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Premier League news. Stories from the newspapers and BBC sport – sports news from tabloids Daily Mail, Daily Express, Daily Star, the Guardian, Daily Mirror, the times, daily telegraph
Arsenal balls: Sanchez stays and Gooners should rejoice
Barring a gigantic transfer fee that makes his departure irresistible, Alexis Sánchez will be at Arsenal next season. The club has done the sums and worked out that selling their best player to a rival would be a failure. So they’ll keep him and wave goodbye to the Chilean when he leaves as a free agent next summer. They’ll keep the £140,000 a week extra they were going to pay him in a new contract – one he rejected. And, vitally, Arsenal will field a player who boosts their team’s chances of a swift return to Champions’ League football, which they missed out on for the first time in over 20 years with last season’s fifth-placed finish.
“The decision has been made and we will stick to that,” Arsene Wenger, the team’s manager, told media. “The decision is not to sell.”
So Sanchez stays. Keeping him also means Arsenal need not look around for his replacement, which given their status outside the Champions’ League makes signing top talent even more expensive. Just look at the huge premium Manchester United had to fork out to get Paul Pogba.
Arsenal fans should be happy. The deal shows that the club has a long-term plan for success.
Posted: 19th, July 2017 | In: Arsenal, Back pages, News, Sports | Comment
Transfer balls: Bakayoko makes Chelsea panic and Manchester United fans click
Transfer Balls – a look at dire football reporting.
When Tiemoue Bakayoko was on his way from Monaco to Chelsea, the media was fanning the baseless news story that he was contemplating a last-minute switch to Manchester United,
Above a story about Bakayoko having his medial at Chelsea, the Manchester Evening News told its readers: “Monaco star Tiemoue Bakayoko’s Manchester tweet sends Chelsea fans into meltdown.” The headline had nothing to do with the story, which went on to explain that Bakayoko had been prodded and probed at Chelsea’s Cobham training ground before heading out for dinner with some of the club’s players.
What Chelsea fans were in meltdown over that? The MEN didn’t say.
But that total tosh was topped by the London Evening Standard which managed to corrupt the simple fact ‘Footballer Undergoes Chelsea Medical’ into “Tiemoue Bakayoko tweet sparks panic among Chelsea fans as he arrives in England for £40m transfer”.
Meltdowns. Panics. Might be an idea for jittery Chelsea fans to stay away from the news, which operated in the twilight zone between utter balls and economical truth.
The Express had previously told its readers: “MANCHESTER UNITED have agreed a £35million deal to hijack Chelsea’s move for Tiemoue Bakayoko.”
One day and on even the Express clickbait farm admitted the story was bilge: “MANCHESTER UNITED do not want to sign Chelsea target Tiemoue Bakayoko and have not submitted a bid for the Monaco midfielder.”
Such are the facts.
Posted: 19th, July 2017 | In: Back pages, Chelsea, manchester united, News, Sports | Comment
Ryan Giggs: from Manchester United to anywhere that’ll have him
Not too long ago, Ryan Giggs was being tipped to be the Manchester United manager. And then he wasn’t. Sunderland, Swansea and Middlesbrough all wanted Giggs to manage their club said the Press. But none of them offered him the job.
Giggs has ambition to manage. But his ambition has been dampened:
Ryan Gigs April 8, 2017: “I’d rather go into a decent League One or Championship team, who’ve got the right ideas and the right aspirations, than a Premier League team who haven’t.”
Ryan Giggs on July 18, 2017: “I would rather coach a League Two team in which philosophy and ambitions match mine rather than going in to the Premier League and firefighting and the owners don’t give you a chance.”
Ryan Giggs – coming to a Conference club near you, soon-ish.
PS: Do you suppose clubs being a tad shy on Giggs has anything to do with this PR disaster?
Posted: 18th, July 2017 | In: Back pages, manchester united, Sports | Comment
Transfer balls: Arsenal and Riyad Mahrez in clickbait feeding frenzy
Transfer Balls: It’s been a busy day for Leicester City’s Riyad Mahrez. Is he on his way to Roma, Arsenal or somewhere else?
The clickbait factory that used to be the Independent newspaper tells readers that Roma are “leading the race for Leicester’s Riyad Mahrez”. To which the obvious question is: what race? Only Roma have made a firm bid for the Algerian.
The Mirror says “the player wants to see whether interest from Arsenal materialises” before boarding a plane to Italy. “The lure of Arsenal is holding up a potential move to Serie A,” says the Mirror.
No it isn’t, says The Metro. It’s done and dusted. The Metro tells us: “Arsenal transfer target Riyad Mahrez agrees personal terms with Roma.”
Unless Mahrez hasn’t and he’s still hoping Barcelona come and get him before he has to make-do at Arsenal (see above).
Such are the facts.
Posted: 16th, July 2017 | In: Arsenal, Back pages, Sports | Comments (2)
Transfer balls: De Gea (and his agent) are ‘desperate’ to leave Manchester United for Real Madrid
Transfer balls – a look at rubbish football reporting: The BBC says Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea, 26, wants to join Real Madrid this summer.
