West Ham pip Tottenham to the finish line for Olympic Park

Good Evening all, apologies for the lack of write-ups recently, I can assure the fault shouldn't lie at my feet but instead at those cretins who work for Branson and his Virgins.

Anyway, as I was beginning to drift off into a gentle slumber (not during the England game - shock horror) I noticed that the Olympic Park Legacy Committee (OPLC) look all but set to name West Ham as the new tenants for Olympic Park once London 2012 comes to a close. The decision brings a close to months of bickering between the money men and women of West Ham and Tottenham with Sullivan, Gold, Brady and Levy all involved in a four-way war of words with each other as the decision date loomed only to be pushed back two weeks.

Naturally, West Ham have been the obvious choice for the future of Olympic Park for months now with their insistence that they will retain the running track for future athletics use, a feature Tottenham would have chosen to eradicate and, instead, completely re-develop the National Sports Centre (NSC) in Crystal Palace. Tottenham's plans have drawn criticism from near enough every quarter of London including Spurs fans who were heavily opposed to the move from North to East London yet, despite the hurdles in front of him, Levy, with the help of AEG, continued to press on with his plans to move the club from Tottenham to Stratford despite receiving planning permission to revamp White Hart Lane and transform a Tottenham area in desperate need of development.

Yet, West Ham were always seen as the favourites to win the bid for Olympic Park. The backing of the local council, the promise to keep the athletics track for future major athletics competitions and, most importantly, the public backing of London 2012 chairman Lord Coe. With the promise that Olympic Park would remain a multi-sport facility, a promise West Ham aimed to keep but Tottenham couldn't, support was always going to remain heavily in West Ham's corner no matter what Daniel Levy or Tottenham said. In fact, Tottenham's bid was near enough dead in the water once they admitted they plan to demolish most of Olympic Park and keep it as a football-only venue once London 2012 ended. The plan to re-develop the NSC was never going to suffice as a way of winning over the OPLC and the vote in favour for West Ham has proved this.

The only problem facing West Ham's bid is their current plight in the Premier League. With a 60,000 seater stadium the aim for West Ham, they could find themselves playing lower league football by the time they move to their new stadium should everything end badly for The Hammers at the end of the current campaign. However, a lot can happen between now and the time they move to Olympic Park and a 60,000 seater stadium may suffice for a team that boasts a one extremely set of passionate fans.

Anyway, I need to sleep but I will write again soon.

Laters,

Macca