A nationwide survey has found most New Zealanders rate the Cake Tin tops for overall satisfaction. The venue leads the field in seating comfort and layout, toilet facilities, transport, pre-event entertainment and overall value for money.

No shock, no horror, no probe.

There really isn’t much competition.

The “secret” is so obvious that even Brendon Telfer can’t ignore.

Put the stadium in a central location which is easy to get to and easy to get away from.   The links with the trains are brilliant (so long as the trains are working and on time).

Put the stadium in a place which is close to pubs, clubs, restaurants and hotels.

Give everyone a decent view regardless of where they sit.

Make the stadium a regional stadium – by all means, have secondary stadia, but put the key resources into a single regional facility.

Get Peter Jackson to involve the punters in a movie soundtrack (optional).

The obvious yardstick (Q: shouldn’t that be metre-speak???) is Eden Park which fails all four tests.  The decision not to go with a new stadium for the World Cup reeked of self serving parochialism.  Having at least three rugby venues in greater Auckland – Eden Park, North Harbour, and Mt Smart – is just dumb particularly given the difficulties getting to all three grounds.

The other critical point is to have teams that the punters want to see:

Westpac Stadium spokesman Steve Thompson is grateful for the loyalty but says ultimately the success of the stadium lies in the sports codes it hosts.

“We’re very privileged in Wellington that we’ve got the Hurricanes, the Wellington Lions, the All Blacks sevens for rugby and the Phoenix for football,” he said.

“They’re all good, exciting sports codes to watch so that helps patrons’ enjoyment.”

I still remember Radio Auckland Sport putting up a fight to keep the NZ A-league team in Auckland.  Their self-serving narrow-minded views have been shown up as being exactly that (haven’t they Brendon??)

So there ya have it.

The Cake Tin takes the biscuit.

As is often the case, events like this bring out raw emotions and quite clearly The Telferman is acknowledged for the contribution he makes to sport, regardless of his own particular views.

The interesting aspect to this is the perceived lack of information about his health. I understand that for the family of Telfer, there’s a real privacy issue.

The other side of the coin is that if you live in the public spotlight – and more importantly make a living off living in the spotlight, you can expect some interest in your health and well-being.

Put it down to the celebrity obsessed culture we live in.

I was almost tempted to not blog about this as it’s akin to making good out of someone else’s misfortune. However, it seems there is still a lack of information out there in the real world.

Also, I thought I should clear up some misinformation that appeared in one of my earlier posts.

According to the latest update in the Herald, it wasn’t a stroke or an aneurism:

[Telfer's wife] McIntosh said some reports that her husband had a stroke or an aneurism were incorrect. “It’s neither of those.

It is a bleed on the brain and the medical term for it is a thing called a subarachnoid haemorrhage.”

Interestingly, that’s the latest report on the Herald and the report is over a week old.

I still note that as of today, Radio Sport’s web site still can’t account for the fact that Telfer is not actually on air at present. Nor is there any update of his health or progress (privacy issues accepted).

There is however a link to “Send Get Well Message” … as long as you scroll down the page otherwise you’ll miss it.

Funnily enough, the Phoenix’s season was turned around at the same time as Willie Lose-with-a-silent-R took pot shots at the Nix on Radio Sport.  All I can say is let’s have more of the same from Willie.

After the weekend’s 3-0 win against the Jets one thing is certain – the Nix cannot finish last.  And that  sadly is something to celebrate in NZ soccer – I refuse to call it football.  The Knights managed to finish clear last in both their outings while the Nix where last in their first season – with limited buildup – albeit on gola difference.

However, the focus should really be on the play offs.  One point outside the top four with three rounds to play the Nix at least have a shot at the top four.

They have a tough run home to deal with – Sydney, Adelaide and Melbourne (only Adelaide at home).

The season will rest on this weekend’s game against the underperforming Sydney team who are six points out of the top four and a faint mathematical chance at the very best.

The Jets were similarly out of contention on the weekend – let’s hope it’s a good omen for the Nix.

And I for one will have no hesitation is sticking it right up Brendan Telfer and Willie Lose and the other jafa bashers if the Nix do make the playoffs.  Ole!