Sports Category
Sports news, commentary and scores with wit and added value. We compare and contrast the best and worst sports reporting in the mainstream press, blogs, TV and online. We love the English Premier League (Arsenal, Liverpool, Spurs, Manchester United and Manchester City) and all things football but we cover cricket, rugby, the Olympics, tennis, golf, F1 and highlights of the sporting year.
Liverpool undone by Seville coach’s dramatic half-time team-talk
Three goals own to a vibrant Liverpool side, Seville were roused to a unlikely 3-3 drawer when the Spanish side’s manager, Eduardo Berizzo, used his half-time team-talk to tell his players he has cancer. I see your oranges and flying tea cups and rise you a malignant tumour on the prostate.
Sevilla Info explains why Sevilla’s players raced to mob Berizzo after Guido Pizarro completed the comeback in injury time. As ever, I’ve put it through Google Translate for added drama:
Jug of cold water at Sevilla FC: Berizzo suffers from prostate cancer
The hugs senses of Sevilla FC players . his coach Manuel Eduardo “Toto” Berizzo at the end of the match played against Liverpool at the Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán stadium revealed more than a long-suffering and epic draw against one of the biggest clubs in Europe. The players have thrown caste, courage and pride after a talk in the locker room, when the team, deflated, lost by zero goals to three at halftime. In that talk, as a slab in the environment, the news that the Argentine coach has moved his players and the entire structure of the Club. Berizzo suffers from prostate cancer.
We wish him well. As, clearly, do his players.
Posted: 22nd, November 2017 | In: Liverpool, Sports | Comment
Everton balls: diving Niasse ‘s body of evidence
You’ve got to feel sorry for Everton’s Oumar Niasse. The idea is to swan dive after you’ve scored the goal not before. Why no-one told him is beyond reason. Hard cheese, then, that the striker has been charged by the Football Association for diving against Crystal Palace.
Niasse is destined to be a pub trivia having become the first Premier League player to be charged by the FA for “successful deception of a match official”. This is progress.
Trundling into the Palace box, Niasse suffered what appear to be a sudden allergic reaction to Scott Dann’s shirt fabric. The lightest brush and Niasse fell hard enough to make one onlooker expect police to draw a white line about the player and tape it off as a crime scene. Penalty duly awarded, Leighton Baines scored from the spot. To rub Palace’s faces further into the turf, Niasse went on to score the equaliser.
An FA statement reads: “Incidents which suggest a match official has been deceived by an act of simulation are referred to a panel consisting of one ex-match official, one ex-manager and one ex-player. .. Only in circumstances where the panel are unanimous would the FA issue a charge.”
Not that it matters. The damage has been done.
Arsenal balls: why pundits have it in for Ozil
It’s fair to say that Martin Keown is no fan of Arsenal’s Mesut Ozil, offering to to-deadline opinion in October: “I think in some departments he’s already left. Psychologically, mentally, he’s already left the football club.” And on it went, Keown alluding to world Cup winner Ozil being a malign influence on teammates – “I think [Wenger] doesn’t want that sort of player around the youngsters in the group,” – and that Ozil has “downed tools”.
Pundits like to hammer home a point, even if it’s wrong. Ozil played superbly well in Arsenal 2-0 win over Spurs, putting in a man-of-the-match performance and earning a standing ovation from the fans. But Keown spots a hole in his Daily Mail column and offers: “This weekend, we have learned nothing new about Ozil.”
We who spotted Ozil’s record equalling 19 assists in the 2015-16 season, his 12 chances created when Arsenal played Sunderland in May and keeps Arsenal moving forward. But to Keown, Ozil invites the questions, “Will he work as hard on Sunday when Arsenal travel to Burnley?” Probably. Ozil ran further last season than every Arenal player bar Nacho Monreal. But Keown has the blinekrs on: “This weekend, we have learned nothing new about Ozil. We know he is immensely talented. But if he does not perform and Arsenal fail to get three points at Turf Moor, this victory will have been for nothing.”
No. It’ll have been for three points and bragging rights . Ozil will have been instrumental in defeating Spurs, a team billed as potential Premier League title winners and the coming force in English football. To make that worth nothing is to flush Ozil’s sublime play down the memory hole.
But we’re not looking at Ozil, who remains easy on the yes. We’re looking at Keown, whose opinions tell us much about his attitude to football: scream, shout, go in hard and show off your scars. The difference between Keown and Ozil is acute: whereas Keown was lucky to have a role in a pragmatic Arsenal side; a more progressive Arenal are lucky to have Ozil.
Mesut Ozil needs to be challenged every week to put in as special a performance as he did in the north London derby.
When you play Tottenham, you do not need any motivation. If anything, you have to keep your emotions in check. You have to play with your head, not your heart.
A cynic would say that Ozil’s performance merely guaranteed him his move in January. Will he work as hard on Sunday when Arsenal travel to Burnley?
If both Ozil and Alexis Sanchez perform as they did against Spurs for the rest of the season, they will be able to leave Arsenal with everyone’s blessing. They will have given their all until the last.
Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil fired Arsenal to victory as they beat bitter rivals Spurs 2-0 +5
Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil fired Arsenal to victory as they beat bitter rivals Spurs 2-0
Arsenal are a different animal at home but Arsene Wenger needs to equip his team to win on the road. They have lost four of their six Premier League away games, winning just once at Everton in Ronald Koeman’s last match in charge.
To get into the top four, Wenger needs to map out the upcoming fixtures and keep pushing Ozil to shine in every game.
