LOL at the swear filter.
re hosted them to Imgur
that's an excellent extension for Chrome by the way, if you use it. much better than a photo bucket type account
So anyone who lives in tottenham is a 'dreg of society'??
Thank you so much, it's excellentthat's an excellent extension for Chrome by the way
Ours is better in one respect but worse in another.
It is worse because it isn't full sized. It's only 3/4 sized because planners turned down our original application partly on the basis of the whole building complex being too big. I don't know whether or not that really matters.
It is better than other clubs' indoor pitches because Spurs have clearly given it more thought, love and money. Although indoors, it's not just a big, dark shed. It has that EFTE glass roof, which makes it a light and pleasant place to be. It has that sweeping, curving roof - which, on the inside, adjoins a sweeping, curving wall of wood. It makes a design feature of the roof "beams" as they curve down to ground level. It looks beautiful. Properly designed rather than being a mere functional utility. Again, I don't know whether or not that really matters.
My own view is that having a 3/4 pitch would be more of a negative, than having the design element. As a purpose built facility both should be included, but given the choice of better medical/sports science facilities or a full size indoor pitch then it's understandable.
I don't think it's more thought or love, it's just a modern facility taking advantage of changes in technology. England's new training ground at St George's Park is equally, if not more impressive. Emirates Marketing Project are about to start building their new facility which will genuinely have the most comprehensive range of facilities at a training centre anywhere in the world.
I'm not sure that the 3/4 sized pitch matters. The first team will very rarely train on it anyway, I imagine, and when they do, it is unlikely to be 11-a-side games. It'll mostly be used by the younger academy age groups (just as the current giant tent at the Lodge is used). And younger age groups will play games on smaller pitches anyway.
And I do think that the strong design elements and the light and airy environment of the indoor pitch indicate a greater care and attention to detail than at most other training grounds. All the others I've seen are just huge indoor sheds with artificial lighting and no concession to aesthetic value. Even Arsenal's which, I believe, is a relatively recent addition to their training facility. Again, though, I'm not sure whether it really matters.
Lastly, no club should compare their facilities to Emirates Marketing Project's proposed new training ground. City can build whatever they want because they don't have to worry about how much it will cost. Of course they will have the best of the best and more of it than anyone else. But they are playing in an altogether different money league. Better to compare like against like.
The difference between ours and say Arsenal, is that ours is a new fully purpose built facility. So if you want to compare like-for-like then it has to be against other new builds, where an architect has been given the opportunity to consider the whole scheme. Once you start looking at extensions or additions to existing buildings then elements like roof structures become far more expensive and so compromises are made.
It's very misleading to dismiss what Emirates Marketing Project are doing as being on an unlimited budget. Outside of player salaries/wages they are very much being run as a business, focusing on revenue and overheads as much as anyone else. Their advantage is that they don't need to worry about cash flow, and so are being a little more entrepreneurial with how they develop the business side of things.
They invest heavily on the corporate hospitality facilities, but the return is higher revenue as they're taking alot of business away from Man Utd. They invest in their marketing a promotional infrastructure, but the return is higher advertising/sponsorship revenues. Behind the scenes most Premiership clubs are watching what City do and copying the bits that work best.
I disagree. Arsenal's indoor pitch is a stand alone structure that was only completed five years ago. No need to compromise at all - even more so since building just an indoor pitch is far less of an undertaking than building an entire training and academy facility. Arsenal's is better than some, to be fair. It does have a bit of natural light from windows at either end. There is some wood detailing. But it is still, essentially, just a big shed that wouldn't look out of place in any provincial town's industrial estate. Arsenal could also have chosen to erect an EFTE roof, just as Spurs have done. Such roofs have been around since long before Arsenal planned their indoor pitch. Oh and, by the way, their indoor pitch is the same size as the one at Spurs' new training ground.
Exactly. Show me a commercially competitive deal there signed that wasn't linked to the owners. It's a complete farce
Lol the return is higher sponsorship because they are sponsored by their owners though. They are spending millions to raise their profile and then using that as justification to increase sponsorship which they pay themselves.
And what do you mean outside of players wages, that along with transfer fees which you also should have mentioned in that category are probably 90% plus of a clubs running costs.
Exactly. Show me a commercially competitive deal there signed that wasn't linked to the owners. It's a complete farce
I know everyone likes to jump on the City hating bandwagon, but outside of the headline transfer fees and overinflated sponsorship deals things are run very well.