Half full or half empty?
Mar 3rd, 2007 by Bert
Mon Michel ran at Newbury on Friday, coming second. He looked like the winner two out but decided he wasn’t going to put it in - he doesn’t seem to be the most genuine at the moment. It’s nice to have a half result, but he’s better than that. He scoped clean after the race.
It’s looking highly unlikely now that I will have a runner for Cheltenham. Mon Michel is still in the Triumph, but isn’t looking good enough and in any case is unlikely to get in. Prince Ary will probably wait for better ground. King’s Head is close to a run, but again needs it a lot firmer. There’s a good chance that one or more of these will run at Aintree.
There was a bomb scare at Betfair today. Someone rang in and said a bomb would go off at an unspecified Betfair office, so we evacuated both of our offices in the UK. No bomb materialised, which I guess was no great surprise.
I grew up in Wimbledon and my family have historic ties with the football club. My great uncle was the chairman back in the sixties - he would have turned in his grave when they moved to Milton Keynes a few years back. AFC Wimbledon emerged to fill the vacant spot, and they have done Wimbledon proud with their efforts in the Rymans League.
AFC routinely have attendance figures close to 3,000, about ten times the average for their league. A week ago they were top of the league, but slipped to third today after a draw at home. This may change though - they face an 18 point deduction for fielding an unregistered player which is currently in appeal. It was nothing more than a minor oversight - the full story is summed up here;
http://blogs.guardian.co.uk
This is not what sport is about. I hope the FA see sense and turn this around.
5 Responses to “Half full or half empty?”
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jane said…
I understand Betfair sponsored Fulham(your team)previously.How about following in the footsteps of your great uncle and giving some financial assistance to AFC Wimbledon? I know obviously Fulham are more high profile but they have Al-Fayed to give them support whereas AFC Wimbledon are similiar to the team Sydney Black supported back in the 50s, an enterprising non-league club in need of assisitance to give them an extra push
04 March 2007 01:32
Andrew Black said…
Jane,
I tried to persuade Betfair to sponsor AFC a few years back when they were just starting out, but our marketing director at the time didn’t want to do it so I didn’t push. I’ve always kept an eye on their progress but for my sins I’ve never been to a game.
I’ve been meaning to go down to Kingsmeadow for some time but I never get around to it. I’d consider offering financial support if the club needs it but it would be nice to get something in return.
cheers
Andrew
04 March 2007 15:19
The Gambler. said…
Excellent Blog Bert.
I have given it a mention on my site.
http://john2e.lastminuteliving.com/
05 March 2007 03:05
jane said…
jane said…
How about naming rights for the stadium as Emirates Airlines have done with Arsenal(albeit on a smaller scale)?The Betfair stadium has a nice ring to it
05 March 2007 06:29
Andrew Black said…
John,
thanks for the plug - hope you are well.
Jane,
I’ve dropped a line to our football marketing director about AFC - he hasn’t replied. It probably doesn’t fit their overall strategy and it isn’t my style to lean on them, but I’ll have a word.
I’m not a Fulham fan BTW - that’s just a scurrilous rumour spread by others who claim to be Sidney Black’s great nephews… Betfair did sponsor Fulham once and our head office is close to Craven Cottage.
cheers
Andrew/Bert
05 March 2007 14:35