This weekend, we have learned nothing new about Ozil. We know he is immensely talented. But if he does not perform and Arsenal fail to get three points at Turf Moor, this victory will have been for nothing.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-5098353/Mesut-Ozil-needs-challenged-week-reach-peak.html#ixzz4z3tFfU1x
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Posted: 21st, November 2017 | In: Arsenal, News, Sports | Comment
Arsenal balls: after Mugabe Zimbabwe Gooners demand ‘Wenger Out’
As Robert Mugabe is toppled, protesters in the depot’s native Zimbabwe turn to the next great dictator: Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger.
Lest we forget:
Overstating the situation somewhat! pic.twitter.com/CMebS5nh3y
— Andy Kelly (@Gooner_AK) March 13, 2017
“I used to live in Zimbabwe and I’ve watched Robert Mugabe ruin the country, and Wenger is doing the same. He’s the Mugabe of Arsenal.”
Seems fair.
Posted: 19th, November 2017 | In: Arsenal, Back pages, Money, News, Politicians, Sports | Comment
North London Derby bias: slick Arsenal get lucky, Spurs bemoan the referee and Ozil looks ready to stay
Arsenal 2. Tottenham Hotspur 0. The Premier League match between North London’s biggest football clubs ended in favour of the Gunners, who were feisty, bright, quick, slick and aggressive throughout. The BBC says Arsenal secured a “comfortable north London derby victory”.
As ever, though, the game hinged on moments of controversy. Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino says, “The free-kick for the first goal and the first goal was obvious offside, maybe the second was too.”
Is he right? What say the clubs respective websites?
Spurs: “Davinson Sanchez looked harshly judged to have fouled Alexis Sanchez on the left, Ozil curled in the free-kick and Mustafi rose highest to plant a header home off the far post, opening the scoring.”
No word on any offside, let alone an “obvious” one. But some comment on the foul that gave Arsenal the chance to launch a set piece. The Spurs report is remarkably even-handed.
Arsenal: “We kept knocking on the door though and eventually we made the breakthrough, Ozil curling in a free kick that Mustafi headed across goal and in via the far post.”
No word on the foul that led to the free kick at all. And, again, no word on any offside.
The neutral view is provided by the Times:
Tottenham’s anger was that Mustafi, by a tiny margin, seemed offside when Ozil delivered and that free kick had been awarded dubiously when Alexis Sanchez sprawled as Davinson Sanchez nicked the ball away from him: a clean tackle but Dean judged the Spurs man had tugged his namesake’s jersey before sliding in.
The Arsenal website is notable for one other item: Mesut Ozil is all over it. This is the homepage following that 2-0 win:
Followed by:
Ozil and more Ozil, runs the story. It seem pretty clear that Arsenal are at pains to make Ozil feel wanted. After the game, the German said he “really enjoyed” playing up front with Sanchez and Alexandre Lacazette. “We have good quality and they are both very dangerous,” said Ozil. “Today Alexis showed his quality and I am really happy for him.”
Sanchez was a whir of buzz an brilliance. But surely Arsenal cannot hang on to the Chilean. Manchester City want him. And they have money to burn. But Ozil… Well, signs are that he will stay.
Arsene Wenger gave fans the chance to salute the German by substituting him in the 84 minute. The fans stood and cheered. Oil felt the love. Like Alexis Sanchez, Arsenal’s other stand-out performer on the day, Ozil is entering the final six months of his contract. He is free to talk to foreign clubs from January onwards. Arsenal clearly want him to stay. And Ozil seems happy with his lot.
Posted: 18th, November 2017 | In: Arsenal, Back pages, Sports, Spurs | Comment
Ian Wright: Arsenal great was ‘bullied’ at Crystal Palace
Former Crystal Palace and Arsenal footballer Ian Wright is an ambassador for Cartoon Network’s anti-bullying campaign CN Buddy Network. Helping to promote the cause, Wright is telling media about his own experiences with bullies.
Alyson Rudd writes in the Times:
It is the silence that worries Ian Wright. The silence of those who suffer at the hands of bullies. The former England striker wants children who are picked on to speak up. If they keep their secrets they will, he says, find themselves suffering in the shadows.
We are introduced to Crystal Palace club captain Jim Cannon, there when Wright started out at the London club at the tender age of 21. In 2005, Cannon was part of Palace’s Centenary XI, losing the title “The Player of The Century” to – yep – Ian Wright.
“He was oppressive, a bully and he was nasty,” says Wright, who comes over as a resilient and engaging character. “He was threatened by me for some reason and I don’t know why. He was a horrible bully. It didn’t last long because once I started playing well, my confidence came and I didn’t feel that if I said anything they would let me go. When I told Steve Coppell [the manager] about it, he said he [Cannon] wouldn’t be around for long, that I should carry on doing what I was doing and stand up for myself.”
Cannon gets a right to reply. “I wasn’t a bully, he was just a loud-mouth upstart,” says the 64-year-old. “I was an experienced centre half and I knew he was going to come up against people worse than me so I gave him a little slap one day and that was the extent of the bullying. I’m not interested in Ian Wright, he was an exceptionally good player and if he thinks I bullied him maybe I bullied him into being a good player.”
Not altogether a bad point. For some individuals, being bullied can damage your confidence, leading to depression and isolation. For others, there can be less negative outcomes. It might be even positive, making the victim tougher, better able to navigate society and more self-aware. Professor Dennis Hayes, co-author of The Dangerous Rise Of Therapeutic Education, argues: “The more you talk about bullying, the more it sensitises people to every social slight and the more it becomes a problem.”
So, Wrighty, any more bullying? Wright recalls a lift home with another player, Micky Droy: “He never spoke to me in the car but he knew I needed a lift. It felt like a headmaster driving you home after being in trouble.”
Wright says that he does not know why Droy never spoke but that “deep down he was a good man and knew if he didn’t give me a lift I wasn’t getting home.”
