Newcastle renames St James' Park the Sports Direct Arena

WITH Newcastle sitting pretty in third place in the Premier League and unbeaten this season it looked as though relations between the fans and the club's unpopular owner Mike Ashley might finally have been improving. But the millionaire businessman has proved he has a spectacular flair for antagonising the Geordie public by renaming St James' Park after his cheap sportswear company.

As of today the iconic home of the Magpies will be known as the Sports Direct Arena, much to the chagrin of the fans.

Ashley has temporarily named the ground after his own company, for no fee, as a way of advertising the fact that the naming rights for the stadium are up for sale. He hopes to raise as much as £10m a year by selling off the name of the Magpies' home.

It is not an unusual tactic. Arsenal, Manchester City, Wigan and Bolton in the Premier League all play at grounds that bear the name of a sponsor, however they are all new stadia, while Newcastle have been playing at St James' Park for 120 years.

Writing in The Daily Telegraph, Luke Edwards described St James' Park as a "football cathedral" and says: "The decision to rename it feels like a kick in the groin, it feels like an insult, yet should anyone be surprised?"

Mark Jensen, editor of Newcastle fanzine, The Mag, told The Guardian: "Most fans will see this as pretty opportunist with the team doing well on the pitch... I don't see how there are any benefits whatsoever for anybody connected with Newcastle United." ·