Smash Hit

Win tickets to the ATP finals

Navigation - link to other main sections from here

Skip Navigation

From The Times
October 20, 2006

The Insider - October 20
MIKE CORBY can probably forget any thoughts of picking up a gong in the New Year’s Honours List as a reward for his long tenure as “England’s Mr Squash”. He faces an avalanche of bad feeling after selling off the famous Lambs Squash Club in North London to developers for £4 million, prompting the 1,100 members to pledge their implacable opposition to any moves to nominate Corby for an honour.

They are astonished that Corby could ditch the club — where the British Open was held only last month — when he is the serving president of England Squash. He can expect a rocky ride at the annual meeting of the governing body in November.

Yet the Lambs case has an extra dimension: despite the government mantra that it wants more sports facilities, not fewer, Richard Caborn, the Minister for Sport, has not stood in the way of the developers’ wrecking ball as they prepare to demolish Lambs — known as “the Wimbledon of squash” — to build flats.

Nor has anyone made a fuss of the seeming conflict of interest in Corby being both a leading squash official and the man who will profit most from the demolition of a leading sporting asset.

So Corby picks up his cheque, North London loses a key facility and hundreds of sportsmen and women are left seeking somewhere else to play.

  • Lennart Johansson went charging to Moscow yesterday on his campaign to win a new term as Uefa president — a couple of weeks before his 77th birthday on November 5. Meanwhile, Bernie Ecclestone, at 76, is lording it over preparations for the Brazilian Grand Prix. Have these pensioners not heard of golf, or shopping, or daytime television?

    • E-MAIL: theinsider@thetimes.co.uk

    Bookmark and Share
    kevin eason

    Kevin Eason

    Starting in the North-East, Kevin Eason graduated to the Birmingham Post and Mail where he became chief industrial correspondent. At The Times, he has moved through politics and the motor industry until being appointed motor racing correspondent in 1998. Eason has won several awards and was judged most powerful journalist operating in Formula One by Business F1 magazine. He is now Sports Business Correspondent and produces The Insider gossip column

    The spike bar

    Shake on it: Kim, left, took his disappointment out on Allenby in the best way possible

    Allenby-Kim row sanitised by PGA Tour

    Peter Dixon says their dispute adds spice to the game

    Rolling maul e-mail

    Johnson, the England coach, has been blighted by a spate of injuries that has left his squad short of experience

    Johnson lacks crucial winning mentality

    Stephen Jones says England could suffer a grim autumn

    The Rolling Maul

    Sign up for free e-mail by Stephen Jones

    Owen Slot

    Mike Tyson

    Tyson's mellow side put to test in TV row

    Dermot Murnaghan pulls no punches in TV interview

    Most Read

    Skip Most Read

    Today

    MOST COMMENTED

    Skip Editor's Pick

    Today

    MOST CURIOUS

    Skip Most Curious

    Today

    Focus Zone

    accenture

    Need to Know:

    Industry sectors news at a glance. Interactive heatmap, video and podcast

    ba business travel clouds

    Business Travel:

    Everything the Business Traveller needs to know to make a better trip

    Winter Sports

    Winter Sports:

    Get ready for the winter sports season, with our resort guides and snow reports

    lloyds

    Mapping Business:

    We are backing British business, what is the confidence of the nation and what businesses are succeeding?

    Shell

    The Future of Energy:

    Growing demand for energy, oil that is harder to reach and the rise of carbon dioxide emissions. We examine the energy challenge

    More Reports

    More reports:

    Enjoy further reading from Travel to Fashion, Business to Sport, discover more

    previous next
    Fantasy Football

    Fantasy Football

    Sign up for free and get your mates involved today

    Business Directory

    Business Directory

    Search for local businesses & services

    Times Health Club

    Stay fit during winter: the Great Indoors Challenge

    crossword with Cross fountain pen.

    Crossword Club

    Sign up today or try one of our free demo crosswords

    Ahead of TheGame

    News on the move

    Make sure you don’t miss a goal with our text alerts

    The Times Enounters

    Encounters Dating

    We'd love to find you someone special

    The Singapore skyline pictured at night

    Business city guides

    Overseas contacts and local business information

    Popular Searches on Times Online

    album reviews | ashes | clarkson | county cricket | credit crunch | dating | driving | fantasy football | formula 1 | podcasts | recipes | redundancy calculator | six nations | sudoku | thegame | wine | winter sun

    Shortcuts to help you find sections and articles

    Classifieds 

    Cars

    Skip Cars of the Week

    New Audi A5 2.0 TDI Sportback

    36-month car lease
    on contract hire for
    £359.99 plus VAT pm

    Virgin Car Insurance

    12 months for the price of 11 and a 5% discount.
    Offer ends 31/11/09

    Prestige Car Finance

    The UK's leading alternative to showroom finance.
    Finance packages tailored to your needs.
    Minimum loan of £15,000

    Jobs

    Skip Jobs of the Week
    Chair

    £12,578 per annum
    The Independent Housing Ombudsman
    London

    Opportunities in Operational Strategy

    Competitive
    Barclaycard

    Trustee

    Not Specified
    The Sheppard Trust
    London

    Sales & Marketing Director

    £80-95,000
    Clay McGuire Executive Selection

    Properties

    Looking for a Mortgage?

    See your free Experian credit report beforehand

    Holidays

    Skip Travel of the Week

    Amazing Canada Ski deals fr £479pp

    Book now & save over £100pp.
    11 cool resorts, lowest prices... Early Booking offers 15 Nov.

    Sunvil

    20% off selected Azores holidays taken in October with Sunvil Discovery


    Great Travel Insurance

    Get covered on your travels with a superb range of policies at great prices. Visit InsureandGo.com


    Fabulous Villas in Barbados

    World Class Golf, Spa and preferential Beach Club.  Private estate overlooking West Coast
    Villas from £275 per night inclusive of Golf

    Place your advert now