Dear Mr Tottenham supporter, regarding Stratford...
Thursday, January 20, 2011 at 12:10PM Dear Mr Tottenham supporter,
Regarding Stratford.
It’s a reoccurring discussion point this, one that will soon go beyond protests and arguments once a decision has been made by those with the power to do so. The question being; Stratford? Potentially the new home of the world famous Spurs?
Fancy some of that? Personally, I’d like to reiterate once more; thanks but no thanks.
And yet many amongst us, in a blink of an eye, would be happy with this. It's in our catchment area, it's only a few miles up the road they say. And that we need to make the move otherwise it will cost us a couple of hundred million more, resulting in masses of debt if we proceed instead with the Northumberland Development Project. Haringey and Levy are playing a game of political mug-off, all with their own bluffs, double bluffs and agendas. They’re broke and want to use Spurs for the redevelopment of the area and Levy is using this excuse in addition to lack of public sector funding as a platform and easy way to push the Olympic Site as the only feasible alternative otherwise THFC's very future would be under threat. I call bullshit because if the OS is given to West Ham then what of a contingency plan? What do we do then? By definition, there has to be an alternative. Mainly because, Daniel Levy is no fool – and is hardly naive. So even though Wembley and Arsenal are tagged with receiving public sector money in every other complaint article you may have read, to base all hope on the NDP being manageable for the club on those extra funds...well, it seems very very flimsy and clumsy if to be believed.
It's not like Levy is going to shrug and give up on the vision if the OS goes to West Ham. He'll work towards a resolution. To appease us and to appease ENIC. And to fulfil the promise and the next stage. We have planning permission for N17, so if it’s vital for us to have a 50K+ ground - he will find a way. Unless all eggs have been placed in the Stratford basket from the very beginning. Either that, or he only recently gave up on N17. Which again, seems an improbable thing to do considering how difficult it is for anyone to get through the red tape of development to achieve their final goal.
It's just far far easier to opt for Stratford. No crippling debt we are told and then he can build a stadium and eventually sell the club for untold millions to someone like AEG (who have a habit of getting involved in this type of thing) and could soon be partners in crime if the bid is won. But what of the advantages of moving there I hear you ask? A stadium with a ready-made infrastructure of travel links, the rich in the City a short distance away and countless corporate t*ssers and day tripping tourists. Revenue, it's the new Promised Land. Levy is serious about it, you only have to look at the people he's appointed to talk up the OS bid and the statements they have made. Eggs firmly in that basket then – and if the bid fails, then onwards (back to) North London to make that work.
What some of our faithful are failing to see is that it's hypocritical to move onto someone else's patch. Imagine someone moving into North London. Oh hold up...wait...
It's also quite lazy to believe this is the only viable alternative (I’m going to keep on repeating this) and we'll stagnate if we don't move to Stratford. Moving would also make as a franchised club. Five miles or not. That might sound overly dramatic, but it's fact. If the project in N17is complicated and will take longer in terms of building it (having to knock down parts of WHL – playing with a reduced capacity etc), what is ‘longer’ when the end result is to retain our home and a ground in our area for another 130 years or so? We're not going anywhere, are we? Or perhaps, we are.
There has been no final ‘we are so so sorry’ statement to explain that staying in North London is not, unequivocally not, an option because of the debt we would inherit during the redevelopment. If, 100 per cent without a shadow of a doubt, if...remaining in N17 would cripple us for a decade or so, then perhaps we need to revisit and understand how viable redeveloping White Hart Lane itself would be. If we have to move to survive, it would change perspective. But it's hardly that is it? Is it? If it was, unquestionable, they’d hardly be any debate just more questions about other potential options. Are we staring into oblivion? Are we?
How hard is that gun pressed to the back of your head?
I appreciate Levy is a very shrewd chairman, a good business man and in recent years (finally) a good leader with regards to the actual football (appointing a back to basics manager and letting go of the D.o.F system). He runs the club brilliantly. It's what we expect. It's his responsibility. And even if you might not get the impression from this letter, he does ‘care’. But he’s still a business man who uses business to drive the club forwards. I do get that. But to ignore all of the footballing sentiments? Sometimes, those intangible elements – they speak far more loudly than pennies under the bed.