This gives rise to the headlines:
Is bullying the right word? Wright’s experiences suggest a fraught adult relationship, perhaps one based on professional rivalry. Upsetting? Yes. Life-defining? No. If you look for toxic human relationships, surely you’ll find it in many places. How Wright’s story speaks to youngsters suffering abuse is moot. The story and cause seem to be all.
Posted: 16th, November 2017 | In: Key Posts, News, Sports | Comment
Arsenal Balls: Wilshere signs new deal and heads to Spain in Sun clickbait tie-in
Transfer balls: Jack Wilshere, once the saviour of English football, is making his way back to the fore after a trying time with injuries. Having clawed his way back to the Arsenal bench, Wilshere is now being tipped to get his reward: a career at Real Betis.
Well, so says the BBC, which reasons that once Wilshere’s Arsenal contract expires in the summer, Betis are “confident” they will get their man and make him part of Spain’s eighth best side.
Over in the Sun, the story is given added oomph: “BET ON IT Arsenal news: Jack Wilshere set to leave the Emirates as Real Betis ‘believe they are close’ to signing England midfielder on a free.”
Only a loon would bet on Wishere heading to Real Betis. He wants to remain at Arsenal, and the Gunners are pretty keen on keeping him. The Sun’s “exclusive” looks a lot like an advertorial for its betting operation, SunBets. The paper’s scoop comes wrapped around two large calls for readers to sign up to SunBets .
It’s all utter balls. But in the race for clicks, where one news source leads, the other dutifully follow.
The Mirror and Mail both cite the Sun, which has no quotes and facts to support its story. At which point the story takes on a life of its own, with ESPN saying a deal is all but done (taking care to namecheck two big clubs for SEO purposes) – “Jack Wilshere set to spurn Premier League giants Chelsea and Manchester City for Real Betis” – and 90mins.com reading the player’s mind: “Arsenal’s Jack Wilshere Could be Interested in Joining Real Betis.”
But hold the bet! The Sun has more news:
Best save your money.
Posted: 16th, November 2017 | In: Arsenal, Back pages, News, Sports, Tabloids | Comment
Barbie gets an hijab in accordance with ‘diversity’
There’s to be a Barbie doll based on US Olympic fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad, who became the first women who wear an hijab at the Olympics. According to Mattel, Muhammad is a “Shero”, which is bit like being a hero but for women; like heroine, yes, but the kind of portmanteau that makes for better branding and makes women a special case. So much for equality.
Sejal Shah Miller, Barbie’s vice president of global marketing, guffs out a statement: “Ibtihaj is an inspiration to countless girls who never saw themselves represented, and by honoring her story, we hope this doll reminds them that they can be and do anything,” It’s less about her than it is about us, say Mattel.
And as for girls’ ambitions, well they can’t do anything. NBC says Muhammad got into fencing because her mother likes the cover-all kit. “My mom just so happened to discover fencing,” says Muhammad on CNN. “She was driving past a local high school and saw kids with what she thought was like a helmet and like long pants and long jacket. She was like, ‘I don’t know what it is, but I want you to try it.”
So you can do anything, so long as you cover up. And don’t do it in Iran,where as one toy seller opined: “I think every Barbie doll is more harmful than an American missile.”
Whatever the backstory, the athlete is delighted, saying being immortalised in plastic is a “childhood dream come true”:
Thank you @Mattel for announcing me as the newest member of the @Barbie #Shero family! I’m proud to know that little girls everywhere can now play with a Barbie who chooses to wear hijab! This is a childhood dream come true 😭💘 #shero pic.twitter.com/py7nbtb2KD
— Ibtihaj Muhammad (@IbtihajMuhammad) November 13, 2017
Cynics might argue that Mattel needs to broaden its appeal, and what easier way than by tapping into a new market, albeit the relatively small one of female Muslim fencers. CNN Money notes: “Barbie has been working hard to make its collection of dolls more diverse in an effort to broaden the brand’s appeal… Barbie’s sales have slumped, down 6% in the most recent quarter compared to last year.”
More people as dolls here. Each one an inspiration…
Posted: 15th, November 2017 | In: News, Sports, The Consumer | Comment
Tabloids zoom in on ‘ashen-faced’ Gareth Bale
News that Gareth Bale’s “bother-in-law” has died is surely a shock for his loved ones. The Mail says Real Madrid and Wales footballer Bale and his fiancee Emma have been left “devastated” by a “suspected family suicide”. Emma’s sister’s partner Alexander Williams has been found dead.
Tastefully, the paper buys paparazzi photos to best illustrate Bale’s pain.
Gareth Bale arrives for training ashen-faced after he receives devastating news of brother-in-law’s sudden death https://t.co/VExP029aFk pic.twitter.com/JOQUjVbWea
— MailOnline Sport (@MailSport) November 13, 2017
The Mirror is not far off invading Bale’s grief, using the same photo to ooze: “Real Madrid star Gareth Bale looks pained s he turns up for training after shock family death”.
Pathetic stuff.
And worth revisiting the Mail’s pledge of 8 September 1997, eight days after the death of Princess Diana:
“Mail leads the way in banning paparazzi pictures.
“Mail leads the way in banning paparazzi pictures.” Here are the opening paragraphs to the article below that heading:
“The proprietor of the Daily Mail, Mail on Sunday and Evening Standard announced last night that his papers will not in future purchase pictures taken by paparazzi
Viscount Rothermere, chairman of the Daily Mail and General Trust plc said: ‘I am, and always have been, an admirer of Diana, Princess of Wales, and nagged my editors to protect her so far as they could against her powerful enemies.
In view of Earl Spencer’s strong words and my own sense of outrage, I have instructed my editors no ‘paparazzi’ pictures are to be purchased without my knowledge and consent.'”