The source of this story is the Daily Express. It’s source is Spain’s Don Balon. The Express says Real Madrid president Florentino Perez is “desperate to land the Spain No 1”. As ever, it’s fun to look at the Spanish report through the prism of Google Translate:
The David de Gea option is still very much alive. The current United goalkeeper is not willing to let the Real Madrid train pass for the umpteenth time and press in the offices of the Santiago Bernabéu through his agent, Jorge Mendes.
With Keylor Navas stuck with his continuity in the white team, the keeper of the Red takes a step forward and maintains a direct line with the Real Madrid controls, as reported by Pipi Estrada in ‘El Chiringuito’: “Jorge Mendes has asked José Ángel Sánchez [Real Madrid CEO] for De Gea and Sánchez has asked him to be patient because the decision has not yet been made. This year there is a lot of happiness because it has won the double, which has not been won for a long time, but next year you have to win again and if you do not win there will be a problem. ”
De Gea is still the right eye of Real Madrid president Florentino Perez, who is waiting for a final PSG move to remove Keylor Navas from Madrid and be able to open the door of Real to Spanish.
This all seems to suggest that De Gea’s agent is agitating for his client’s move. And Perez doesn’t sound “desperate”.
Whatever the source, the report offers no quote from player, club nor agent. We do hear only from one Pipi Estrada, a journalist for Spanish sports TV show El Chiringuito. And that’s a dead end.
With facts in short supply, the Sun picks up the story and thunders:
GET ME OUTTA HERE David De Gea ‘desperate to quit Manchester United for Real Madrid and orders agent to get deal done’
The Sun reports:
Spanish transfer outlet Don Balon claim Madrid will try again this summer, with club president Florentino Perez desperate to land the Spanish international.
De Gea, meanwhile, is said to have told his agent Jorge Mendes to get the deal sorted.
Desperate stuff all round.
The Sun then assures readers:
Agent Jorge Mendes could seal the deal with Real Madrid.
The story gets murkier still when you look back to July 13 – yesterday ! – when the Sun told its readers:
DOUBLE BLOW – Real Madrid give up David De Gea chase while Eden Hazard tells Zinedine Zidane he will not join Champions League winners this summer
The source for that Sun story is – yep – Don Balon:
…according to Don Balon, Real have decided to ditch plans of a bid for De Gea…
Don Balon tells its readers not to panic. Real are far from desperate for De Gea:
Real Madrid, however, has already perfectly located a new candidate to become the starting goalkeeper next season. And at a much more affordable price than De Gea: Kepa Arrizabalaga.
Such are the facts in the twilight world of football reporting.
Posted: 14th, July 2017 | In: Back pages, manchester united, News, Sports | Comments (2)
Transfer balls: Manchester City snubbed as Manchester United’s Alves joins PSG
Transfer Balls: a look a rubbish football reporting. News is that Dani Alves has “snubbed” Manchester City to join PSG. But was he ever going to Manchester City?
The Metro said he was, trumpeting on June 17: “Dani Alves close to Manchester City transfer after talks this week.”
The Guardian told us on June 20: “Dani Alves set to join Manchester City in £5m deal from Juventus.”
On June 21, the Express told us: “DAN ALVES is set to be re-united with Pep Guardiola by becoming Manchester City’s third signing of the summer.”
The Daily Mirror told readers also in June: “Alves still has a year to run on his current contract with the Old Lady, which he signed 12 months ago, and is expected to see it out.”
He didn’t. Juventus let him leave on a free. But the Mirror had more news: “The Brazilian right-back has been linked to both Manchester City and Chelsea in recent months.”
Like in February 2017, when the Manchester Evening News made such a link, telling its readers “Dani Alves wants Man City move”.
No. He doesn’t. He wants to play for PSG. “Believe me, I am coming to Paris to win,” said Alves as he kissed the French club’s badge. “In recent years, I have been able to gauge the incredible growth of this club, which has become a European football powerhouse. It’s very exciting to now be part of this great project.”
Such are the facts.
PS: in the twilight world of football reporting, Alves also agreed to play for Manchester United, said the Daily Star:
Posted: 13th, July 2017 | In: Back pages, Manchester City, Sports | Comment
Johanna Konta is as British as 3000 migrant children we must not let in
Yay! Johanna Konta is the British number one – the last Briton standing at Wimbledon. Can she win the tennis comp.? The Daily Mail hopes so:
Johanna Konts was born to Hungarian parents in Sydney, Australia. She moved to the UK when she was 14. In 2012, this migrant / immigrant became a British citizen.
Come one, come all, then. But only if you’re white and play a sport the Daily Mail enjoys:
3,000 future Golden Children can be wrong.
Posted: 13th, July 2017 | In: Back pages, Sports, Tabloids | Comments (2)
Talking Balls: ‘Heroic’ Wayne Rooney walks over ‘burnt bridges’ from Manchester United to Everton
Compare and contrast the news that Wayne Rooney has left Manchester United to play for Everton. Having given his best to United – and taken their money – local lad and Everton diehard Wayne is back where his heart lives. The Sun’s Martin Blackburn calls Rooney’s return to Everton “heroic” – a word you might save for men and women who rescue people from burning buildings rather than a man playing football. He continues:
Everton signing Wayne Rooney a no-brainer with Ronald Koeman bringing in a proven Premier League winner… It has been an exciting close season at Goodison — almost £100million spent already on five new faces before the weekend.
