WHUFC.com
The latest Hammer to earn international recognition is George Moncur after his Young Lions bow
16.11.2010
George Moncur made a good start to his England career with an assist in the 3-0 win for the Under-18s against Poland in Wycombe. The Hammers midfielder was a late call-up to Noel Blake's squad and entered the fray with the Young Lions two-up in the 69th minute. He was soon in the thick of the action and played a slide-rule pass for Jordan Obita to round out the scoring in the 80th minute. England, who had seen Moncur's club-mate Robert Hall drop out after being originally named in the squad, were never in trouble at Adams Park on Tuesday night. George Taft and Saido Berahino scored either side of half-time on misty night in Buckinghamshire before Moncur became the latest Hammer to earn international recognition. Moncur has enjoyed a memorable season since turning 17 in August. He has established himself in the reserves, earned his first professional contract and now has his first taste of Young Lions duty. Moncur will have wanted to impress with next spring's Elite qualifying round for the 2011 UEFA European U17 Championship in mind, with the draw to be held on 30 November. In all, 28 nations will be involved at this stage, all vying for a place in the eight-team finals taking place in Romania next summer.
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Happy Hines
WHUFC.com
Zavon Hines was all smiles after making a successful return from a long-term knee injury on Monday
16.11.2010
Eleven months is a long time to be unable to do the thing you love the most. For Zavon Hines, that is playing football. After nearly a year of hard work and dedication following surgery to repair a serious knee problem, the 21-year-old returned to action in Monday's goalless Barclays Premier Reserve League draw at Aston Villa. It was Hines had never been away. The England Under-21 striker threw himself about the pitch and was denied a convincing claim for a last-gasp penalty when upended in the box in added time. For the young forward, the disappointment of not being awarded a spot-kick was no match for the elation of making a successful return to action. "I'm very pleased to be honest. It's been a long time, so I was just eager to go. Obviously, like everyone knows, I've missed out on a lot and football is in my blood so I just want to play as much as I can. I love football. "I feel sharp as it is. It's just my fitness that needs to get up a bit before I push on a bit more but apart from that, physically and mentally I'm ready to go. "I've been back in training for four or five weeks now so I'm fit but I'm not match-fit, so I'm hoping to play in the next reserve game, get a bit longer and try to push into the first-team squad. "Of course it was a penalty! He took my legs. I feel sharp and he was a bit too slow for me, but obviously the referee didn't give it. It was just a good run out for me and good to be back."
Hines could have been forgiven for worrying about how his knee would react to a bitterly cold night at Hinckley United FC's De Montfort Park, but he need not have been concerned. "It wasn't in my mind at all. Right now, my legs feel very strong and my knee feels very strong so I'll just play. I trust both my legs so I don't feel my injury."
Hines has worked hard with the club's physiotherapy and rehabilitation staff since going under the knife in January. While the road to recovery has been long and hard, the youngster said his team-mates had been hugely supportive, never allowing him to take his focus off making a successful comeback.
Close friend Junior Stanislas has always been there, while Kieron Dyer, Danny Gabbidon and Jack Collison have been able to draw on their own knowledge of long-term injuries to help Hines along. "Quite a few of the boys helped me, to be honest. I'm close to Junior and also Kieron Dyer has helped me a lot. Gabbs has also helped as he's also been through it before. It was everyone really. "Jack is going through it now as well and because I'm at playing level now, I'm trying to keep Jack feeling positive as well. By me playing, I hope he has the motivation to realise he can reach the same outcome soon. "All the boys were trying to keep my feeling good, but it was mainly Kieron and Gabbs."
Looking forward, Hines is itching to make his return to the first-team squad, but he knows an extended run out in next week's reserve meeting with Chelsea is next on his agenda. "I'm not going to rush it, but physically I feel fine - physically I feel like I could play tomorrow! It's just fitness-wise, if my body is not up to it, then it won't hack it properly, so I need to get my fitness up. I can't put a timescale on it, but I'd like to be on the bench soon."
