phil.im

Blog Post Written On: 30.10.2009
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To Mr Ashley,

I’m going to ask the question straight up….. What are you playing at?

I really don’t think you understand that you are playing with the emotions of many many thousands of die hard Newcastle United fans. These fans have been on the St James Park terraces since before you were born, and will still be here long after you are gone. Newcastle United is much much more than just a way of making a bit of extra cash. Its not a marketing tool or a game you can throw under the bed when you are bored of it. Newcastle United is our life. You will never understand that.

From the start of your reign as the Newcastle United “Owner”, you have made mistake after mistake, and when you have actually made decisions that have pleased the majority of the fans, you then go and mess it up every time. Its as if you are doing it on purpose to just annoy us.

Wrong decisions such as selling our best players, forcing our much loved manager (Keegan) out, then not allowing Shearer to put into action his long term plans of turning this mess of a club around all led me to not renewing my season ticket this season, although i have still been to all the home games so far, as this club is in my blood. Its a drug, and that’s exactly why you think you can continue to take the piss out of us the fans. You think we will just continue to take it, but the time really has come now where we’ve had enough.

Right now you are the most hated person in the North East, and for months we have been waking up every morning to check the news to see if you had sold up yet, but that news never came. Finally the news came out of the club that you had taken Newcastle United off the market, but if that kick in the goolies wasn’t enough, in the very same statement you let us know that our home, St James’ Park, is to be renamed. Are you for real?

This just goes to show how much you know about football. You just dont rename football grounds. If you move to a new stadium, then fair enough, but you just dont rename St James’ Park. 113 years of tradition gone, just like that.

How much will you get for the naming rights? £2m, £3m, £5m? If that’s the case then that’s the cost of an average midfielder. Is that really what our clubs history and tradition is worth? Why don’t you just rename the club altogether and change the black on our strips to red.

From a personal point of view, my son is 6 years old and he is just starting to understand what football is all about and at the age of 6 he already knows what “St James’ Park” means. He knows the black and whites play there on a big field, and he’s just about to have the rest of his life taken over by this club, but that’s the thing Mike, you don’t understand that. My Dad took me to the match for the first time when i was 7 and i’ll do the same with my son. St James’ Park has provided families for generation after generation every single emotion possible and for all the bad ones i have experienced i also have some of the best memories in my life in that place.

Please don’t mess with St James’ Park. The fans will not allow it. Do yourself a favour and get out now.

Sell up now and leave. You’re not wanted here.