"WHAT is all the fuss about? I wish I could say that I was going down the Ricoh."
I couldn't stop myself from responding to some kneejerk reactions which met Derby County renaming Pride Park Stadium as the iPro.
As I have stated in this column before, I am a Coventry City fan because of home-town attachment.
Thus, I look on enviously at my adopted city's football team and its place at the heart of its community.
My club, for those who don't know, are currently playing their games 35 miles away from the city which bears their name because of a row with the city council, the owners of the Ricoh Arena, where they have played since 2005.
The fans long to return and, frankly, wouldn't care less what the stadium was called as long as the team played there.
Anyway, last week Derby County announced that the culmination of a year-long search was a deal with drinks company iPro which will make the club £7 million.
Immediately, the gnashing of teeth began with some claiming the stadium would always be Pride Park to them.
I presume the naysayers are the very same people who bemoan perceived lack of spending on the team.
What gets me about many football fans is their apparent belief that boards should run clubs as an act of philanthropy rather than as a business.
And yet they would be the first to complain should Derby County follow in the footsteps of the many others, mine included, which have lurched towards financial ruin.
I remember those days when footballers earned similar salaries to many of their supporters and wore unsponsored kits and played in stadia with traditional names.
But what would happen if the Rams ditched the policy of making the most of their assets?
Simple, they would not be able to pay their players so much.
I happen to empathise with those who argue that footballers earn obscene amounts of money but no club can address this issue alone.
In fact, in order for Derby County to compete they have to attract players on salaries which would make normal folk's eyes water.
Indeed, if supporters didn't realise how much their players take home they might look at the photograph of 20-year-old Andre Wisdom's £100,000 Porsche which he drove into a flood on the way to last week's match.
His wages and those of others cannot be paid through a combination of tickets sales and the kindness of the board's hearts.
Instead, it requires a sound financial strategy to back a football club.
As far as I can see, Derby County is working towards this. Indeed, I would hope that, in the future, it is not reliant on hand-outs from the board at all.
Securing the club's long-term future must be based around sound economics. It strikes me that sponsorship of the stadium falls into that category.
