FORMER Newcastle United chairman Freddie Shepherd has revealed that during his reign he refused a lucrative offer to sell the naming rights to St James’ Park.

Mike Ashley’s intention to generate income by offering potential sponsors the chance to rename the historic ground has been met with fury by Magpies supporters groups.

A bemused Shepherd asked: “Why don’t they just go the whole hog and change the name of the club itself?”

During the summer Shepherd denied reports that he was fronting a consortium interested in buying the Magpies and Tuesday’s announcement that Ashley has taken Newcastle off the market formally ended the owner’s bid to off-load the club.

Shepherd claims that following Newcastle’s flotation on the stock market in 1997, he was approached by a team of branding specialists who had four blue chip companies lined up ready to bid £3m for the naming rights to St James’ Park.

On that occasion the offers were turned down but the current regime’s proposal to maximise its commercial revenues includes the search for new kit sponsors and companies interested in paying for stadium naming rights.

In Shepherd’s view the name St James’ Park has a resonance across the world and should be protected at all costs rather than sold to the highest bidder.

“I suppose nothing surprises me about the current regime so news that they are ready to sell the naming rights isn’t exactly a shock,”

noted the former chairman who sold his share in the club to Ashley in June 2007.

“I can remember when we had the chance to change the name of the ground when I was chairman. We were offered something like £3m for a five-year deal. The money could have been ten times that and I would still not have been interested. There are some things money can’t buy.

“But to be honest, the decision not to go down that road was one of the easiest we ever made as a board.”

“I can recall raising the subject with my fellow directors, recommending we reject the idea and within a minute or two, they had agreed with me and we moved on to the next item on the agenda. I just can’t imagine St James’ Park being called anything else.

“I appreciate we are living in a commercial world but there are some things money can’t buy. St James’ Park is one of the most famous stadia, not just in Europe but in the world.

“You can go anywhere on this planet and everyone knows St James’ Park is the home of Newcastle United.

The two go together and are synonymous with each other.

Fans will be horrified, angry and upset about this. They have had to put up with a lot in recent months but this is just another blow for them.

On matchdays, everyone says ‘I’m going to St James’. It is not ‘I’m going to Newcastle today’ Neil Mitchell, interim chairman of the Newcastle United Supporters Trust, echoed Shepherd’s concern, saying: “It has come full circle now – Mr Ashley waits until after deadline day to release £20m to service the ghost ship that is St James’ Park and comes up with the wheeze to rename the most famous landmark in the city. It demonstrates clearly that Mike Ashley has forgotten his customers, described the fans in disparaging terms and now wants to re-brand the stadium.”

Mitchell went on to question the wisdom of handing Chris Hughton an 18-month contract to become permanent manager.

“The appointment of Chris Hughton clearly shows that Ashley will continue to call the wrong shots at the club,”

he said. “Hughton is maybe a capable coach but we still await a manager with a proven record. The appointment leaves many questions unanswered, especially on the subject of transfers.”