Mediawatch: Mkhitaryan only as good as Fellaini

Matt Stead

Poor Cesc

‘What a ball for Diego Costa to score. I don’t know what was better, Costa’s movement in order to offer the invitation for David Luiz to attempt the 40-yard wonder ball or the sheer audacity and precision of the pass. I suppose the movement combined with the chest trap made it for me.

‘The last time I saw a centre-back put a centre forward in on goal so well or so deliberately was Bobby Moore in the World Cup final in 1966. It was just masterful. As a former player I saw defenders try something like that but seldom did it work.

‘I even played with defenders who would not have given a moment’s thought to attempting such an adventurous manoeuvre for fear of ridicule. That was left to the midfield players – providing you had one that could pass, of course.

‘It’s great to see world-class defenders producing world-class moments.’

So, who wants to break the bad news to Garth Crooks?

 

Crooks and castles
Even leaving aside Crooks’ clear bullying of Cesc Fabregas, his BBC team of the week is quite something. From describing Gary Cahill’s own goal for Chelsea against Manchester City as ‘an excellent finish’ with absolute seriousness, to claiming that Crystal Palace are ‘punching above their weight’ in 13th, it is a rollercoaster from start to finish.

The highlight might just be Crooks insisting that he would have preferred Tottenham to draw with Chelsea last week and beat Swansea 2-0 this, as opposed to losing to the Blues and thrashing the Swans. The reasoning seems obvious, yet Crooks is insistent that he has to explain.

‘We’ve all seen what happens when Spurs fancy it – they can be devastating. However, I would have preferred a draw against Chelsea last week and a comfortable 2-0 victory, as opposed to a swashbuckling win, against Swansea. My reasoning is this: I’m tired of being continuously led into a false sense of being optimistic about the title by a Tottenham team that destroys the lesser outfits yet suffers from stage fright when the bigger clubs come along.’

Just stick with ‘four points are better than three’ next time.

 

Material goods
Sorry, did we say that was the highlight? We were wrong. Says Crooks of Bournemouth’s Ryan Fraser:

‘I was hoping that someone might materialise out of Sunday’s fixtures and he did.’

What?

 

Piece it together
Sorry, did we say that was the highlight? We were wrong. Says Crooks of a debate between Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer on Match of the Day:

‘I found myself howling with laughter watching Match of the Day as Gary Lineker (as I knew he would) took Alan Shearer to task about his definition of a world-class striker. Links absolutely nailed Alan and continued to bait him over the statement that he thought Aguero was the only world-class striker in the Premier League. Well, I’m with Links on this one.’

‘Links’.

 

The Wright stuff
Impressed with Arsenal on Saturday, were you? Impressed with a 5-1 victory which puts them second in the Premier League table?

Ian Wright was not impressed in the slightest. Speaking to BT Score, the former Gunner explained his stance.

“No,” he replied when asked whether they were capable of winning the Premier League title. “I don’t think so especially after how Chelsea played. They seem to have the momentum at the moment.

“I haven’t seen anything from Arsenal’s last three or four games to make me think they’re there yet.”

Arsenal’s last four games include a home draw with Tottenham (fifth), an away draw at Manchester United (sixth), and heavy victories over Bournemouth and West Ham. They are unbeaten in the league since the first game of the season. They are three points behind leaders Chelsea. They have Alexis Sanchez. What more do you want?

 

It’s a kind of magic
The Daily Mail were clearly impressed with one player as Manchester United and Everton played out a 1-1 draw at Goodison Park.

Writes Ian Ladyman of Mkhitaryan’s ‘magical display’:

‘The Armenian continued his ascendency with another fine display on the right-wing. Superb dribbling at times and a nightmare for Everton defenders to deal with.’

His match rating? Six out of ten. Same as Marcos Rojo. And Marouane Fellaini.

 

Happy Hending
Credit to Andrew Dillon of The Sun for watching Bournemouth’s historic 4-3 comeback victory over Liverpool on Sunday and deciding that Jordan Henderson – scorer of none of the seven goals – was the story.

‘Not for the first time this season Jordan Henderson left Bournemouth with a deep sense of frustration.’

We can see where this is going. We’re not sure we like it.

‘Last month it was having to exit the seaside town’s For Your Eyes Only lap dancing club with Kop team-mate Adam Lallana at 4.30am to report back for the minor matter of England training.’

Oh God.

‘There was no happy ending yesterday, either, when Liverpool’s skipper oversaw an implosion by his team who lost ground in the title race.’

Mercifully, Dillon stops there. Until his final paragraph, that is.

‘Incidentally, Can had to come off briefly for treatment on a tight groin in the first half – something else which must have reminded Henderson of his last trip to Bournemouth.’

Does anyone else feel as though they need a shower?

 

Mirror, Mirror
The Daily Mirror were busy learning five things from that game. Here is lesson 1):

‘Most clubs would miss a No.10 like Philippe Coutinho and it clearly won’t be plain sailing for Liverpool to cope without hime while he overcomes an ankle injury.’

Yes, hime. And was Loris Karius incapable of holding onto the ball because Coutinho was injured? Did the Brazilian’s absence force James Milner to concede a penalty? Was Dejan Lovren so overcome with grief that Coutinho was sidelined that he simply had to play really, really badly?

Liverpool had ten shots and scored three goals on Sunday. Bournemouth had 12 and scored four. If you think Coutinho was the most important absentee, Joel Matip wants a word.