Yet you can be sure none of them – or anyone else who arrives, will have gladdened the hearts of the Gwladys Street quite like this one. – The Sun, Martin Blackburn, 9th July 2017
Hurrah for Wayne, the fans’ hero! Or as he said previously:
Wayne Rooney has a huge decision to make on his future – here are the clubs who could bail him out of his Manchester United misery.
They say you should never go back and maybe Rooney should always be remembered as the boy he was at Goodison rather than the veteran he would be if he made the short trip back along the M62.
Koeman already has Romelu Lukaku as his strike leader while Ross Barkley wants to be the play-making No 10. Would that mean no room for Roo?
Perhaps the bridges have been burned too. After all, he is now reviled on Merseyside because of his 12 years at United. – The Sun, Martin Blackburn 25th October 2016
Blackburn awards any Rooney to Everton deal 2 stars out of five.
Such are the facts.
So I'm assuming Rooney was only joking when kissing the #ManUtd badge whenever he played against #Everton. Plus their fans don't mind? #EFC pic.twitter.com/9RZx40FFFc
— The Ginger Pirlo (@ToonBano) July 9, 2017
Posted: 12th, July 2017 | In: Back pages, manchester united, Sports | Comment
Manchester United balls: Jose Mourinho mocks Arsenal, taunts Chelsea and breathes
Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho can be a chippy, snide sort of man. But the man who likes to mask his own shortcomings by goading, belittling and mocking others should be impressed at how the tabloids see meaning in his most mundane observations “Jose Mourinho aims latest dig at Arsene Wenger over Alexandre Lacazette signing,” says the the Daily Express.
JOSE MOURINHO has mocked Arsene Wenger’s decision to sign striker Alexandre Lacazette with Manchester United saying the striker has “no stamina, no physical impact and is not a big-game player”.
What a sad sack he is. But hold on a moment. Mourinho didn’t say anything of the sort. Indeed, he didn’t say anything at all. The Express continues:
But a United source said: “Lacazette was followed because he was top scorer in French football – but a lot of his goals were penalties [10 of his 28 goals last season came from the spot]. In the end he wasn’t considered because he has no stamina, no physical impact and isn’t a big-game player.”
Words by Mourinho: nil.
Words by anonymous “source”: meaningless.
And then the Daily Mail hears more sniping. This time Mourinho “taunts” Chelsea over Romelu Lukaku.
What did he Jose say about his former club to manutd.com?
“Romelu is a natural fit for Manchester United. He is a big personality and a big player. It is only natural that he wants to develop his career at the biggest club. He will be a great addition to the group and I know they will make him very welcome. I am really looking forward to working with him again.”
Words about his former club Chelsea: nil.
Words about Lukaku’s selling club Everton: nil.
Words on how Lukaku is joining Manchester United because he and his agent will earn a shedload of cash: nil.
If it’s like this now, it’s only going to get worse when the actual football starts.
Posted: 11th, July 2017 | In: Arsenal, Back pages, Chelsea, manchester united, News, Sports | Comment
Transfer Ball: Alexis Sanchez staying at Arsenal unless Manchester City pay £80m
Transfer Balls: Alexis Sanchez news watch. Is the Arsenal striker leaving? Compare and contrast the Daily Star and other tabloid scoops:
Daily Star, July 4:
Alexis Sanchez will stay at Arsenal
Daily Star, July 9:
Arsenal waiting for Paris St-Germain and Bayern Munich to swoop for Alexis Sanchez –
ARSENAL star Alexis Sanchez will reportedly be allowed to join Paris St-Germain or Bayern Munich – but not Manchester City.
Daily Star, July 9:
Alexis Sanchez happy to swap Arsenal for Chelsea this summer.
Starsport exclusively revealed this weekend that the Gunners are not willing to sell the former Barcelona star to a title rival.
Daily Mirror, July 10:
Arsenal willing to sell Alexis Sanchez to Manchester City – but they want £80million for him
What news in the Mirror of Arsenal’s price?
Facts to support this tory: none.
Sanchez’s desire to play for Manchester City: “City are bolstered by the belief that the player is keen to link up again with Pep Guardiola.”
And on the strength of that belief, and citing the Mirror as its source, the Sun thunders:
“LEX IN THE CITY Arsenal willing to offload wantaway star Alexis Sanchez to Manchester City for £80million”
In other news: the Mirror says Sanchez wants £400,000 a week to stay at Arsenal. Presumably, the Citizens are going to pay that for a man who’ll be 29 in December, right?
Posted: 9th, July 2017 | In: Arsenal, Back pages, Chelsea, Manchester City, Sports, Tabloids | Comment
Manchester United sign exciting Lukaku; Everton catch Rooney on the way down
Romelu Lukaku is a Manchester United player. He’s joined the Red Devils from Everton for £75m. Chelsea matched Man United’s offer but the Belgian striker chose Jose Mourinho’s current side over Jose Mourinho’s old side – the Blues first signed him in 2011; under Mourinho’s management, they flogged him to Everton.
