut în cont al 8 lea gol stagional în urma unui  şut pe jos la colţul lung în minutul 74 al întâlnirii care l-a depăşit pe goalkeeperul celor de la Preston , Andy Lonergan.

Astfel coţofenele revin pe prima poziţie în clasament având  2 puncte peste West Bromwich.

Următorul meci va avea loc pe St.James’s Park împotriva celor de la Swansea City pe 28 noiembrie.

Can you spare 38p for my bus fare home mate?

So it’s official, the hard working Geordie nation deserved everything they got last season. Not only where they to blame for the new ownership being ridiculous ( see earlier posts), they were also to blame for being too ambitious and forcing their chairman to get players in who maybe could have won them their first trophy in years.

Now let it be said we here, at SoccerCasuals Manner don’t believe that for one moment. Today it emerged that Newcastle United paid Obafemi Martins £75k a week. This was a player who featured in one of the worst Newcastle teams in recent times, who when not injured never set the world alight and basically flattered to deceive, but now we know why.

It is alleged that during weekends he would regularly withdraw £40k out of his account and then on the following Monday withdraw another £20k. His mis-self management included nt being paid for contracts as well as mis-placing contracts from his previous club Inter Milan.

Now the usual stories of players being numpties doesn’t really apply here. This guy took it to a whole new level, but in reality he isn’t to blame. Newcastle United gave him the money and no help, it was always going to end in failure when a player from another continent who has no love for a club he has joined and only wants to party and throw cash on all the things that are associated on fast living.

They have had a few teams of them in the last decade and it never came to anything. See Dyer, Bellamy etc and see where that kind of attitude ends up.

So as a famous rapper once said, “Don’t blame the player, blame the game” or the mad Chairman that seem to lose all sense of reality when offering salaries.

Beckford... in his youth.

WHAT WOULD teams give for Jermaine Beckford’s registration documents now?

Well, around £5 million if you believe recent reports linking him with a move to Newcastle. And on that note, what club in their right mind would pay £5 million for a player out of contract in the summer?

Yes he’s quality and capable of moments of magic when being anonymous all game, but Newcastle have got a pretty good chance of bouncing back to the promise land that is the Premier League at the first time of asking – and that’s without Beckford.

Anyways, back to the point. We’ve got Beckford’s signature on the dotted line – no, not for a new contract unfortunately. It’s for Walpole Wanderers when he was just 13-years-old. Aside from the dodgy barnet, he’s changed one bit! I’m sure Uncle Ken could forge that signature somehow.

Thinking Big: Mike 'Pies' Ashley

I’ve ripped the title for this week’s Microsoft Paint Story Of The Week straight off the DVD covers of popular US sitcom Friends. That is to say I’ve copied the style of the show’s episode titles. I am obviously not insinuating that there is an episode out there in which the tubby Newcastle United owner moves in to share with Joey, resulting in an initial mutual appreciation for each other’s appetites, but spiralling out of control when Ashley decides to turn Central Perk into New York’s biggest Sports Direct store. No, sadly that episode doesn’t exist. It probably should though.

However, there is every chance that your local coffee shop is being turned into a Sports Direct as we speak, such is the expansion of Ashley’s no frills empire. Newcastle fans can relate to that. A week or so ago, the tat-peddler announced that their famous football stadium would no longer be called ‘St. James’ Park, but ‘Sports Direct.com @ St.James’ Park Stadium’. Yes, that’s right, it’s the first time in the history of football that a stadium has been given an email address instead of a name.

The Newcastle fans don’t like it, but this name change got me thinking last week. Where next for The Magpies? I mean, clearly this man has the shell of an armadillo. He sits through thousands of people abusing him every week, accusing him of not leaving them any of the pies (in a roundabout way), and has turned a tiny sports shop in Maidenhead into one of the planet’s most recognised sports retail outlets.

With that in mind, would you put it past the portly magnate to turn up the heat even further on this branding exercise? Well, this week I sent my finest reporter in the field to have a little snoop around Ashley’s office for clues. Successfully gaining access to the building by posing as the Krispy Kreme delivery man, our reporter found the following sketch tucked away under a Dominoes menu in Ashley’s drawer. As not to raise suspicion, he left Big Mike’s blueprints where they were, and instead decided to reproduce them with his typical flair in Microsoft Paint.

