Mails: Would Le Tiss succeed in modern game?

Ian Watson

Send your mails to theeditor@football365.com

Reds would sacrifice CL for PL
I’ve been reading and hearing a few comments regarding Liverpool’s tough Champions League draw. PSG and Napoli being the barrier in the way of Liverpool progressing is not untrue but sometimes I think it is best to see it from the other clubs point of view.

Neither Napoli or PSG will relish coming to Anfield with the atmosphere, tenacity and the reds swarming all over them, just ask Roma, Man City and all the others put to sword last season. Also, away from home Liverpool are devastating on the break, just ask Roma, Man City and all the others put to the sword last season.

I think Liverpool’s biggest hurdle will be if they are in with a shout of winning the league by the time the knock out phase comes around (assuming we qualify of course). I don’t think there is a Liverpool in the world that would begrudge Klopp picking some reserves in the Champions League if there is a genuine chance of winning the Premier League.

It’s all ifs and buts at this stage but what is very clear is that it’s a great time to be a Liverpool supporter.
Jimmy (enjoy the ride) Spain

 

Wallis and vomit
Firstly, excellent skills on the line about Simpson and the King leaving in today’s Gossip page. It made me laugh and, more importantly, it made me feel a bit smug that I understood the reference.

It also got me thinking about the importance of intelligent football coverage, beyond its role in simply helping us to understand inverted full-backs, inverted wingers, inverted sugar syrup, etc.

Essentially, football is deeply loved by an enormous number of people, which is why it’s a great way to get your message across if you’re e.g a manufacturer of chocolate bars, an airline, and so on. It also gives businesses a direct line into a demographic of young, currently disenfranchised males across the Western world.

As ever, the main predator of young and disenfranchised people is the far-right; and a prime tactic of the far-right is to keep people at large as uneducated as possible. Why? Because if you understand what the various political movements stand for, and can make critical assessments of their statements and the proclamations of the mass media, you’re not likely to vote for the party that’s going to give tax breaks to the very wealthiest, and give power to businesses to worsen your working conditions – i.e, the right and far-right. If you’re ignorant, you’re as likely to believe that the world is flat as that it’s spherical – you’ll believe whoever makes the most convincing argument, or shouts the loudest at you.

But how do you convince people to reject critical thought and knowledge, given that ‘knowledge is power’ and all that?

During the World Cup I entered a ‘Dream Team’ league run by The Sun (the FIFA one was better) and was struck by how the dialogue on the website was geared towards creating a follow-me herd mentality. I was informed that I had to think up a really witty, banterific team name, because boring names like ‘Davechester Rovers’ just aren’t good enough, apparently. This is an example of ‘negging’, as I believe the kids call it nowadays – pre-emptively putting people down to establish yourself as the voice of authority. Points were arbitrarily given out based on the opinions of the Sun’s match reporters, which as you’ve pointed out many times in Mediawatch, are often bollocks (and it was entirely predictable how they’d be rating Sterling each match) – but again, this establishes the newspaper as the authority, and us as the followers, hoping and chasing for approval.

For more evidence of this tactic being used in our culture of ‘toxic masculinity’, you can see the same poisonous attitude creep into many male social circles, where one or more ‘alpha males’ maintain their position at the top of their social group by insulting others and putting them down in the name of ‘banter’. The net result – those at the bottom are constantly playing catch-up and seeking approval from their alpha ‘friends’.

Why does this work? Why don’t the ‘weaker’ men tell the alphas to bog off? Well, society tells men that they’re not allowed to be weak and vulnerable, yet many are (often through socio-economic issues that are completely out of their control) – and one way to help someone who is weak and vulnerable to suddenly feel empowered is to give them an identity as part of a group or tribe. It’s why young males can be drawn into gangs, why young men become football hooligans, and it’s why young men can end up supporting a political movement that ultimately won’t benefit them. It’s why, worst of all, a lot of young, disenfranchised men are listening to the weird McCarthyist ramblings of Jordan Peterson, the Gillian McKeith of academia.

So, having established itself as ‘the cool kid’ that talks down to its readers, with the aim of creating a herd of eager-to-please followers, The Sun (other terrible tabloids are available) then offers a remarkably unintelligent level of commentary on football and, well, everything else. It’s pitched as being ‘fun to read’ or ‘easy to digest’ but this of course becomes a more attractive prospect than well-thought-out, reasoned coverage. Such coverage makes intelligent, balanced commentary appear ‘uncool’, and makes the norm out of shouty headlines and one-note opinion pieces that are presented as facts, despite not containing any quantifiable evidence. Don’t analyse what we’re saying, just read it and assimilate it – we’re the authority, remember. Ignorance is cool, knowledge is nerdy.

The suspicion and mockery from PFMs of anyone using statistics during television analysis is another example of the contempt that football coverage has for intelligent debate, although it’s arguable that this might be more a symptom than a cause. Either way, the worst football coverage and the worst parts of football culture, as daft as it might sound, are the thin end of a much wider problem in society – they promote a safe, comforting herd mentality that encourages the rejection of insight and independent thought, which allows dangerous movements to prey on the discontented. Which is why, to finally get to my point, intelligent coverage such as F365 is so important.
DS, (tl;rd: I got a history joke and wear a tin-foil hat), Sussex

Would Le Tiss get a game?
In these days of pressing, I was reading the big weekend comments about Ozil and wondered what would happen if a young Matt Le Tissier were coming through the ranks right now.

I’m not sure he’d get picked. Even though he’s one of the best players I’ve ever seen. And that’s a shame.