Plus ca change, as they say in Paris, Madrid, London…
Clickbait balls: Liverpool ‘favourites’ to sign Barcelona Mascherano in a market of one
Transfer balls spots this gem in the Daily Mirror’s desperate clickbait factory: “Liverpool favourites to sign Barcelona star in January transfer window.”
To reach this story, readers vault no fewer than three video adverts. The story is squashed between them:
The entire scoop is an exercise in total balls:
Liverpool have been made favourites to sign Barcelona star Javier Mascherano in January.
Ah, him. Is he still any good? Does he want to rejoin Liverpool? Who else wants him?
Mascherano’s contract at Barcelona is less than two years to run and he is understood to be considering an early exit.
Understood by whom? Dunno. The Mirror doesn’t bother to say. But it does note:
Liverpool have been made 6/4 favourites to sign him by Sky Bet, although River Plate are another option for the 33-year-old.
Why SkyBet have odds on Mascherano is not stated, nor how large the market on the move is. Although it is fun to see the Mirror plugging its rival – SkyBet is operated by the Sun’s owners. Once upon a time both red-tops were fierce rivals seeking out scoops and shockers – now they exist to fluff each other’s guff and get readers to bet on total nonsense.
We called SkyBet and were told that the bet does exist. And because it’s a ‘Special Bet’ or a ‘Request A Bet’ the odds can be triggered by one person requesting odds. Make the request and look back in wonder as your simple question makes it on to the pages of the self-declared”Intelligent Tabloid”.
The full odds are hereunder:
Since the Mirror published its story, the odds have not changed, which implies the market for Mascherano to Liverpool is no larger than a PR’s chequebook?
Posted: 14th, November 2017 | In: Arsenal, Money, News, Sports, Tabloids | Comment
Arsenal Balls: The changing styles of Arsene Wenger
It looks like being another season of barely held together crisis for Arsenal – just for a change, writes Sunil Singh.
After winning the FA Cup again in May, Wenger should probably have walked away from the job he has held for more than 20 years.
Instead, Wenger signed a two-year contract to extend his stay at the Emirates and Arsenal’s start to the season has been typically predictable.
After a rollicking 4-3 home win against Leicester City got the new Premier League season off to a flyer, Arsenal promptly lost back-to-back away games at Stoke City and Liverpool, the latter a humiliating 4-0 hammering.
A run of four clean sheets in a row in the league, with 10 points taken from those games, suggested Arsenal could have turned a corner. But Arsenal were too Arsenal-y for that.
Leading at Watford last weekend, they collapsed to a 2-1 loss at Vicarage Road and sit sixth in the table as a result – level on points with Burnley, of all teams.
But can we predict Arsenal’s twists and turns via Wenger’s wardrobe? Let’s give it a go!
The coat – an investigation
We have to start with Arsene’s coat, of course. It is arguably the most iconic piece of manager-wear of the Premier League era.
The sight of Wenger, ordinarily a very dapper man – he is French, after all – struggling to do up the zip on his jacket is a familiar one to all football fans. It’s a cliche these days.
Wenger’s coat in the 2014-15 Premier League season was a beauty. So long it would swallow a man of normal height hour, it billowed down below Wenger’s knees.
And he couldn’t do it up. Every game, it seemed, the television cameras would capture him grappling with the zip as his team fell apart in front of him. It was all too easy to draw a parallel.
The coat looked great, but it didn’t really work – or at least Wenger couldn’t get it to work. Just like this team, it was almost perfect. But not quite.
What Wenger’s coat says about him
Manager style is going through a big change in the Premier League right now.
While it used to be Wenger who brought massive innovations to English football – like eating right – now it is a new foreign influence who is educating us all over again.
Pep Guardiola sports trainers on the touchline, often with chinos and a nice v-neck jumper. It’s pure style – just like his Manchester City team.
Another manager has seen his fashion choices pored over in recent weeks – Antonio Conte.
The Italian donned stunning suits for most of last season as Chelsea romped to the Premier League title in his first season at Stamford Bridge.
But Conte appeared on the sideline for the first game of his side’s title defence in a shabby club tracksuit – with his team looking similarly out of sorts.
Burnley turned Chelsea over that day, running out 3-2 winners in a game that saw two of Conte’s players sent off. It is impossible to argue that the defeat was solely down to Conte ditching his suit for trackies, but it might well have been a small factor, at least.
How a manager dresses says a lot about him. To Wenger, his coat is all about function. It looks a bit naff, but it keeps him warm. It does the job just about well enough.
But when it doesn’t do the job – when he fumbles with the zip yet again – it makes you wonder why Wenger does not ditch it and upgrade for a better model. Just like his midfield.
Ryan, the editor of a highly respected online publication had this to say, “Wenger used to be a favourite of ours here at Gamblingkingz, but these days he is a relic that the Premier League could certainly do without. And the bookmakers feel the same way. While Arsenal used to be perennial title contenders under his leadership – with the odds reflecting that – now they are also-rans.”
How the other Premier League managers compare
In hindsight, Frank de Boer was always destined to fail when he was appointed at Crystal Palace as the replacement for Sam Allardyce after his shock departure.
De Boer rocked a blue blazer and cream chinos on the sidelines as he watched his Palace side struggling to get to grips with his Total Football style. It just wasn’t a good fit.
Mauricio Pellegrino also does not look quite right in his ‘athleisure’ gear consisting of a polo top and tracksuit bottoms. The colours of his club-branded gear make him look more like a Sainsbury’s assistant manager than the boss of a Premier League football club.
Some managers can pull off the casual look however, with Tony Pulis certainly among them.
The Welshman’s baseball cap is up there with Wenger’s billowing coat as one of the most iconic clothing items in Premier League history.