The BBC says Lukaku’s Chelsea snub was because “The Blues were not willing to match the fees Lukaku’s agent, Mino Raiola, would earn if the forward moved to Old Trafford.”
The other ponderable is that United are shipping Wayne Rooney back to Everton. United get Everton’s best player, a vibrant 24-year-old goal getter who’s improved every season and is blessed with eidetic vision; Everton get a sluggish, fading and jaded talent on a free transfer and huge wages.
The Premier League is not a lever playing field. And now Rooney’s playing for a team running up the slope. He’s not going to get better, is he.
Posted: 8th, July 2017 | In: Back pages, manchester united, Sports | Comment
Transfer Balls: Wayne Rooney to leave Manchester United for Everton on a free transfer
The BBC says Manchester United captain Wayne Rooney, 31, is leaving the club. He’s on his way to Everton. If other moves go according to plan, he’ll team up at Goodison with Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud, 30, to form the Premier League’s slowest strike partnership.
The Sun says Rooney, 31, has been withdrawn from Manchester United’s pre-season tour of the USA. The paper also adds that so keen are Manchester United to get Rooney off their books, they’re letting him join Everton on a free transfer. The Toffees will pay Rooney’s £250,000 a week wages for the duration of his two-year deal.
Everton are splashing the cash in readiness for Romelu Lukaku’s £90m return to Chelsea. He’ll be big loss to the club.
Posted: 5th, July 2017 | In: Back pages, manchester united, Sports | Comment
Transfer Balls: Chelsea and Manchester United fans tricked by invisible Matic
The Invisible Man
Transfer Balls: Were you one of the Manchester United fans feeling “exited” when Chelsea’s Nemanja Matic’s was reportedly left out of the Blues’ new kit launch?
The Daily Mirror delivered the news: “Chelsea hint at Matic exit as Manchester United target is left out of kit launch.” Adding: “Jose Mourinho is keen on the Serbian midfielder, who was nowhere to be seen at the unveiling.”
The Manchester Evening News asked readers: “Have Chelsea hinted Nemanja Matic is joining Manchester United?”
And after thousands and thousands of Chelsea and Manchester United fans had clicked the stories, we watched the kit launch video and – yep- there was Matic in the Londoners’ new blue kit.
The shameless Mirror duly reported: “Manchester United fans get excited over Nemanja Matic deal – but midfielder IS in Chelsea kit launch.”
Those silly Manchester United fans, eh, believing what they read in the Mirror and their local paper.
Posted: 5th, July 2017 | In: Back pages, manchester united, News, Sports | Comment
Arsenal balls: the Alexandre Lacazette fact file
Always good when a new name arrives into the Premier League. The Daily Mail looks for a photogenic lover. And the Daily Telegraph produces insight into the player’s career and life by looking at YouTube videos and the, er, Daily Mail.
The Telegraph has gone big on Alexandre Lacazette, the Frenchman kept out of the France national side by Olivier Giroud – he’s wanted by Everton – and seemingly on his way to Arsenal.
One story asks Tele readers: “Alexandre Lacazette: why are Arsenal buying him, what are they getting and will he be a success?” Readers aren’t sure. Will he be a success? Presumably Arsenal are buying him in the hope he’ll score lots of goals. The paper’s Daniel Zeqiri says Arsenal have bought him to score “goals”. Now we know.
As for other questions, well, they keep on coming:
Why did the club not buy him last summer if they deemed him good enough? Will he play with Alexis Sánchez or is he a replacement? Why does Olivier Giroud play ahead of him for France? Is he really an upgrade on existing options?
Readers of a big national newspaper with large resources might expect answers to those questions to come from someone at Arsenal or Lyon, Lacazette’s current club – or at least be put to them. But the story contains not a single word from the club on their likely new striker.
“Why did Arsenal not sign him previously?” asks Zeqiri. It’s a rhetorical question because he soon replies: “One can only speculate.” If you want to know if he’s any good, you can “glance at the goalscoring charts and the advanced scouting tool known as YouTube”.
Happily, writers have watched short videos of the player and can tell Arsenal fans what he’s all about:
Zeqiri says the Frenchman is..:
…a player who can finish and scores a variety of goals; tap-ins, dinks, side-foot finishes into the far corner à la Thierry Henry and strikes from distance. Lacazette is also quite strongly right-footed…
He is sharp across short distances, but is not really a sprinter capable of shredding defences with speed in behind in the manner of Henry or a young Nicolas Anelka. Lacazette’s movement is more economical, relying on subtle movements in tight spaces, which puts him closer to the van Persie end of the Arsenal striker spectrum.
He sounds fantastic, a combination of former Arsenal captains Robin Van Perise and Thierry Henry, but not all that quick.
Or as the Daily Mail’s Adam Crafton says:
Lacazette is perfectly suited to Arsenal’s needs, with sharp technical instincts and a brutal turn of pace.