I’d bet there’s a load of kids with all the skills out there who are being overlooked. I’m particularly thinking about midfielders who aren’t athletic drones – would you get a Jan Molby now? Luka Modric? Pirlo? These type of players are rarely seen these days but I’d say they would be incredibly valuable to the team and in the transfer market.

We literally hoofed our World Cup semi final chance away. I wonder whether resolving this midfield problem is a systemic issue delivered by the academies and the new pressing philosophies that are now commonplace. I would love to get an insight from someone out there (come on the mailbox!) who is involved or knows someone involved in youth player development at a club to understand whether this is real or not..?
Dave, Winchester Spurs

 

Look-ing for value
I don’t understand the bee you’ve got in your bonnet about Everton’s valuation of Ademola Lookman. I’m not bothered about what he ‘actual’ or ‘real’ value is because they are concepts too abstract to begin to discuss but in purely relative terms, even if you ignore that Everton clearly don’t really want to sell him, £25m isn’t too mental.

You gave the comparative example of Patrick Kluivert in the gossip column which isn’t unfair but you could just as look at the fees paid for emerging talents such as Pietro Pellegri, Renato Sanches, Vinicius Junior or Anthony Martial. For comparison when Man U brought Martial he had played in 67 senior matches and scored 19 goals. Lookman has played 71 senior games and has scored 16 goals. Vinicius Junior has 38 and 7.

Can’t really see what Everton are doing wrong here…
Matt, AFC

 

The game is about glory
Man United are making lots of money – hurrah and huzzah!

It will be all the better when fans receive their bumper annual dividend from the club.

What? what do you mean there is no dividend? It’s almost as if the amount of money your football club brings in makes bugger all difference to your regular match-going fan.

I remember having this argument with United fans years ago – where they would tell us they didn’t care that we were the champions because they were a bigger club than us.

The only thing that matters in football is the silver in the trophy cabinet not the silver in the bank – so long as your club is solvent – who cares how much money it earns?
Graham Simons, Gooner, Norf London

 

…In response to Dale Lamb, yes, you will have to get used to mediocre football at United, I have and I don’t see an easy way out, the £4.8bn valuation is a crumb of comfort, as is the forthcoming Director of Football role but it’s going to take time to fix. I was thinking about this yesterday and United are buggered in the short term, it’s all their own doing though.

Option 1 is to get rid of Jose now, remove his wages and write off the season but who would you bring in? Wenger would be ridiculous, few decent managers are going to leave their clubs for Jose’s dispirited group of perfect strangers so you’d probably have Carrick stepping in for a while. Any new manager would want to buy in January and again there’s no guarantee of success. The morale should improve though, Jose is stinking up the place.

Option 2 is to stay with Jose and see if he turns it round, if not he goes in the summer, if so then win/win. The concern is how much lower the morale gets and whether a mid-table finish is palatable for the board/supporters, should that become reality. Unfortunately, I think this is the option the club will take.

The only silver lining is that Ed will continue to grow the brand, something he is actually good at, and we can afford to throw more money at the squad when or if Jose leaves. Mind you, if that contract for Martial gets done, then there is obviously zero faith in Jose’s ability to recognise talent, so he might as well just walk out.

Cheers,
Paul, Man Utd

 

Burnley blew it
I fail to understand the English approach to the Europa League, especially by small clubs. Burnley have fielded weakened teams in the Europa League in order to focus on their PL fixtures. They are highly unlikely to be relegated and the most they could probably hope for is EL qualification, which is going to be tougher than last year. They were in Europe after 50 years. What is the point of prioritizing a mid-table PL place over playing in the Europa League? It was also their only chance of ever qualifying for the Champions League.

Distressingly, the wider narrative supports the notion that the Europa is a distraction from the big prize of the PL. However, Burnley will never win the PL, so why not focus on a continental competition? The fans could have had European adventures but will instead be travelling to the same old places in Blighty, fighting for the same old mid table dross as ever.
AK, LFC

 

Hornets’ nest
So Spurs want to play their Carabao Cup third round tie with Watford in Milton Keynes because White Hart Lane won’t be ready in time. Spurs say they tried to find an alternative venue inside the M25 but MK was the best they could do. That’s not true though, is it? Because Vicarage Road is significantly closer to White Hart Lane than MK is. Oh, but Spurs don’t want to play at Vicarage Road because then their fans get a smaller share of the tickets. Boo-f*cking-hoo. They could easily have been drawn as the away side anyway. And it’s no one else’s fault their stadium isn’t ready in time. They’ve already got two designated home stadiums this season, but neither of them are available. Why should they be allowed a third?? The FA should refuse, point blank.

Oh, and Spurs think their fans would be allowed up to 90% of the tickets if the game is played in MK. Surely if they’re insisting it’s played at a neutral venue, the ticket allocation should be split 50/50!

Spurs knew all along that it was a possibility to be drawn at home on a date when WHL wasn’t finished and Wembley wasn’t available, and they made no plans in advance to find a solution. Why should the FA, Watford and the fans, as well as the MK council and police force, bend over backwards to accommodate them?
Jimbles, WFC

 

Plastic palava
I may be late in entering the plastic fan discussion here but I really think that all big clubs are made big by us plastic fans. Ask any club in championship if they will prefer some plastic fans in Asia.
Dushyant Jamwal, (Plastic Liverpool Fan) India

Sarcastic script
What a wonderful, wonderful idea

Please can we have a consensus on which is to be the sarcasm font!

I think this would save many text / email / written word issues and confusions

I demand usage of a sarcasm font in future. Simply Genius.

I am realising that this sounds sarcastic now I have written it but truly its a bloody marvelous idea (this may actually be the least sarcastic email I have ever sent..)
Al – LFC. – This could change the future if we can do it!