Pulis is rarely seen without it, pairing the hat with a tracksuit despite him approaching his 60s.
Another tracksuit boss is Jurgen Klopp. He is always in Liverpool-branded gear, giving the impression he is a manager who likes to get stuck in on the training ground. The defending of his team suggests otherwise, however.
Eddie Howe is a fan of the tracksuit too. The Bournemouth boss is so young – still somehow just 39! – that he probably would look like a child dressing up in his dad’s clothes if he wore a suit.
What about Jose Mourinho? Wenger’s old rival is not afraid to rock a tracksuit but he is usually smart in a suit on the touchline.
Opposition fans used to sing “that coat’s from Matalan” at Mourinho earlier in his career, but there is no doubt the United manager is one of the best dressed coaches in the league now.
Mauricio Pellegrino switches between the suit and the tracksuit as well – and he is one of the few Premier League managers who both looks comfortable in either outfit and pulls it off.
Some managers don’t quite suit the style of their team – Burnley’s Sean Dyche, for example. While he is never seen out of a dark suit, his team is much more rough round the edges.
Dyche’s smart style, of course, continues to make him look even more like a nightclub bouncer than his scary face and voice suggest.
So what can Wenger learn from his peers? Ultimately it doesn’t matter. Wenger has shown time and time again he has no interest in learning from anyone else. It’s his way or nothing.
Even if Wenger’s way is a ludicrously long coat that he can’t do up.
Posted: 14th, November 2017 | In: Arsenal, News, Sports | Comment
Manchester United Balls: Mourinho accepts defeat
Football moves pretty fast at the Sun, where the paper continues to cheer for Jose Mourinho, currently turning Manchester United into a pragmatic, defence-minded grinding machine. Second in the Premier League, a not inconsiderable 8 points behind Manchester City after just 11 games played, the Sun explain that none of it is Jose’s fault.
On November 8, Sun readers were told:
“JOSE MOURINHO is heading for a clash with the Manchester United board over further backing in the transfer market. Mourinho has spent £300million in less than 18 months — but still wants more to strengthen his squad as they fight on four fronts… Now he is concerned he may not get the funds he needs to boost his squad in the New Year and next summer.”
One day on and United are in a panic. Mourinho’s off to PSG:
Things move pretty fast. After all, way back in August, the Sun was telling us that Mourinho was living the dream:
“JOSE MOURINHO has told his Manchester United players to do the Double this season. He said their aim had to be to win the Premier League and FA Cup and at least reach the last eight of the Champions League. But as Sunsport today reveals, Mourinho was so confident of what this squad could do he had raised the bar ahead of the new season”
Nothing a few hundred million can’t fix.
Posted: 9th, November 2017 | In: Back pages, manchester united, Sports, Tabloids | Comment
Media bias: Spurs beat Real Madrid with a vanishing offside goal
In this edition of biased football reporting, we look at Tottenham’s 3-1 victory over Real Madrid 3-1 in the Champions League. Spanish newspaper Marca describes the game’;s crucial opening goal:
Replays showed that Tripper was in an offside position when he received the ball, but there was no call from the linesman and the goal stood.
Now rod of any offside in the official Spurs website’s report:
Dele got the ball rolling in the 27th minute when he tucked home Kieran Trippier’s cross from close range
And the BBC:
Dele Alli gave Spurs the lead after 27 minutes when he turned in Kieran Trippier’s cross from close range
GOAL! Dele Alli puts Spurs ahead against current European champions Real Madrid
— The Spurs Web (@spurs_web) November 1, 2017
Not much bias, as it turns out. A 3-1 defeat for Real Madrid tells its own story. And, well, you make your own luck in a sport where luck plays a role:
GOAL! Dele Alli doubles Tottenham’s lead against Real Madrid
— The Spurs Web (@spurs_web) November 1, 2017
Posted: 1st, November 2017 | In: Back pages, Sports, Spurs | Comment (1)
Arsenal clickbait: Daily Mirror ‘spots’ Sead Kolasinac in a Christmas jumper
How bad is sports writing? Like everyone else who cares – and many more who do not – we too saw the Arsenal squad wearing their Christmas jumpers to highlight the work of Save the Children. Since 2011, the club has raised over £2million for the charity.
But to the Daily Mirror, this is a reason to produce “7 things we spotted from Arsenal’s charity Christmas jumper team photo”.
The Mirror provides no link to the charity nor does it mention Christmas Jumper Day (December 15), which is why the Arsenal were wearing seasonal sweaters.
Says Arsenal:
Theo “Woolcott”, “Sweater” Cech, “Gra-Knit” Xhaka and the rest of the Arsenal squad have donned festive jumpers for a special squad picture with mascot Gunnersaurus.To help raise funds for our global charity partner Save the Children, we have created a range of exclusive Christmas Arsenal knits, which each carry a 20 per cent donation of the RRP to Save the Children.
The Arsenal Christmas jumpers are available from ArsenalDirect.com and from the club’s three superstores while stocks last – in sizes for men, women, children and … dogs!
Swap your kit for a knit and sign up for Save the Children’s Christmas Jumper Day on Friday, December 15.
Weak of the Mirror not to link their dire article to the charity. But they do notice that team manager Arsene Wenger is in the photo (Spot 4 on the paper’s list). That’s the same Wenger who, according to the Mirror, left the club on June 30.
Such are the facts.
Posted: 1st, November 2017 | In: Arsenal, Back pages, News, Tabloids | Comment
Arsenal’s missing striker Gonzalo Higuain hits 100 goals in Italy
Congratulations, Gonzalo Higuain. The Argentinian today scored his 100th Serie A goal, hitting the net twice as Juventus beat AC Milan. Higuain, 29, has scored 101 goals in 153 games in Italy’s top flight since arriving in Italy from Real Madrid in July 2013. You will recall that Higuain joined for €40 million. In 2016 he moved to Juventus for €90 million.
