Outbid

I take the bus. I need to late night shop after work and it’s also looking wet out. This also gives me a good chance to rehearse for Marilyn tomorrow. L’s doing the same, on the exercise bike at the gym, pedalling away to his stuff.

As expected today, Nottingham wins the battle of the East Midlands to be named as one of twelve cities to be included in England's 2018 World Cup bid document. At the expensive of Derby.

The squabbling between the City and County Councils over the plans for the new stadium seem to have been ignored by the FA. In fact, it was probably fortunate for Nottingham that County Council leader Kay Cutts withdrew her support for the project and therefore the FA didn’t get to meet her. Had they done so I’m sure they would have looked elsewhere. Kay Cutts has already rejected outright the proposals to concrete over the green belt within the County Council boundary at Gamston. All other plans to build a new stadium in Nottingham have also come to nought so there’s no reason to suspect that the situation will change now.

Of course the bid was not just about a stadium. Derby of course already have the perfect stadium.



The FA's overriding concern in all this is to win the right to stage the World Cup in the first place, what it does to get to that point doesn’t really matter. It needed to sex up its bid worldwide and when it comes down to it, globally, more people have heard of Nottingham, it’s even a tourist destination of sorts. Foreigners would look at the map and if Derby got the nod say ‘where?’. Then there’s the infrastructure, the number of hotels, the restaurants, the transport links and all the existing sporting venues. Derby didn’t have a chance.

As it happens being in the bid document probably means little, several cities will be dropped at a later date anyway. So if Nottingham's stadium does not happen, unfortunately it will mean no World Cup for anyone in the East Midlands. Unless of course they ask Derby to step in at the last moment. Now that would be funny.

In the evening I skip training MD, although perhaps despite the ok from the vet a few more days off wouldn’t hurt in his recovery, and swimming too, to go on a bear hunt in Derby or more correctly, for the winter outfit the bear wants. Christmas clothes shopping for a bear whatever next. It wants a puffer jacket, along with furry boots etc etc... FFS as Daughter would say. L asks if I need her to get me anything from Nottingham, well no, but if she sees a bear wearing a puffer jacket, mug it.