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"Rob Gooner". Noted your comments via a yawn of vague interest. Incidentally, do you have access to `spell-checking` software?

Am on the island of Orkney (via Islington) to complete a novel; but, who knows, we might rub shoulders when I'm next in town.

- Ted, Orkney, 22/05/2010 13:31
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Kevin - If you read my initial comments correctly, they are to the point. However, Tootenham fans tend to bite big time, responding with rude often personal (despite not knowing me!) comments. In respect of your stadium development my feelings are as follows: Yes, Tootenham need a new stadium, as the current one is archaic & only holds 36,000. Having experienced the difficulties involved in providing a new stadium the financing & transport logistics are both extremely problematic. Even as a Tootenham fan you must agree that even without taking into account planning considerations, these issues are a cause for concern. To ignore then is to be unrealistic. In effect you are attemting to do what Arsenal managed under great duress to do when the financial climate was better & in an area better served by public transport (still problematic in any event).

- Rob Gooner, North London, 22/05/2010 12:02
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Ted - Apparently recincarnated as a sad Tootenham fan living in lala land. Must have been really bad in a previous life. Roll on next season....

- Rob Gooner, NORTH London, 22/05/2010 11:52
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Nice one, Kevin, "Rob Gooner" requires sympathetic reconstruction, but, like most idiots, he'll be the last one to appreciate this unfortunate fact.

- Ted, Orkney, 22/05/2010 11:09
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Kevin - Interesting comments, especially as you dont know me! Just remember Tootenham are behind Arsenal in every aspect & have not been capable of keeping up with us since the early 80's! It would be advisable to keep very quiet until you manage to catch up, it saves making complete fools of yoursleves. Meanwhile enjoy 4th place, CL qualifying games, Harry (red faced twitchs tax evasion case, 36,000 stadium, etc

- Rob Gooner, North London, 22/05/2010 10:50
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I like bantering with Arsenal supporters like Gaz, who has some constructive views and has had all through 2009/10 season. The infantile Rob (with the 1000 alies's) however makes me want to give up on blogs on this newspaper. Rob, why can't you stop pretending you are a director of KPMG and stop making rediculous statements about finance, harry's spending powress and Tottenham finishing in the Europa tournament and stick to the theme within the articles.
You are an irritating little man. Go write on an Arsenal article and keep it sensible.

- Kevin, London, 21/05/2010 16:55
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goon - Robert Peston must be worried you'll nick his job. I'm sure everyone in the Times List was valued in sterling (its a UK newspaper?) but in any event it commented that he's worth more now than he was pre-crunch.
Liquid, non-liquid - are you his accountant? or just clutching at an ever-decreasing bunch of straws?
Celebrating 4th place - put another record on. Next you'll be "accusing" us of cheering too loudly when Danny Rose scored against you. Not sure how loud it sounded on your telly though.
Your comments are infantile. They used to wind us up when you were winning things with viera & henry and we had jamie redknapp & iverson but times have changed. when Cesc leaves tomorrow, by anyones' definition our squad will be better than yours. 50 million in the bank big deal, we could get 30 each for Bale and Modric and still have a better squad than you. How's Theo doing these days? one for the future?

- Dixta, N. London, 21/05/2010 16:18
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Dixta - finance is obviously not your strong point. Lewis's estimated worth is $2.7 billion, which equates to roughly £1.8 of American billion... which is 1800 million pounds. Firstly, this sum is not liquid & secondly, he is hardly going to spend 400 of 1800 million building a stadium for Tootenham. Arsenal are simply still above Tootenham in every aspect. Wrong agin, I have season tickets at the emirates. I consider Tootenham the same as all clubs in that I prefer that they are behind us, our serious competitors are Chelsea & Man U. Tootenham are light years away from providing sustained competition, despite spending a net £73 million over the last 3 seasons, second only to Man City, hence the blatant bitterness. If I were a Tootenham fan, I would keep quiet until we are superior to our great rivals. At the moment you are simply a small minded club with a 36,000 capacity stadium, who havent won the league for nearly 50 years & are celebrating finishing in 4th place! Roll on next season..