But none of that happened if you read the Sun. According to the paper of record, Higuan plays for Arsenal, who he joined for £23m in 2013.
He then went to Liverpool:
Such are the facts.
Posted: 28th, October 2017 | In: Arsenal, Back pages, Sports, Tabloids | Comment
Spurs fan throws cup of wee at West Ham fans
Who threw the urine? Stories abound that a fan of Tottenham Hotspur allegedly threw a cup of urine during Wednesday’s Carabao Cup defeat to West Ham.
This video has been doing the rounds.
A Spurs spokesperson tells everyone: “This behaviour is completely unacceptable. We are currently investigating and working to identify the individual.”
How hard can it be?
You can profile the man using this colour chart favoured by Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh, who evaluates the chracter of his players based on their urine.
Went to take a leak in Moncrief and this was hanging above the toilet. Tom Herman’s attention to detail is real 😳 pic.twitter.com/FoAMbkf56K
— Anwar Richardson (@AnwarRichardson) April 11, 2017
Turns out he’s a ‘champion’…
Posted: 26th, October 2017 | In: News, Sports, Spurs | Comment (1)
Huge bird of prey spotted flying over Austin F1 Grand Prix
You all saw, of course, the gigantic eagle / buzzard hovering over Austin, Texas, as the city’s F1 race neared its end.
That’s one big ass bird casting a shadow on #USGrandPrix #Formula1 track in Austin, Texas pic.twitter.com/JN1Tb8am6D
— Enrique Trujillo (@N_reekeh) October 22, 2017
Carabao Cup balls: Arsenal and Manchester City in fake news epidemic
You can make a story out of anything. Take the Sun’s news that “Arsenal and Manchester City face disqualification from [the] Carabao Cup”.Why? Well, the Sun says they stand accused of “making too many substitutions in extra-time”. It’s the ‘CARABAO KO”.
Readers are told:”Arsenal needed extra-time to beat Norwich 2-1 and City saw off Wolves in a penalty shootout but both are waiting to discover if they broke rules over subs.”
The rules are, according to the Sun:
‘The Premier League giants made four changes — two in extra-time — and the Canaries will demand clarification from the Football League. Four subs are a novelty for cup ties this season but the rules imply only one can be used after 90 minutes.’
Arsenal and City have ready-made defences should the matter reach the legal stage. Bristol Rovers, Bournemouth, Brighton Burnley, Brentford, Portsmouth and Cardiff City all made two changes in extra-time in the Cup’s earlier rounds.
A quick look at the rules tell us that Arsenal and Manchester City did nothing wrong:
10 Substitutes
10.1 Subject to Rule 10.2, in all matches, each team is permitted up to seven substitutes of whom not more than three may take part in the match.
10.2 Where any match goes to extra time (in accordance with the provisions of Rules 14.4, 14.5 and/or 14.6), then subject to the League having obtained the prior approval of the International Football Association Board (IFAB) to the application of this Rule, each Club participating in that match will be permitted to use an additional substitute (in extra time only).
And having suggested that Arsenal and Manchester City could be booted from the competition because it failed to understand the rules, the Sun then notes:
‘The Gunners made a total of four subs, making use of the rule that you can use one added change when a tie heads to extra-time. Arsenal made TWO in extra-time, causing some debate among Twitter users to suggest that Arsene Wenger had broken the rule.”
Isn’t new media crap and full of fake news, eh. It’s nothing like the trusty, subjective and truthful old media, is it? (Yes, it is, ed).
Posted: 25th, October 2017 | In: Arsenal, Back pages, Manchester City, News, Sports, Tabloids | Comment
Media bias: Manchester City Silva’s inconsequential ‘no dive’ cons the ref and pains Burnley
Bernardo Silva will not be retrospectively yellow carded for ‘diving’ when his Manchester City beat Burnley 3-0 in the Premier League. Silva “fell theatrically” in the box “under the slightest of touches from the Burnley goalkeeper”, says the Times.
“If I kicked my kid in the garden, I don’t think he would fall like that,” says Burnley boss Sean Dyche. “For him to get that high off the floor with his arms above his head is almost a skill in itself. I was quite impressed with how far he travelled.”
The Burnley Express says of Silva:
You could question why Pope gave the referee a decision to make, with Silva’s touch taking him away from goal, and his knee did connect with the former Monaco man’s right ankle.
But Silva exaggerated the contact.
Cheating?
Roger East bought it, and after Burnley showed their disgust with Silva
The Manchester Evening News has an odd take on the incident:
Pope tried to withdraw from his challenge and the contact between his knee and Bernardo’s foot seemed inconsequential.
Eh? What does the mean? There was a consequence: City got a penalty that allowed them to score that always vital first goal.
But get a load of how the official Manchester City website reports on the controversial spot kick:
The Portuguese playmaker then won a penalty when Pope brought him down inside the box. David Silva’s sublime throughball for Kevin De Bruyne put the Belgian in on goal, but his effort was parried by Pope. Bernardo, attempting to control the follow up, was then caught by the sprawling Pope, and Roger East pointed to the spot.
Over at Burnley FC, the penalty is at the top of the match report, presented as the game’s key moment:
Controversial penalty sets up leaders’ win as Clarets unbeaten away run ends
Adding:
Burnley’s first defeat since the second weekend of the season came with a note of frustration and something of a sour taste for the way City got the all-important opening goal from the penalty spot…
Sergio Aguero scored it to equal Eric Brook’s club-record tally, but the way Bernardo Silva seemingly convinced referee Roger East to award the penalty following a brush with Clarets’ goalkeeper Nick Pope did not go down well in the visitors’ camp.
