Posts Tagged ‘liverpool’
Transfer balls: when will Liverpool sign Didier Baptiste?
Dream Team
November 24 is the day when Liverpool moved to sign Didier Baptiste for £3.5million. It was an unforgettable moment of Transfer Balls on November 24 1999. The News of the World reported that Liverpool were looking to sign the “French Under-21 international” from Monaco.
Baptiste to Liverpool was on. The Times and The Guardian agreed, albeit valuing Baptiste at £1million. But Gerard Houllier’s Liverpool would never get the young defender: He didn’t (and still doesn’t) exist.
Baptiste was a character played by the late Tom Redhill in the Sky One football soap opera ‘Dream Team’ who arrived at Harchester United from Monaco in 1999.
The aforementioned papers were all drawn into a hoax that began on an Arsenal fan forum and got rehashed on Liverpool’s Clubcall line (a premium rate phone number supporters could ring to listen to the latest club-related gossip), from whence the News of the World plucked the ‘story’ and ran with it.
The News of the World duly blamed the Hayters sports news agency for feeding them the rumour, though the damage had already been done.
As Chris Wright quips: “The tabloid was ultimately forced to cease publication in 2011, though whether the Baptiste cock-up was directly to blame is still subject to debate.”
Posted: 25th, November 2017 | In: Back pages, Liverpool, News, Sports, Tabloids | Comment
Liverpool regrets: Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain plays and Arsenal fans laugh
Don’t panic, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, the Arsenal player who left the club for Liverpool in a £40m transfer. Four matches into his rosy-fingered dawn and ‘The Ox’ has yet to be on the winning side.
No need to panic, though.
When Gareth Bale was at Spurs, it took 25 matches (!) for him to be on the winning team. The Sun’s Pat Sheehan covered Tottenham’s 1-0 defeat by Everton on 30 November, 2008, writing: “One glance at the score and any Spurs fan will tell you without looking at the line-up that Gareth Bale must have played.” Bale went on to be brilliant.
Of course, the problem is that Oxlade-Chamberlain is nowhere near as good as Bale. He’s a mediocre player who went for a stupid amount of money. Arsenal did very well in getting shot of the nice middle class boy in the final year of his Arsenal contract. ESPN says Arsenal had a “disastrous” transfer window. Balls. They hung on to Alexis Sanchez – their best player – and waved goodbye to the player who has always promised much and delivered less than a geriatric Deliveroo cyclist.
Last night Liverpool were knocked out of the Carabao Cup by Leicester City. And Oxlade-Chamberlain was every bit as ineffective as he was at Arsenal. Someone has produced this damning compilation of his night’s work:
Oxlade-Chamberlain did not have the best of games for Liverpool. 😂pic.twitter.com/ztbKyRgupM
— Arsenal News (@ArsenalFC_fl) September 19, 2017
This is the Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain who left Arsenal because he wants to play centrally, rather than waste his talents at wing-back.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain wants to be a central midfielder…
😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/GbAiKCP8mq
— Football Expose (@FootballExpose) September 19, 2017
Well played, Arsenal. Well played.
Posted: 20th, September 2017 | In: Arsenal, Liverpool, News, Sports | Comment
Liverpool can still win the league by letting in loadsa goals
Some Liverpool balls from ‘Big’ Sam Allardyce. The former England manager has been talking to talkSPORT. He knows why Liverpool will not win the Premier League title:
“The game is played two ways: one is played in possession and one is played out of it. You have got to be masters of both of those if you are going to win the Premier League.”
But usually you need the ball to score, right, Sam. He adds:
“The Premier League is generally won – certainly over the last ten, 15 years – by the team with the best defensive record.”
If we go by goals conceded, then:
2006-2007 – Nope. Chelsea came second with the least goals conceded.
2007-2008 – Yep. Manchester United.
2008-2009 – Yep. Manchester United
2009-2010 – Nope. Manchester United came second with least goals conceded.
2010-2011 – Nope. Chelsea and Manchester City came second and third respectively.
2011-2012 – Yep. Manchester City.
2012 – 2013 – Nope. Manchester City came second.
2013-2014 – Nope. Chelsea came third.
2014-2015 – Yep. Chelsea
2015-2016 – Nope. Spurs came third.
2016-2017 – Nope. Spurs came second.
Four titles from the last 11 seasons have been won by the side conceding the fewest goals. Looks like Liverpool are still in it. The trick of winning, as Sam knows, is to score more goal than your opponents.