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West Ham's Karren Brady backs manager Avram Grant
BBC.co.uk
West Ham vice-chairman Karren Brady has given her backing to manager Avram Grant despite the club's struggles. The Hammers sit bottom of the Premier League five points adrift of safety having won just once in 13 matches. Asked by BBC Radio 5 live if Grant would be boss at the end of the season, Brady said: "Almost definitely, yes." She insisted that the club's board must also take responsibility, and that they are likely to invest in new players during the January transfer window. "January gives us the ideal opportunity to do things help our football team," said Brady on Tuesday, three days after the club's 0-0 draw at home to Blackpool. "Not only is he [Grant] going to keep his job, but we also accept that we have responsibility. We are the board, we put our hands in our pockets. "There are other things that can happen in terms of lifting the spirit, and bringing a sense of calm. That very much comes from the top."
Israeli Grant, who led Chelsea to the 2008 Champions League final and Portsmouth to last season's FA Cup final, signed a four-year contract with West Ham in June. He took over from Gianfranco Zola, who was sacked after the Hammers finished 17th in the Premier League last season. "We feel that it takes time," added Brady. "We're trying to encourage everybody that the season is not over yet. "We did quite a bit of [transfer] business in the summer, but obviously not enough. "We haven't even had the discussion about whether Avram is going to be here or not. Weak-minded people press the panic button, but at the same time we didn't want to just survive this season."
The east London club face Liverpool at Anfield in the Premier League on Saturday, and host Manchester United in the Carling Cup quarter finals at the end of November.
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Grant receives vote of confidence
KUMB.com
Filed: Tuesday, 16th November 2010
By: Staff Writer
Vice chairman Karren Brady has insisted that Avram Grant's position is not under threat, despite media reports to the contrary. Brady - who claimed in the summer that the Hammers should be looking at a top eight finish this term - told the BBC that the manager's position is safe, regardless of recent results that have left United adrift at the bottom of the Premier League.
"History has shown that we're not panickers and we're not quick to sack managers. We haven't even had a discussion as to whether Avram is going to be here or not be here," said Brady. "That's not for today and that's not for Christmas. It's unfair when you bring a manager in and things don't start exactly how you want.
"Blaming other people is not always the right answer. We feel it takes time but we also accept that we are bottom of the table. We did quite a bit of business in the summer - but obviously not enough to address that as a Board. We need to look at where the issues are and put our hands in our pockets and bring in players."
The next opportunity for Brady and her fellow board members is of course the forthcoming January transfer window - and according to the vice chairman, the club will be seeking to refresh the squad during that time. "The upcoming transfer window has an impact in so far as it helps you to bring in new players, to change your fortunes," she added. "We've been able to have a very good look to see where we think there's weaknesses in the team and that's our opportunity to go and put those weaknesses right and bring in better, stronger players if we can attract them and if we can find them."
Despite the insistence that the current squad is below par Brady refutes the suggestion that desperation is already beginning to set in, with the Hammers four points from safety a third of the way through the season. "I think weak-minded people press the panic button," she mused. "We're not weak-minded but at the same time we didn't want to just survive this season - we didn't spend the money that we spent in the summer just to survive, we spent the money so we could feel comfortable. "We're not feeling very comfortable at the moment but there's things we can do about that, it's not just one person's fault. We can all do something - ourselves, the team and the manager and that's what we're focussing on, how we can work together to change the fortunes of the club."
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Brady shows Grant support
Hammers vice-chairman says manager's job is safe for now
Last updated: 16th November 2010
SSN
Vice-chairman Karren Brady insists West Ham are not pushing the panic button over Avram Grant. The Hammers currently sit rock bottom of the Premier League five points adrift of safety having won just once in 13 matches, with their latest disappointment coming in a goalless stalemate against promoted Blackpool at Upton Park on Saturday. However Brady insists Israeli Grant, who replaced Gianfranco Zola in the hot-seat in the summer, is safe in his role for the time being.
Blame
"I think it's very easy for people who run football clubs to sit back and that finger of blame comes out and ultimately always ends up on the manager," Brady told Sky Sports News. "We don't want to hit the panic button yet but we do want to look deep into ourselves and say 'what can we do to help the team and the manager and what can we do to improve things?' as opposed to sitting and playing the blame game, which unfortunately, there are no winners in. "We think it will take time to get all the things right. We are playing good football but unfortunately we're not getting the results that we all think we deserve." She added: "I can assure you there's no finger on the button, no target and no 'you must (do this)'. "It's not something we would be rushed into, not by any pressure. We have a history of 'backing our man', so to speak and we want to have the opportunity to do that this time. "Avram remains hugely positive about what he's doing, the team are hugely positive. We need to give them a sense of space and time to pick themselves up from the bottom."