Levy has a responsibility. To us. And everyone else who has a (different type of) share in the club. ENIC are an investment company and their main priority above all will always concern the money they can make back from their investment. They have an end game. They will be long gone and our legacy will be stuck in East London - making us a club with a history detached back in North London.
Again, I get told countless times 'this is progress' and that I should ‘allow us to create new history’ and that if it's good enough for other clubs why should we bother attempting to define ourselves by citing North London derbies and rivalry and passing judgement on other clubs on what they have done or are doing to be the very best? We should be selfish I'm told and we should focus on making as much money as possible to be able to challenge top end season in and season out. Money, money, money. Its progress. Spare ribs and prawn sandwiches dished up at half time so we can afford the bills to sign and keep world class players.
I guess football has changed. But once more, it’s not do or die until I see it written in blood. That gun, it’s nowhere near the back of my head. Can you feel anything at the back of yours?
Apparently all this money will also guarantee success. May as well invite a billionaire to buy us out and invest £500M in players. If we are that desperate. Okay, being pedantic a little there. Money will aid with remaining competitive. But no guarantees. We’ve been high spenders for years and years. It’s not worked out that well for us until we sat with two points from eight games.
The football. The kicking and pushing of the ball. On the pitch. That has led us to fourth spot. That has allowed us to dream and want for more. It should always – always – be about the football and the desire to succeed. It’s hardly down to the money spent. Sure we spent some, within our current means. And the other superpowers around us, not all of them are in a position to compete with us in the transfer market. But let’s move on from this.
Tottenham the area is a toilet and we’re not the only club whose ground is sat in a toilet. It could become less of one if people started to play ball. That includes you Lammy. People supporting the move are not considering how much the Spurs match day landscape in terms of support and vibe will change. New chapter, I'm told, stuck in the past, I'm accused of. History is relative. It sure is. I hope you enjoy chatting about it in a pub or cafe in Newham which is draped with Claret and Blue colours or Orient colours.
Imagine us winning a Cup. Open bus parade. Through the streets of East London. Stratford, Leyton etc. I don't know about you, but that would be like waving your willy around in the front garden of your girlfriends ex-boyfriend. All a bit unnecessary and avoidable, when waving it around in your own bedroom is far more applicable to the occasion. Call me sentimental.
Sorry for thinking football was about moments, about games, about having a drink pre and post match and making a go of it on the pitch without sacrificing and boxing up your heritage and traditions and replacing emotions completely with harsh economics that instruct us to move now or perish. You know, we've got where we are today by bucking the trend.
I want what is best for the club. And competing at the highest level is what we can all agree on as an ambition although some of us are fine with us just being Tottenham. Regardless, let's try to remain anchored to the place that gives us our name. Try a bit harder. Much harder. Without going weak at the knees at something we are only bidding for because of the apparent commercial support we have backing us - allowing all involved to swim in the quick fix, no matter the consequences.
They say, N17 is but a post code. It doesn't mean anything, not really. The club, its history and traditions - these will remain forever with us and can't be pinned down geographically. Honesty and integrity and Innovation, free flowing football, flair players. Glory nights. This is Tottenham. The fans and the fans expectations of what the club should be. It's not a post code, I agree. But it’s what the post code stands for, what it should stand for. And it should not be replaced by one starting with the letter 'E' and representing a by product of commercialism first and a football club second.
It's consumed the Prem League. Let's not let it consume us completely.
I should not even be bothering to quantify all this. Home is where the Hart is. We are the one constant that will always remain ever present. We, the fans. And all the romantic notions should not be dismissed because they can't produce profit. And they should not have to be packaged up and sent to another part of London for the sake of said profit.
You might not agree, you might cite what I’ve already stated that history is pinned to you, on you – the Spurs fan. Where you go, Tottenham goes. Football (and fans) are fickle, rule changing to suit their preference. I refuse to change the rule.
North London is ours.
