It is being reported that Newcastle United want to hold talks with their shirt sponsors, Northern Rock.
Freddy Shepherd - sleight of hand with Newcastle’s sponsorship money
This follows the UK Government’s decision to nationalize the bank this week after a couple of offers from Richard Branston’s Virgin Group were finally turned down.
Northern Rock and Newcastle negotiated a 5 year deal back in 2005, that was supposed to pay Newcastle United £5M a year. But apparently none of that money will come into the club now, since Freddie Shepherd has already spent it.
In a bizarre tale of business living above your means, Shepherd used the money, which was to come into the club in subsequent years, as money to help buy Michael Owen.
And this is one of the pieces of financial wizardry that Ashley and Mort were not aware of, until they sorted through the books, and got Shepherd’s verification that was indeed what he had done. 
Very bizarre business practices, to say the least, and it’s not something that is generally regarded as good financial best practices. But that’s the way the club was run under Shepherd and his cronies - very badly.
Northern Rock is now surprisingly in public ownership, and there are valid questions about whether tax payer money should be used to sponsor Newcastle United, and in addition the Newcastle Falcons Rugby Team and the Durham County Cricket Club.
Northern Rock insisted yesterday they were not about to rip up any of their existing sponsorship deals, but that may not be their decision to make.
The question is whether Newcastle should try to opt our of the agreement, before it runs out in 2 years time. If we did we’d presumably have to pay Northern Rock £10M back, but we may also be able to negotiate a better deal with another sponsor.
Normally after 3 years of sponsorship we should be able to get a better deal from a new sponsor, but our performances have been so poor over the last 3 years, since Bobby Robson left, that may not necessarily be the case.
It would seem better to wait until Keegan has an opportunity to get us back on the right track. We could then negotiate an improved sponsorship deal, hopefully from a a position of strength rather than weakness, which is the position we are in at the moment.
Comments very welcome.
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51 responses so far ↓
1 Tom_Toon // Feb 21, 2008 at 17:56
Id like carling to sponsor us (shirt, not just official beer).
2 Simen // Feb 21, 2008 at 18:03
Bring back Brown Ale! Both looks and tastes good
3 cooldj // Feb 21, 2008 at 18:17
Unicef?
4 cooldj // Feb 21, 2008 at 18:18
Just posted this on another wall but didn’t realize there was like five new ones so:
I wanted us to have a stab at getting a quality foreign manager even when kk was linked. I’ll support him because of what he did and the way he played-It sounds Krul but its true. My cries fell on Duff ears Butt Given this fact I’m gOwen to keep supporting him until I Carr n’t no more when I’m Forster stop because he leaves for whatever reason.
Beye Beye now.
5 Leo* // Feb 21, 2008 at 18:29
cooldj how long did that take to think up?
cant wait to be baheng’in on the doors of uefa cup place
this is quite fun lol
6 Leo* // Feb 21, 2008 at 18:34
i would like someone like vodafone or carling if im honest i dont really care.
brown ale would be the best we could get because its a symbol from around the world.
i was in a bar in atlanta in 2001 and there was a mega brown ale emblem on the wall was great
7 cooldj // Feb 21, 2008 at 18:54
leo like a couple of minutes-most of that was reminding myslef which players we actually had as i had a real mindblank!!
8 cooldj // Feb 21, 2008 at 19:01
one might say i’m taylor made for it
9 MARTINS // Feb 21, 2008 at 19:15
who cares what it is aslong as we are getting the best deal £££££££ aslong as its not NETO or sumint
10 Leo* // Feb 21, 2008 at 19:17
haha, im taylor made for analysing financial accounts, mike ashley should have had me working the due diligence team, creative accounting is my forte
11 dingo // Feb 21, 2008 at 19:22
I agree with the Broon Ale’ers… is it just me or since we lost teh brown ale sponsorship the club has become a bit shandy?
but on a serious note? SportsDirect.com anyone?
12 CRAIGG // Feb 21, 2008 at 19:38
Christ look at that picture of Shepherd can you imagine waking up next to that after a night on the piss
13 Hammy // Feb 21, 2008 at 19:44
Spend Tax payers money on the Toon?
why not, we pay through the nose for everything else……..
14 Hammy // Feb 21, 2008 at 19:47
New shirt sponsor:
“Dr Steadmans Knee replacement Hypermarket”
15 Bill F // Feb 21, 2008 at 19:51
Billy Smart.
16 cooldj // Feb 21, 2008 at 19:57
craigg. no. just no.
17 Cockney Magpie // Feb 21, 2008 at 20:05
we on setanta saturday?
18 cooldj // Feb 21, 2008 at 20:14
yep
19 Geordie Matriarch // Feb 21, 2008 at 20:20
cooldj - emre ally impressed by your creativity.
20 cooldj // Feb 21, 2008 at 20:23
boooooo
21 Tom_Toon // Feb 21, 2008 at 20:46
When are we going to start Baheng in the goals
Butt i doubt we will on on saturday Given we are playing manure. Butt i Carr’nt see it happenning as we are rather Duff. They are Owen us a win so hopefully our lads wont Harper due to the occasion, otheriwse Beye Beye. It will be rather Krul if we get beat 6-0 again but i think we can do some Ramage. I dont think ths game is Taylor’ed to us.
