My earlier post may have been a bit emotive, and there are only so many comments I can edit calling me a, well, calling me everything.
So I’ve had a sit down, worked my way through a cup of tea and bag of Haribo, and had a little rethink about what exactly my problem with this is.
Yes, I think the name, and new logo, and talk of ‘Nike’s image perfectly complimenting the effect they want to achieve’ is horrible marketing speak that has no place in football, but has become sadly accepted. But I’m not sure if this is the real issue.
Leigh fans, seemingly, have no problem with this. And in fact are excited by the new direction and new start. And I’m genuinely glad about that. Good luck to them. But I’m sure they’ll excuse me for not sharing their enthusiasm. For the more that this sort of thing happens, the more commonplace it will become, and the more common place it becomes, the more it will happen. It’s a vicious circle that will see football slowly become a franchise sport such as the NFL.
Speak to fans of York City who had to put up with racing enthusiast John Batchelor changing their kit and badge to make them more appealing to both the American market and to his huge ego. This is the same John Batchelor who wants/wanted to buy Mansfield Town and change their name to Harchester United, the team from Sky’s DreamTeam, as they had a greater TV presence.
We cannot let people get used to this sort of thing happening, and cannot allow people to think it is in anyway acceptable. Leigh fans may be happy, and Dominic Speakman may be a hero. But this isn’t usually the case. Just ask any Wimbledon fan about ‘visionary chairman Pete Winkleman’.
It'll Be Off 