We should not even be considering Stratford and I can only hope this is part of some Machiavellian strategy by the chairman. Because the alternative is Tottenham Hotspur without the Tottenham. Perhaps in ten years we'll up and move from East London to the Midlands for easier accessibility for the rest of the country to the brand new home of Sportstainment.
In conclusion - We as fans and as a club have retained plenty of pride in old skool integrity. You know, traditional values pertaining to heritage and history. The type of things you can't slap a price on because, let's face it, its priceless stuff.
We've struggled, no doubt, in the past, but recent management on the pitch has gone some way to repairing the damage. It's a quick fix to accept the OS as the only way to consolidate. And God have mercy on all involved if the Sky Sports money making machine stops printing the notes. It's a risk either way. But it’s a soulless one to the East.
And if we go to the East, there will be no national Olympic Stadium. No running track or obvious legacy paid for by tax payers. Keys to be handed over to a football club for them to demolish a stadium built at a cost of £500M for a few weeks worth of athletics. East London will lose out on the regeneration project in and around Upton Park. West Ham won’t have a new home. What a shame their bid is so weak in impact, hey Karren? And let's not forget Orient. Or have we already? And then there's White Hart Lane, home of many Glory Glory nights which will probably be turned into a massive housing development, flats for the locals, concrete where once Dave Mackay and Danny Blanch flower stood with studs on ball. A car park where Bill Nicholson’s ashes rest.
It's our club. It was our club. It will hardly be our club. Say no to Stratford.
Regards to all. And...
Come on you Spurs.
Be sure to visit We are N17 for your anti-Stratford fix and latest news. You can also find them on Twitter and Facebook.
Previous Stratford/N17 articles:
N17: Home is where the heart is
A nail in the coffin of Stratford?
For some, it's a brutal interrogation...
If Stratford Hotspur happens...it ends there (guest blog tehTrunk)
And as an alternative form of petition against moving out of North London and into East London...click and follow: FC Hotspur of Tottenham.
Reader Comments (255)
Don't think any Spurs fan can argue with the sentiment in that article Yidal.
It'd b interesting to know when the club made those statements.
Although i will pick u up on a couple of things on your previous post, apparently the Spammers will be knocking down 70% of the stadium, yes they're keeping the track but Newham BC are having to chuck another £50m of tax payers money for the privilege... is that value for the tax payer after already spending £500m on the site? And this is the most frustrating part of this whole debacle, the OP development has been poorly planned with no fore-thought as to it's long term value and if Wet Spam (whose finances don't stack up) win it, every single UK tax payer will have to keep picking up the tab!
Thanks, spooky, sums everything up. I never thought I could be so miserable in a Champions League season.
Well it's not the most frustrating part, but u know what I mean... being in the dark is the most frustrating part!
So I've got to forget watching Spurs in far off places like Iceland, Russia (Yes Bloody Tiblsi) and every sodding country I can think of throughout Europe. I must forget about chairing Perryman off the field after our relegation and watching my team get hammered 7-0 at Anfieild (on my birthday). I've got erase the hundreds of thousands of miles. hours and pounds I spent watching them, talking about them and following them? Why because according to some (Yidal et-al), I'm not a Spurs supporter because I want to see my side better thmeselves?. Mmmm you judge!
It was the previous goverment that lumbered the taxpayery with £500m of useless stadium in the first place. Had some forethought been given, it could have been designed with a tenant in mind and half a billion pounds could have beem spent on a stadium with 80,000 seats and a retracatable track or such. Instead we are stuck with this debacle and taxpayer's money going down the drain. Some people are so blinkered, it's no wonder this country is in such a state.
Nayim---
doesn't matter who authorized the original spending, what matters now is what the current government will do with it.
Alan Sugar is weighing in now.
He's pro Stratford.
Exactly. Which is the better option for the taxpayer STLSpurs? And how would Labour supporting WH improve their image of wasteful spenders? everybody know's their definition of the word prudent is spend now, pay later. Now, if I was a cock, I'd say something like 'run along and make sure you spit in Tessa Jowell's coffee for every civil servant facing pay cuts and redundancies'. If we go down West Hams route (as UK taxpayers, not yids) it will need hand out after hand until AEG have to get involved anyway, millenium dome anyone?