It wasn’t a dive. The FA will only says it was a dive “where there is clear and overwhelming evidence to suggest a match official has been deceived by an act of simulation”. What’s clear to one is not clear to another…
Posted: 23rd, October 2017 | In: Back pages, Manchester City, Sports | Comments (2)
Arsenal: Ozil to Manchester United, 32 million followers and one anonymous source
Germany midfielder Mesut Ozil, 29, wants to join Manchester United when his deal with Arsenal expires at the end of the season, says the Daily Mail. “Ozil will be a free agent for next season after telling Arsenal he will not sign a new contract,” says the paper.
But hold on a moment. Ozil has not told anybody Arsenal he wants to move to Old Trafford, says the Sun. And he’s not rejected a new Arsenal contract. A “close friend of Ozil” has “revealed”:
“Mesut has not had any contract offer from Arsenal. There were talks about a modest pay rise last season but all those talks ended in March. There’s been nothing since then… Mesut is adamant he has never spoken to any player about going to Manchester United. He has no idea if United want him but he wants to stay at Arsenal. Look, he just bought a new house in London.
“Mesut had been renting but he decided to buy a house because he both expects and wants to stay.
“But he is angry that people are briefing against him and feels there seems to be some sort of campaign against him. His intention has always been to remain at Arsenal. Mesut, though, does feel he is being isolated and kept in the dark. He is worried that there is a game going on and he is left in the middle of it.”
You still there? Anonymous sources are ten a penny. Mesut Ozil has a mouth. He has 18.8 million followers on Twitter.
Ignore the noise and stay focused! 👊🏼 #COYG #EFCvAFC @arsenal pic.twitter.com/Gjaf4reVsL
— Mesut Özil (@MesutOzil1088) October 21, 2017
Ozil has 14.3 millions followers on Instagram.
If only there was some way for poor Ozil to speak for himself and stop all the game playing…
Posted: 21st, October 2017 | In: Arsenal, Back pages, manchester united, Sports | Comment
Everton balls: Oh, come on, we loved Williams chucking his dummy
Argy-bargy at Everton, where the Toffees lost 1-2 to Lyon in the Europa League. The lowlight features the unforgettable sight of an Everton fan in the Gwladys Street end “trying to shove Anthony Lopes, the Lyons goalkeeper, with his right hand” (Times). The idiot compounded his behaviour by cradling a toddler sucking a dummy at the time. There’s thick and there’s wading into a fight against professional athletes whilst holding a child levels of thick.
We’ll get to know this dangerously thick man is. As the Times notes, “The shame game has begun.”
But before that, what happened? As ever the Press seem incapable agreeing on the most bald fact.
Everton fan carrying a CHILD slaps Lyon goalkeeper on his head – Daily Mail
Merseyside Police investigating Everton-Lyon brawl which saw man throw punche while holiding a kid [sic] – the Sun
An Everton fan who appeared to slap a Lyon player while holding a child during last night’s Europa League game has been banned by the club while police investigate the incident. – Daily Mirror
One fan was seen trying to throw a punch while holding a child. – Daily Express
…a fan carrying a child appeared to aim a punch at Lyon goalkeeper Anthony Lopes. – Daily Telegraph
Punch? Slap? Hit or miss?
Lyons were unimpressed with the Everton showing:
Is this football ? 😫 #EvertonOL pic.twitter.com/ygp6O6BngV
— OL English (@OL_English) October 19, 2017
As for the shame and the horror, the players have spoken:
Everton captain Williams, who was shown a yellow card, told media: “It’s what happens, it’s football. It is what it is. It’s high emotions. We want to win the game, they want to win the game and stuff happens. That was just one of those times.”
He later told Everton FC’s website – where the incident is a described as a “heated exchange – “We want to show fight for ourselves, but more than anything for the Club and the fans especially. We’re disappointed we haven’t got a result tonight because I thought we showed good attitude in how we went about it.”
And Lopes opined: “I don’t think it is part of the English atmosphere to hit an away player. It was no big deal, it happened and that was it. For me it seemed to wake up the fans and they seemed to love it.”
They did. And so did the media. Fans and media love a mass brawl. Chuck in a streaker, a few red cards and the match would have been yet more entertaining – albeit not up there with Zidane’s headbutt or Cantona’s kung-fu kick.
Posted: 20th, October 2017 | In: Back pages, News, Sports, Tabloids | Comment
Arsenal balls: Sanchez and Wenger meet in secret and all about that handshake
Alexis Sanchez Watch: an at-a-glance look at the Arsenal striker in the media. Today the Mail leads with a question: “Was this the moment Alexis Sanchez ignored his Arsenal manager ahead of training?” We, of course, adhere to Ian Betteridge’s law of headlines, which states: “Any headline that ends in a question mark can be answered by the word no.”
So, no. And, indeed, after clicking the link, the Mail delivers a further headline:
Alexis Sanchez appears to snub Arsene Wenger at Arsenal training as contract dispute rolls on
The dispute is, of course, nothing of the sort. Sanchez has not gone on strike. Arsenal are not sacking him, nor suing him. The Gunners want him to stay. Sanchez wants a lot more money to play for the Premier League’s fifth best team. Negotiations are ongoing.
Sam Morshead then adds:
Was this the moment Alexis Sanchez ignored his Arsenal manager ahead of training?
No.
The Chilean striker, whose Gunners future remains up in the air, appeared to blank his boss prior to a session at the club’s London Colney facility on Wednesday.
Wenger, who was embarking on his ritual of shaking each of his players’ hands before putting them through their paces, was acknowledged by Nacho Monreal and Mesut Ozil – but a short video clip shows Sanchez apparently walking on by.
