St James' Park: Now known as sportsdirect.com@St James'
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Llambias reveals Toon cash crisis
Newcastle managing director Derek Llambias has revealed the depth of the financial black hole into which the club was plunged by relegation.
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The Magpies' revenue was halved from £100million to around £50million - the annual wage bill alone at the time amounted to in excess of £70million - as a result of the drop from the Premier League, forcing owner Mike Ashley to make cuts.
Llambias told BBC Radio Newcastle: "Basically, from £100million revenue, we have dropped to £50million. A good chunk of that is TV money from the Premier League, so from the Premier League, it's £40million.
"We get a parachute payment of £12.5million and then in the Championship itself, you get £2.4million of income.
"There's a massive void there that needs to be covered. You get a drop in your season tickets, you get a drop in your attendance, retail, it all drops.
"That shortfall needs to be made up. Mike is picking the shortfall up now and it's very, very difficult. But we are getting through it."
James Milner, Shay Given and Charles N'Zogbia were already long gone before relegation, and they were followed out of the door by the likes of Obafemi Martins, Sebastien Bassong, Damien Duff, Habib Beye, as well as the out-of-contract Michael Owen and Mark Viduka.
However, Llambias has insisted the club was determined to retain the nucleus of a side which could win promotion from the Championship at the first attempt.
He said: "We didn't fire-sell. At the time the Press were basically saying we would need to fire-sell: we didn't.
"We purposely kept a nucleus of the team that we felt could take us up, and it's working - and we will add to that.
"[Manager] Chris [Hughton] is adding to it and will continue adding to the squad."
Meanwhile, Llambias confirmed his announcement last night that St James' Park will be known as the sportsdirect@St James' Park Stadium as the club showcases the naming rights for the ground.
He said: "With the renaming, whatever brand it was, it was always going to be whatever brand it was St James' Park.
"So I can clear it up, for the remainder of this season, we already have sportsdirect.com on the Gallowgate, so we would like to take that branding through the rest of the stadium and on the outside where you see St James' now, we would like to have sportsdirect.com@St James' so it can showcase it to whoever is out there who wishes to buy the package."
Asked if the name "St James' Park" would always remain amid an angry response from fans, Llambias replied: "Absolutely. In our reign, absolutely.
"It's adding to it, and if it brings in a good chunk of money to the club, that goes straight to the team, then do you know what, it's a revenue we should look at."
The controversy over renaming the stadium is the latest to engulf the current regime, but Llambias is convinced people will not mind if the team is successful on the pitch.
He said: "Success, really, will heal the wounds, and time, a combination of both.
"We are patient people and I think the fans will come around eventually.
"I have no idea what length of time that will be - I may be a very old man before it's done - but I think the fans will see in the future that we do care."
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Your Comments
matto (Newcastle United fan)
"It's like the chuckle brothers are running our club. As always it's act first and make excuses later. This is just some more rubbish I wasted my time reading."
geordiechris (Newcastle United fan)
"you got us relegated in the first place you moron!!"
akiratoon (Newcastle United fan)
"I'm totally fed up but if this move helps to fund us then so be it, the way the leagues are wrongly structured e.g financially in terms of the way huge amounts of money are lost when teams get relegated, then we are fighting that right now. wether MA has been forced to stay willingly or unwillingly i don't give a damn anymore. If moves like this one are made to help finance our promotion then so be it. Look where we are...we are top of the championship with a thin, injury racked team after surviving a humiliating rlegation and the loss of some of our big names. MA may have been to blame for our downfall but the players we lost were useless as well and they were to blame also. I'm not supporting MA & co here but i'm just glad to see that realistic efforts are being made to improve the club. That's my opinion anyway"
patj (Newcastle United fan)
"MA was conned by SJH and FFS, who had run the club into the ground through profligate buying and paying ridiculous wages for low talented and low motivated wasters. Once he realised the deep of the scam, he tried to get ou of it, but of course made matters worse. We're in a very deep hole and only vast amounts of money will save us, this is not guaranteed either, since if we do get back to the Prem there's so many clubs are spending so much that getting to the top will be very tough indeed.
We must not only blame MA. FFS and SJH carry a major share of the blame, not to mention the cash that caused this crisis"
patj (Newcastle United fan)
"The Gulf between Premiership and Championship revenues is a disgrace. The FA should bring about greater parity. Relegation should not mean collapse and bankruptcy.
Also the gulf between the Top and the bottom clubs within the Premiership is also wrong. Its no wonder that the Manure's and Co dominate for so long, they have a stranglehold. The revenue that should count is the ticket revenue and these days it has been much more minor in importance as have the fans. Get rid of the mafia running football."
DJT2 (Newcastle United fan)
"'No fire sale' - this is a strange one considering a few months ago he said 'everyone is up for sale'."
SMOGLAND_MAG (Newcastle United fan)
"What drop in attendance would that be then??? The big one that is surely on it's way you buffoon. GET OUT OF OUR CLUB!!! LIAR, and take the big fat lying idiot with you."
janspeed1 (Newcastle United fan)
"does our executive team have any kind of PR advice? it seems not. and if they do, we should be looking for a new agency! its unbleievable.
"
MrDave (Newcastle United fan)
"dominic317, try saying that after someone comes in and destroys your club. The only thing we can credit Ashley for is apparently clearing up the debt left by our last owner. Since then, everything he has done has spat in the face of every supporter of nufc. They admitted to lying to the fans, calling it a "PR exercise" - and to Keegan about his role in transfers. Ashley said appointing Shearer was the best thing he did, so why isn't he the manager now? And all the so-called offers for the club, where did they all go?
Nothing they say squares with the truth, so why should we accept anything they say now just because Llambias comes out and makes some half-arsed statement of intent? No, it's not time to forgive and forget. We'll see what happens in January, but I wouldn't be suprised to see some more players sold, with more loan signings brought in to paper over the cracks.
It's ironic really, he saved us from our last owner running the club into the ground financially, and then he tore the place apart..."
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