What hasn’t been reported by the media about Newcastle United this season? We’ve had praise for the way the team has played (except, of course, from BBC pundit and moustache fetishist Mark Lawrenson). We’ve had criticism about strength of depth in the squad. And we have had almost everybody commenting on the superb scouting system that brought in the likes of Hatem Ben Arfa and Cheik Tiote for bargain prices under the noses of clubs with far greater financial clout.

So far this season, what hasn’t been reported is another spectacular PR blunder by the owner, the kind that turned Newcastle from merely the poisoned chalice of the league into back page laughing stock and general village idiots of English football. Until now, owner Mike Ashley has largely stayed out of the headlines (we won’t mention the Chinese strip tease). In fact, the last decision he made that frustrated the fans and titillated the tabloids was the disposal of Joey Barton, who went to up and coming QPR for free, but the phenomenal work ethic and talent of Yohan Cabaye has silenced the naysayers. Suffice to say we won’t be hearing “There’s only one Joey Barton” sung in the Gallowgate end of St. James’ park any time soon.

The problem is we won’t be hearing anything sung from St. James’ Park ever again, because St. James’ Park has been renamed Sports Direct Arena.

The naming of stadia by corporate bodies has become an unwelcome yet ultimately necessary staple of modern English football. The Etihad Stadium, the Emirates, the Reebok and the Ricoh arena are just a few current examples of how corporatism has influenced the modern game.  But I use the word current. All of these stadia are relatively new. They have no long histories, no decades-forged identities, no rusty turnstiles and no well-worn seats. Instead, they bring all the benefits of modern architecture and design that I am sure those who are forced to use the lavatories at Fratton Park or peer around support beams at Goodison long for, or at least dream of at night, which makes corporate branding for new build stadiums a no brainer.

But the renaming of St. James’ Park is in my view as pointless as it is perverse, making as much business sense as renaming Coca Cola ‘Brown Sugar Water’ or Greece ‘Loans R Us’.  I concede, the branding of a stadium brings in much needed capital in the modern era of the $100 million transfer. For example Emirates Airlines paid £100 million for 15 years of naming rights, but this was for a nameless glass, steel and concrete bowl, and not a beloved temple of football.

St James’ Park has stood exactly where it still stands since 1880. Even the extensive rebuilding of the stadium by Sir John Hall took great care not to disturb or encroach upon the centuries old houses surrounding it, leading to its architecturally daft yet iconic lopsided look. It is why this move will only serve to antagonize, upset and distress a group of fans who were just starting to trust the direction Newcastle’s ne’er-do-well owner was taking them in. As a fan and a local, to use the phrase gut wrenching would be a gross misrepresentation of my feelings. St. James’ Park is a part of our history and sits in the heart of the city. In the modern era of out of town stadiums like the Reebok arena, St. James’ Park has always been the centre of Newcastle. If the move brought in money to add big names to our increasingly formidable squad and silverware to our dusty trophy cabinet, I could one day reconcile with a renaming. But in this case, a name change will not generate a single penny for the club.

The reason given to fans by managing director Derek Llambias for the renaming is that it will showcase the opportunity for advertising to prospective buyers. However John Henry has mused over the same idea of selling Anfield’s naming rights and is yet to give it the interim name of the ‘NESV Arena’.

Manchester City changed the decidedly dull name ‘City of Manchester Stadium’ into the Etihad for a veritable jackpot at no offense to the sentiment of the fans, which has effectively ensured the club will be financed by the United Arab Emirates government and will bring more millions to a club whose spending makes Abramovich look like a latter day Scrooge, but if Mike Ashley won’t spend any of the £35 million gained from Andy Carroll’s departure, you can be sure that this move will not see one penny reinvested in the club, nevermind the team.

No, instead Mike Ashley will get to plaster his tacky brand over a centuries old institution for free and sit many, many miles away safe in the knowledge that he has deeply hurt the families and fans that have kept the club going since 1880, just as reconciliation was within reach. We the fans are bracing ourselves for the return of unwelcome headlines and broken hearts for no tangible reason other than the pleasure of an owner who seems to enjoy humiliating a loyal fanbase. How this will impact on-field performance (and it will) is yet to be seen, but I cannot foresee a long term happy ending to this sorry saga without Ashley being booted down Barrack Road, never to return, and a new owner coming in and at the very least communicating with and respecting the heritage of the club, the fans, and the city. Give me the Glazers any day.

