Tottenham unveils new stadium plans

Here’s a first look at Tottenham Hotspurs new stadium plans…

So what can fans look forward to?

According the club the new stadium will put the fans closer to the action and a roof which will host four large screens in the top corners. There will be a club museum – probably without a trophy cabinet - and shops.

You just can’t build a stadium today without a naming rights partner and Tottenham is no exception.

In October Chairman Daniel Levy confirmed that – like Everton which is also planning a new stadium – the club would aim to secure a partner for the club’s new ground.

The key to naming rights is that the name must be snappy or fans and the press simply won’t use it.

North London rivals have Emirates, which works. The Friends Provident St Mary’s Stadium does not. And neither did the BT Cellnet Riverside Stadium.

Often the stadium naming rights parter is the same as the shirt sponsors. Take Bolton and Reebok for example.

But with Spurs shirt sponsors Mansion is in its final year with the club and with online gaming companies seemingly beating a retreat from football sponsorship it is an unlikely partner in the future.

Be a Gooner, Be a Giver

I’m not an Arsenal fan. And even less so after Robin van Persie ruined my weekend with that offside goal at the Bridge earlier this month. But credit where credit is due.

Later this month, Arsenal - which earlier this season had its players wear poppies on their shirts ahead of Remembrance Day - will dedicate its Premiership match versus Liverpool FC to its chosen charity Teenage Cancer Trust.

The ads, shot by Brothers and Sisters, include a voiceover from Arsenal fan and Little Britain star Matt Lucas and will feature on this website – www.beagoonerbeagiver.org - through which fans can make a donation.

Finally, the Arsenal players have committed to giving a day’s wages to the charity.

You may say ‘Well the can afford it can’t they?’, but I think it’s a generous gesture and (even as a Chelsea fan) should be applauded.

Thank goodness BA doesn't select the Lions

If the British & Irish Lions were selected today not a single English player could be sure of his selection.

And certainly any English player unable to break into our shambolic national team can probably go ahead and book his summer hols without to much worry of a Lions call up.

So it is puzzling that when BA chose its two players to PR its new official airline status of the British & Irish Lions, one would be Josh Lewsey.

The fullback is a fine player but has been out of the England set up since that remarkable night in Paris last autumn when the team advanced to the World Cup final. Someone at BA should have known that.

To make the odds on the player making the Lions squad even longer than they already were, the player chose this week to announce his retirement from international rugby.

Who else would be a terrible choice to PR the airline's sponsorship deal? Gavin Henson - tucked in next to Josh waiting for take off.

Henson has stuggled with injury for a while now and when he was fit managed to get himself dropped from the Welsh team due to his ‘state of mind'. Someone at BA really should have known that.

Let's face it, the only one of these three likely to be on the plane to South Africa next summer is the stewardess.