22 cooldj // Feb 21, 2008 at 21:03
i hope we don’t hit the self destruct barton on saturday!!
23 Tom_Toon // Feb 21, 2008 at 21:08
That will do some Ramage! Lets bull Tozer manure.
24 Paul // Feb 21, 2008 at 21:09
Anyone want to take my £50 bet thats its SportsDirect.com on our shirts next year?
25 CJ // Feb 21, 2008 at 21:34
Just heard Steven Carr say he would like the new sponsor to be either Mitchellin Tyres, Milligans, Mc’donalds, Greggs, Subway, KFC, Burger King or even Ginster’s will do and Terry Mac say’s he would settle Broon Ale.
26 cooldj // Feb 21, 2008 at 21:39
apparently steven carr is also hoping we have a badge on our sleeve which says “coca cola championship”
27 CJ // Feb 21, 2008 at 21:48
Seriously if Carr is offered a new contract i will go down to the training and demand KK to give me a trial cos the more is see Steven Carr play the more i am convinced i could do a better job than him.
28 cooldj // Feb 21, 2008 at 22:03
Carr is a Crap Carp.
29 Edd Case // Feb 21, 2008 at 22:49
‘Samaritans’
30 Ausgeordie // Feb 21, 2008 at 23:24
Why was Carr not on the list of people we need to offload. He sucks so much!
31 CJ // Feb 21, 2008 at 23:42
Ausgeordie- The only thing i can think of is Steven Carr actually wrote the list def agree he is a complete joke.
32 Len // Feb 22, 2008 at 1:27
I still wear the grandad broonale shirt. My favourite. If we signed a contract and blew the cash we should honour it.
33 nufctj // Feb 22, 2008 at 4:02
I found our new sponsor, and have already gone and negotiated on behalf of NUFC, so the deal is done..
DirtBusters!
Dirtbusters Cleaning is a well-established company, based in Sunderland, providing carpet and upholstery cleaning, builder cleans and daily office cleans.
http://www.dirtbusterscleaning.co.uk/
They will pay us 50 quid a month, plus free recordings of Keanos halftime rants.
34 nufctj // Feb 22, 2008 at 4:04
This just in..Freddy Shepherd has already gone ahead and spent the 50 quid for next month on cheeseburgers…
35 nufctj // Feb 22, 2008 at 4:06
I am sure this will look good on our shirts on that first day of the Championship season come August!
36 Chris // Feb 22, 2008 at 4:18
Or we could have a shirt without sponsers, wouldn’t that be a change.
I hate how people discuss the business side of football now, who gives a f**k? it makes no difference to us watching the games and we wont see the benefit of it
37 nufctj // Feb 22, 2008 at 4:32
agree 100% Chris. 110%
But such is the world we live in…
hence Game 39!
38 cg // Feb 22, 2008 at 7:04
I’m with Simen on this one.
39 Eric // Feb 22, 2008 at 8:56
Bring back the Brown Ale shirt.
40 Geordie Matriarch // Feb 22, 2008 at 9:06
Agree, Eric - and I don’t think it will have helped the team to have to wear the name of a failed company emblazoned across their chests.
41 thelongshanks // Feb 22, 2008 at 9:06
Dont care who sponsers us just want a f*$Kin win!
42 Graeme // Feb 22, 2008 at 9:06
Surely, the question is, does N Rock want £10 million back, or their name on our shirt?? Given their financial position, they probably want to negotiate a refund which will be way less than that.
The next question is who the Fcuk would actually want to have their name on our shirt at the moment, let alone pay for the privilage???
As we are Goverment Sponsored, does that mean we end up with Dickhead Brown and his cronies in the Directors box every weekend for a freebie???
43 Eric // Feb 22, 2008 at 9:07
Negotiations now about Northern Rock (shipwreck variety) must mean negotiating with the government. Has anybody managed this successfully recently? Going by KK’s and Terry’s hair it seems Frazer Darling is an appropriate third party. Get rid of Northern Rock and ask the Dutch (Heineken) if they will put the Broon back on the shirt?
44 shanghaitoon // Feb 22, 2008 at 9:39
Why not have F**K sponsor us. Its what we say after every match anyway??
45 TOONNUTTER // Feb 22, 2008 at 10:19
THE NEW SPONSOR IS THE LABOUR PARTY
46 shanghaitoon // Feb 22, 2008 at 11:42
Interesting … my comment was censured. Why?? Exactly same word in many other comments but thats ok? I said Fcuk (French
Connection UK) Its on millions of T-shirts everywhere for F*** sake!!!
47 Geordie Matriarch // Feb 22, 2008 at 11:52
Yes, shanghaitoon, even I understood your different slant!
48 t-g-w // Feb 22, 2008 at 14:20
We’ve already agreed a new sponsorship deal with Carling - was on the official site last year but not sure when it comes into effect. I’m not too chuffed cos I think it tastes like piss!
49 ende // Feb 22, 2008 at 14:52
Brown Ale!!!
50 catchy // Feb 22, 2008 at 15:44
Evening Chronicle
51 nasher // Feb 22, 2008 at 17:22
shearer cort dyer given bellamy speed
he he
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