One thing all fans want is to have some influence in the direction in which their football club moves. Everyone wants to feel as though their football club is more than just a hobby and that to their football club they are more than just a punter. Isn’t that what the western world is all about anyway? The power of the people, of collective decisions in which all have their say? Well it would be if the average person was informed and intelligent enough to know what was best for them. Instead we have representative democracy where we vote for a local man or woman to make those kinds of decisions for us. So the same rules apply within football. We might all have opinions, but not all opinions are equal, and not all are valid.
After all, what do 99% of a club’s supporters now about the expansion of a business on a global scale, or the inner financial and logistical problems faced in the daily running of a football club? As much as I love the club I support, and there are certain issues in which I would like a say, I don not feel as though I, or any other fan, should necessarily be the one to decide the fate of my club. This begs the question: how much power is too much for supporters? And how much of a role do they really have in England?
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In a league where half of the teams are under the ownership of foreigners it is understandable that fans should want to step in, make their presence known, and ensure that the new owners’ intentions are aligned with those of the fan base. After all, we have seen what can happen to clubs under the wrong ownership, clubs who are managed by ignorant and arrogant owners, clubs whose owners are frivolous with their new club’s finances and suffer as a result. There is also the worry for many fans that the new owners, whether they are foreign or English, care little for the history of the club. Two such clubs are Chelsea and Newcastle who both recently voiced their objections to goings on at their respective clubs, both with different results.
Take Newcastle for example. Understandably they raised objections to the renaming of St James’ Park as the Sports Direct Arena. What could they do about it? Nothing. Did they have the right to attempt to block the move? Well that too is debatable. Would fans want success at the cost of tradition? Because that is what Mike Ashley is trying to achieve. He recognises the need for financial aid to take Newcastle to where he wants them to be and he is doing something about it.
The problem with the St James’ renaming is that it has been renamed by Mike Ashley without any fee being paid. Therefore there is no benefit to the club, only to Sports Direct for the free advertising.
Look you plastic arsenal fan, Newcastle got nothing from renaming the stadium so how is that a good deal for us fans? You think big companies can’t imagine their name on a stadium? Or do you think that the 8 million he ‘wants’, not got, for it will put us into the champions league when 35 million isn’t being spent? Give your head a shake
The only problem with comparing newcastle and chelsea is, abramovich bought chelsea and splashed the cash to make them great and win titles. Ashley has spent as far as we can work out “nothing” all his money tied up in the club is loans which he’s being paid back. we’ve sold way more than we’ve spent. and His ability to piss off the fans is pretty much his only skill. Also rebranding the stadium, he hasn’t paid a penny for it he’s just destroyed our stadium to put his shitty pound store sports shite on our stadium. He’s a liar who’s gambled on our future and has so far got lucky.
also just to point out the great timing of him rebranding our stadium… when it was St james park we averaged 2 points per game and conceded 8. Since we’ve averaged 0.4 points and conceded 11.. that may be purely coincidental but his timing to change the name of the stadium could not have been worse considering the run the team had coming up… He’s a fucking moron and he will likly sell Cabaye and Tiote in January and hope our scouts can replace them for pennys….