The Fist Pump...a sign of things to come?

I should clarify, 3 Things to Look  For- From a Madrid Perspective. This is a Spanish soccer website after all.

Although the preseason is young, several trends have emerged in Real Madrid’s performences and it will be interesting to see if they continue when Real take on the Old Lady of Italian Football, Juventus(Kick-off: Friday, July 31 2009, 20:30 CET).

Here are the 3 to keep your eye on:

1. Pepe( Will Diego Run rampant?)

The biggest knock against the first group of Galacticos was their defense. The likes of Figo, Ronaldo, Zidane, Beckham, and a moderately in form Raul couldn’t make up for the fact that they didn’t have a defense or a strong defensive midfielder to do the dirty work (a la Mascherano). Poor Helguera was consistently shifted in and out of position to cover up Real Madrid’s huge defensive gaps from 2004-2006, until the club hit an al time low with signing of Thomas Graveson! Yes, you read that right, Real’s defense was so pitiful that Graveson was seen as a savior.

Perez has attempted to show his maturation from the first Galactico era with the signings of Albiol and Arbeloa. However, Pepe will play against Juventus and he will probably start during the season. Regardless of what others say, Pepe has looked shakey this preseason. He has been ridiculously lax when defending and is constantly forced to clean up his own mess. Something that might fool others into thinking that he has been defeming well, but I’m a more astute observer than that. On one  particular instance in Madrid’s last game, Salgado tackled a Liga De Quito player from behind and the ball rolled into the box, Pepe hesitated as he moved forward and the attacker was able to regain the ball. Pepe eventually dispossesed the forward after the striker stumbeled. Had Madrid been playing against a truly quality side, Pepe would have been punished for his mistakes(Emphasis on the plural). Imagine Pepe hesitating against Deigo in the box? Take a look at the goal that Diego scored the other day…exactly(This column would have been up an hour earlier had I not spent an hour marveling at Diego and replaying that clip over and over again)

2. Ronaldo’s Reactions

(Before I go on, it must be said that I can’t stand Ronaldo. I hate his antics, I feel he is too selfish, and I don’t understand what position he plays. He used to play as a winger, but then he turned into some sort of winger/striker half breed. Wayne Rooney spent more time on the wing than Ronaldo did in his final two seasons. I wish I could seperate that part of myself and report objectively, but I can’t. So I compensate with full disclosure of my bias. Ok enough of this tangent)

I sincerly believe that Ronaldo was bored at United, and that his disnterest paved the way for his exit. Ronaldo would score forty yard screamers and react nonchalantly, he felt no pressure. But on Wednesday, after scoring a preseason penalty, a Tiger Woodsesque fist pump followed. Ronaldo was so nervous when he was first presented to the Madrid faithful, he bobbled the ball while juggling.

You can chalk up Ronaldo’s nerves to it being early in the season. But it is clear that Ronaldo feels the need to justify his transfer fee, as do the rest of the Galacticos. And when the pressure mounts is it really far fetched to think that each one of them will feel the need to take the game into their own hands? These pressures could lay the foundations for team that becomes easily flustered especially when they go down early.

3. Every Madrid Player on the Pitch

Meaning, who is and who is not on the pitch. Pellegrini has a huge squad at his disposal-with more on the way. Clearly, he won’t use all 35 players during the season. With the start of the season approaching expect the rotation to tighten. Pellegrini has to figure out who will work best together, how to incorporate Raul(No matter who is there, Raul’s got to play. I feel like that is negotiated into each new coaches contract), and what to do with the left over pieces. Pellegrini even gave Guti a run last game. The formation that Pellegrini puts out against Juventus could reveal who has impressed him the most, and who will most likely be staying at the club past August.