- Rob Gooner, North London, 21/05/2010 15:03
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rob Goon - lewis's fortune is UP to 2.7billion according to the Times Rich List last month. The geezer, despite losing 400m with his bear Stearns investment, has more than covered that off with successful FX deals. You are making a bit of a mug of yourself now, so toodle off to a west ham website and take the mick out of them coz your pathetic banter has no legs: ar5ena1 are no longer winning doubles and spurs are no longer a laughing stock. I reckon you watch games from the comfort of your armchair coz real gooners are big enough to appreciate spurs are on the up and their own club is on the down. Since Dein left your club has had nothing but trouble. Anyway, enjoy cheering on France in the World Cup, we will enjoy cheering on England with 6 Spurs players ;o)

- Dixta, N. London, 21/05/2010 14:37
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Kevin & Paul - Wake up... Arsenal finished above Tootenham in 3rd, have the stadium & training ground in place & paid for, dont have to play 2 qualifying matches in the Champions League & have a great young squad, which with a few likely additions can challenge for the Premership. As for Joe Louis's finances, it has been well reported that he lost a considerable amount of his fortune during the crash & has not recovered. I dont have a hatred of Tootenham, I merely commented that there are severe transport & financial problems, as well as planning problems associated with the stadium scheme. Ignore these & dream on, just remember my words when your figures are announced over the next 2 to 3 years. It doesnt take a financial genius to work it out. Incidentally I didnt comment for a while as I couldnt be bothered to have to sign on to this site & yes Tootenham surprised everyone by coming a creditable 4th. They also surprised everyone by losing the F A Cup semi to Portsmouth.

- Ron Gooner, North London, 21/05/2010 13:52
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Plunging Tootenham into 'Rednapp' induced debt.
Wrong again Rob. Like you were wrong when you carped on all season about the 6th or 7th place Tottenham would achieve this season. Your new rant is reading the mind of Joe Lewis, you're just pure genius. You went decidedly quiet when Spurs achieved 4th place, but obviously you have got over that and are back to spew your hatred once more. I would be more worried about Cesc waving goodbye than bothering about club's business. But I suppose that would be impossible, given the obsessive hatred you harbour for Tottenham.

- Kevin, London, 21/05/2010 12:27
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Rob Gooner - you mentioned I didnt know what I was talking about the other day.... now its your turn.

Did our owner lose millions of his billions or more or less...exactly you dont know. If he did lose a fortune how come since that event the training ground development has commenced? Its fair to say he would have lost money, but you don't comment on any investments since then when sharp guys like our owner were snapping up very cheap shares and stock to sell on when the good times started to return, potentially making themslelves wealthier than before the credit crunch?

Also Redknapp induced debt, not quite right either is it. The manager identifies a player, asks our Chairman to try and broker a deal and if successful then discuss personal terms with the player. If all this doesnt happen and the wages do not fit into our wage structure the deal is dead.
This was perfectly illustrated with Gareth Barry where a transfer fee was agreed with Villa but Man City offered a much higher salary which we refused to match, the club walked away.

Yes the transport links are poor but if you read the whole document you will see the plans the club have for that as well.

- Paul, Enfield, 21/05/2010 11:51
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Dixta - If the 'Gooner' comment is aimed at me. I have no problem with Tootenham embarking on their stadium project whatsovever. In fact their current ground is archaic & a capacity of 36,000 is not sufficient for their needs. My main reservation would be the transport situation, as it is considerably worse than Arsenal encountered at the Emirates, which itself is a nightmare. On a different note in respect of your finances, Joe Louis lost a fortune in the credit crunch & isnt going to part with a large proportion of his funds, not liquid in any event, to pay for Tootenham's stadium. The wealthy club list is based on profits, hence clubs like Barca, Man U & Real top the list despite being in massive debt. On the current financial markets finance of this level for a stadium are simply not available. The last set of figures produced included sales, but not huge outlays for various players, which will be included over the next 2 or 3 seasons, plunging Tootenham into 'Rednapp' induced debt.