Take a video clip. Remove it from context, Stick it into a pre-ordained narrative. And write a clickbait headline. Bingo! And having seduced Arsenal fans with total ball, Morshead then notes:
They saw Sanchez head on towards a group of his team-mates instead of approaching Wenger, though the Gunners manager did not offer his hand to his star striker and appeared to say ‘I’ve already done you’.
To put it another way, then:
“Arsene Wenger appears to snub Alexis Sanchez at Arsenal training as contract dispute rolls on”
Or:
“Wenger does not shake Sanchez’s hand twice”
Or how about:
“Sanchez happy with team-mates and life at Arsenal”
Or as Morshead puts it:
…given reports about a frosty relationship between player and coach in the past, moments like these always give rise to speculation.
What frosty relationship? Oh, the one the tabloids keeps harping on about. Because no sooner has one tabloid conjured total balls from a non-event than the rival organs are reporting the tosh as fact:
We do like the Daily Star’s idea Sanchez is “troubled”, in the manner of a recovering drug addict or a Hollywood wild child is ‘troubled’.
And here’s the video of the huge happening that excited the national Press:
Alexis snubs Wenger on a handshake 🤔 pic.twitter.com/Y6Wni4xjMG
— Kolasnator (@Kolasnator) October 18, 2017
So, what really heppened? Well, Sanchez was one of the first players who arrived at training, and Wenger greeted him well before the video was shot.
In other words: “Wenger and Sanchez meet in secret!”
Such are the facts.
Posted: 19th, October 2017 | In: Arsenal, Back pages, Sports, Tabloids | Comment
#StayBritish – Richard Keys has sage advice for Leicester City
When Leicester City sacked Craig Shakespeare – the Foxes earned the Premier League’s seventh biggest haul of points during his 8 months as manager – former Sky Sports anchor Richard Keys took to twitter to opine:
I’m sad to see Craig Shakespeare lose his job. Seems to me there are some fairly deep problems to sort out at Leicester. #staybritish
— Richard Keys (@richardajkeys) October 17, 2017
That’s Richard Keys, the Britisher who lives in Qatar (not in Britain) where he works for Al Jazeera (owned by Qatari royalty) talking about Leicester City, the club owned a Thai billionaire, which won the Premier League title under the guidance of an Italian.
#StayBritish, indeed.
Liverpool balls: the mighty Maribor
All’s well at Liverpool FC. Last night the mighty Reds swatted Maribor 7-0 in the Champions’ League. It was the biggest away win by an English team in the entire history of the European Cup.
Watching the thrashing was the Daily Mirror’s David Maddock. He was keen to show readers that Maribor are a top side. They are “seasoned Champions League performers”.
Really? The Slovenians are hardly competitive:
Ten-year European record (UEFA Champions League unless indicated otherwise)
2016/17: UEFA Europa League play-offs
2015/16: second qualifying round
2014/15: group stage
2013/14: UEFA Europa League round of 32 (having transferred from UEFA Champions League play-offs)
2012/13: UEFA Europa League group stage (having transferred from UEFA Champions League play-offs)
2011/12: UEFA Europa League group stage (having transferred from UEFA Champions League third qualifying round)
2010/11: UEFA Europa League play-offs
2009/10: UEFA Europa League play-offs (having transferred from UEFA Champions League third qualifying round)
2008/09: did not take part in UEFA club competition
2007/08: UEFA Intertoto Cup second round
Not all that good are they. Indeed, in 2014, when Chelsea thrashed Maribor 6-0, the Mirror called the Slovenian side “minnows”.
Posted: 18th, October 2017 | In: Liverpool, Sports | Comment
The Sun: boring Liverpool have great PR and Mourinho is a genius
Liverpool v Manchester United continues to make news for all the wrong reasons. They game was a dirge. It was very much a Jose Mourinho match: slow, niggly, functional, pragmatic and dull. Over in the Sun, however, there’s a difference of opinion.
Gavin Newsham gets it right in his apprasal:
Do you remember when Sam Allardyce took West Ham to Stamford Bridge in 2014, stuck everyone behind the ball and escaped with a goalless draw and a point? “This is football from the 19th Century,” moaned then Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho.
Fast forward three years…Jose’s United managed just one shot on target in a game when Mourinho’s men did little or nothing to try and win the game, playing the kind of unsightly, anti-football that’s completely at odds with the way they tend to do things at Old Trafford.
Or as the Sun’s Neil Curtis told Sky Sports:
I think he got it absolutely spot on. I can’t remember a time when going to Anfield was a given for any away team, no matter how good they are. This man is supposed to be anti-football but has scored four goals on four occasions in the last seven games…
There were two chances in that game – Manchester United one and Liverpool had one – but it’s Mourinho’s fault that it was 0-0. Mourinho was inviting Klopp to take a risk yesterday – but he didn’t take one…
Where the plan fell down, for me, was with Romelu Lukaku. He couldn’t hold the ball up when it came out. Yes, he had men around him and what have you but if he holds the ball up, he can then feed it off to people and they can play on the break. Lukaku was poor yesterday and Henrikh Mkhitaryan went missing but that’s not Mourinho’s fault.
It’s easy to criticise him, it’s easy to blame him but Klopp wasn’t taking any great risks yesterday either. He’s got a great PR team…
He’s not the only one…
How many chances? One each, right, says Curtis. Wrong, says the Daily Mirror:
For all the grim reality of that pragmatic approach, United still should have lost, with David De Gea making a world-class save from Joel Matip and both Mo Salah and Emre Can spurning wonderful chances – while even at the end, Matip and Dejan Lovren had clear headers they put over.
Such are the facts.
Posted: 16th, October 2017 | In: Back pages, Liverpool, manchester united, Sports, Tabloids | Comment (1)