Brady says the club's board are ready to spend funds in the January transfer window as they look to bolster the squad. "There's not an infinite amount of money, there's some money," she added. "We've spent a lot of money already, we spent £16million in the summer. "If we have to go again we will. We're already identifying targets and we know what needs to be done in our heart of hearts to help the team to improve and climb out of the bottom of the table."
No regrets
Despite Grant's less than inspiring start to life at Upton Park, Brady insists the club have no regrets over the dismissal of former boss Zola. "Gianfranco was one of the nicest people I've ever met and I did enjoy working with him," she said. "But I think it's true to say that we weren't right for him and he wasn't right for us. I don't think there have been any regrets, not on his part and not on ours. "Now we have to focus on the manager we have got and what can we do to help him and the team to climb off the bottom of the table."
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Hines a happy hammer again
Striker insists he will not rush as he continues his recovery
Last updated: 16th November 2010
SSN
Zavon Hines is desperate to make up for lost time after he made a successful return to football following an 11-month lay-off. The 21-year-old came on as a substitute for West Ham's reserves against Aston Villa on Monday and produced a sprightly performance. His enforced period on the sidelines was due to a serious knee injury, which has only served to swell his appetite for the game, as he struggled to contain his delight at returning to the playing field. "I'm very pleased to be honest," he told the club's official website.
Eager
"It's been a long time, so I was just eager to go. Obviously like everyone knows, I've missed out on a lot and football is in my blood, so I just want to play as much as I can. I love football. "I feel sharp as it is. It's just my fitness that needs to get up a bit before I push on a bit more, but apart from that, physically and mentally I'm ready to go. "I've been back in training for four or five weeks now so I'm fit but not match fit, so I'm hoping to play in the next reserve game, get a bit longer and try to push into the first-team squad."
Hines made an immediate impact on the game when he was felled in the area but the referee refused to award a penalty. However, his period of absence from the game has allowed him to develop a philosophical view on these matters as he strives for full fitness.
Penalty
"Of course it was a penalty! He took my legs. I feel sharp and he was a bit too slow for me, but obviously the referee didn't give it. "It was just a good run out for me and good to be back." With Avram Grant's team toiling at the foot of the table, Hines' ability to score goals is something that the Hammers boss would like to be able to call on sooner, rather than later. But having been out of the game for almost a year, the England Under 21 international will not risk rushing back and aggravating the injury. "I'm not going to rush it but physically I feel fine - physically I feel like I could play tomorrow," explained Hines. "It's just fitness-wise, if my body is not up to it, then it won't hack it properly, so I need to get my fitness up. I can't put a timescale on it but I'd like to be on the bench soon."
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Brady: Grant is safe from the axe
The Sun
Published: 16 Nov 2010
KARREN BRADY feels West Ham would be "weak minded" to axe under-fire manager Avram Grant now. The Irons have managed just one win from 13 matches and are currently rooted to the bottom of the Premier League table. But despite their perilous position, vice-chairman Brady insists there is no chance of anyone wielding the axe too soon. Brady said: "We have not even had the discussion about whether Avram iss going to be here or not be here — that is not for today, it is not for Christmas. "It is unfair when you bring a manager in and things don't start exactly how you want — I think weak-minded people press the panic button. "We are not weak minded, but at the same time we did not spend the money we did in the summer just to survive.
"We spent the money so we could feel comfortable, and we are not feeling very comfortable at the moment, but there are things we can do about that.
"It is not just all one person's fault — we can all do something, ourselves, the team and the manager. "That is what we are focusing on, how we can work together to change the fortunes of the club."
Despite the club's massive debt issue, now around £85million, Brady maintains funds will again be available to strengthen Grant's squad further during January. She added: "The transfer window helps to bring in new players which can change your fortunes. "We have been able to have a very good look to see where we think there are weaknesses in the team. "We did quite a bit of business in the summer, but obviously not enough. "We have to address that as a board and look very hard at where the issues are, put our hands in our pockets and bring in players."