Three games into the season is too early to judge a squad. Three games into the PREseason for a team missing one of its key components(Kaka), two new signings(Albiol, Arbeloa) with another major arrival possibly on the way(Alonso) is usually not even grounds for a remark. However, the Real Madrid vs. Juventus Peace Cup Semifinal represents the most interesting  and important match of the Madrid’s preseaon. It is against a quality side(This is becoming increasingly difficult to say about Italian teams. Oh and no disrespect to Tornto FC, who Madird play on August 7th. Ok, ok full disrespect, in terms of world football, you guys stink), it is a match of some importance(loser goes home), and Giorgio Chiellini has been talking smack. Ok, I’m getting ahead of myself, at the end of the day it is an insubstantial offseason match between two sides who haven’t been training for longer than 4 weeks. But at the very least it will allow us to take a break from the transfer market and concentrate on what we all love most for a minimum of two hours, football.

Despite scoring a multitude of important goals, Eto'o is on his way out of Barcelona

Everyday in High School, I would come in early to discuss football with my friend Ron. On a particularly slow day in the footballing world, Ron declared “There is no loyalty in soccer!” A statement that was quickly becoming fact rather than opinion. However, I was in an argumentative mood, and back in 2003 there was still a glimmer of hope, that for a select few in the soccer profession the word loyalty meant more than serving the highest bidder. Carlos Tevez had pledged himself to Boca Juniors, Wayne Rooney was still playing for his childhood club, Everton, and Joaquin was rejecting offers from Madrid to stay with Betis. So I decided to press the issue . “Are you serious!” I scoffed while gesturing wildly(Probably in a subconscious attempt to compensate for the fact that in reality, I completely agreed with Ron and felt ridiculous defending such an obviously absurd position) Somehow, I managed to appear the victor in our little debate, but in my head I knew who was correct.

Fast forward to today’s soccer landscape and Ron’s statement would be looked at as a truism. A given that only the most stubborn and unaware of fans would dare challenge. Despite the acceptance of such a climate on the part of most fans(myself included), owners, and players, football has somehow managed to disgust even the most cynical of fans with Barcelona’s impending transfer of Samuel Eto’o.

Eto’os departure from the Camp Nou is nauseating even when compared to the most controversial of transfers because it lacks even the most selfish of motivations. When Figo left Barcelona for Real Madrid, he did it for a bigger payday. Rooney dropped Everton for a chance to win the Champion’s and Premier League Crowns. Ronaldo came to Milan only years after playing for their fiercest rival, Internazionale, and did so only to resuscitate a dying career. However, as Barca prepare to ship Eto’o and close to 60 million Euros in exchange for Zlatan Ibrahimovic, they are doing so for very little in return, relatively speaking.

In the past five years, Eto’o has scored over a hundred goals for Barcelona in La Liga. More importantly Eto’o is a big time player. In the past season he scored against four of the top five teams in La Liga, including the game winning goal against Real Madrid, Barcelona’s biggest threat to the title. Eto’o improved upon his impressive tally this season with the decisive strike in the Champion’s League Final against Manchester United, helping make Barcelona the first treble winning side in Spanish football history. In exchange for throwing Eto’o out the door, Barcelona will receive Zlatan Ibrahimovic, a talented player, but more importantly, a notorious big game choke. A prime example of Ibrahimovic’s inability to perform on the grand stage came against the very same side that Eto’o managed to score against in the final, Manchester United. He was blanked by Manchester United over two legs, a period of 180 minutes, in the round of 16 in the Champion’s League. He failed to even register a shot on target in those two games. In fact, Ibrahimovic managed only one goal in seven games in the Champion’s League. Those quick to defend Barcelona will certainly site Samuel’s behavioral problems, but Zlatan is not without his own (See here). More troubling than the lack of motive for the transfer is Barcelona’s willingness to admit it. In a recent interview, Pep Guardiola said that Eto’os departure is the sole result of a “feeling”! A player of Eto’s caliber and output can only feel disrespected by such comments.

So while the whole world expresses outrage, and rightly so, over Real Madrid’s exuberant spending in times of economic crisis. Lets not forget that it is this type of mistreatment that presents the biggest blemish on the “not so” beautiful game.

Do you feel Barcelona has mistreated Eto’o?(trends)