Des Kelly: Spurs vandals musn't wreck Olympic legacy
Nightmare vision: how the Olympic Stadium would look if Tottenham took it over after the 2012 GamesFor Spurs to blithely announce that they will relocate to a part of east London that has nothing to do with them, flatten an 80,000-seat stadium, replace it with a new football-only facility that holds 60,000, even though thousands of their own fans oppose the move, is breathtaking in its conceit. But this wrecking-ball diplomacy faces another obstacle. One of the key promises that Great Britain made when they won the right to host the 2012 Games was to guarantee the Olympic arena would retain an athletics track as part of London's ongoing legacy.
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Will they get their hands on the stadium? David Gold and David SullivanBut there is an alternative scenario to Tottenham's bulldozer plot. West Ham also hope to move up the road to the Olympic site.They intend to retain the athletics track, much of the existing structure and allow the local community access to a multi-purpose stadium in partnership with Newham Council.Now I'm not exactly doing cartwheels about the Hammers' porn barons getting their hands on the ground either, and it is obvious that watching football across an athletics track can be an alienating compromise. But I'd still rather David Gold and David Sullivan had the place if it means locals and other sports are catered for and the athletics has somewhere better to call home after the Games than Crystal Palace.The Olympic Park Legacy Board is due to announce its verdict at the end of this month. The clue as to how they must vote is in their name, where the words 'Olympic Legacy' figure prominently.Spurs don't really offer one of those. And we have to remember that sport in this country is not all about football, you know.
Babel knows tweet FA about Twitter
Everyone is getting all of a flutter about Twitter, imposing bans, fines and dis! cussing censorship, butthe solution to all of the problems is really quite simple.Whenever Im asked by a public figure about the dos and donts of this relatively new online phenomenon I tell them to remember this.Twitter. Is. Broadcasting.
Controversial: Ryan Babel (left) posted a mocked-up picture of Howard Webb on his Twitter page
They continue to believe this right up to the point when their sweary rant appears in banner headlines on the front page.The basic rule is, if you wouldnt dare say it to a news camera, a journalist or via a megaphone from your open window, then its best not to tweet it either.So its absolutely right that Ryan Babel is charged by the Football Association. The Liverpool player wouldnt roll into a press conference and announce, They call Howard Webb one of the best referees? Thats a joke. Not without expecting a whopping fine, anyway.So theres no reason that as a professional he should be allowed to publicly transmit the same statement to more than 170,000 followers on his Twitter page, plus the countless thousands more it
was forwarded to.Babel has admitted improper conduct and apologised, saying it was just an emotional reaction after losing an important game.It is a civilised response, but its no alibi for trashing any match official in public and he will have his knuckles quite rightly rapped by the FA.I know people get very po-faced about Twitter because I was previously one of those people.When asked by the Daily Mail to start a page during the World Cup finals I really couldnt see the point. But after a few weeks, it became quite addictive.Like olives or Adrian Chiles, Twitter is an acquired taste. You have to sift out the dros! s, such as celebs who believe the fact they have made a cup of tea is some kind of world event.That is easy enough and underneath the banality you find a lucky dip of random wit, instant knowledge and genuine breaking news.So join in. We all slip up from time to time, but if people play nice it can be great fun. Ill stand by that
endorsement right up until the point when I forget that bit about tweets not being texts and @P45_4U sends me my final message.
Rugger off Fabregas
There is nothing like losing with good grace and Cesc Fabregas clearly knows nothing about losing with good grace.I had been looking for an opportunity to praise the Arsenal captain for performing to a consistently high standard this season, especially as I had criticised the clubs decision to retain him as skipper, unfairly as it turned out, following his aborted move to Barcelona in the summer.Why couldn't he lose with good grace? Cesc Fabregas and Arsenal were a big disappointment at Portman RoadBut in the wake of the defeat against Ipswich Town in midweek, Fabregas betrayed a churlishness that did him no credit, claiming Arsenal were only beaten in the first leg of the Carling Cup semi-final because of their opponents rugby-style tactics.This is becoming an increasingly tiresome theme from the Gunners. First Manchester City had the temerity to prevent them from scoring at the Emirates. Then Ipswich found perfectly legitimate ways to expose their vulnerable defence.Rather than offer up unjustified gripes, Fabregas would have been better served concentrating on his own teams failings and pledging to set them right in the return, as sensible Gunners fans had already acknowledged.Arsenal always play with class on the pitch, which makes it more of a shame when they cannot reach similar levels of refinement off it.
Having lost the Labour leadership contest to his brother, Arsenal supporter David Miliband is about to become vice-chairman of Sunderland Football Club, a position that pays him a further 50,000 a year.
I have another idea. Why doesnt Miliband just do the job WE pay him to do as a full-time Member of Parliament?
Calling amateur Sherlocks and Miss Marples. Olympic champion swimmer Mark Foster had three World Championship medals and one Commonwealth Games gong stolen from his car in London last month.
Each one is engraved with his name. If you have any information that leads to their recovery, Im sure my friend can rustle up a suitable reward. Remember, the Olympics are coming, unless Spurs knock the stadium down in advance.
Contact me via Direct Message on Twitter or email in confidence.
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