Manchester United pundits antagonise Liverpool
More on the news that when a Manchester United fan who hates Liverpool lays into a Liverpool player as part of his job as a Sky TV pundit, the Liverpool manager might get a tad miffed. And so it is that Jurgen Klopp thinks Gary Neville is a bit of a wally in his harsh criticism of Reds’ goalkeeper Loris Karius. For good measure, Gary’s brother Phil opined from the BBC sofas that Karius, who had spoken to the Press about Gary’s criticism, should “keep his mouth shut and do his job”.
“I don’t care what Gary Neville says,” said Karius in reply to a question from Mail journalist Ian Ladyman. “He was a top player, then was a manager for a short bit and now he is back to being an expert again.” Karius was making reference to Gary Neville’s failure as manager of Valencia, a team owned by the former Manchester United man’s mate.
Ladyman says Karius was “not animated or emotional”. He was “just being gown up”. Agreed. He came across well, refusing to hide after his howler had given Bournemouth victory over his side. Phil Neville was not neither measured nor insightful in his response. He simply told Karius to “shut up”. As punditry goes, Phil is very much in Gary’s shadow. Working in the media is about taking part in a conversation. Phil is advised to keep the chat alive rather than putting it in a bland box and sitting on the lid.
Says Klopp, “[Gary Neville] is not interested in helping a Liverpool player, I can imagine, but that makes the things he says not make more sense. He showed he struggled with the job to judge players when he was manager, so why do we let him talk about players on television? I don’t listen to them. Obviously the Neville brothers don’t like Liverpool, I have no problem with that and if they can cause bigger problems than we have already they have tried.”
The Press laps it up, making the row the lead sports story. “YOU FAILED SO SHUT IT,” thunders the Mirror’s back page. “KLOPP has POP,” puns the Mail’s. “Klopp has launched a double-blast at the Neville brothers,” says the Sun. “Angry Klopp blasts Neville,” says the Star.
And all the while the BBC and Sky celebrate good old fashioned journalism. “I am absolutely not interested in creating headlines so you can write what you want,” said Klopp. He isn’t. But Gary Neville is. And he’s making a grand job of it.
Posted: 13th, December 2016 | In: Back pages, manchester united, Sports Comment | TrackBack | Permalink