Yes, that’s right, Newcastle fans. Not only has Mike Ashley decided to name your stadium after his chavtastic sports emporium, but it also now looks as though he is going to use the Newcastle United playing staff to flaunt his tat. He’s obviously given it some thought though, as he appears to have picked exactly the right players to model each of his brands.

You will see that Joey Barton is now the new face of Kangol and Lonsdale. Well I say ‘face’, but given that the target market for those two brands is the UK’s world-famous ‘Hoodie’ population, then it is unlikely that you’ll be seeing much of Joey Barton’s mug from now on. It’s now more likely to feature on a grainy, pixelated image taken from a shopping mall CCTV recording, and played back on Crimewatch. Not that Joey will have to familiarise himself with that of course.

The image depicts Barton, clad in Kangol and Lonsdale gear (or perhaps ‘clobber’, I’m not really sure what a Hoodie would call it) nonchalantly kicking a coke can across the pitch, whilst texting his mates to organise the ambush of a pensioner after the game. You get me blud?

Meanwhile, as a striker who decided to move into midfield to look for a few more fights, Alan Smith is perfect to promote Sports Direct’s main boxing brand, Everlast (although I’m sure that Ashley will be kicking himself that the club let Lee Bowyer go). As you can see, he’s doing a smashing job, and has even started to get into character by calling himself ‘The Smudger’. Expect Smith to continue his transformation by starting to hold pre-match press conferences, in which he trash talks the opposition’s midfield players, calls their wives ugly, and frequently refers to himself in the third person.

Acquiring the Dunlop tennis brand was also a major coup for Ashley, and he must be over the moon to have at the club a ready-made model for his tennis gear in Jonas Gutierrez. Offering the sort of long haired, dark-skinned, Latin flair that is a relative pre-requisite for becoming any good at tennis (apparently the LTA are still unsure how Andy Murray got through their ‘fit and proper person’s test’, which involves being a tennis coach for 6 months and sleeping with at least 6 rich housewives), Gutierrez can be seen here going for a cross field passing shot into the path of the ambling Joey Barton. In contrast to Smith, expect Gutierrez to hold his press conferences post match, in which he will speak mono-syllabically, refer to ‘my game’ in every sentence uttered, and show no sign of a personality whatsoever.

Finally there’s manager Chris Hughton. Acutely aware that Hughton doesn’t sit very high in the estimations of many of the Toon Army, Ashley has decided to go all Tyra Banks on his gaffer’s ass (girlfriend) and give him a new look. Having spent hours mulling over the shop’s extensive range of tracksuits, trainers, and cheap socks, Ashley had his lightbulb moment – he would attract more young Geordies to the club by turning his manager into a skater.

Dressed from head to toe in ‘No Fear’ clothing, Hughton appears pleased with his new look, and clutches his board as he barks out orders from his technical area. In a few months time, when he’s honed his skills and learnt from the 14 year olds at the local skate park, Ashley plans to ask his manager to jump a Sports Direct logo during the half-time of each home fixture, with the logo increasing in size as the season progresses. This being the case, expect words like ‘gnarly’ and ‘epic’ to gradually start creeping into Hughton’s press conference terminology, and for him to be ’stoked’ after each Newcastle victory.

So, Newcastle fans, it sounds like it’s going to get worse before it gets better then. However, with a free pair of Donnay socks with every beer you buy, it’s not all doom and gloom now is it? You’ll be drunk, have warm feet, AND you’ll be able to watch a grown man crash a skateboard into a giant logo! Sounds like a good afternoon out to me.

Quite  a funny topic this week, following the revelation that Newcastle United have sold the naming rights to St. James’ Park and for the rest of the season will be playing at the sportsdirect.com@St. James’ Park stadium. Catchy isn’t it?!

I don’t especially have a problem with naming rights (how could I as an Arsenal supporter) but I think you should go either the whole way or not at all. Either call it the sportsdirect.com stadium or stick with St James’ Park. Don’t try and force it all into one joint effort. Can you imagine the Emirates@Ashburton Grove or Aon Insurance@Old Trafford. Doesn’t work does it. Typical Newcastle though, always doing things cack-handedly.