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Hammers set to Kop it off Cole
The Sun
By ANDREW DILLON
Published: Today
JOE COLE hopes to inflict more misery on former club West Ham by returning for Liverpool on Saturday. The England midfielder has been out of action for more than two weeks with a hamstring injury. But he has targeted a comeback at Anfield against the struggling Hammers. Cole picked up the knock in last month's clash with Bolton but is now back in training. A Liverpool insider said: "Joe has got his eye on the West Ham game. "He has a lot of affection for West Ham for obvious reasons but this would be a great opportunity for him to get back into action." Cole, 29, came through the West Ham youth academy and is now at Liverpool after quitting Chelsea last summer on a Bosman free transfer.
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Grant aid for rock bottom Hammers
The Sun
Published: Today
WEST HAM have told Avram Grant he can have cash to dig the club out of trouble. Hammers vice-chairman Karren Brady insists the top brass are backing and not sacking beleaguered boss Grant - although the team are bottom of the Premier League with just one win. She said: "Nobody is happy about the situation. "The January window gives us, the board, an opportunity to help the manager and the team so we'll be doing that." The Hammers are also considering recruiting a specialist defence coach to try to stop shipping goals and a striker is on the agenda. Brady added: "We've got a lot of work to do. We're playing really well in parts but not holding it together at the end. "There's a way to go so we're not panicking yet."
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Avram Grant gets vote of confidence as vice chairman Karren Brady says West Ham will back the boss with cash
By SPORTSMAIL REPORTER
Last updated at 12:20 PM on 16th November 2010
Daily Mail
Avram Grant has been assured his position is safe at West Ham and that he will have funds to make vital changes to his struggling squad in January.
Hammers vice-chairman Karren Brady has promised the board will look to bring in new recruits when the transfer window re-opens for business in the New Year. Grant has guided West Ham to just one league win from 13 games leaving the east London club rooted to the bottom of the Barclays Premier League, facing calls from some sections of supporters to quit. But Brady insists the board have every faith in the former Chelsea and Portsmouth boss and will give him funds to improve their current situation. 'Nobody is happy about the situation, least of all the players and the manager and, of course, most importantly the supporters,' said Brady. 'There's not an infinite amount of money. We've already spent £16million in the summer. But if we have to go again we will. 'We know January is coming and we are already identifying targets to help the team improve and climb off the bottom of the table. The January transfer window gives us, the board, the opportunity to help the manager and the team so we'll look forward to doing that.'
Brady insists the club are not about to 'press the panic button' - reiterating the board's backing for under-fire manager, Grant. 'We have got a lot of work to do, but we are playing really well in parts, but just not holding it together at the end,' Brady continued. There's a long way to go yet so we're not pressing the panic button just yet. Avram remains hugely positive as do the team and if we give them space and time to pick themselves up from the bottom they can.'
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Victor Obinna ready to dump the pretty stuff and pull West Ham up the Premier League table
By LAURA WILLIAMSON Last updated at 1:36 PM on 16th November 2010
Daily Mail
Victor Obinna believes West Ham may have to resort to playing 'badly' to drag themselves off the bottom of the Barclays Premier League table. Despite manager Avram Grant's insistence the Hammers play 'good football', the club are still five points short of safety after just one win in 13 games. Obinna, who has yet to score in 10 top-flight appearances since joining West Ham on a season-long loan from Inter Milan, told WHUTV: 'We have to back ourselves, speak to ourselves and try to improve. 'We can all say that we play good football, but when you play good football and you don't win, sometimes it doesn't work. Sometimes you have to play badly and win and I believe our time is coming. 'Sometimes you are lucky and sometimes you have to play simple to be able to score. When things are like this, it's getting bad but we have to show that our heads are high, we are more united and if we speak to ourselves mentally we will win games and we will be OK.' Nigeria international Obinna, 23, also thinks the Hammers have a mental barrier to overcome in their fight for survival. The club have been in the bottom three all season and have only been higher than 20th place for three weeks of Grant's time in charge. Obinna said: 'I've never been down at the bottom for so long in my career. This is the first time I've been in a position like this, being at the bottom of the table for quite some weeks.'I don't know what's wrong, but we'll just have to go back and speak more to ourselves. Now, I think it is mental stuff. It is no more about playing, playing, playing - it's about mental stuff and we just have to psyche ourselves up, speak more to ourselves, be more united and we're definitely going to get out of this place.'
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West Ham star set for shock return against Wigan
TalkSport
By Marc Isaacs
Tuesday, November 16
West Ham striker Zavon Hines is targeting a shock comeback against Wigan on November 27 after being ruled out for nearly a year with a knee injury.
