Martin Lol

Levy and Redknapp went to Madrid yesterday to watch Athletico v Real. As they had the final Olympic Stadium presentation to do at midday, it presumably wasn't a run of the mill scouting mission ..................... not that Levy is a scout!

At least Spurs have the financial resources to meet the cost of their project without having to borrow £100m+ from the local council. If, as expected, West Ham do get relegated, it might be easier said than done to make repayments to Newham Council. I think it is totally wrong to use public money in this way when councils are having to make cuts. What I find strange is that the vast majority of both sets of fans are hoping to lose the bid, Spurs for moving to the East End, Wham for viewing, lack of atmosphere etc

http://www.tottenhamhotspur.com/futureplans/news/open-letter-from-daniel-levy-chairman-210111.html Dear Supporter I write to update you on the Club’s stadium plans. I am conscious that there has been an exceptional amount of coverage on this subject over the past couple of weeks. We submitted our final bid for the Olympic Stadium site at noon today and I should, therefore, like to outline our proposals and to update you on the position of the Northumberland Development Scheme (NDP). Our proposals for the Olympic Stadium site include an iconic 60,000 seater stadium, the construction of which is fully financially guaranteed. It is designed along the lines of that which we incorporated in our planning application for the NDP, with a single tier end and seats close to the action on the pitch. It would rank amongst the finest in the world and deliver one of the best fan experiences anywhere in Europe. It would also host major concerts and other sporting and cultural events to be delivered as part of a year-round programme by our partner in the bid, AEG, the operators of The O2. The proposals include the re-use of the existing infrastructure in order to maximize the benefit of the public investment to date. Surrounded by an exceptional public realm which would host community-focussed events and activities, the stadium would benefit from the best public transport and access for any stadium in Britain and our plans also include a major tourist attraction based around extreme sports and incorporating specialist sports retailing, restaurants, cafes and bars. We proposed a comprehensive athletics legacy which included facilitating a permanent 25,000-seat athletics venue at Crystal Palace, with the ability to convert to 40,000 for a World Championship, along with support for grassroots athletics. 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. Football and athletics cannot co-exist successfully in the same stadium. There are examples all over the world of where clubs have removed tracks or moved stadiums simply because of the poor spectator experience and the lack of sustainability in the long-term due to decreasing attendances. We never considered for one moment placing our fans in such a stadium environment. The decision now rests with the Olympic Park Legacy Company as to who they will select as their preferred bidder, with whom they would then enter into detailed negotiations in order to reach a final agreement. This is scheduled to be announced following an OPLC Board meeting on 28 January 2011. As I have stated previously, should we be selected as the preferred bidder, we shall engage with and fully consult our supporters. In respect of the NDP, the S106, the planning agreement required before full planning consent can be issued, has been signed by ourselves, Haringey Council and Transport for London and is in the process of being signed by the relevant financial institutions. That said, I must once again repeat the concerns we have about the viability and deliverability of the NDP. The cost of consent has been high. This is not attributable to any one stakeholder, but is rather the result of the cumulative nature of the various obligations. We have worked well in partnership with Haringey Council and I should like to thank them for their support in reaching this stage in the process. No progress has been made with the remaining land owners and this is a potentially costly issue. As such, we have yet to conclude the site assembly. Compulsory Purchase Orders are of course one route to resolving this, but that process is uncertain and can take years to conclude. So, in some ways much has happened and in others, we are still determining new stadium plans. Our guiding principles remain the same – we are committed to taking this Club to the next level and an increased capacity stadium is central to that intention; and we have to seek a stadium solution which does not undermine the financial stability of the Club or its ability to continue to invest in the First Team. If you look at the stadium capacities of the top 20 clubs in Europe, they all exceed ours. The new Financial Fair Play rules will mean that we shall only be able to outlay income generated through the activities of the Club – increased match day revenues play a major role in a club’s finances and we need to ensure that we are in a position to thrive and to continue to compete at the highest level. Perhaps more importantly, we now have over 35,000 fans on the paid for waiting list for season tickets. It is an astonishing figure and a real reminder of the strength of support for this Club and the hunger there is to come and see the team playing some of the most attractive and exciting football in the Premier League and in European competition. 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. In the meantime we have a season to be getting on with and some fantastic football to enjoy. Yours, Daniel No matter what people feel about the bidding process (I don't want Spurs there) the Spurs idea of the closest seats being 8m from the pitch does at least apply commonsense. West Ham's plans to have the nearest seats 45m metres away is farcical. Neither bid deserves to be successful and not easy to decide which is the less poor.

