Latest Articles
The Page That Should Be Here In Long Term
Is the 66-year-old Fabio Capello 'a young coach who can remain in the job long-term'? Oh and Spurs fans should be relieved...
The Page That Suggests A Brew And A Lie Down
Nando's happy, but not according to Auntie, the old tease Hazard, WE TOLD YOU SO and more...
All Articles
Omerta
As anyone who has ever watched the 'Nerf Crossfire' (c. John Stewart) chumminess of Sunday Supplement will tell you, there's generally a weird Omerta between Fleet Street journalists. You can sort of disagree, but by God if you criticise then you can expect a visit from Luca Brasi.
There's an odd example of that by Oliver Holt in The Daily Mirror this morning, as he writes, about a recent appearance by John Barnes on SHOUTsport:
'Barnes turned on one of the guests on the show, a respected veteran columnist, and asked him what he had been writing when supporters were throwing bananas at him 20 years ago.'
For those who didn't tune in, the 'respected veteran columnist' was Patrick Barclay, who was taken to task by Barnes on Sunday evening.
This conversation took place on a very (rather inexplicably) popular radio station. Quite a few people would've heard the exchange, so why the coyness? Why not just say 'Patrick Barclay'? Does pointing out a man was on the radio break some sort of Fleet Street code which we are not party to?
Available On Amazon For £7.09
Incidentally, Holt dealt with another SHOUTsport contributor in his column today:
'Stan Collymore does a brilliant job for talkSPORT. He is one of the main reasons why the station is gaining in popularity. His phone-ins are full of energy and intelligent debate, his knowledge of the game is superb, his match commentaries are packed with insight and vitality, his research is meticulous
'So, in those circumstances, it seems absolutely bizarre that the station has decided to drop him from its Champions League coverage this week, and in the future, in favour of Andy Gray. This is not a dig at Gray. I just think it's sad that Collymore, one of the freshest voices in English broadcasting, is being treated in such a strange fashion.'
As an aside, if you fancy reading something else when you're done with The Daily Mirror, you can pick up a copy of 'Tackling My Demons', Stan Collymore's autobiography, written with Oliver Holt.
Rumours
A quick word about Neil McLeman's story on the back page of The Daily Mirror this morning.
'CHELSEA STARS STILL TEXTING SPECIAL ONE - AVB undermined, claims Porto chief' reads the headline.
And the piece reports: 'Andre Villas-Boas is being undermined by Jose Mourinho's close relationship with Chelsea players, says the Porto president.'
Interesting. Let's have a look at what Pinto da Costa said. Or, to put it a little more accurately, what the Mirror's translation of his words said:
"He will have success with the Blues, because his contract isn't only for one year. He has to have time to mould his team and he can't do whilst there are players who, as people say, exchange text messages with Mourinho. Abramovich is aware of this."
Now, as far as Mediawatch can tell, by saying 'as people say', it sounds awfully like Da Costa is merely repeating a rumour.
And does a paper like the Mirror really want to be in the business of reporting as fact what is in fact simply a barely substantiated rumo....oh.
Sorry, David
Given the affection Sir Alex Ferguson holds for journalists, we wouldn't be surprised if the old boy did this on purpose.
Reports The Daily Mirror this morning: 'Ryan Giggs...is poised to make his 900th appearance for the club. Giggs, set to reach the milestone in United's Europa League game against Ajax tomorrow...'
And later on in the morning, after it was confirmed that Giggs would not be travelling to Amsterdam, a rather different version of the truth appeared on The Mirror website:
'Giggs' next United appearance will be his 900th, but it was always likely that after playing such an impressive part in his club's Premier League title charge, he would be excused a last-32 first-leg meeting with Ajax.'
Embargo-A-Go-Go
We're not sure Wayne Rooney quite gets this PR business.
A press release was sent to assorted media outlets, excitedly answering the question that literally everyone in the country was waiting for - what is the name of Rooney's new horse?
To those saying 'Huh? Rooney has a horse?' we would simply put on our best 'Cher from Clueless' voice and say 'Duh! Get with the programme girlfriend' (or something), and urge you to get excited too.
Anyway, this news was considered so important that it was STRICTLY EMBARGOED until midday today. Seriously. The name of a horse, owned by a footballer, was embargoed. Oi vey.
Anyway, you probably know what's coming next. At around 10am, Rooney tweeted: 'Just to confirm to everyone i have now named my horse switcharooney.'
And a thousand PR men put their heads in their hands.
Laboured Intro Of The Day
Writes Matt Barlow in The Daily Mail:
'Arsene Wenger crossed the Alps and descended upon Italy on Tuesday night with Hannibal on his mind.
'Not the Roman one with the elephants or the cannibal for that matter but the fella from The A-Team, the one who loves it when a plan comes together.'
Maths With Eurosport
Headline from the Eurosport mobile 'app': 'Bulgaria's Penev omits star duo.'
Intro from the Eurosport mobile 'app': 'Dimitar Berbatov, Stilian Petrov and Martin Petrov were all omitted from Bulgaria coach Luboslav Penev's first squad to visit Hungary.'
It's either a counting issue, or they're expecting Berba and the Petrovs to mud-wrestle over who gets to be the two 'stars.'
Sexy.
Worst Headline Of The Day
'£10m Carloss' - The Sun.
Non-Football Merking Of The Day
'A radio station promotion promising an all-expenses paid on-air divorce on Valentine's Day was hijacked by a lesbian couple disgusted at the controversial ploy. The Rock Drive Show hosts Robert Taylor and Jono Pryor offered to pay for the divorce provided they could broadcast the phone call to the unsuspecting spouse. The station was strongly criticised for the "cowardly" stunt and in the end, it backfired on them when the stunt was hijacked by a lesbian couple. When their supposed winner, Sam, who had offered to pull out the night before, called what the announcers thought was her husband Andy, a woman answered and a tirade began.
"No, this isn't Andy. It's never going to be Andy. It wasn't Andy to start with you f***ing idiots," said a woman who then revealed herself as Sam's wife, Amber. "So how does it feel you two? How does it feel like, being on the other end of something? We sabotaged you, you dickheads," she added. Sam, the original caller, then chipped in, saying the competition was a shocker and she wanted to stop someone being hurt. An embarrassed Pryor admitted they had been foiled. "I feel like I'm in an episode of Scooby Doo and we're finally figuring out how you caught us out..." - Stuff.co.nz.
Runner-Up
'A full-scale animal rescue was launched by emergency services after members of the public mistook a soft toy floating down a river for a real-life penguin in distress. Rescuers were scrambled after a 999 call was made about a 'penguin' floating down a river on a block of ice. The alert - in Heidelberg, Germany - started when passers by saw what they believed was a living bird bobbing down the River Necker. It appeared as if the penguin was stuck to the ice and in distress because it was not moving, prompting the animal lovers to take action and call the police. But after sending a rescue squad, red-faced officers discovered the bird was simply a soft toy frozen into the ice by pranksters. 'It was someone's idea of a joke about the freezing weather,' explained one officer. 'But people thought it was a real penguin that has escaped from a local zoo' - Metro.
Thanks to today's Mediawatch spotter Gil Erez and Conor Griffin. You probably know who you are. If you spot anything that belongs on this page, mail us at theeditor@football365.com, putting 'Mediawatch' in the subject field.