And there’s Sachin Nakrani in the Guardian:
“Lacazette is a natural talent,” says Julien Brun, a Paris-based commentator for beIN Sports. “Physically he is not that strong but he is very fast, hard-working and clever.”
Such are the facts.
Posted: 4th, July 2017 | In: Arsenal, Back pages, Broadsheets, Sports | Comment
Transfer balls: Alexis Sanchez ‘stays at Arsenal’, Bayern won’t pay silly money and Barcelona don’t want him
Transfer balls: Arsenal’s Alexis Sanchez has been offered £280,000 a week to continue kissing the badge. He’s in no rush to sign. Chances are high he will leave the Gunners. The Mirror quotes Ivan Zamorano, the former Chile and Real Madrid player, who opines: “What he really wants is to win the Champions’ League. And I don’t think he’ll have that chance at Arsenal.” Well, ‘duh. Arsenal have been in one final ever – they lost. And they’re not even in this season’s competition.
Of course, Sanchez had a better chance to winning the Champions’ League at Barcelona. But they got rid of him and triumphed in his absence. The question must be: is Sanchez a better player because he plays among less stella players? And if Champions’ League victory is his grail, why did Sanchez join Arsenal in the first place?
As for ‘news’, in the race for clicks, the Daily Star take the biscuit with its fake news story: “Alexis Sanchez is staying at Arsenal.” There it is on Google:
Take the bait. Click the link and you are told: “That’s according to Chilean reporter Juan Luis who works for TV station El Filtrador.”
Who? What? It’s a bit of guessing by a journalist on twitter presented as fact in a British newspaper.
And what about Bayern? The story was that Sanchez wanted to play for Bayern Munich and thereby win everything in the monotonous German league. But Bayern Munich president Uli Hoeness says he won’t pay huge money for Sanchez: “The salaries being talked about up front of over €20 million [a year] are definitely an amount that isn’t feasible for FC Bayern.” And if Arsenal won’t sell Sanchez to Manchester City, where does the Chilean go to reap his reported demand of in excess of £300,000 a week?
Maybe Sanchez should just sit tight? In the last year of his Arsenal contract, he could claim his current £140,000 week, reasoning that any signing on fee would outweigh his reduced salary. He can talk to other European clubs in January. So long as his form and fitness endure, Sanchez would head to Bayern on a vastly reduced fee allowing the Germans to splurge all their cash on his wages.
It’s going to be a long summer. And Arsenal fans can spend it wondering how after Robin Van Persi and Samir Nasri were allowed to enter the final year of their contracts before joining rival clubs, the Gunners board let their best player get to this point again.
Posted: 4th, July 2017 | In: Arsenal, Back pages, News, Sports | Comment
Transfer balls: Arsenal ‘bid’ £125 for Kylian Mbappe, Lacazette arrives and Gooners click
Transfer Balls: Is Kylian Mbappe heading from Monaco to Arsenal, Real Madrid or Liverpool? The Indy says the player’s “dropped a huge hint” he’s leaving the French club. So big is this “hint” that it now “looks certain he will now move”.
The Indy says Mbappe is surely leaving Monaco “after removing any reference to the club in his Twitter bio.” Jack Austin has the facts. But when we looked at Mbappe’s Twitter page we see two photos of the player wearing his Monaco kit? Not exactly shunning them, is he?
After that total balls, the Mirror says Mbappe is leaving Monaco. He’s going to play for…Arsenal. Maybe. The Gunners are “preparing a stunning £125million Kylian Mbappe bid”. Facts to support this story of an astronomical bid for an 18-year-old player there are none. Nil. Ziltch. Zippo.
But in the world of clickbait football reporting, when one newspaper makes a claim the others pile in and agree. So the Sun reads the Mirror’s scoop and declares: “ARSENAL will launch a mega £125million world record bid for Monaco hitman Kylian Mbappe this week.” It’s source? Yep, the Daily Mirror.
Amidst this human caterpillar of news reporting, the Mirror mentions another Arsenal target:
The Gunners are battling Real Madrid for the 18-year-old’s signature. But a deal for Lyon striker Alexandre Lacazette seems far from done as the striker wants to join up with close friend Antoine Griezmann at Atletico Madrid.
So says Steve Stammers in a story timestamped at “22:30, 2 JUL 2017”
But in another Daily Mirror story by Darren Lewis dated “19:50, 2 JUL 2017”, we learn that Lacazette to Arsenal is a dead cert:
Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas says Alexandre Lacazette’s move to Arsenal is set to be completed in “one or two days”.
Lacazette is set to sign a five-year deal with the Gunners, who are expected to pay £44million for the French international’s services.
With tight reporting like that, surely we can look forward to more Mirror news on that huge Mbappe bid and work out how many fist-sized pinched of salt we should take it with …
Posted: 2nd, July 2017 | In: Arsenal, Back pages, News, Sports, Tabloids | Comment
Transfer balls: Arsenal and the ‘riceless’ Kylian Mbappe ‘bombshell’
Transfer balls: Will Arsenal sign Monaco’s #100m-rated forward? No. The Mail says the Gunners are “out of Kylian Mbappe race”. They are? Arsenal are rumoured to have made a bid of £87m for the teenager. But the club hasn’t commented on that. And Arsenal haven’t said they won’t sign him, either.
