Martin Cloake

A substantive point

admin — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 22:11:23 +0000

A quick heads up for promising new website The Substantive. It’s the brainchild of Mel Gomes, who I know through supporting Spurs but a man whose interests stretch far and wide. He’s also a pretty fine writer (and indie DJ), and is in turn providing a very good space for other good, independent voices. You [...]

Why Jose Mourinho at Spurs would not be my cup of tea

admin — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 16:41:06 +0000

When Jose Mourinho speaks, the world sits up and listens. So news that the self-styled Special One – or rather “sources close” to him – has decided that he’s fed up with the situation at the club that has topped the Deloitte football rich list for six consecutive years has prompted lots of discussion of [...]

The return of the Luddites

admin — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 17:34:04 +0000

An interesting piece in the New Statesman by Peter Lazenby drew my attention to the Luddites200 website. The organisation has formed to mark the 200th anniversary of the Luddite uprisings, and aims to challenge the version of history that portrayed the movement as anti-technology. As any student of history who has taken more than a [...]

Hacks/Hackers and defining journalism

admin — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 08:00:59 +0000

I went to my first Hacks/Hackers event last night in London with colleague Helen Roxburgh. It was pretty packed out, mainly I guess because Simon Kelner was speaking about the Journalism Foundation. But BBC head of technology Rupert Brun, given the task of speaking first, also provided an entertaining and thought-provoking contribution on the future [...]

The new job unveiled

admin — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 15:26:31 +0000

I’ve been a bit quiet on here lately because I’ve been hard at work in my new full-time job. It’s a magazine launch, across print and website, and like any launch the run-up to issue one has been pretty busy. The magazine is called economia, and it’s the membership magazine for the Institute of Chartered [...]

Jumpers for Goalposts reviewed

admin — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 18:24:27 +0000

There’s been a bad smell lingering over football for a while. Not the stewed onion and dog burger combination that assails the nose when approaching the stadium, but a feeling of discontent that nags away particularly at fans of a certain age. The observation that much has improved in football but something has been lost [...]

Bale’s goal

admin — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 18:10:59 +0000

A raw evening at Carrow Road. Spurs have finally broken through an obdurate Norwich side’s defences. But the game’s not safe. Yellow shirts buzz forward. An attack is broken up. Then there’s Bale. Striding forward. Gathering speed. Screaming, with his hand extended forward. “There, I want it there.” Modric, who else?, puts the ball there. [...]

Every loser wins?

admin — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 13:45:56 +0000

So Spurs are out of the Europa League. There’s been some pretty strange reaction to that, if you consider where the logic of some of those who seem to regard this as a good thing leads. Let’s get one thing clear first, though. This is not an anti-Harry piece. I think he chose teams that [...]

Arguing for The Courageous State

admin — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 09:00:56 +0000

Over the years, I’ve seen plenty of ‘where we stand’ lists from left-leaning organisations. Many of which amount to little more than a list of slogans, and few seem to have much idea of how the objectives set out might realistically be achieved. And as times have changed, many of those wish lists have stayed [...]

Live on stage at The 100 Club

admin — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 14:58:54 +0000

A quick post to flag up what’s shaping up to be a top night at London’s famous 100 Club next Monday. It’s a benefit for The Spurs Show podcast and there’s going to be lots of fun. The show is being recorded in front of a live audience for the the first time and there [...]