Chubb - why would West Ham need "handout after handout" if they take over the Olympic site?
The running costs for the Olympic stadium would be something like £10 million per annum. After taking into account the fact that they would share those costs with Live Nation, UK Athletics and Essex CCC, they wouldn't be paying a massive amount more towards the Olympic stadium's maintenance than they already have to pay towards Upton Park's maintenance. And they will have significantly increased income with which to pay it.
Because West Ham have been left with a lot of debt from their Icelandic owners and they are sitting at the bottom of the table in January. Any club facing relegation, who need to borrow £40M from their Labour-run Council should not be an option. I don't know much about live nation but the other revenue streams you mention are minimal.
West Ham are borrowing £80 million, £40 of which will be paid back from the sale of the current ground leaving a £40 million loan. Gold and Sullivan then sell the club and walk away with tens of millions each which basically the taxpayer has funded. They don't give a stuff for an Olympic Legacy as their original bid was to remove the running track, the only way they can get the £80 million is if they keep it.
At the end of the day we have to increse our income by £100 million a year to compete, NDP can't do that so unfortunately Stratford it has to be. Football is a commercial business, not a sport, it hasn't been that for 50 years.
I live in the 21st century not the 1970's "turf war" years. I moved on, moved with the times, just as Tottenham are going to do.
Football is a commercial business, not a sport, it hasn't been that for 50 years.
I am in denial of that , Doc , might as well support Coca Cola in their rivalry with Pepsi
I understand the logic behind wanting to move , but accept it , that's a whole different ballgame
So what's your favourite sport now then Doc, and why such love for a business?
My old man said drink a Pepsi can, I said...
Where your treasure is there your heart shall be. So do not expect people who consider their treasure always been in Tottenham to stop caring about N17 issue. Do not expect them to give up so easily. Some say Stratford. There are pros and cons as usual. But they’d mean nothing if owners and members of the club just simply concluded they’ve no intention to go anywhere. Just simply didn’t want to leave Tottenham and strongly held on to this feeling as a base of any future consideration and prospective decision.
I fully agree so much depends on economy. But at the end of the day, is this club making a profit or a loss now? I cannot see that metaphoric gun nowhere near the back of the THFC’s head either. Provided we consider the THF club the most valuable being as such. Then let's try to use economy only as a tool to support it and ensure its future. I know it is not happening in this case for we have THFC v. THPLC. It is clear the business with all their responsibilities, obligations and desires to make profit, want to develop in the first place as a company. Likely no matter where, no matter under what name if circumstances require so. We know business must go on. Otherwise it gets to rack and ruin.
However in order to change the trend one thing would have to be agreed by common consent. Something that may turn out to be superior. Namely the statement that first of all we want the club in Tottenham. And then we employ the business of THPLC to subsidize it. Needless to say that all this subsidy only to a level that doesn’t jeopardise the business itself. What means we have to calmly accept we may get some fat and lean times as well. That's the most painful for some fans, isn't it. But in that case the genuine club is preserved i.e. the above mentioned treasure.
Clearly Daniel Levy is a business man and to remain his status he must mind business in the first place and forget the word subsidy. That’s the nature of business mind you. Otherwise he would become a kind of antiques collector. Fair enough. He definitely wants to make the club the biggest one. It would be totally unjust to suggest otherwise. What makes the difference might be that he sees Stratford as a potential place his treasure can be placed. What by the way seems to have a great chance to be accepted by some supporters too. I hope and wish the Chairman turned out now to be N17 contemporary Machiavelli in his present brinkmanship. Do you remember how genuinely exited he was about staying in Tottenham while having been interviewed after NHP was once revealed?
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1317411/Martin-Samuel-Keep-Tottenham-tanks-West-Hams-manor-Mr-Levy.html
Im sure MS is a Spammer but he's bang on with his comments.
He is a Hammer. It's the only time he's ever spoken sense.
lol
Just got a mental image of the running track being squeezed into WHL....
:)
Pro Stratford supporters, happy that the club will be sold to AEG if we win the bid?
