ToffeeWeb - Season 2007-08

The Mail Bag

What's in a name?

I'm sure there are much more important issues at the moment, but I'd be very concerned about the club's stance regarding stadium naming rights.

Football grounds being named after corporate sponsors is one of the many things that makes me feel increasingly alienated from English professional football these days. The game has always been dependent on Dirty Money, of course, no matter what nostalgists may say. But, for me, the conspicuous corporate presence in the Premier League reduces everything to a commodified, rationalised, sanitised and stinkingly bland 'package', where every stage of the modern football 'experience' is cynically geared around the extraction of cash from fans' wallets.

I know it's always been like this, but since the arrival of the Premier League, the business side of football has got sickeningly ruthless, in-yer-face and concerned with image and spin. The thought of some corporation with dubious ethical policies imprinting their name on the very fabric of Everton FC does not float my boat. But I can see Wyness now, shaking hands with the CEO of Nestlé outside the Everton Kit-Kat Stadium, all shit-eating smiles, telling True Blues everywhere that the deal will gurantee us £5M a season on new players, and all the Yorkie bars that James Beattie can eat.
Andrew Conroy, Stoke-on-Trent Posted 22/07/2007 at 12:58:21

back Return to the Mail Bag

Comments

Note: the following content is not moderated or vetted by the site owners at the time of submission. Comments are the responsibility of the poster. Disclaimer

Ben
1 Posted 22/07/2007 at 16:35:05

Couldn’t agree more, i’m in favour of moving (somewhere/anywhere!!) but i don’t like the idea of not having a proper name.

I also hoped that the stands would be named the same, so that the fans of the fans could all still sit next to each other. I’ll miss not sitting next to the people i do now.

Gavin
2 Posted 22/07/2007 at 16:45:38

I hate to admit it but unfortunately its the way of the World. We will get between 8-10M a year if we use a commercial name and this could be used to develop the club further.

"The thought of some corporation with dubious ethical policies imprinting their name on the very fabric of Everton FC does not float my boat"

How left wing are you?? Not all corporations are unethical, I have worked for a number global brands and they have high ethical standards.

Regarding the stands I think we should use the names of our greater players. Maybe ’The Dixie Dean stand’, ’The Alan Ball stand’, ’The Neville Southall stand’ and ’The Brian Labone stand’.

Gavin Ramejkis
3 Posted 22/07/2007 at 19:37:51

The cynic in me says how about the "didn’t make a stand" stadium

Andrew Conroy
4 Posted 22/07/2007 at 20:23:52

I’m with that, Gavin R....

Re My leftwing-ness: that’s got everything to do with my Stance, Gavin. Global Brands with ’high ethical standards’?? FFS!!!! Global brands with UN-ethical stances- now THAT’S ’the way of the World’, Gavin, and you don’t need a Phd in Sociology to realise that.

If the board gives the Tesco Dome’s stands the names you suggest, then the circle will be pretty much complete: our heritage will have been reduced to something that’s purely cosmetic, for Commercial Reasons that pacify the fanbase.
Earlier posters are absolutely right: Evertonians (at least the ones on this site) are being divided and conquered with this Project.

Something fucking stinks.

Roy Coyne
5 Posted 22/07/2007 at 23:48:14

ITS CALLED THE STENCH OF KENWRIGHT

Alisdair Denny
6 Posted 23/07/2007 at 08:23:04

Do your feelings extend to shirt sponsorship too, or is that somehow different?

Dave Torley
7 Posted 23/07/2007 at 12:48:08

Personally I think it’s a disgrace that we allow people to advertise in the programme.Filthy money.

It’ll be the ’random sponsor’ Dixie Dean Stadium and we can all call it the Dixie Dean Stadium.

Brian Waring
8 Posted 23/07/2007 at 12:55:48

You might have a point there Dave.I for one love the name,the Dixie Dean stadium.But,at the end of the day it is all down to making money and not sentiment.

John Breen
9 Posted 23/07/2007 at 18:34:47

I would like us to do away with any naming rights and just call the new stadium "Goodison"