Posted: 7th, September 2017 | In: Liverpool, Sports | Comment
Liverpool wanted £183m for crying Coutinho
Nobody from Sky News stood in the Anfield car park to herald Philippe Coutinho’s move from Liverpool to Barcelona. The Sun said the deal was done. But until a man wearing a Sky Sports pin, possibly with a large blue sex toy propositioning their earhole, tells us the move is done and dusted, we’re reaming circumspect. Coutinho stayed. And, if reports are to be believed, sobbed that the chance to play for Spain’s second or third best team passed him by.
Panicky Barcelona had offered Liverpool the lunatic sum of £138 for the Brazilian. Swollen by the cash earned from Neymar’s sale to the PSG, Barcelona spotted another small Brazilian and thought if they slap him in the club’s colours fans wouldn’t notice. But Liverpool were having none of it. And now we know that the Reds wanted – get this – £183m for this their best player.
A source on the Barcelona board says Liverpool valued Coutinho at €200m (£183m). Liverpool say they placed no price tag on the player. He wasn’t for sale, so why mention a fee, says the Premier League club? So is Albert Soler, Barcelona’s club’s director of professional sports wrong when he said: “Late last night, Liverpool priced the player we wanted at €200m, and we decided we would not do it.”
Meanwhile, in a wind-batted car park, Sky’s reporter on the frontline wonders if Abu Dhabi or Qatar can buy out his contract…
Posted: 3rd, September 2017 | In: Liverpool, News, Sports | Comment
Liverpool balls: Philippe Coutinho joins Barcelona and then leaves in tears
Did Philippe Coutinho ever leave Liverpool for Barcelona? Yes, he did, says Neil Curtis in the Sun.
COUT AND DRIED Philippe Coutinho heading to Barcelona in stunning £138m deal from Liverpool with announcement set for 7pm
Adding:
The Merseyside club have finally accepted defeat in their bid to hold on to their prize asset as Coutinho heads to La Liga
And then… Coutinho stayed at Liverpool. Was this the Sun’s desperate attempt to seduce Liverpool fans to read the newspaper they hate? Because no sooner has the scoop proven to be utter balls than the Sun has another bash:
Facts to support that claim come there none.
And then this:
CRYING GAME Philippe Coutinho’s failed Barcelona move from Liverpool made him ‘break down in tears in front of Brazil team-mates’. Playmaker was reportedly distraught after learning that Reds would not be allowing him to make dream Nou Camp move
Such are the facts…
Posted: 2nd, September 2017 | In: Back pages, Liverpool, Sports, Tabloids | Comments (2)
What are they smoking? Liverpool reject £118 bid for Coutinho
To borrow a phrase from Liverpool’s owner, John W. Henry,”What do you think they’re smoking over there at Anfield?” Liverpool have rejected Barcelona’s bid of – get this – £118.7million for Philippe Coutinho, 25. The player wants to go. He put in for a transfer. The money is huge. So what’s the issue?
Liverpool say the matter is now closed. Coutinho stays. But why keep a player whose head has been turned? Of course, if Barcelona have £118m they could get £128. Barcelona’s bidding is a haphazard and desperate affair. Bloated with cash they got for Neymar’s more to PSG (£198m), the club have issued bids for Coutinho of £72m, £90m and now £118m.
So why not hold out and see what occurs? Fenway Sports Group, Liverpool’s US owners, are in it for the money. And this is a lot of money. But they say theirs is a “definitive stance”. Coutinho stays.
Unless Henry can get bigger slice of the fee – which is, after all, to be divided between many grasping hands and is pursuant on the player winning the top prizes.
Posted: 18th, August 2017 | In: Liverpool, Sports | Comments (10)
Transfer balls: Liverpool’s Philippe Coutinho agrees to join Barcelona says one unimpeachable source
In football’s arms race, the Star says Barcelona will offer Liverpool £120m for Philippe Coutinho, 25. Is the Brazilian worth the money? Surely not. Indeed, the Sun counters the Star’s offer and says Barcelona believe they can get Liverpool’s bet player for £90m.
Oddly, the Star adds that Barcelona will also buy Chelsea’s Eden Hazard for around £100m. L’Equipe says Ousmane Dembele has agreed to join Barceloan from Borussia Dortmund for £90.2m. Oh,m and for reasons utterly unclear, Barcelona are also recruiting former Tottenham midfielder Paulinho, 29, from Chinese side Guangzhou Evergrande, says.
