Newsnight editor Peter Barron writes with a link to this site, defending the fact he is Spurs fan.
He points out that other people on the programme support Man U, Liverpool and Arsenal and everyone has a political persuasion. Fair comment. And he also includes a link to an an investigative piece on Abramovich.
The Spursnight remark was tongue in cheek. However we believe the original story only stood up if there was a conflict of interest, ie if Beveren were to play Arsenal in a competition. And this manifestly wasn’t the case. So the fact it emerged that Peter supported Spurs combined with what we regard as a story without legs, we believe is fair comment, too.
Incidentally Peter calls us a partisan blog. ANR website started in 1995 before the term blog. The term “weblog” was coined by Jorn Barger on 17 December 1997 and the word blog by Peter Merholz in April or May of 1999. This website started before web news aggregation services and newspaper websites (except Soccernet). It was done from a scan of the papers. And has been copied subsequently by other Arsenal sites. We deliberately kept it as a website, in the re-design, turning down the blog model software.
Meanwhile, building work has started on improvements to Arsenal’s training ground – the 140 acre site between Shenleybury and Bell Lane including an indoor pitch.The deal involves:
*£20,000 to be given to improve a nearby bridleway.
*A partnership programme will be set up enabling children to be taught by Arsenal staff.
*A £30,000 annual payment to Hertsmere for five years to finance the programme.
According to the Borehamwood Times, the programme, which will be promoted by some of the club’s star players, will include training for girls, talks in school assemblies, holiday soccer schools and diversionary’ football activities with the Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership.
Speaking on behalf of Bell Lane residents, Mrs Dodman said: “We have never been given the opportunity to discuss our concerns with Arsenal as normal neighbours would have done with such radical changes.” However, Hertsmere are setting up a steering committee and help liaise between the club and residents. [For reference here’s an article I wrote in the Guardian in 1998 on the training ground.]
Meanwhile, the government’s environment department Defra has issued a smog warning today due to polluted air from mainland Europe and high temperatures. And Manchester University has come out with research showing sticking St. George flags on vehicles, causes a drag factor leading to more pollution.