- Rob Gooner, North London, 21/05/2010 11:15
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Spurs are one of the best run clubs in world football, just look at how we have always been around 15th richest in the world despite never being in the champs league (happily no longer the case!), so Levy (runs a successful investment co) and Lewis (2.7 billion made trading FX) will have done their sums I think it's fair to say, but that won't stop sad folk like the gooner above who thinks we wont be able to afford it. Thanks for the advice but i'd rather take marriage guidance from Liz Taylor.
And as for comments like we are copying arsenal, I say about time! we should have been proactive in the 90's during Sugar's reign but we missed the boat and arsenal stole 15 years on us. Of course our stadium will be better than the emirates, Spurs have noted the complete lack of atmosphere there are made it integral to our plans. Just need to pay off the awkward squad of greens and lefties, then we can proceed with a scheme to turn Spurs into a super club and re-generate one of London's most run-down areas. Only in this country could a private sector innovation worth 400million pounds face such ridiculous obstacles!

- Dixta, N. London, 21/05/2010 10:10
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Mr Cameron, your first way to reduce our National deficit.... get rid of these Hertiage clowns and we'll save a fortune with only a positive impact on the country!
The £400m is planned already thanks to the very astute Mr Levy.... mind you half the money will be spent repairing these run down ruins we have to save!

- Paul, Enfield, 21/05/2010 10:05
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If any club in world football can make the numbers work on this deal it is Spurs - Levy & Lewis' run the club exceptionally well, the envy of most if not all clubs. Arsenal's stadium and financial management is a great template to follow and I have no problem "copying" that (ours will be better mind). Anyway it's about time Spurs followed invovation rather than lead it - we were the first club on the stock market in 81, the first to exploit executive boxes, the first to advertise on TV etc. As for N17 not offering the development potential of Islington, that's true of course on the residential side but the Spurs development includes a massive supermarket which Tesco etc will pay untold amounts for.
And as for the stadium naming rights - it will dwarf the Emirates deal. So to all those gooners (and to be fair it's not all of them) out there who are hoping the whole thing fails (much as we did when we jealously watched the ashburton stadium go up), you are gonna be sorely dissapointed. COYS.

- Dixta, N. London, 21/05/2010 09:51
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If there are any more problems, and Spurs decide to move out, then they will have saved 4 not very interesting, semi-derelict buildings in the middle of an area which will be even more run-down than it is already.

But then I don't suppose anyone at CABE or English Heritage ever go there anyway so what do they care?

- Iain, London, 21/05/2010 09:16
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is that the best gooners can come up with it looks like the emerites fact (1) we know your eyesight is no good as you think you are a good team (2) your clutching at straws as you crap in your draws you in DENIAL DENIAL DENIAL

- harold, chicago usa, 20/05/2010 23:12
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@ Davey Bouy:

Are you at all familiar with the concept of investing capital in a company in order to allow that company to grow? It's a basic business tenet. I'm shocked, frankly, that it should be so difficult for you to grasp.

Spurs won't be "throwing money away", as you claim. They desperately need to build this new stadium if they are to flourish and remain competitive. The existing stadium is far too small. Spurs currently sell out every game and have 25,000 fans on the waiting list for season tickets. And that number is growing year by year.

Failing to do anything to accomodate these tens of thousands of fans....................now that would really be "throwing money away".

- JimB, London, 20/05/2010 19:41
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This is a good compromise. It should be enough to appease the English Heritage types. Ultimately, Spurs hold all the important cards. Haringey are desperate to keep Spurs in the borough. No other company is going to invest hundreds of millions in the area's regeneration; or provide so many jobs; or benefit local businesses by attracting so many visitors. Spurs will get their planning permission soon enough.