I'm actually quite happy now that thanks to the build up of bad press I don't think we'll win it so we can all go back and re look at the Northumberland development project and get that back on tract with the council.
I must admit, MS is 100% correct, I certainly wouldn't want the Chavs moving into our manor... but unfortunately his argument will fall on deaf ears in the decision room of the OPLC! Again it's another emotional argument, and yes he's spot on but the decision makers don't give 2 hoots about postcodes and manor's, they care about getting at least some return on their investment and the risks associated with each bidder... nothing more, nothing less!
Do you honestly think that Mr Levy would've submitted a bid for the OS without sussing out all of the risks associated with winning it and the potential resulting legal challenges that MS submitted in his article... I doubt it!
"Tottenham, like every London club, are not actually a London club at all. They are a north London club, and Levy should respect that, even if he finds it hard to respect much else." In principle he is again 100% correct, but rightly or wrongly the legal argument will flip what he's saying that THFC are not a North London club but a London club and the powers that be set a precedence 100 years ago when Woolwich moved north...
As painful as it is to admit, there's no way that Mr Levy would've gone for it if he didn't think he could win it and what's more, that all the legal corners were covered :-(
To be honest, I don’t give a frog’s fat arse about Wet Spam, I’m more interested in THFC and the future of our club!
And one more thing, if the decision does go the way of THFC, they'll find some sort of spin merchant to counteract the negative tabloid inches basing it around best value for the UK tax payer... don't hate the player, hate the game!
From 'Open letter from Daniel Levy, Chairman':
'The easiest option for us would undoubtedly have been to bid for the Olympic Stadium site with a retained athletics track. But it would have been the wrong option. The front row seats in the Olympic Stadium with a retained athletics track will be up to 45m from the pitch; in our stadium design they would be 8m from the action.'
8 fucking metres? WHL is what about 2 or 3 at the moment?
'I am ever conscious of the feelings of our fans - on all fronts. I have never made any secret of the fact that I am ambitious on behalf of this Club and our fans. You could say that the one choice we do have , is the choice between standing still or moving forward. I know what my choice is and, judging from the emails we receive at the Club, you join me in wanting to see our Club progress. A new stadium is critical to our continued success. I shall keep you updated and thank you for all your support.'
Nice spin.
Pele is backing the Spurs bid. WTF.
http://www.tottenhamhotspur.com/futureplans/news/open-letter-from-daniel-levy-chairman-210111.html
That quoted spin is ridiculous. Bit like someone using a poll to prove where support sits.
LemonadeMoney,
Actually, although it doesn't seem it, the gap between the pitch and three of the stands at WHL is about 5 metres. The exception is the West Stand, which curves and which, in the middle, is about 8 metres from the pitch.
So the stands at the new stadium won't be so very much further from the pitch than they are at the current stadium. And that will apply whether we build it in Tottenham or Stratford.
the open letter does have some interesting stuff in it, 1. the OS stadium build is fully financially guaranteed, 2. there WILL be consultation with the fans if we are made the preferred bidder, which is either a complete bullsh*t or a statement that stratford is a total given if we are made preferred bidder, 3. the OS stadium would also be used for extreme sports, concerts, and other major sporting events.
As someone who is not anti-stratford, it is this final point that concerns me, I can see how this would bring in extra revenues, however we have seen what has happened to the pitch at wembley!!!
"concerns we have about the viability and deliverability of the NDP"
/\
As stated by many, including myself, if the OS was not an option the above issues would not exist.
Spurs, move to Stratford, sold to AEG. ENIC = in the money.
All the new generation Spurs fans will lap it up.
Also from Levy's statement
" As I have stated previously, should we be selected as the preferred bidder, we shall engage with and fully consult our supporters."
What will this mean for ST holders, members, people on the waiting lists?
25k ST Holders and judging by blogs etc I expect that if asked directly, probably 50% would SNTS.
35k on the waiting list - what will they say? Reading between the lines redeveloping near Spurs could be years away - so are people willing to wait? I would bet that the percentage split would be more in favour of moving if people could be guaranteed a ticket for games.