 

Payet forward
Chris Sutton also watched the Gunners dismantle West Ham on Saturday, and offered his thoughts on the BBC’s Match of the Day. He said:

“They are all over the place defensively. Payet hasn’t turned up at all this season.”

Payet has undeniably not had the impact he did last season, but “not turned up at all” is harsh. The Frenchman has created 47 goalscoring opportunities for teammates this season – at least three more than any other player across Europe’s top five leagues. He scored a goal-of-the-season contender against Middlesbrough in October.

West Ham have a number of problems. The form of their best player is at the bottom of that list.

 

Greedy Harry
You thought Harry Kane enjoyed a good week, didn’t you? The 23-year-old celebrated his signing of a new contract at Tottenham by scoring twice in a 5-0 win over Swansea on Saturday. He has seven league goals in nine games this season, and is in fine form since returning from a recent injury.

For some, however, Kane ‘has lost’. Lost what, Mediawatch cannot be sure. But Jeremy Cross of the Daily Star is adamant he has ‘lost’ something. He writes:

‘Harry Kane should pinch himself each morning when he climbs out of bed to start another day as one of the most privileged footballers in England.

‘The England and Tottenham striker has just signed a new contract worth more than £100,000 a week that secures his financial future for life.

‘But when he looks in the mirror will he feel totally comfortable with the man staring back at him?

‘He shouldn’t do, because deep down he will know that what he sees is the reflection of someone who has still undersold himself.’

It’s a curious argument, that Kane ought to have demanded more money from Tottenham. Sure, he could have done so, but the club operate on a strict wage structure, one in which he is the first to earn six figures on a weekly basis. Are we really expected to criticise the 23-year-old for not being more greedy?

‘Spurs chairman Daniel Levy will feel like he’s hit the jackpot despite having to make his leading striker the highest-paid star in the club’s history. Levy has played on the fact Kane grew up a Spurs fan and is living the lifelong dream.

‘The hard-nosed negotiator has won and Kane has lost because he’s let his heart rule his head.’

Surely that is the point, Jeremy? Kane is a lifelong Spurs fan, playing and scoring regularly for the club he supported as a boy (bugger off, Arsenal fans). He did not grow up harbouring aspirations of squeezing an extra £20,000 or £30,000 a week out of Tottenham; he grew up wishing he could play for them.

Remember too that this is not the first contract Kane has signed with the north Londoners. He penned a new deal in August 2014, before improving those terms to a £35,000-a-week contract in February 2015. That was then increased to around £60,000 earlier this year, with this latest deal meaning that he can earn almost £130,000 a week, including bonuses. It is not as if Tottenham only offer contract renewals every five years. Perhaps the 23-year-old is content with being proportionately rewarded for his positive form.

This might be the first instance we can remember of a footballer being criticised for not demanding more money. It’s a confusing world.

 

Shear force
Alan Shearer has a message for Leicester in The Sun. It begins with some quite brilliant name-dropping:

‘I was with Sir Alex Ferguson at this year’s Masters talking with a jubilant Danny Willett after his dramatic triumph at Augusta.’

Textbook, Alan. Please, continue.

‘It was Willett’s first major win as he rocked the world of golf.

‘As the champagne flowed Sir Alex said to him: “You know how we  celebrated winning our first trophy at Manchester United? We went out and won another one.”

‘The message was simple — don’t let it end here, go out and do it again.

‘Of course United under Fergie’s leadership were the masters of that. As soon as they won one trophy they set their sights on the next. It is a shame Leicester City were not offered similar advice, or if they were, they certainly did not listen.

‘If ever a group of  players were resting on their laurels after what was achieved last season it is this lot.’

With Leicester currently 15th in the Premier League table, just two points above the relegation zone, it seems a fair point. They had 16 more points and were second at this stage last season.

Had Shearer ended there, it would have been fine. But he does not.

‘You cannot take anything away from that amazing title triumph.

‘And I am not saying Leicester could have won the league again this season, nor am I saying they should be up there with Chelsea, Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool right now.

‘But though it was highly unlikely we would win the title again at Blackburn after our success in 1995, we at least tried – we still worked hard and gave our best – which is not something Leicester did on Saturday.’

After 14 games of this season, Leicester are 15th on 13 points. After 14 games of the 1995/96 season, defending champions Blackburn were 13th on 17 points.

Is two positions and four points really enough of a difference between a team ‘resting on their laurels’ and one who ‘worked hard and gave their best’?

 

Fake news
On Sunday, The Sun published a story with the following headline: ‘Ronaldinho joins Chapecoense to show support for disaster-stricken club’. In a ‘breaking news’ story, we were told in no uncertain terms us that the Brazilian legend had joined the club. This was stated as fact.

The story can no longer be found on The Sun’s website (although it can be found via a simple Google search), but it caused quite the commotion.

Why was it deleted? Because the story was inaccurate and not researched. It was based on a social media post of Ronaldinho holding a football shirt after signing a deal with a vitamin manufacturer. It was not even a Chapecoense shirt, and the image was from 2008.

Within hours, the story was removed from the website, but not before it was pushed on social media, received traffic online, and undoubtedly generated some form of advertising revenue. The damage had long been done.

In the rush to produce news, The Sun failed to check the basic facts. Deleting the story does not right the wrong, it simply removes accountability and acts like it never happened. Such wilful ignorance really should not be tolerated.

 

Top of the class

Who needs wins when you have #class?

 

Recommended reading of the day
Sid Lowe on El Clasico.

Thore Haugstad on Manchester City vs Chelsea.

Lee Scott on Joshua Kimmich.