Aston Villa goalkeeper Brad Friedel has been declared bankrupt despite being paid over £40,000-a-week – according to a report in the Daily Mirror. The ruling was made at Macclesfield county court after Friedel's US football academy ran up debts of close to £5 million. Friedel set up the 28-acre not-for-profit 'Premier Soccer Academy' in his native Ohio back in 2007. However, sponsors have since dropped out of the project and trainees have baulked at the £20,000-a-year fee for the Academy that aims to train players for European football. Lender RBS Citizens then took action in the US and court documents showed that last August Friedel and his company owed nearly £5m. The academy is in Lorain County, and their website lists more than £250,000 in unpaid property taxes relating to the academy. Last month, repossession proceedings also began on a £260,000 house owned by the former American international in Ohio. A spokesperson for the former is Friedel quoted in the Mirror as saying: "This is a technical bankruptcy and it is not anticipated that it will be in place for long as an application for an annulment will be submitted in the next few days. "Arrangements are in place to deal with the issues which gave rise to the bankruptcy." Friedel has been an ever present in the Villa team this season, but the 39-year-old is out of contract in the summer. He signed for Liverpool in 1997 and was at Anfield for three seasons. He then enjoyed eight years at Blackburn before moving on to Villa in 2008.

Spurs' plan is to spend £20/30m making Crystal Palace a world class athletics venue. I think that is a more sensible solution instead of keeping a running track between the fans and the pitch ..................... as much as I dislike the idea of moving to Stratford.

This. I'm not even English so couldn't care less who gets it, but this sounds incredibly wasteful. On the face of it, it's an awful option, but the truth of the matter is that the British Olympic Committee got it totally wrong when they opted for an 'ecological blueprint' for the Olympic Stadium which amongst other things involved using less than 50% of the amount of steel that would normally be required for a structure of this size. Yes, it may look great now but using inadequate materials will severely affect the longetivity of the stadium. The Millenium Dome had a life expectancy of 25 years before its conversion into the O2 and by all accounts the Olympic Stadium's lifespan isn't expected to be much longer. One of the people involved in the Olympic project summed up the situation when said "The Olympic Park is amazing. The other venues are all astounding and built with very sound futures ahead of them, either through continued use or revised use following the games. The Olympic Stadium is not. It is poorly designed and badly thought out. It will be phenomenal for the experience of a few weeks of summer sport - after that, it needs to be pulled down if it isn't to become a shabby wasteland that blights the Elizabeth Park (what the Olympic Park will become after the games)"

Yep. Nearest club. Strangely enough, Barry Hearn is keen for Spurs to get it.

Well there's two words in Tottenham Hotspur and three in West Ham United (five in total), and it's a fusion of North and East London - we could call it the NE5 Stadium? ............... and would anyone pay £150/200m to name to stadium that? No, I don't think so either.

FFS can't we just sell Gio and O'hara. What's with all these lame loan deals. No one wants Gio permanently until they know he can walk past a nightclub (he cant), O'Hara needs to prove he's now fit, the worrying one is Keane. If he doesn't get the deal he wants, seems quite possible he'll be staying a la Bogarde. Heard anything about potential moves for Keane? Nothing new. Wants to stay in London, Fulham not showing much interest and Wham want him but don't want to pay £70kpw + £1m bonus for avoiding relegation. Keane also doesn't want to take a paycut if Wham do go down. Wouldn't surprise me if he's still in the stands at WHL in February.

FFS can't we just sell Gio and O'hara. What's with all these lame loan deals. No one wants Gio permanently until they know he can walk past a nightclub (he cant), O'Hara needs to prove he's now fit, the worrying one is Keane. If he doesn't get the deal he wants, seems quite possible he'll be staying a la Bogarde.

Dont you live in London? Yes. Whats the feeling there? Spurs initially only did this to force harringay council into accepting proposals for the new Stadium in Spurs but quite a few of their fans feel the club has had an agenda to get this done so they can be nearer to the centre of London. Most spurs fans don't want to move and putting spurs and west ham in each others back yard just isn't right. That's about the long and short of it, Levy intending to use the Olympic Stadium as a lever for improved terms for the new WHL. The realisation that taking the OS could save £200m changed the mindset. Add to that Wham's impending relegation and the fact that Wham's bid needs Newham Council to give Wham £150m has only strengthened Spurs' belief that their bid is the more likely option.

My guess would be Pavlyuchenko.

It was Brum that was chasing Keane, Keane wants to stay in London, either Fulham or Wham. Prefers the idea of Wham as he wants £70kpw plus £1m bonus if they avoid relegation.

