No Bull

When they report, as they have this morning, about a shirt sponsorship deal with Red Bull, possibly leading to a sale to the same of the stadium naming rights, the Yorkshire Evening Post are talking about something that doesn't really exist. Red Bull don't do 'sponsorships.'

Paul Robinson's story must be based on some solid info: the YEP "understands top-level discussions have started between club and company about a possible shirt sponsorship agreement," but noone is prepared to discuss it on the record; they've even gone so far as photographing (or Photoshopping, who can tell anymore?) a can of Red Bull outside the East Stand.

But a "megabucks link-up" with Red Bull would not be a sponsorship, and that's why Leeds fans should worry. When Red Bull link up with a football club, they don't just settle for a name on a shirt or a token stadium name change that all the fans ignore anyway. They engulf everything about a club and its history that isn't Red Bull branded and they destroy it.

That isn't hyperbole. The Leeds United blog The Beaten Generation has followed the Austria Salzburg story since 2005, when the fans of the club, founded in 1933, were kicking back against Red Bull's takeover of their side. Red Bull bought one of the most famous teams in Austria, and didn't just change the name ('Red Bull Salzburg'), but changed the shirt colours from purple and white - the fans' beloved violett-weiss - to Red Bull's corporate red and blue. Solidarity protests were held by fans across Europe, and stock PR letters were sent to fans who contacted Red Bull to complain.

It's worth going over some of the key points of that 2005 letter to learn about Red Bull's attitude toward the beautiful game:

"[Our football] concept was based on Red Bull's overall approach to sport: Red Bull is not a sponsor in the traditional sense; it never was and never will be. Red Bull contributes its own ideas and concepts to all projects to which it is committed.

"Traditions are part of sport. But every tradition needs to grow. This takes time. Nobody can, nobody should buy themselves a tradition … Since the start of this season we have been working at creating a new tradition. This tradition cannot and will not be separated from the history of football in Salzburg. But this new tradition is not purple, because purple is not the colour of Red Bull.

"[Fans] are not owners; they do not carry any responsibility for the future. Therefore they have the right to be consulted, but not to make decisions. Some fans have trouble understanding this.

"99% of the fans of the 'old' club are also fans of Red Bull Salzburg … They realise that Red Bull has its own tradition, its own history and its own approach to football."

There's much more in that vein. In short, Red Bull aren't interested in your tradition, but in theirs; they don't sponsor, they takeover. The fan-written Austria Salzburg history says, "Red Bull Salzburg made it very obvious that it saw itself as a completely new entity, with quote: 'no history and no records', and no longer wished to be associated with SV Austria Salzburg in any way - other than the fact that the club had served as a means of obtaining the licence to play Bundesliga football."