And finally Bild reports that PSG’s Julian Draxler is also on his way to Barcelona.
Yeah, that’s what we thought – that £199 Barcelona got for Neymar is going a long way.
The story that stands out, though, is that of Liverpool’s Coutinho heading to Spain. Accordign to many news sources, it’s a done dead.
Metro July 26 – “Philippe Coutinho agrees deal to join Barcelona”
The Sun, July 16 – “KOP OUT Philippe Coutinho ‘agrees terms with Barcelona’ leaving club to thrash out £89million deal with Liverpool”
Daily Mail, July 16 – “Philippe Coutinho has agreed terms with Barcelona over a move to La Liga this summer”
Daily Express, August 2 – “PHILIPPE COUTINHO is trying to persuade Jurgen Klopp to let him join BarcelonaBrazilian a step closer to exit after agreeing contract with Catalan giants”
All those report stem from a story on Catalan Radio Station RAC1. It says, according to Spanish site Sport:
As reported by RAC1, Coutinho and Barcelona have everything agreed and now only need to negotiate the amount of transfer that would perceive Liverpool by the sale of Coutinho.
The story contains not a single quote. Which makes you wonder if it’s based on fact or hope. RAC1‘s story, written in Catalan, also contains not a single fact. It does, however, quote a source for its scoop. It’s, er, RAC1:
Such are the facts.
Posted: 7th, August 2017 | In: Back pages, Liverpool, Sports | Comment
Transfer balls: Man City’s Joe Hart’s Liverpool limbo
News is that Joe Hart hasn’t received any offers. Oh, come on, someone must have offered the big lunk a job as a clothes line or a figuring in a bi snow globe (he’s not advertising anti-dandruff treatments any longer so look out below).
The Sun and Mirror say the Manchester City and England goalkeeper is “in limbo”, having received no offers to play for a new club. The idea of Joe Hart, a man possessed with all the composure of a loon screaming at pigeons in the precinct, being agile enough to dive for a ball let alone limbo is far-fetched.
But can this be the same Joe Hart who had agreed to joined Liverpool?
The Mirror then produces one of those awful ‘7 things’ columns:
Such are the facts.
Posted: 12th, June 2017 | In: Back pages, Liverpool, Sports, Tabloids | Comment
Liverpool has the friendliest hackers in the world
To the Liverpool One Shopping Centre, England, where hackers have issued a directive: ‘we suggest you improve your security – sincerely – your friendly neighbourhood hackers – #JFt96’.
Spotter: Reddit
Posted: 30th, May 2017 | In: Strange But True, Technology, The Consumer | Comment
Liverpool honour the great Kenny Dalglish – the man fans fell in love with
Liverpool will rename of the stands at Anfield after the great Kenny Dalglish. The Centenary Stand will mark the “unique contribution” Dalglish has made to Liverpool over the years. Say the club:
The decision has been taken by the Reds’ ownership, led by principal owner John W Henry, to honour the special status Dalglish holds at Anfield in the club’s 125th anniversary year.
Dalglish won the lot as a brilliant player and talented manager with Liverpool. He has supported for the Hillsborough justice campaign. If anybody deserves a stand naming after them at Anfield, it’s King Kenny, he man who more than any other epitomises the club.
Spotter: Pies
Transfer balls: Joe Hart to Liverpool and £20m written off
Transfer balls: a look at fake news football reporting. Is Joe Hart heading to Liverpool?
The Sun April 19: “Joe Hart is on his way back to the Premier League with Liverpool.”
KLOPP LOVES HART – Joe Hart set for Liverpool move as Jurgen Klopp signs off £20million swoop for Manchester City goalkeeper
Having scored a “exclusive”, the rest of the online media play catch up.
Joe Hart to Liverpool: Man City star set for £20m switch, Jurgen Klopp – Daily Star
7 things that will definitely happen if Joe Hart signs for Liverpool – Daily Mirror
Or as Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp out it one day late: “He’s a fantastic keeper, the highest quality, but it’s not for us at the moment, nor in the future.”
No harm done. No-one in Liverpool reads the Sun.
Posted: 24th, April 2017 | In: Back pages, Liverpool, Sports, Tabloids | Comment
Clickbait balls: Express tricks Liverpool fans with bullshit.com Alonso story
Click Balls: The Daily Express is at the forefront of the dead tree press’s battle for online clicks. Yesterday the self-styled “World’s Greatest Newspaper” had news to set Liverpool fans’ hearts aflutter. “Liverpool News: Xabi Alonso reveals he will be at Anfield next season,” declared the newspaper.
