Newcastle United have released the first official picture of St James’ Park without Sports Direct advertising.
News broke on Monday that the club finally had the green light to take down the hideous red and blue logos.
It was a big job, as Mike Ashley had plastered plenty of SD advertising boards all over our great stadium.
On top of the stands, in the dugout, along the touchline – there was probably even a Sports Direct logo in the Gallowgate bogs.
But finally they are gone.
It’s a big moment for Toon fans, who are riding a wave of momentum since the takeover went through in October.
First Ashley went, then he was followed by Steve Bruce. The club then brought in the hugely popular Eddie Howe, while Lee Charnley left after a handover period.
Now Newcastle have finally won a Premier League game, and things got even better when it was reported that changes were being made to St James’ Park.
The Sports Direct logos will likely be replaced by fresh sponsorship deals – ones that can actually benefit the club financially.
But in the delight of Newcastle’s official SJP picture, fans have noticed something.
While initially the East Stand looks revitalised with the words ‘Newcastle United‘ standing proud high above the pitch, the scabs of Sports Direct still linger.
If you look closely, you can see that the imprint of the red and blue signs are still there.
How fitting that the scars of the Ashley regime still cast a cloud over St James’ Park. It’ll take time for those scars to heal – but heal they will.
A fresh lick of paint will fix that, and Newcastle have a while before their next home game. They take on Manchester City on Sunday December 19th, which will be the first time for a long time that fans get to watch the club in a Sports Direct-less stadium.
St James’ Park picture highlights the stain Mike Ashley left on Newcastle United
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