And 70'000 members (I think this number has been mentioned before) - not sure if this includes the members on the waiting list, but I'm sure a lot of these members live miles away, or even abroad and would quite happily vote for the OS.
Personally my heart will always remain at the Lane and I would prefer to stay but if we are the preferred bidder and no guarantees can be given about the NDP happening anytime soon, then I would vote for the OS.
Since I stopped working Saturdays I have been on the ST list, slowly moving towards the "right" end of the list and whatever happens I will grab a chance of a ST. If the choice is between new stadium or no new stadium then the decision becomes an easy one.
The other point to consider is how many STs would be made available in a 56k stadium 40-45k? Anybody know how many at the Emirates or SJP which have similar capacities?
Even if out of our 25k current ST holders 50% refuse to renew I think the club could still hit 40k in ST sales at the OS. They will have enough time to put together a slick advertising and marketing campaign to achieve this
Also with the probable costs involved I think it is more likely that ST prices would be lower at the OS than the NDP, which would also be a positive for plenty of people.
It seems strange with the football club playing great football and CL nights at the the Lane, the supporters are split in this way and hopefully whatever the decision is the Club and the supporters can move forward as one, although I am not hopeful of that either.
And so it begins...
One other thought, how many people would be against a move but sell on their ST and still have it in their name?
You know for the big away games etc where you need loyalty points.
I think Mr Levy is pretty sure that the currently silent majority will choose the OS.
Which is ironic because it is the vocal minority who are going week in week out currently and giving the club such great support at the Lane.
I would assume a maximum season ticket allowance of about 40-45k, in the domestic cups 15% of seats are made available to away fans so in a 58k stadium, that would leave 50k, coporate seats / boxes would probably be about 2-5k. but I don't think we'd have problems selling the tickets for the OS site.
I think if we do move to stratford it will be interesting to find out how many people do stop going to matches, my guess is there will be some who say they'll stop going who will continue and there will be a few who say they'll continue and will decide against it. though I am convinced that there will be no problem filling the stadium.
Those 35k I wonder. Who in fact are they? Ones really wanting to get a season ticket or just people who purchased the bronze membership more in order to avail priority over lilywhite members? Something like just to have one spare day for purchase. With no intention to attend absolutely all the matches at all? West Ham game for instance. It’s been at least the fourth day the tickets are available for members. They are still on sale.
my understanding is there are only 1000 priority tickets for bronze members
So we wait years for an outcome of the compulsary purchase processes with the possibility of costs just going up and up and until this is resolved no definate financing in place, or we get the OS and keep up the momentum we have on the pitch and move onwards and upwards now?
Tough choice, but if we get the chance they'll only be one outcome.
What's your issue with ENIC selling to AEG, Spooky? They are both cut from the same cloth, expect AEG are vastly more succesful.
ENIC are going to sell to someone eventually, we all know that. I can think of many far, far worse people who could end up in charge than AEG!
Stay at N17. Probably no AEG.
Leave. AEG.
That's my problem.
Leaving is a PLC decision, not a footballing one. So I think I have a right to be arsed off with it all, what with how important I value the emotive shit others are happy to side step.
I just can't see it Tottenham getting the bid.
The Olympics could end up an international embarressment and the Government wont want publicity about the stadium being knocked down throughout the games.
They wont want to be seen wasting 500m of tax payers money.
They wont want the negative spin that it would bring if Tottenham left the area leaving one of the poorest borough's
It will be interesting to see the articles / boards if we dont get it. Alternative plans etc etc.
As much as I'd like to be sentimental about this, football died the dad they took the money from Murdoch empire.
Football before then had to be run on heart, as it could afford little else. Money has long eroded priciples of heart first, when those that wanted their share of the pie each sough to sell us the principle that it was indeed a price worth paying. And yet it is only now, when faced with the full frontal assault on what it actually meant back then, that we come to realise what was lost all those years ago.
Ever since then it is about 'brand' 'presence in global market' and 'revenue to compete'. Pre-seaosn fixtures calculated signings to break markets, it's all part of the 'bigger is better' plan.
We didn't make it that way, we don't like it now, but we have over the years accepted it, and we will suffer for it.