Anyway, in terms of this week’s entry, my lack of internet meant I had to do it in Paint and Word at work. I got the opportunity to redo it below but you can see the original rubbish version on the Guardian site, not that this one is that much better. Jack is Jackie Milburn, 2nd highest Newcastle goalscorer btw.

Put sportsdirect.com@St James' Park into an anagrammer and you get this. I would think that a very dyslexic signwriter might come up with something similar.

This week’s gallery can be found here.

T.

Archive.

I have thought long and hard about the re-naming of St James Park to the quite frankly ridiculous Sportsdirect@St James Park. The obvious reaction is of pure and unadulterated hate towards everybody who is in charge. I asked the same questions as everybody else, how could they? What for? Is he doing this on purpose? Where do the fans get those white sheets of cloth and massive black marker pens from?

But the critical question is, Why? Mike Ashley’s team say that it is to increase awareness of Newcastle United to prospective investors and eventually increase revenue streams for the club. I have nothing really against that, but there is such a thing as a time and a place.

I can’t help but think Ashley has done this on purpose, testing the fans resolve to see the reaction. The club isn’t making a penny on this arrangement, so the argument that it is “just business” is at the moment, moot. It shows up Ashleys ideas and contempt for this club. Obviously, according to him, the history and standing behind that name is worth less than the bank balance of Mike Ashley.

My Mum always said to me, “Life hands you Lemons, make Lemonade” and in this situation, it is quite true. For the many of us who turn up every week or follow the club religiously, it is always been St James Park, and always will be. Protesting about something which has happened and protesting to get an Owner out of the club for the umpteenth time is utterly pointless. To all the neutrals, it is St James Park and I am sure it will be in the future.

But it can’t be avoided that with this added prefix to it’s name,  a little of the soul that has died. People argue that Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium has developed a soul and a character all of its own, and is much less like a new build than some. Which is true, but it was bound to have some soul because before that, it was useless and barren wasteland. St Jame’s Park wasnt, for 117 years it has been the home of the Toon and hopefully for the next 117 years it will be aswell. And there is the bottom line, prefix or no prefix, we still walk up the same steps, through the same turnstiles, sit on the same seats and cheer the same colours as always. And long may it continue…..

By Benjamin Zand

Mike Ashley has once again outraged Newcastle United fans by going through with his controversial plans to change the name of St James’ Park despite repeated protests from fans

The championship side will see its stadium’s former name of ‘St James’ Park’, which it’s held since 1880, changed to sportsdirect.com@St. James’ ParkStadium.

The North-Eastern outfit announced last week it was looking to sell the naming rights to St. James’ Park from next season, a decision which sparked extremely negative responses from the club’s supporters. The club has now decided though to utilize the ground to showcase the sportswear company, ‘Sports Direct’, controlled by current club owner Mike Ashley until the end of the season.

Angry Fans protest about Stadium name change (Courtesy of BBC)

‘We will showcase Sports Direct until the end of the season’ chief executive Derek Llamias told BBC Newcastle.

‘I’m sure we’re going to get a sponsor for next season’

Fans have acted very angrily to the decision and a lot are upset at what they see as a part of their beloved club being lost.

Speaking to one supporter, 18 year-old Richard Thornton, a season-ticket holder from Newcastle who currently resides in Edinburgh, but still manages to attend every Newcastle match, he said, “It (the name change) is pointless, no money is even going to be made, it’s a historical ground and with the loss of the name, comes a bit of history lost in my opinion. It seems like he (Mike Ashley) is doing all he can to upset the Newcastle fans.”

When asked about what he thought of Mike Ashley as chairperson of Newcastle United he went on to say, “He’s not a football man, he’s a business man, he’s lost a lot of money through the club and he’s trying his luck with whatever he can to regain his losses, he just doesn’t understand how big this is to the fans, St. James’ Park is Newcastle United.”

Even former Newcastle chairman Freddy Shepherd criticized the move to re-name the stadium, claiming that “there are just some things that money can’t buy”.

These views seem to echo the majority of NUFC supporters, with many trying to halt the proposed plans through staging a variety of protests, such as the ones before and after Newcastle United’s game on Saturday against Peterborough.

