St. James's Burke

And so the greed of the money men ensures another kick in the nuts for the average football fan.


What Mike Ashley at Newcastle and all the other football owners fail to appreciate - as they sell off history and tradition for a few extra quid - is that it is precisely those traits that helped to attract big foreign television audiences in the first place. If they want to kill the game they should carry on taking a leaf out of Sport USA's book.

Look at the NBA and the NFL.

Go into a bar just about anywhere in the States now and take a look around at how many people watch the games. To be fair the end of season play-off games generate a little more interest, but I've lost count of the number of times I've been sitting in a busy bar in the US and wondered why I'm the only one interested in watching sports I barely understand.

The reason, of course, is that no-one else is from out of town and they all have better things to do - which in itself is a condemnation of the entertainment (for that is basically what it is supposed to be) on offer.

When punters hardly give the television in the bar a second glance, then it's time for the landlord to question the point of paying for the service. And when that happens the whole house of cards starts to fall.

When you start messing with the product against the wishes of the customer, they stop buying. Given the current economic climate, which is set to stay or get worse for some time yet, people are already looking for excuses to save money on things that aren't essential. When you have kids to feed and clothe and mortgage payments to keep up with, football isn't a priority anymore - even up in Toon. Upsetting the punters just makes it that bit easier for them to make that tough decision.
And it's not just up in Newcastle where they are desperately trying to squeeze and a few extra quid as the well gradually goes dry. Chelsea is allegedly going to follow suit and who's to say Old Trafford won't be next?
"Unthinkable", say the loyal red Mancs. Really? If Ashley is looking for 10 million to rename St. James’s Park, there must be a Glazier somewhere asking that unthinkable question.
Ultimately though, I guess I could live with some of our great and historical sporting venues being renamed, if it wasn't for the fact that it just smacks of selling off the family silver on the Titanic before she goes down.
It will be an interesting to see which company dares risk the wrath of the Geordie public by putting their company name on the stadium. I estimate a downturn in sales across the whole of the north east for whichever company takes the plunge. Newcastle's fans won't wish to buy any goods from a company that has effectively stripped the club of its name and Sunderland fans won't want to buy anything from a company whose name is associated with Newcastle.