I'm as sorry to say now as I was early on, we will probably get the OS (especially after Newham council so royally screwed up the loan leaving it open to judicial review added to the lack of commercial viabilty of the end product), we will move, my only hope is that when it has all calmed down we still have the fight and the desire to remain proud of where we have come from.
As for the 'Olympic legacy', the only people now really pleased to see london host the olympics is the french ' they are counting themselves lucky that whilst 2005 was a good day to win, by 2012 it will have been a bad day to win the chance to host the 'greatest show on earth'. We can no more afford the ideology of creating a legacy of the olypic park now than we can choose to ignore that it is a commercial decision which will see spurs move, if for no other reason than logic and finance.
My only other hope is that, if and when we do move, it turns out to be a price worth paying.
yidal, Newham councils 'loan' and the conditional status of revenue for west ham (undoubtedly diminished is they drop out of top tier by a country mile) makes us the headline figures.
They can't really argue that 'we will tear down the stadium', because before all this work needed to somehow recoup some money, that was exactly the Olympic commitee's plan was anyway, s if that is the basis for their arguement then it is flawed at the very least:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/davidbond/2011/01/original_stadium_plan_not_an_o.html
I can only see Spammers getting it now. 2 fingers up to the board. Athletics gets its wish.
Far to much outrage if Spurs get it. West Ham have other commercial support apart from the Council. Im trying to look at this from Joe publics point of view. If I was a betting man then Id put my money on West Ham getting it.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1349276/Scott-Parker-insists-West-Ham-perfect-Olympic-Stadium.html
Go on West Ham!!!! : )
Yidal, i admire your passion but fear you're in denial... and you are not looking at it from Joe Public's pov, you're looking at it through lilywhite glasses on, due to the emotional ties of being a Spurs fan it's impossible to look at it any other way!
Looking at the facts, the figures, the individuals involved and the arguments for and against both the Spammers' and Spurs' respective bids and the risks asociated with each of them, I know none of us are privy to the specific details of each bid but on the face of it I just can't see Wet Spam and their board winning it.
Denial at the stage is probably best for me : )
Spammers will have a cheaper way to tear down the old stadium, simpy wait for the first game in fizzy pop league against Milwall.
Sorry Yidal, DY is right, logic dictates that we can afford to put in a better commercail bid, and the ' you will tear the stadium down' arguement is countered by the Beeb link, and that Crystal Palace have been banging on for years about underfunding.
If we get it, pubic outcry aside, UK athleteics wil get exactly what it wants, a world class facility not subject to the whims of football. It will just be south of the river, but consideing their years of underinvestement they'd prob be quietly happy about that.
If West Ham were to offer to upgrade crystal palace then it might actually make it more palatable. But I doubt their bid can afford such a luxury. Doesn't take a genius to work out which bid is going to provide a higher commercial return to the ODA, something they can ill afford to ignore in the current climate.
Of course Hammers might also have helped their cause no end if they didn't have such monumental bellends like gold, sullivan and brady in charge.
Dont be sorry Tricky. They are my thoughts.
http://www.talksport.co.uk/sports-news/football/premier-league/4655/7/exclusive-%E2%80%93-gold-%E2%80%98morally-west-ham-are-right-choice-olympic-stadium%E2%80%99
LOL Yidal... I fully understand chief!
@spooky
"All the new generation Spurs fans will lap it up."
Whats your definition of 'new generation' then spooky?
I guess I must qualify, I've only been supporting the club and paying through the nose for it for close on 25 yrs.
You keep your emotional head in the sand mate, but don't insult the rest of us genuine paying fans who support the club no matter where it has to call home.
Ban him spooky : )
yidal, that pnly makes me want spurs to win the bid, so that smug pompous git is proven wrong once again. Now even more conflicted!
Obvioulsy MR Gold neglected to badge it as '£300 mil private investment vs £90 mil public money'. After all that £90 mil could pay for a gazillion nurses for a few years, or one 'managment consultancy' for at least a couple of months. Might start drinking now, take away thepai in case tomorrow is another lost cause.
COYS, do it for the scribbler.