Alonso, the terrific Spanish midfielder playing at Bayern Munich, who was no less excellent in Liverpool red, is going to rejoin the Premier League club? Sounds like it. He has, after all, “revealed” his return to Anfield next season.
One clue that this story was constructed in an SEO’s wet dream comes via the URL at the top of the page. It runs:
http://www.express.co.uk/sport/football/783228/Liverpool-Xabi-Alonso-News-Anfield-Jurgen-Klopp-Premier-League-Bayern-Munich
It’s just a collection of SEO-happy buzzwords. There is no story anything other than a Google bot can make any sense of.
And then comes the small print below that seductive headline:
Xabi Alonso: I will be at Liverpool next season
XABI ALONSO has revealed he will visit Liverpool next season.
Alonso is not coming to Liverpool to play for the club. Express writer Jack Otway tells his readers that some people have made that link:
The ex-Spain international has often been linked with an emotional return to Anfield.
Failing to add “See above”, Otway then explains the substance of his story:
And the 35-year-old veteran has admitted to still loving his former club and revealed a visit to watch them play with son Jontxu next season is on the cards.
Xavi Alsono might take his son to watch Liverpool net year. That’s a story first reported in the Liverpool Echo. “We are really looking forward to going back. I have heard great things about the new Main Stand,” Alonso tells the paper. “My son is desperate to go. He’s Liverpool born and always asks: ‘Dad. when are we going to Liverpool?’ I say: ‘Okay, but at the moment I have busy weekends! We will go, don’t worry.’”
The SEO-led Daily Express reports Alonso’s trip to see the new stand at Anfield as: “Liverpool News: Xabi Alonso reveals he will be at Anfield next season.”
The trend is to talk about fake news – but it’s good to see the Express going with the tried and tested bullshit.com model.
Sun writer mocks Liverpool player’s England win
The Sun newspaper is not popular among Liverpool fans. The Sun’s chief football reporter Neil Ashton noticed that Liverpool’s Adam Lallana has been voted the best player in the England team.
The Liverpool playmaker polled 39% of votes from members of the England Supporters Club. He was a clear winner, beating Jamie Vardy (12%) and Wayne Rooney (8%) into second and third places, respectively.
So what did the Sun’s man in the know have to say about the likeable Liverpool player?
He mocked him. “It’s like Iceland never happrned,” tweeted Ashton.
England lost 2-1 to Iceland at the European championships – a game in which Lallana was an unused substitute.
Such are the facts.
Posted: 1st, February 2017 | In: Liverpool, Sports | Comment
Liverpool Balls: tabloids want Klopp out but heap praise on Manchester United under Mourinho
When is it safe to write off Liverpool’s Premier League chances?
Jeremy Cross tells Daily Star readers that Jurgen Kloop ‘doesn’t deserve the sack’. Who said he was being sacked? Liverpool are fourth in the Premier League – two points off second place and 10 points from the top. They made it to the semi-finals of the EFL Cup. Last season, Liverpool finished runners-up in the EFL Cup and the Europa League.
Liverpool are one point behind Tottenham, of which the Star wrote On January 24, Dele Alli is “the key to Tottenham winning the Premier League”.
Spurs on 46 points can win the title but Liverpool on 45 points are thinking of sacking their manager? That’s one hell of a big point.
Says Cross:
‘Having lost twice to Southampton in the EFL Cup semi-finals, Klopp resembles a man on the run as the critics round on him.’
Liverpool fans might care to compare and contrast those words with Neil Ashton’s opinion of Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho, whose plucky side last night lost 2-1 to big-spending Hull City last night but still progressed to the EFL Cup final. Wrote Ashton of Mourinho four days ago.
‘He is back. Back to his old self. Back in the hunt for trophies. Back to his devilish, mischievous best. Focused, and firmly in control again, Mourinho is on to something good.’
Manchester United are four points behind Liverpool:
And there was Rio Ferdinand in the Daily Mirror:
“The next window is a big one for United in terms of getting players out and getting some in who will invigorate his squad and be able to carry out his methods. I like what Mourinho has done. He has shown again he is a top manager. We have seen with Pep Guardiola how difficult it is to get right…Jose is doing that really well.”