As to the silly, little gooners on here, it's easy to feel their envy and nervousness from a mile off. They've had things all their own way for too long.

Yes, Spurs' stadium is something of a copy. But a vastly superior copy, with a single tier end; steeper stands that are far closer to the pitch; and a roof that doesn't block large sections of the remainder of the stadium from view.

Besides, Arsenal have a history of copying Spurs too. They have introduced more and more white to their kit; they copied Spurs' push and run style of play and the ultimate...they moved to north London!

With a current waiting list of 25,000 for season tickets, Spurs will fill their new stadium. They will fund it largely by signing a much more valuable naming rights deal than Arsenal's grossly misjudged deal with Emirates.

And it hardly needs to be said that the atmosphere at the new Lane will beat the pants off the soulless Emirates stadium.

- JimB, London, 20/05/2010 19:13
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Lets hope the NIMBYs won't win in the end. Spurs supporters and the area deserve a facelift.

- Jose Luis, London SW18, 20/05/2010 18:58
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All this money and expense for an eleven a side football match,the mind boggles!! what can we throw our money away on next !!!

- Davey_bouy, Chertsey, 20/05/2010 18:18
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nothing wrong with Emerites stadium at least you can play football on it.

- alan hammer, london n2, 20/05/2010 17:29
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£400 million! Forget about it, there is no way Tootenham could raise that sort of finance in the current climate. In any event they would struggle to fill it, 36,000 is ample.

- Reilly McDooglenut, Barcelona, 20/05/2010 17:03
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Looks like the Emirates to me. Can't Spurs come up with something of their own for once?

- silviouk2004, Brighton, 20/05/2010 15:36
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Should put forward for a Mosque football stadium to bridge cultural barriers through Mayor's Olympic design for 2012.

- Bill, Hove sussex, 20/05/2010 14:42
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Quote: would have meant demolishing a row of historic buildings along Tottenham High Road.

I ain't seen any?

- mickinlondon, london, 20/05/2010 14:13
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Spuds have done well; no hiding that. But getting into the top four is the easy bit. Building a new stadium is difficult. And from now on, not finishing in the top four will be seen as a failure. Two big teams in North London? Why not? If the alternative is the rise of Stoke or Blackburn, I'd rather see the Spuds do well. But not too well though! Bring it on.

- gaz, london, 20/05/2010 13:45
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The development looks pleasant enough, but in an area already without the transport infastructure to handle 36,000 fans on match day, 60,000 could create enormous problems, worse even than those at the emirates. Mind you the entire enterprise seems extremely strange bearing in mind funding a development costing £400m would prove extremely difficult in the current financial climate, especially as there is a far lower property development potential than Arsenal had to fund thier project.

- Roobie McHoospud, North London, 20/05/2010 13:44
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The whole area is a total tip and an eyesore and yet the "Heritage" boffins are yet again interfering with improvement, line em up and shoot the lot of em!

- Sidders, Tiverton Devon, 20/05/2010 13:07
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Harringay do not desrve to have Tottenham Hotspur in the borough.A brief walk down Tottenham High raod should make it abundantley clear to planners why the new stadium should proceed without further delay.
The buildings affected are no great buildings of beauty or style but decaying ruins that do nothing for the heritage of the area affected except and to add to the general air of decay and depravation.
The new higher capacity stadium would bring a much needed cash injection into the area benefitting business and the population as a whole. This delay costs everybody while benefitting no one.
It really is time that these planning delays were dealt with in a more prudent and time restricted way so that developments of this sort were not held up for years on the whim of a few individuals without reasonable,justifyable cause,a couple of derelict buildings does not fit that crieria

- john Betambeau, bournemouth, 20/05/2010 12:54
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Warmington house....that was nearly demolished a couple of seasons ago, when one of the then residents thought it would be a good idea to hang an Arsenal flag out of his window on a match day !!!

- Paxton, N17, 20/05/2010 12:50
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