Big Story
So, despite protests from fans and politicians, Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley has further cemented his unpopularity on Tyneside by announcing the renaming of St. James’ Park — apparently believing that adding an “@” symbol to it means the club is respecting history. The name will be “sportsdirect.com @ StJames’Park”.

“With the renaming it was always going to be whatever brand it was, at St James’ Park,” Managing director Derek Llambias said. “For the remainder of this season, we already have sportsdirect.com on the Gallowgate so we’d like to take that branding through the rest of the stadium.”

The Newcastle United Supporters Trust already has a petition up against the renaming of the stadium, stating “Derek Llambias has announced on 03/11/09 that the ground will be renamed to “Sxxxxs DxxxxT.cxx @ St James’s Park”. We strongly believe the name and soul of our ground is not theirs to sale. Our petition stands. NO to the renaming of SJP!”

Right on. And hell, just in terms of a name, something new entirely would be better than this travesty of an attempted compromise.

Worldwide News

• There is a lot more in the papers today following-up yesterday’s story about Stan Kroenke’s possible takeover of Arsenal. Gabrielle Marcotti echoes the Arsenal Supporters’ Trust’s concerns about the prospect of a debt-laden purchase, though Jeremy Wilson suggests his past share purchases do not suggest a trend of massive borrowing (though we’re talking about a lot more money for a take-over). The Independent, like the AST, does not think a takeover bid is imminent anyway.
• Looks like Portsmouth’s embattled chief executive Peter Storrie has a lot to worry about, as the BBC is reporting he has been charged with tax evasion.
• We mentioned some unpleasant scenes in Bulgaria this weekend yesterday, as the mass brawl in the Plovdiv derby will have serious consequences for Lokomotiv.
• Stadium proposals for both DC United and Crystal Palace USA are to be studied in Baltimore.
• Southend United have until Friday to clear their £2.135 million tax debt. The Shrimpers Trust have been working overtime attempting to save their club, so let’s hope they can buy some more time.

The Sweeper appears daily. For more rambling and links throughout the day every day, follow your editor Tom Dunmore @pitchinvasion on Twitter.

Big Story
After years of torturous ownership — from the insulting and patronising Halls to the clueless and inept Mike Ashley — it would seem no wonder that Newcastle fans would be interested in attempting to assert some control on the destiny of their club, especially given their huge numbers and seemingly endless willingness to pump cash in through ticket sales and merchandise.

Last week, the Newcastle United Supporters Trust launched their bid to buy the club. NUST have said their aim “is to make sure the fans voice is never ignored again and the way to do this is to make sure that we’re at the top table and to achieve that we have to buy in.” The Trust, after what they admit were early “faltering steps”, have now achieved legal legitimacy as a democratic, not-for-profit Industrial and Provident Society, attained local media support and garnered pledges of over £20m even before their public announcement, with many pledging from their pension investment pots.

It’s a shame, then, that Louise Taylor’s piece in the Guardian today does not even bother to look at the nuts and bolts of the concept and instead simply dismisses the entire concept of supporter involvement in club ownership: “I’m all for a spot of idealism but somehow doubt whether football clubs are really the right places, let alone ripe, for democracy.” So what exactly are they ripe for, then?  Unaccountable oligarchic rule?  That hasn’t worked out so well for Newcastle, either, has it?

Worldwide News

• As predicted by the blog MFUSA yesterday, MLS Commissioner Don Garber’s comments about the possibility of MLS teams playing under domed stadia (which MFUSA saw as an attempt to hush Sepp Blatter’s oft-stated desire for MLS to follow the international calender) was naively picked up by the press today as a serious proposition, with the Denver Post and Kansas City Star following up. Neither piece looks at the actual realism (or not) of the suggestion: though there could be some kind of a business model there tied to a successful indoor entertainment arena, most of the cold-climate cities in MLS have built or are building their own soccer-specific-stadiums in the past few years, including Chicago, Denver, New York and Toronto. Any such move indoor en masse to allow winter play would thus have to wait for the second generation of clubs’ own stadia, likely decades away.
• Scotland, whose fall off the footballing map is matched by few (though was somewhat inevitable given the country’s population), might soon finally have a team of more diverse origins reflecting the country’s population — FIFA last week approved Gordon Smith’s (the Scottish Football Association chief executive) proposal for British nations to allow players with no blood links into their national teams if they have at least five years of schooling in that country. Graham Spiers of the Times praises the move, saying “It is a complete mystery why, for example, Scotland’s ethnic communities, particularly its throngs of Asians, have yet to embrace football. Unlike England, the Scots scarcely know what it is like to have non-whites pulling on the national jersey, to a point where we almost seem backward or out of synch with the modern world.”
• Alex Ferguson has called on his media friends to help him in his public war of words with the referees’ association, as James Ducker helpfully writes that “sources close to Ferguson have indicated that he is ‘90 per cent convinced’ he will be charged and that he holds little hope of receiving a fair and proper hearing because of the publicity surrounding the case. Ferguson is furious at what he perceives to be a media campaign against him and believes a witch-hunt is being fuelled by sources close to senior referees.”

The Sweeper appears daily. For more rambling and links throughout the day every day, follow your editor Tom Dunmore @pitchinvasion on Twitter.