TOP 100 SPORT SITES
| |||
|
| |||
| |||
|
| |||
| Coaches stress high but no physicals required Early in Houston Nutt's 28-year coaching career, he stayed at the office until the wee hours, rarely pulling himself away from a busy schedule.... hosted.ap.org |
I should have stayed at Manchester United, says David Beckham David Beckham admits he should never have left Manchester United as he prepares to return to Old Trafford with AC Milan in the last 16 of the Champions League in March. feeds.timesonline.co.uk |
Pacquiao provided punch in a year of boxing ups and downs Boxing and one of its top stars made a mark in 2009. But the year can best be described as an often thrilling, sometimes sobering roller-coaster ... rssfeeds.usatoday.com |
Northern Rock's £10m sponsorship of Newcastle United under fire • Magpies must play in the Premier league for four years• Rivals RBS and LLoyds have trimmed their sponsorshipsNorthern Rock, the nationalised lender, ran into criticism after it signed a sponsorship deal with Newcastle United that could cost up to £10m.The contract, which the lender said was a "valuable investment", will last for four years and renew a relationship going back to 2004 when Northern Rock was the fastest-growing bank in the UK.But it ran into criticism from opposition politicians and locals who said the publicly-owned bank should spend its money supporting mortgage borrowers and business customers rather than the local football team.Liberal Democrats Treasury spokesman Matthew Oakeshott said customers and the taxpayer should come before any sponsorship deals."Northern Rock needed to be rescued by the taxpayer and is still in intensive care. While it was right to honour the old contract, it was wrong for the nationalised bank to splash £10m of taxpayers' cash on corporate spin. The time for the bank to agree a new sponsorship deal is when it is in private hands," he said.Local websites reported a split in sentiment towards the deal, with some people welcoming the tie-up between two well-known north east brands, while others, including some former workers and shareholders who lost money when the bank crashed, questioned using millions of pounds of taxpayer cash to fund the deal.One told the Newcastle Chronicle: "I lost more than £6,000 by being associated with this bank when it crashed. I find it insulting that they can come up with these sums of cash to support a bunch of over-paid prima donnas."Newcastle-based Northern Rock said it believed the sponsorship contract fitted in with its responsibilities under government ownership.Gary Hoffman, chief executive of the bank, said: "We remain mindful of our responsibilities under government ownership and only consider those advertising and promotion channels that deliver a high return on investment and good strategic fit."We believe that the sponsorship deal with Newcastle United football club provides both of these."Newcastle United is currently at the top of the Championship and is on course for promotion amid a recent turnaround in fortunes.The club is owned by Mike Ashley, who heads the Sports World retail empire Sports Direct International.Hoffman said the relationship with Newcastle United "represents an important community link". Northern Rock was split in two on 1 January, with the "good" bank hived off, comprising about £19bn in savings and £10bn of mortgages, leaving its toxic assets in the hands of the taxpayer. The £10m will only be paid out if the team remains in the Premier League for the full four years.Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking Group, the other banks with major taxpayer stakes, have also trimmed their sponsorship costs. RBS has ended its deal with the AT&T Williams Formula 1 racing team and cut the annual allowance paid to its roster of "sporting ambassadors", including tennis star Andy Murray, golf legend Jack Nicklaus and cricketer Sachin Tendulkar.Lloyds is a founding sponsor of the London 2012 Olympic games and has cut some programmes to focus funds on the main event.Northern Rock has also maintained its sponsorship of the Newcastle Falcons rugby and Newcastle Eagles basketball teams since nationalisation, although it said these and all other sponsorships are under review. It has cut previous deals with county cricket teams Middlesex and Durham since mid-2008.Northern RockLloyds Banking GroupRoyal Bank of ScotlandSports Direct InternationalNewcastle UnitedNewcastle FalconsMiddlesexDurhamWilliamsAndy MurraySachin TendulkarMike AshleyLiberal DemocratsPhillip Inmanguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Everton keen on loan move for Arsenal's Philippe Senderos Everton have resurrected their interest in Philippe Senderos, six months after they pulled out of a deal to sign the Arsenal and Switzerland defender. feeds.timesonline.co.uk |