The decision from Ashley came the same day as he took the club off the market due to failing to attract a buyer willing to pay the reduced asking price of £80m, leading many to believe the name change was just a ploy for Mike Ashley to further deepen his own pockets, rather than enhance the fortune and welfare of the club. Fans were further enraged and this notion supported with the announcement that the club’s plans to rename the stadium were for commercial purposes.

Newcastle owner Mike Ashley has upset fans with his decison to rename St James' Park (Courtesy of SkySports)

Mr Ashley bought the club for £134m two years ago when it was still in the Premiership, and has suffered considerable losses at his time at the club, with its decline into the Championship being a large factor.

Llambias, speaking to BBC sport, when asked if the name “St James’ Park” would always remain amid an angry response from fans, said: “Absolutely. In our reign, absolutely.”

“It’s adding to it, and if it brings in a good chunk of money to the club, that goes straight to the team, then do you know what, it’s a revenue we should look at.”

Adidas, Newcastle’s current shirt sponsors, were strongly linked with buying the rights to the stadium, but have brushed off reports, announcing they had not been offered the naming rights to the stadium and would not wish to take the rights if they were offered.

The controversy about renaming the stadium is only a recent problem in a very long and arduous feud between the Newcastle supporters and Mike Ashley, but Derek Llambias is confident that success on the pitch will heal the pain of the aggrieved fans.

Saying, whilst speaking to the BBC: “Success, really, will heal the wounds, and time, a combination of both. We are patient people and I think the fans will come around eventually.

“I have no idea what length of time that will be – I may be a very old man before it’s done – but I think the fans will see in the future that we do care.”

Newcastle United vs. Peterborough United, 7 Nov 8:30pm at sportsdirect.com@St.James’ Park Stadium

Don’t panic, its not the return of the ’shown-exclusively-on-the-internet’ monster. It’s the other scary new-age phenomenon of selling naming rights of stadiums! This weekend onwards Newcastle United’s Stadium where many generations of fans have gathered week after week, to show their love, support and belief in the club which boasts of the most loyal fans, will be known as the sportsdirect.com@St. James’ Park Stadium. Whoever thought that being relegated from the Premier League was mortifying enough, surely underestimated the ever-annoying owner Newcastle United Mike Ashley. What is even worst news I guess for the Geordies is that last week Mike Ashley took the club off the market by rejecting Tyneside businessman Barry Moat’s attempted takeover. So, he is here to stay!

Mike Ashley just doesn’t understand football fans  and has no clue as to what owning a football club entails.Okay, I am just going to go ahead and call him completely dumb!  How can a football club owner not know that fans allegiance definitely doesn’t lie with the chairman, owner, manager of the club or even with players (or else no player returning to his old club would ever be booed)? What connects fans to a club is the sense of community and fellowship, the place in which the club is situated, the camaraderie in the stands and not the name of the principle sponsor!

The club’s history and continuity are sacrosanct and just something you can’t mess about with if you want to keep your client base (which for you Mr. Mike Ashley would mean the fans). Renaming a stadium, which is a sort of a cathedral to fans to something that sounds like a website is ridiculous.

Football fans aren’t rational, they are crazy, hopeless romantics and if Mike Ashley is really planning to stay long-term as the owner of the club, it would do him a world of good to learn a bit about football fans, understand them and work with them to make the club he owns and the club they love, great once again.

Fans protest at St. James' Park

Mike Ashley is an idiot. He renamed St. James’ Park “sportsdirect.com @ St. James’ Park Stadium” which is way, way worse than Citi Field or any corporately named stadium in North America or, really, anywhere else in the world. It should be protested on principle. Of course, Mike Ashley is an idiot so that doesn’t help.

Well, Arsenal are making me look like a dumbass. They won today, rising to second in the league, just ahead of idle Manchester United and just behind idle Chelsea (United and Chelsea play tomorrow). The point is that the Arse are playing well lately.

The MLS playoffs are in full swing. Did you notice? No? Shame on you! Fortunately, you still have time to catch LA Galaxy v. Chivas (tomorrow at 7.30pm EST) and Seattle v. Houston (tomorrow at 3pm EST).

Finally, the big game tomorrow is Manchester United v. Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. Both managers are busy scheming but I expect a fast-paced game and I expect everyone to be excited for it.