The Mail’s scoop contains not a single word from the club. So how does it know they are out of the race to sign the player? No idea. The paper just says it’s so and that’s that.
The Express has more. It talks of the “Mbappe bombshell”. What did he say? “Mbappe, 18, has changed his Twitter cover photo to a snap of himself running past an advertising board which says ‘priceless’.”
Or “riceless”.
Meanwhile, Arsenal player-getting Ivan Gazidis, the club’s chief executive, tells fans at a Q&A at the Emirates: “I think we do need a better connection with our fanbase.”
In short: it’s season ticket renewal time. It’s going to get so much better. Now pay up! And no, the tickets are not “riceless”. They’re reassuringly expensive.
Posted: 30th, June 2017 | In: Arsenal, Back pages, Sports | Comment
Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney ‘bullied’ in yet another body-shaming attack
When Wayne Rooney finally waves adieu to Manchester United, the tabloids will miss him. He’s been an environment of on-the-clock sex, foul-mouthed rants, rethreading and explosions of ferocious power and sublime skill. When he goes the Sun will produce a special souvenir issue with Shrek toys for the kids, phone-box calling cards for the dads and a hailing of the theme tune from The Adams Family for everyone to click along to when the paper is opened.
It’s been easy to take the Wazz out of Wazza. Given the amount to abuse chucked his way, Rooney might well we reappraised as a model of self restraint.
For an age Rooney has been a figure of fun – and the tabloids have been at the forefront of mocking the most gifted English football of his crop. Rooney has been portrayed as thick, fat and ugly.
The Sun salutes the captain
Today the Mirror – the paper that told readers Rooney had been “kicked out” of the club years before he became United’s all-time top goal scorer – points and laughs at the man. In “The remarkable differences between Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo with their shirts off”, readers are invited to look at “two men of similar age… and very different physiques: “Take a look at Ronaldo and Rooney and “it’s considerably harder to believe that they are of a similar age… particularly when they go topless.”
Imagine this were women the paper was talking about, say, comparing Theresa May’s legs to Nichola Sturgeon’s. When the Daily Mail did just that, the Mirror branded the paper “sexist”. Jeremy Corbyn told the paper that supports his Labour Party: “It’s 2017. This sexism must be consigned to history.” It was, said the paper, a “sexist row”. Amelia Womack, deputy leader of the Green Party, called Press watchdog IPSO for “breaking the editors” code and treating women with contempt.
But the Mirror sees a paparazzi photo of Rooney on his holidays and says “given how similar Rooney and Ronnie once were, the recent images of the England captain on holiday in Ibiza become particularly interesting when they are put alongside images of his former team mate. Especially when you remember that the Real Madrid superstar is actually eight months OLDER than the United striker…”
This from the paper that talked of “body-shaming bullies”.
Having diced Rooney into body parts – “the abs”; “the tan”; “the modelling potential” – the Mirror heralds another long lens photo of Rooney minding his own business: “Behold the most unflattering image of England’s record goalscorer you have ever seen.”
Maybe to escape the name calling and body-shaming, Rooney should seek out a new career as an MP? One thing for sure: his skin’s thick enough.
Posted: 28th, June 2017 | In: Back pages, Key Posts, manchester united, News, Sports, Tabloids | Comment
Transfer balls: Arsenal should take Liverpool’s cash for disappointing Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
Transfer balls: Arsenal fans are “worried” says the Daily Mirror. ” The paper says Gooners are fretting because – get this – bit-part player Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is wanted by Liverpool. T
The Ox, as some call him, has been at Arsenal since August 1011. If that time he has been disappointing – a skilful player lacking in killer instinct.
If Arsenal can get £25m for him, it would be a more than decent fee for player who hasn’t progressed as far as was hoped. It would also mean that Liverpool sign yet another player who once wore Southampton’s colours. The Mirror says Liverpool’s move would be a “remarkable transfer coup”.
No. It wouldn’t. Oxlade-Chamberlain is approaching the final year of his Arsenal contract. The Gunners have not offered him a new one says the paper. It’s not remarkable. It’s pretty humdrum.
Note: Don’t panic! He’s not going. “Arsenal star Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain ready to turn down Liverpool and commit future to Gunners.” You can read all about Alex’s “bumper new Arsenal contract” in the… Daily Mirror.
Posted: 27th, June 2017 | In: Arsenal, Back pages, Sports | Comment
Transfer balls: Alexandre Lacazette leaves Arsenal drifting
Transfer balls – a look a clickbait football reporting in the mainstream media. The Daily Mirror says Arsenal have signed lexandre Lacazette from Lyons. Arsene Wenger, the eternal Arsenal manager, has “tied up” the player for £44m.
The Mirror has form, of course, with utter balls. This was the paper that told reader that Wenger will leave Arsenal next week:
So the Mirror’s news that Alexandre Lacazette has joined Arsenal for £44m should be met with circumspection. Lyons president Jean-Michel Aulas tells L’Equipe it is “premature” to suggest the France international will end up at the Emirates.