Hines, 21, has been sidelined since December 2009 and needed surgery to clear up the problem. The England Under-21 forward was expected to be ruled out until the New Year, but he has made a fast recovery and played 30 minutes for the reserves in their 0-0 draw against Aston Villa. West Ham manager Avram Grant is desperate to see his side climb away from the bottom of the table and Hines is hoping he can score the goals to ease the pressure on the Israeli coach. Hines said: "I'm not going to rush it, but physically I feel fine - physically I feel like I could play tomorrow! It's just fitness-wise, if my body is not up to it, then it won't hack it properly, so I need to get my fitness up. I can't put a timescale on it, but I'd like to be on the bench soon. "I've missed out on a lot and football is in my blood so I just want to play as much as I can. I love football. I feel sharp as it is. I've been back in training for four or five weeks now so I'm fit but I'm not match-fit, so I'm hoping to play in the next reserve game, get a bit longer and try to push into the first-team squad."
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Spurs stadium plan 'unacceptable' to UK Athletics
BBC.co.uk
Tottenham's proposal to take over London's Olympic Stadium with AEG after the Games in 2012 is "completely unacceptable" to UK Athletics (UKA). Along with West Ham, Spurs have been named as a preferred bidder, but their plan to "rip up the athletics track" is anathema to UKA chairman Ed Warner. "It is [essential] for Tottenham and AEG to go back to the original promise made in 2005," Warner told BBC Sport. "That was about UK Athletics being at the heart of the Olympic Park." While Tottenham plan to make the east-London stadium an 80,000-seat venue, West Ham want to create a 60,000-capacity arena for football, athletics, concerts and community use in a collaboration with Newham Council. The Tottenham bid has been submitted in collaboration with AEG, which runs the O2 Arena beside the River Thames in Greenwich, south London.
"Tottenham and AEG have made it clear that they will rip up the track and make it a football only venue and that is hugely concerning to me," added Warner, who was unequivocal in his support of the bid made by West Ham and Newham Council. "There was a promise made back in 2005 by London 2012 chief Lord Coe to bring the Olympics to London. "The greatest city in the world deserves a facility that is capable of hosting world championships and major athletics events. That is really the legacy we need from the Games for our sport. "We've had sporadic conversations with AEG over the course of the year and one brief conversation with Spurs. "Anything they might propose for an athletics legacy has to be a compromise to the stadium continuing to operate at a world-class level. To my mind that is completely unacceptable."
Warner suggested that the Spurs and AEG bid would look to offer something to athletics by either adding a "small" amount of seating to the warm-up track or upgrading an existing facility elsewhere, both options he described as "very inferior". He also expressed concern that relationships with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) could be adversely affected if the stadium was left without the capacity to cater for athletics. "Britain has a history of letting down the IOC and the IAAF in not delivering on promises on athletics," stated Warner. "I think it was instrumental in the Games coming here that that promise was made and if Britain reneges it would be a very sorry state of affairs."
And Warner urged Spurs to rethink their proposal. "There is an important opportunity here to invest in a whole range of sports to sustain them for the future. West Ham and Newham have shown that they can embrace that opportunity and work with athletics with a very credible proposal. "I would like to see Spurs and AEG come up with something equally exciting."
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London 2012 Olympics: Tottenham stadium victory 'would be a betrayal of Olympic legacy'
Tottenham will begin formal negotiations to take on the Olympic Stadium next week with the head of British Athletics warning that if their bid is accepted London risks "reneging" on its promises to the Olympic movement.
Telegraph.co.uk
By Paul Kelso 7:30AM GMT 17 Nov 2010
Tottenham face competition from West Ham to inherit the stadium after the 2012 Games, with the Upton Park club, backed by Newham Council, long considered the frontrunners because of their commitment to meeting the Olympic promise of an athletics legacy by retaining the track inside the stadium.
That commitment has won the support of Ed Warner, chairman of UK Athletics, but the increasing seriousness and financial strength of Tottenham's bid has prompted concerns that the athletics legacy promised by Lord Coe in London's Olympic bid may be compromised. Tottenham and their partners AEG, which owns and operates the O2, have said they will rip out the athletics track after the Games and build a new stadium on the site, but they are yet to articulate what alternative they will offer athletics. Warner believes that given the strength of the West Ham proposal, they will not be able to compete.
