The world is changing fast and to keep up you need local knowledge with global context.
Keeping it light and interesting
Alec Hogg’s email to Derek Brugman:
Hi Derek
Trust all is well.
No doubt you have seen Barry Irwin’s press release about his withdrawal from SA racing
For most South Africans, horseracing is very much on the fringe. In its rare appearances on the public agenda, the sport is dismissed as a harmless distraction for inveterates.
Bafana Bafana will need every breath of support from a sports-mad nation to win the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations. South Africa lacks quality now that its only genuine superstar, £4,8m rated Everton midfielder Steven Pienaar, has retired from internationals. This leaves only two of SA’s squad worth over £1m on the global football market, a modest figure in current market conditions.
English clubs Manchester United and Arsenal have mountains to climb to get past the key knockout round in football’s richest competition, the European Champions League. Manchester United had the worst possible draw being pitted against the world’s biggest club, Real Madrid of Spain. Arsenal avoided a nightmare clash with FC Barcelona, but ended with a task almost as tough when drawing Bayern Munich.
Speculation around the possible firing of Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has been rife. It prompted my investigation into whether calls for the footballing legend’s professional death were supported by facts. Analysing issues which really matter – Wenger’s priorities and the cost per point earned – closes the case.
Like every other life-long West Ham United supporter, it has taken a while for this week’s big news to sink in. The club, for so long a Cinderella bouncing between divisions, is now on the verge of joining the Big Boys. A move to the £500m Olympic Stadium is game-changing for London’s perennial underdog.
The biggest story in Sports right now is speculation one of the most successful football managers in history will be fired. Arsenal’s long-serving French polymath Arsene Wenger is accused of having lost the plot. My research unearthed a fascinating tale and seemingly forgotten facts. Here’s Part One.
Markus Jooste of Steinhoff is one of the smartest guys I’ve met. Ditto Investec co-founder Bernard Kantor. Both are self-made billionaires who know about buying at the bottom. Both are also huge investors in SA’s thoroughbred breeding sector. A fresh arrival in my inbox suggests their bet (and mine) is about to come good.