Mediawatch

Ian Wrong, Wrong, Wrong
'Phil will be a Big hit at Chelsea' booms The Sun. Whose opinion could that be?

"Scolari's been brilliant so far and I'm excited about him," says Ian Wright, for it is he. Well, more accurately, it's Gavin Glicksman, the journalist tasked with cobbling the former BBC court jester's words into, for want of a better word, a newspaper article.

"The players seem to like to playing for him and he's not scared to drop people - that's what I'm looking forward to seeing at Chelsea," says Wrighty.

"If he can create that competitive spirit for places, Chelsea will not be stopped.

"Scolari is not afraid to drop big-name players and people will stand up and respect that if it he does it here."

All of which seems fair enough.

Mind you, it's somewhat at odds with the view put forward in the same newspaper back in July, when an article was published under the headline: 'Big Phil will flop at Chelsea.'

"He's a proven manager in the fact he's won the World Cup," said the man being interviewed on that occasion.

"But I think he did it with a Brazil team that any half-decent manager would have won it with.

"I personally don't think he can handle it and I don't believe he'll be a success here.

"He's under pressure from the moment he walks through the door because the last manager got to the Champions League final and the one before won the Premier League twice.

"With the pressure he's under to try and gel a new team, it's going to be rocky unless he has an unbelievable start.

"I wish him well but I just don't know if being at a top English club is the best fit for him."

The bloke offering his opinion? Ian Wright.

The man tasked with recording it? Gavin Glicksman.

What a difference giving Shaun Wright-Phillips a couple of pre-season kicks of the ball makes, eh?


How The Press Works
'Dirk Kuyt Promises Liverpool Will Make Premier League Title Challenge' - Daily Mirror headline.

'Dirk Kuyt has vowed that Liverpool's Premier League campaign will not be over by the end of September this time around' - Opening sentence from the Daily Mirror.

"It sometimes happens you don't play your best game as a team, but we will not play like that at the Stadium of Light. The start of the season is big for us. We know how important it will be against Sunderland. We have to do better and we know we will" - Actual quotes from Dirk Kuyt.


Mind You, We're Saving This Bit For Later
"We will not play as badly as that again" - Dirk Kuyt.

Roll on the new season.


Technically Correct
Says Juande Ramos:

"Tottenham already are a massive club and we can be compared with Manchester United or the other top-four clubs."

Well, yes. For example in the sentence, 'Unlike Manchester United and the other top-four clubs, Tottenham haven't won the league in more than 45 years.'

That's a comparison if ever we saw one.


Never Give Up On Your Dreams
'Gareth Barry's Liverpool dream is over as he's named in Villa team' - The Daily Mirror, August 14.

'Liverpool will offer Aston Villa a cut-price fee for Gareth Barry after the player cup-tied himself last night' - The Daily Mirror, August 15.


Shocking Headline Of The Day
'Owen Out Of Opener' - Sky Sports.

Might as well save the first three words, chaps, then you can just paste in the appropriate match each week.


And Talking of Newcastle
"If you look at Adebayor, what I would say to Shola Ameobi is what I saw of Adebayor a year and a half ago when he first came on to the scene is what I saw of Ameobi when he first came on to the scene. I don't think it is too late" - Kevin Keegan, January 29.

August 15: Newcastle give Ipswich Town permission to discuss personal terms with Shola Ameobi, seven goal-free months down the line.


Striker Light
Says Mark Lawrenson on the BBC website:

'City are trying to bring in Blackburn's Roque Santa Cruz because they have no strikers.'

Poor old Valeri Bojinov, Rolando Bianchi, Benjani, Darius Vassell, Jo, Felipe Caicedo and Daniel Sturridge.

Maybe Lawro should have used the qualifier 'good'...


Misleading Headline Of The Day
'Slade Thrilled By Boro Draw' - F365.

If only their fans were so easily pleased. The Riverside might not be quite so empty between October and May.


Worst Headline Of The Day
'Look Roo's Back For United' - The Sun. Do we have to have these every week?

Quote Of The Day
"Regretfully, I'm judged on football results. But as we reach a very difficult financial era in business and in life in Scotland, what is important is we run the club fiscally correct and that is what we intend to do" - After selling the club's best player and missing out on another transfer target to Celtic, Rangers chairman David Murray does his best to cheer up the fans.

Rumour Of The Day
'Portsmouth and agent Willie McKay have been charged as part of the FA's bungs investigation. But Pompey chief Harry Redknapp is NOT facing any accusations of misconduct. The FA last night charged the club and McKay over deals for Benjani - which saw him move twice in two years. But the Premier League club denied they had broken any rules and vowed to contest the charge' - The Sun.

Non-Football Story Of The Day
'A woman stripped naked in front of dozens of people in a city centre pub and allegedly allowed a group of men to grope her while she poured oil over her breasts. The woman was hired to perform for a stag party at the Black Horse in Longbrook Street. Several drinkers who were in the pub at the time said they were shocked and offended. A complaint has been made to Exeter City Council, the licensing authority, about the incident' - thisisexeter.co.uk. It should be noted that our favourtie thing about this was the reader comments section: 'This is absolutely shocking and a sad indictment of today's society that a fully woman can cavort naked and oily around my favourite pub and no-one tell me about it.'

Thanks to today's Mediawatch spotters: Matt D and Richard Ferraris. If you spot something that belongs on this page, mail theeditor@football365.com, putting 'Mediawatch' in the subject field.