Sky Sports saw the interview and whacked it through Google Translate. The result makes Aulus sound like he’s raving mad:
“I do not intend to cede Alexandre quickly, because there is always the will of Atletico Madrid to bring it to January 1… Everyone knows that Atletico’s offer is 53m euros plus 12m bonus. That’s 65m euros [£57m]. As the leaders of Arsenal are well informed, they will be in those waters.”
So much for the tied-up deal, then.
Posted: 25th, June 2017 | In: Arsenal, Back pages, Sports | Comments (2)
Arsenal Balls: Mesut Ozil kisses the badge but Welbeck get Sanchez’s Number 7 shirt
Transfer Balls: The Daily Telegraph no longer exists to report news. It exits to foster rumour on the back of unbelievable fantasy and what it dramatically calls “cryptic messages” – and the rest of us call tweets. In today’s Telegraph, we read that Arsenal fans are “rejoicing” in the news that “Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez have helped launch the club’s new 2017/18 kit”.
Anyone not reading that with a jaundiced eye hasn’t been using the internet and noticing how newspapers have gone from informing from gathering facts to churning continual denial and assertion. So the fact that two employees of a club bother to model the club’s new kit is a matter of intrigue and guesswork designed to entice.
The paper spins the launch of a new kit into: “The pair’s presence in the promotional material for the new kit will give Arsenal fans renewed hope that they will both extend their contracts with the club.”
Arsenal fans rejoice! Just as you rejoiced when before the 2012-2013 season, Arsenal’s then captain Robin van Persie pulled on the latest kit. He left soon afterwards to play for Manchester United.
Oh, and just to ensure all bases are covered the Telegraph then belches this out:
No. They don’t accidentally do anything.
Posted: 21st, June 2017 | In: Arsenal, Back pages, Broadsheets, Sports | Comment
Peak Clickbait: Arsenal player transfers to Arsenal
Have we reached peak clickbait in the Daily Telegraph? In “Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain to leave Arsenal? Seven destinations and seven replacements”, the paper of record ticks all the boxes in how to create clicks from nothing.
Having asked the question to which you’d once-upon-a-time have expected a national newspaper with experts to answer – and the answer is always ‘No’ to any question posed in a headline – the paper then sets about making a Transfer Balls list.
The Tele argues that Oxlade-Chamberlain could leave Arsenal for – deep breath – Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester City, West Ham, Everton, Manchester United and…Arsenal! Can you leave and remain at the same club?
As the paper mangles the English language, it also lists 7 players who could replace the underwhelming Ox. One of them is Kylian Mbappe, a striker, which Oxlade-Chamberlain most certainly isn’t.
Posted: 20th, June 2017 | In: Arsenal, Back pages, Broadsheets, News, Sports | Comment
Transfer Balls: Will Ronaldo snub Manchester United for the beer?
Much chatter over Cristiano Ronaldo making a return to play in England. Well, it is the summer and off-season since he left the Manchester for Madrid we get the same story.
Apparently, Ronaldo is no longer in love with Real Madrid. The rumours are many and varied. Ronaldo, 32, wants his agent Jorge Mendes to seal a “dream return” to Manchester United, says the Sun. But Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho (agent: Jorge Mendez) doesn’t want him, says the Daily Star. In Spain, Marca say Real Madrid may yet twist Ronaldo’s arm to remain at the club.
The Daily Mail says Manchester United have £183m to see if spunking loads of cash will iron out any wrinkles. They’ll offer Madrid that gargantuan sum and David de Gea in exchange for Ronaldo and Spain striker Alvaro Morata. The Mirror says United will offer De Gea plus £175m for Ronaldo.
@OfficialBWFC – Bolton Wanderers – have weighed up the pros and cons and “can confirm we won’t be holding talks with Cristiano Ronaldo.”
German third division side Fortuna Koln will go for him. They have offered Ronaldo a lifetime supply of Kolsh, the local beer.
Ronaldo has yet to make any comment.
Posted: 19th, June 2017 | In: Back pages, manchester united, Sports | Comment
Transfer balls: Arsenal’s Alexis Sanchez isn’t cryptic he’s just spouting nonsense
Transfer balls: Is Arsenal’s Alexis Sanchez speaking in code or just trite attempts at aphorisms?
The Daily Mirror has been watching Sanchez’s Instagram account. It tells readers: ‘Arsenal fans beg Alexis Sanchez to stay as he posts cryptic message saying his “heart cries” amid intense speculation.’ Never mind the pathetic sight of fans begging a man to remain at a club he wants to leave, and take a look at his words. Says Sanchez: ”
Ya tengo 80 años 😊y Sabes porque en mi cara siempre hay una sonrisa ?
Porque la vida me enseño que siempre hay que buscarle el lado bueno a las cosas y recordar que “TODO PASA POR ALGO”. Mantén tu sonrisa siempre aunque tú corazón llore
Slap Sanchez’s wods though the Mirror’s automatic translator and you get:
“I’m already 80 years old. And you know why there’s always a smile on my face? Because life taught me that you always have to look for the good side to things and remember that everything goes on something.
