Over the last twenty years football has been stolen from the men and women who cheer from the terraces by those whose world is focused solely on making money.
Sponsorship, branding and image have all become more important than respecting the undying loyalty of real fans.
I thought I had seen it all when good friends of mine had to take two days off work last year when the masters of the television universe suddenly switched kicking off a game in Portsmouth from Saturday afternoon to Monday evening.
My friends had to rearrange trains and cough up an alteration fee. And they ended up spending the night in a tent near Pompey.
But Mike Ashley's decision to sell the name of St James Park is the ultimate insult and offside in my view.
Does Mr Ashley go to sleep thinking, "Now, how can I really annoy the supporters?"? Football fans across this country have endured huge rises in ticket prices, messing about with fixture lists and the absolute con of constantly changing team strips. Most fans put up with these things in the hope that they would deliver the resources that would bring success and silverware to their teams.
But this latest scheme attacks the very soul of the team. Football is ingrained in the people of the North East in a way that some people will never get. Doesn't Mr Ashley look at the huge crowds who still flock to St James and not realise that he is somewhere special? If he doesn't then he doesn't deserve to be in charge. And if he does then that is just rubbing salt into the wound.
Football isn't a commodity that should be bought and sold like a second hand car. It is part of our identity, our culture, our heritage and it should not be abused especially by those who have no grasp of such things. Sell some shares, offload some players, get rid of some surplus assets but don't walk all over the history of a very proud club and the great people who have more commitment in their little fingernail than those who have milked a great sport dry.
Do the right thing, Mr Ashley, and consign this stupid idea to the dustbin of history. He can rest assured that the club's fans aren't taking this lying down. Thousands have signed a petition at www.nust.org.uk and demonstrated. All power to their elbows.
Newcastle Chronicle and Journal
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