Chelsea fans might well scoff. Blues’ manager Antonio Conte is in his first season at the club. Chelsea are eight points clear at the top of the table. If Mourinho is doing really well in sixth, what’s Conte doing? Incidentally, Ferdinand said of Conte at the start of the season:
“Conte will need time to find his feet. I don’t think he will win the Premier League in his first season because he has a big job on his hands there.”
The Mirror also has a pop at Klopp., who has ‘run them into the ground’. ‘German’s training regime “too intense” say critics.’
In the Sun, the aforesaid Ashton says with Steven Gerrard back at Liverpool, Klopp’s days are numbered. ‘The problem will be when the people at Anfield start wondering out loud whether the iconic figure in the stands could do a better job than the fella currently in it,’ he writes.
To recap: Liverpool are in fourth place, two points off second spot, ahead of both Manchester United and Manchester City.
Posted: 27th, January 2017 | In: Liverpool, manchester united, Sports, Tabloids | Comment
Clickbait Balls: Daily Telegraph tricks ‘paranoid’ Liverpool and Manchester United fans
The Manchester United v Liverpool match was memorable for a number of things, according to the clickbait-mad Press.
The Mirror’s football expert learned “five things” from watching the game, one of which is that Paul Pogba’s “handball handed Liverpool the early advantage”. That was the handball that gave Liverpool a penalty kick, from which they scored their only goal of the game. David McDonnell leaned that. He also learned that Wayne Rooney got a yellow card and “Ibrahimovic keeps on scoring”, which he did when he scored United’s equaliser.
The Express also learned five things, one of which is, “Simon Mignolet put on a solid display.”
Coincidentally, the Sun also learned five things. Fred Nathan delivers his fistful of insight. He watched Pogba give away a penalty and learned that he “must not let silly mistakes creep into his game”.
In the Indy, which didn’t make enough money to remain as proper paper so went web only, there are just four things learned. But Fox News, which has oodles of money, learned seven things. Ryan Rosenblatt learned that when United and Liverpool drop points, their rivals are pleased. The other top sides “love this result” he learned.
But the prize for the biggest Clickbait Balls goes to the dire Daily Telegraph. The once great newspaper is now a clickbait factory. “Martin Tyler accused of ‘bias’ following Manchester United vs Liverpool commentary,” says the headline. It also says just that in the URL for the story:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2017/01/15/martin-tyler-accused-bias-following-manchester-united-vs-liverpool/
So who accused Sky TV’s commentator of bias? Liverpool boss Jugen Klopp? Manchester Untied manager Jose Mourinho? Well, no. A clue to how the story was the product of the paper’s clickbait factory is in the now revised headline: “Liverpool fans round on Martin Tyler following Manchester United’s last minute equaliser at Old Trafford.”
They “rounded on” Tyler on Twitter. The Telegraph picks three tweets to back up its story, which beings: “Paranoid Liverpool fans are becomingly increasingly convinced that SkySports’ Martin Tyler is a secret Manchester United fan.”
Tweet 1:
@dreamteamfc
Martin Tyler just called Zlatan: “THE TOWER OF POWER!” #MUNLIV
Tweet 2:
@StephenDuffy6
Still coming to terms with the fact Martin Tyler just called Zlatan the ‘Tower of Power’, since when has that been a thing?
Lest you think those “paranoid” Liverpool fans are just having a laugh and mocking Tyler’s absurd phrase, @Footy Humour tweets the third piece of evidence.
Tweet 3:
Martin Tyler: “Rooney here. Is it in the script? Is it in the stars?”
*Rooney gives away posession*
Martin Tyler: *silence*
The troubling thing is that the clickbait works. The story even the Telegraph recognised as bad enough to warrant a chance of headline (but not a change of URL) is the second biggest story on the paper’s website:
Such are the facts.
Posted: 16th, January 2017 | In: Back pages, Broadsheets, Liverpool, manchester united, Sports, Tabloids | Comment
Media balls: Liverpool lose points and Sunderland are robbed
Media Balls: a look at biased football reporting. Did Sunderland deserve to draw 2-2 with Liverpool in the Premier League? Were Liverpool lucky?
Sunderland’s goals came via two very good penalties from Jermain Defoe.
The first Sunderland penalty:
Liverpool FC (official website): “But the Black Cats responded to the setback quickly and were awarded a penalty when Didier Ndong tumbled in the area under pressure from Ragnar Klavan and Wijnaldum.”
