Ed Warner: Does it really matter if Chelsea buyers are true Blues fans? March 24, 2022 Who are the wannabe owners of Chelsea trying to impress when they flaunt their fandom? Investment bank the Raine Group is only likely to give a jot when someone first stood in the Shed, or how long they’ve sat in the same seat in the Matthew Harding Stand, if this matters to HM Treasury. If [...]
Ed Warner: Select committees are ultimately toothless November 25, 2021 The political pile-on has been swift. But although they secured detailed testimony on cricket racism under the cloak of parliamentary privilege, MPs show no signs of learning from the futility of their past hearings into sporting crises. It needn’t be so. I’ve had the dubious honour of appearing before three Westminster select committees down the [...]
The Square Mile and Me: JM Finn’s Hugo Bedford on crayfish hi-jinks, David Mayhew and hopes for 2023 March 2, 2023 Every week we ask the City’s highest flyers what they’ve learnt in the Square Mile – and what fun they had climbing the ladder. This week, it’s wealth manager JM Finn’s chief executive Hugo Bedford – on his early days in the Square Mile, why he admires David Mayhew and one particularly raucous lunch What [...]
Ocean Outdoor in talks with lenders as Covid-19 restrictions intensify March 24, 2020 Digital advertising firm Ocean Outdoor is in talks with lenders as the impact of social distancing measures amid the coronavirus outbreak shrinks demand for advertising. The group said it had taken a series of steps to protect staff and shield business “from a rapid deterioration in media and advertising spend” during the coronavirus outbreak. The [...]
Six Nations: England cannot dip favourites tag two weeks running February 7, 2022 England’s first round Six Nations defeat at the hands of Scotland on Saturday was one which initially played into Eddie Jones’s well-worn line of the Calcutta Cup rivals being “red hot favourites”. But in a 20-17 loss which sent England back south of the border with their tails between their legs, Jones’s side looked a [...]
Why sport is taking over terrestrial TV airwaves again February 21, 2022 If you’ve turned on your subscription-free, Nadine Dorries-unfriendly, terrestrial TV recently you may have been transported back to a time when moustachioed behemoths like Dickie Davies and Des Lynam ruled the afternoon airwaves – for we again live in an era of live, free-to-air sport. Of course, you may not have noticed. Sky and BT [...]
Eddie Jones must look to Ben Spencer and Dan Robson to answer England scrum-half dilemma January 9, 2020 Eddie Jones has hinted he could make a number of changes when he names his England squad for the Six Nations in 11 days’ time and I’m intrigued to see where he goes. It is the start of a new Rugby World Cup cycle and, while I don’t think he will make immediate wholesale alterations, [...]
Ollie Phillips: Marcus Smith ready to start against Australia November 12, 2021 He is a mercurial talent who was destined to be in an England jersey and tomorrow against Australia Marcus Smith will get his first taste of top-level international rugby. Smith’s previous two England starts have come in under-strength sides who played the USA and Canada during the summer. This weekend he will wear No10 against [...]
Ed Warner: Why 2022 is the year of the sportswash January 5, 2022 A city without snow and a state in the desert. Obvious places to hold the Winter Olympics and World Cup if you are the International Olympic Committee and football governing body Fifa. Welcome to 2022, the Year of the Sportswash. The principal outdoor venues for Beijing 2022 are – on a good day – 90 [...]
UK newspapers to lose £50m as advertisers ‘blacklist’ coronavirus April 1, 2020 UK newspapers are set to lose as much as £50m in online advertising revenue as brands use so-called blacklists to prevent their ads appearing next to stories about coronavirus. Advertisers use blacklists to automatically block their digital campaigns from running next to any articles that feature undesirable keywords — such as ‘bomb’ or ‘crash’ — [...]