[Yudster]

Hosting the Olympics is going to be quite enough in terms of annoyance, inconvenience, disruption and cost - we certainly didn't need the World Cup too! Thank you Birmingham and Villa fans!

[DevilsDuck]

I would have liked it, but to come 4th out of 4 is funny

[bmstinton93]

Do Qatar even have a football team?!

[dimtimjim]

Oi Yudster, I posted about the world cup first.... You stole all my replies!!

[bmstinton93]

I replied.

[dimtimjim]

Ta geeza, good to know someone loves me.....

[bmstinton93]

Wouldn't go that far....

[dimtimjim]

Oh, it was a different story last night.....

[bmstinton93]

Oh yeah. Sorry. I'm in denial..

[McGuinness-89]

Hosting the Olympics is going to be quite enough in terms of annoyance, inconvenience, disruption and cost - we certainly didn't need the World Cup too! Thank you Birmingham and Villa fans!

I'd swap the World Cup for the Olympics anyday though, bit disappointed about the result but it was never going to be about who had the best bid, which I think we did.Bloody politics.

[bmstinton93]

Hosting the Olympics is going to be quite enough in terms of annoyance, inconvenience, disruption and cost - we certainly didn't need the World Cup too! Thank you Birmingham and Villa fans!

I'd swap the World Cup for the Olympics anyday though, bit disappointed about the result but it was never going to be about who had the best bid, which I think we did.Bloody politics.

A bit like the Eurovision song contest really. Even if we put someone like Susan Boyle in for it who is big in lots of different countries we would still not win it.

[Yudster]

Susan Boyle could only ever win a singing contest in England anyway - where people vote for any reason OTHER than the person's voice. She has a very average one. Good on her for making the most of it though.

[bmstinton93]

Susan Boyle could only ever win a singing contest in England anyway - where people vote for any reason OTHER than the person's voice. She has a very average one. Good on her for making the most of it though.

She's still big in other countries though but I'm not sure whether she is big in Europe as well as USA

[Johnny 1989]

Although it would have been nice to have the World Cup in hindsight it's best that we didn't get it, for a start several of the stadiums that need to be rebuilt probably would have had problems due to either planning permissions or monetary costs. Considering that a large number of football teams have big financial problems it would be unwise to pursue the World Cup at present.

Good Luck to Russia in 2018 with the World Cup, however I'm totally baffled that Qatar got 2022, I suppose money talks in the case of that one.

[R94N]

I like the Olympics more than the World Cup. And also the Olympics seems to be doing more for London, or so it seems. For example, all the redevelopment and all the facilities and athletes' village that will be used after the Olympics is over.

[Johnny 1989]

I like the Olympics more than the World Cup. And also the Olympics seems to be doing more for London, or so it seems. For example, all the redevelopment and all the facilities and athletes' village that will be used after the Olympics is over.

Very True, those of you who know East London will remember what a flat baron wasteland Stratford was, full of old abandoned factories, etc. The area is vastly improved and even then there's still more of the improvements to come.

In regards to the World Cup, only a teams stadia would have been improve, those that wouldn't have needed any improvement would have been:

Wembley
Emirates (Arsenal)
Old Trafford (Man Utd)
St James' Park (Newcastle)
Stadium Of Light (Sunderland)


However several needed either expanding or improving:

Anfield (Liverpool) - Either needed expanding or a complete rebuild (Stanley Park Stadium), of which has been delayed by at least three years
City Of Manchester (Man City) - Seating expansion, apparently
Villa Park (Aston Villa) - Seating expansion
Hillsborough (Sheffield Wednesday) - Seating expansion, also Sheffield Wednesday's recent financial difficulties
Elland Road (Leeds Utd) - Seating expansion, although I understand this stadium needs a major upgrade
Stadium MK (Milton Keynes Dons) - Seating expansion, the easiest one to expand, although this will now never happen
Home Park (Plymouth Argyle) - Major Seating expansion, although this club has nearly been wound up three times in the last few years
Olympic Stadium (West Ham Or Tottenham Hotspur) - Should be West Ham's new stadium, may end up as Spurs Stadium, however the Government could turn it into an entertainment venue (which IMO is totally unnecessary seeing as the Dome is only up the road from Stratford) which could rule it out, plus the seating capacity after the Olympics may be reduced to 25,000

Then there's the three that will need a complete rebuild, Tottenham Hotspur (which may or may not happen depending on whether they steal it from the Hammers) Nottingham Forest (who will now redevelop City Ground seeing as we lost the bid) & Bristol City (who are still going ahead with theirs).

Considering the financial difficulties of several of the above clubs, it's just not worth it for a (what is basically) a super hyped competition that lasts for 3-4 weeks, don't get me wrong I enjoy the World Cup, but it's only a worldwide over hyped version of say the Champions League, Fa Cup or League Cup tournament.

[dimtimjim]

I'm in denial..

Egypt is lovely this time of year.....

[bmstinton93]

Now you've lost me.

[Yudster]

Up a (large) creek without a paddle? Yep, lost.

[CassieJackson]

baron wasteland

He's in our local pantomime.

[Yudster]

Oh no he isn't!

[CassieJackson]

Oh yes he is!


And he's behind you.......

[nade]

I suppose it would have been nice to have the 2018 tournament in England, however at least it's not another excuse for public money to be pumped into another "national" event.

I'm sure they're spending enough with the London Olympics with all the cuts going on.

[dimtimjim]

These events are profit making. you have the initial outlay, but end up making a profit on spenditure during the event.....

[catherine]

Hosting the Olympics is going to be quite enough in terms of annoyance, inconvenience, disruption and cost - we certainly didn't need the World Cup too! Thank you Birmingham and Villa fans!

It was just Birmingham fans.