Spurs training ground is more like Piccadilly Circus today. Pienaar and his entourage, Keane's agent and hangers on, same with Gio. Pienaar all but done, Gio going on loan to Italy, O'Hara maybe going on loan to Wham, Keane going nowhere unless the money is right. Spurs played a friendly with QPR, Spurs won 9-2, O'Hara and Woodgate both played 45 mins.

it doesn't mentioned by ian McGarry on radio 5 apparently. Sunderland have also enquired about Pav. Please God, let it happen.

My guess is that Pienaar will wind up at Spurs. Chelsea's £3m bid has been accepted but apparently the agent has told Chelsea that Pienaar wants to go to Spurs. Levy won't offer more than £2m and will wait until the summer to get him on a free. Bit petty if you ask me, Pienaar at even £3m is a bargain.

the place when you can get on is really imploding worst i've ever seen, only 1 nufc related topic on the first page (and thats why not ac9 as a replacement ) now to tune into one large wind up on talksport Just have and someone saying they can get Benzema for £5m now saying villa should have gone for keane instead It was said a couple of days ago that Keane had scrapped the idea of going to Brum because he would be going to Sunderland instead. Seemed a bit stupid at the time what with Bent and Gyan but maybe it might not be so stupid idea now.

If you were dealing with most Spurs fans you'd have a deal cos he's been seriously shit this season.

Barca chief drops Modric hint Author: Ben Moss Posted on:12 January 2011 - 11:58 Barcelona manager Josep Guardiola is a big admirer of Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Luka Modric according to one of the Catalan club’s directors. The pint-sized Premier League playmaker has been in sensational form for Harry Redknapp’s impressive Spurs outfit this season, earning reputed covetous glances from Manchester United and Chelsea, and although the aforementioned Tottenham manager has always maintained the Croatian international is not for sale, interest from the La Liga giants will be most unwelcome as the North London club endeavour to maintain their title challenge. Barcelona’s head of external relations Manuel Estiarte, suggested at this stage Guardiola was only an admirer of the 25-year-old, but added the Spanish outfit were well aware of Modric’s form this season. Estiarte told Jutarnji List: "Luka has always been liked by Pep (Guardiola), we know him very well. "But I repeat that it is very difficult to play in Barcelona today. We have eight world champions in our personnel." During the summer both Manchester United and Chelsea were linked with moves in excess of £25 million for the former Dinamo Zagreb talisman, but Redknapp has regularly dismissed any notion of the club parting with their best players like Bale and Modric. TBH, I'm more concerned about Barca talking about Modric than Citeh talking up Bale. Modric is more important to Spurs than Bale imho. http://www.sport.co.uk/news/Football/49054/Barca_chief_drops_Modric_hint.aspx

With an option to buy.

Maybe Victoria is going as well? Or maybe I stuck his name in twice........................

Insurance has got nothing to do with it. LAG are agreeing to a 2 month loan, Spurs want it for the season, you can't have Beckham occupying one of the 25 man squad only to leave after about 6 weeks. Same with the CL squad. AEG, Spurs' Olympic Stadium partners and investors in LAG, are trying to sort out a compromise. He's LAG player though, if you dont like the 2 month loan deal then f*** off - is what I would be saying. Im not telling you directly to f*** off. I wouldn't argue with your thinking, I'd be doing the same. It's AEG's problem to sort out, how not to be seen stitching up LAG but at the same time doing what they can to ensure that the Olympic Stadium goes to the Spurs/AEG partnership. By all accounts, there's a meeting already set up with Levy, Beckham, someone from AEG, Beckham and Boris Johnson. There's very little doubt that this is all to do with Spurs' bid for the Olympic stadium and very little to with having a 35 year old joining on loan.

Insurance has got nothing to do with it. LAG are agreeing to a 2 month loan, Spurs want it for the season, you can't have Beckham occupying one of the 25 man squad only to leave after about 6 weeks. Same with the CL squad. AEG, Spurs' Olympic Stadium partners and investors in LAG, are trying to sort out a compromise. Will Bentley stay put if the Beckham deal doesn't go ahead? Doesn't seem likely. Seems like his loan to Brum is back on again as they have offered him an improved deal. Before that Bentley was all set to go to Newcastle, loan fee and wages all agreed. Whether Newcastle improve their offer I've no idea, Brum are definitely in pole position right now.

Insurance has got nothing to do with it. LAG are agreeing to a 2 month loan, Spurs want it for the season, you can't have Beckham occupying one of the 25 man squad only to leave after about 6 weeks. Same with the CL squad. AEG, Spurs' Olympic Stadium partners and investors in LAG, are trying to sort out a compromise.

When you say Top ITK. What are his credentials? Gets far more right than wrong. Saying Keane to West Ham.