"We have come down in support of the West Ham-Newham bid for very good reasons," he told Telegraph Sport. "It ticks all the boxes in terms of the legacy for athletics, both at an elite level and in the community. I cannot conceive of an athletics legacy that Tottenham can come up with that would be acceptable given that West Ham would give us the ability to stage the championships and make the stadium the iconic home of British athletics in the long-term. "It is a very credible bid that follows the legacy promise London made to the IOC in the long term and anything less than their offer would be a capitulation and would be to renege on the promise we made when the Games were awarded."
Warner's disquiet over the athletics legacy betrays the growing conviction in Olympic circles that far from being a fall-back position for Tottenham in the event of complications with their existing development plans in Haringey, the Stratford site could become their favoured option. Spurs' interest has hardened in recent months after the cost of their favoured new stadium development adjacent to White Hart Lane increased by at least £50 million because of planning and development issues. There is a belief within the club board that the Olympic Stadium site offers a viable and potentially cheaper alternative. The Spurs bid is now described by sources close to the process as "deadly serious".
"Some people have said that the Olympic bid is just a means of getting leverage over Haringey, but the club is committed to running this process in parallel with that development. If they are successful in winning the bid for Stratford they will have to make a decision, but it is deadly serious," said a source with direct knowledge of the deliberations. Tottenham have hired investment bank Goldman Sachs as advisers in negotiations that will open with the Olympic Park Legacy Company on Monday. In a sign of the club's interest Sir Keith Mills, deputy chairman of the London 2012 organising committee and a non-executive director at Tottenham, has absented himself from Olympic board meetings until the issue is settled to avoid any conflict of interest. Tottenham's ultimate owner, Joe Lewis, the billionaire speculator, is also understood to have taken an interest in the project. The club are yet to articulate their athletics legacy but are understood to have been in touch with Warner in recent days, and are said to be considering a number of options. These are thought to include revisiting the possibility of redeveloping the Crystal Palace site, an option rejected previously. While Tottenham's bid is weak on legacy it is considered financially strong. "Tottenham would score 10 out of 10 on finance but nought out of 10 on legacy, while West Ham get 10 out of 10 on legacy and do less well on finance," said one source. The OPLC's tender documents make it clear that long-term financial viability is a prerequisite for the successful bidder, and Tottenham believe they can offer a more attractive offer than West Ham. West Ham counter that they have a robust proposal that would mean Newham Council borrowing less than £80 million, secured against football club revenue, to fund the transformation of the stadium. The key to winning the bid, however, will be convincing the OPLC and the Government that their bid is viable in the long term, even if the club are relegated this season. West Ham vice-chairman Karren Brady said she had no doubt it would. "It is ridiculous to say that just because we are bottom of the league our bid is less strong than Tottenham's," she said. "Newham will borrow the money and we will pay it back at a rate we can afford, whether we are in the Premier League or the Championship. We have modelled both situations and we can afford it. This is not an arrogant football club coming along to write a cheque, this is about a proper legacy and that is what we are going to deliver."
The key to West Ham securing a stadium they have eyed for five years rests in their proving that the financial case stacks up in the long term, avoiding any future call on the public purse. If they do that, given the commitment to an Olympic legacy that all the key decision makers, including London mayor Boris Johnson and culture secretary Jeremy Hunt have endorsed, it will be hard to refuse.
»West Ham
Aim: Convert Olympic stadium into a 60,000 seat stadium that will retain the running track and be long-term home for British athletics as well as venue for future World and European Championships. Would also host Twenty-20 cricket.
How: Bid is backed by Newham Council and concert promoters Live Nation. Sale of Upton Park will help raise funds.
Chances: If this was decided on legacy alone, West Ham would win. The bid meets the expectation of an Olympic athletics legacy but there are doubts about viability of the financial plan.
»Spurs
Aim: An alternative to Tottenham's planned new ground next door to White Hart Lane, in partnership with AEG. Would demolish Olympic Stadium and replace with 60,000 seat arena, with no running track. Athletics legacy unknown.
How: Spurs would borrow the money to build the new stadium, hoping that the clean site, excellent transport links and straightforward planning issues would make it cheaper than the Haringey option.
Chances: The bid badly needs a plausible athletics solution but if the decision comes down to money they have every chance.
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