“Keep your smile always, even if your heart cries.”
In short: always look on the bright side of life. Not a single word about Arsenal. But to the Mirror it means something about his leaving Arsenal.
Utter balls, of course. And it’s balls that keeps on coming. The Metro has been at the forefront of taking Sanchez’s Instagram feed and dishing it up news.
6 March 2017: “Alexis Sanchez responds to Arsenal speculation with cryptic ‘warrior’ Instagram post”
Sanchez says: “The true warrior fights not because he hates the ones in front of him, but because he loves those behind him. 🔴⚪️ Let’s go Gunners.The only failure is not trying.”
Translation: Hope we win!
27 Apr 2017: “Alexis Sanchez posts cryptic Instagram message amid transfer speculation”
He says: “You’ll notice that what today appears to be a sacrifice, will end up being the greatest achievement of your life’ said Sanchez.”
Translation: Do your best!
12 May 2017: “Alexis Sanchez posts cryptic Instagram message amid Bayern Munich and Chelsea transfer links”
He says: “If you want to know your past, you need to look at your present to get results. If you want to know your future look what you do now to achieve everything you want.”
Translation: Glad we won!
It’s not cryptic is it. It’s just the sort of therapeutic guff you read in self-help books – or ‘news sources’, as the tabloids would put it.
Posted: 16th, June 2017 | In: Arsenal, Back pages, Sports | Comment
Transfer balls: Arsenal look to Liverpool to resolve Alexis Sanchez to Manchester City transfer
Transfer Balls – with Alexis Sanchez Watch: The Arsenal player wants to leave the Gunners. Will he join Manchester City or Bayern Munich? Arsenal should get shot of him, of course. Any player who wants to leave isn’t committed to the cause. You cut them out. Let’s see what the paper’s are saying:
The Daily Mirror leads with news that Sanchez ” fears” Arsenal will block his move to Man City. The paper says City will “trump Bayern’s £40m offer and give Sanchez £280,000-a-week”. Arsenal, we read, have offered Sanchez “in excess of £275,000-a-week to stay at Arsenal”.
But hold on. On June 8, the Mirror told us that Bayern were offering Sanchez £350,000 a week. Are we to believe Sanchez will take less money to play for Man City? Is he in a Dutch auction?
The Evening Standard relays what Sanchez has been telling the local Chilean Press: “I’m looking at what my agent is doing. For now, I’m focused on the Confederations Cup in Russia and trying to do well. The truth is that my agent will see to it. He knows and he will sit down with the club to look for the best option for me. I’d like a lot of things but I’m only thinking about the national team.”
Is all the drip-feeding of information the agent’s work, a ploy aimed at gaiting the best terms for his client? As it stands, no deal has been done. Sanchez remains an Arenal player.
The Metro says “Manchester City are reportedly getting increasingly confident that Arsenal will buckle and end up selling Alexis Sanchez this summer instead of losing him on a free transfer in a year’s time.” The Metro presents it as Sanchez holding all the cards. But does he? He’s 28. He’s on £130,000-a-week at Arsenal. Unless he plays to his optimum level next season that huge pay rise will vanish. As for a loss of transfer fees, well, if he fires Arsenal into the Champions’ League or to the Premier League title, £40m will be worth the gamble, and that’s not taking into account the £7.5 in extra cash Arsenal will pay Sanchez under a new deal nor the cost of recruiting his replacement. Add in the fact what selling your best player to a rival says about your club’s ambitions and negotiations look less biased towards the player.
Jeremy Wilson notes:
Arsenal should this time call the player’s bluff. They should make a statement about their ambitions in relation to a Chelsea or City, just as Liverpool did at their expense in the summer of 2013 over Luis Suarez.
Liverpool were in an admittedly stronger position but Arsenal’s offer of £40 million, even allowing for the extra £1, was hardly derisory. Arsenal thought that Suarez’s very public desire to join them would force Liverpool’s hand, in the same way as they had felt obliged in previous summers to let star players leave. Liverpool said no and how did it work out? Suarez eventually settled down and signed a new contract four months later on the understanding that he would leave the following summer. Liverpool almost won the Premier League and then still received a far bigger fee – £65 million – from Barcelona for their player.
Over to you, Alexis.
The Manchester Evening News says, “Manchester City have been left hoping Alexis Sanchez can hold his nerve long enough to force a move to the Etihad.” the paper cite’s anonymous sources who “claim Sanchez has set his heart on a reunion with Guardiola, who signed him for Barcelona in 2011.”
Finally, the Daily Mail says Arsenal will accept no bids from English clubs. It says Manchester City and Chelsea “are ready to pay £45m” for Sanchez. “But due to Arsenal’s stance, he will have to look at offers from the likes of Bayern Munich, Juventus or Paris Saint-Germain instead.”
Or he could stay at Arsenal. The Telegraph says: “Arsenal manager, Arsene Wenger, does, however, retain some hope of convincing Sanchez to stay. Watch this space…”
Posted: 14th, June 2017 | In: Arsenal, Back pages, Liverpool, Manchester City, News, Sports | Comment