He wasn’t fouled. He tumbled.
Sunderland FC (official website): “Ndong was felled after he went through two Liverpool players.”
He was felled, like a blameless tree.
Liverpool Echo: “..a soft penalty when Ndong wasn’t going anywhere.”
Sunderland Echo: “Defoe levelled from the spot after Dider Ndong was brought down in the area”
The penalty that wasn’t given.
On 58 minutes the ball hit a Liverpool hand.
Sunderland (official website): “The referee waves play on despite strong appeals for a penalty. Replays show Januzaj’s cross did hit the arm of Can. That could so easily have been a penalty and probably should’ve been.”
No word on the incident on the Liverpool FC website.
The Verdict:
Sunderland Echo: “Jermain Defoe the hero as he scores two penalties to earn his side a deserved point.”
Sunderland won a point!
The Guardian: “Liverpool drop two points as Jermain Defoe strikes twice from the spot.”
Liverpool lost two points by, er, winning one point.
Such a e the facts.
Transfer balls: Arsenal for Griezmann and Reus and Liverpool for PSG’s Draxler
Never mind that Antoine Griezmann says he’s happy in Madrid with his new baby and wonderful life, the British Press have him packed and ready to join the Premier League very soon. France’s footballer of the year is on his way to, well, all the top clubs. Manchester United have £60m and Chelsea £50m and £90m for Atletico Madrid’s super striker, whose new contract set his transfer fee at a minimum of £86m.
News in the Guardian is that Manchester City also quite like Griezmann – and so do Arsenal. The BBC and Telegraph say that if Mesut Özil or Alexis Sánchez fail to get the £200,000 a week they each want to extend their current contracts and leave the Gunners, Arsenal will swoop for Griezmann by offering him less than the £200,000-a-week City, Chelsea or United would pay.
Should that cunning plan fail, Arsenal will go for Marco Reus or Julian Draxler, although the taller German (Draxler) has apparently agreed to join PSG in France’s Ligue 1. That doesn’t stop the Daily Star says Draxler is on his way to Liverpool.
The tin lid is placed on this Transfer Balls by news that the source for the BBC, Telegraph, Independent and Guardian scoop on Griezmann and Reus being watched by Arsenal is Squawka, a blog whereon we read not a single fact to support the story that Arsenal want either player.
Such are the facts.
Posted: 23rd, December 2016 | In: Arsenal, Back pages, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, manchester united, Sports | Comment
Transfer balls: Manchester United’s Rashford To West Ham; Payet to Arsenal; Draxler to Liverpool; Virgil to Manchester City?
West Ham United are, says the Daily Telegraph, keen to transfer Manchester United squad members Anthony Martial or Marcus Rashford to their goal-shy team. It’s an “ambitious” bid, says the paper. No kidding.
Failure to lure either of them to London will mean West Ham turning to – deep breath – Sassuolo’s Grégoire Defrel, Chelsea striker Michy Batshuayi and Porto’s Laurent Depoitre. Yeah, pretty much anyone who can score a goal is on West Ham’s radar.
The Express says West Ham will make space for any of the above by getting shot of six players, including loan strikers Simon Zaza (loaned from Juventus) and Ashley Fletcher (Manchester United). One player not leaving is Dimitri Payet. Or as the Star puts it: “JOSE’S PAYET RAID – United boss in fight with old foe Wenger”. Will Payet leave West Ham for Arsenal or head to Manchester United in a deal involving Marital or Rashford?
In other Manchester United transfer news, the Mirror says Benfica’s Swedish defender Victor Lindelof could be heading to Old Trafford for £37.8million. If he arrives, Chris Smalling will leave United, says the Express. Smalling will be beaten to the United exit by Morgan Schneiderlin and Bastian Scheweinsteiger.
Away from United, the Guardian says Arsenal are keen on Valencia’s super-fast left-back José Gaya.
The Mirror says Liverpool are looking to sign Manchester City and England goalkeeper Joe Hart. The Times says the Reds are also keen on Wolfsburg’s Germany midfielder Julian Draxler but face competition from PSG and, of course, Arsenal, who seem to have been chasing the player for every one of his 23 years.
The Mail says Manchester City will offer £50m for Southampton Virgil van Dijk. There have been “discreet talks” between the clubs, says the Mail all over its back page. The Dutchman is “aware of City’s interest”.
Well, yes.
Posted: 22nd, December 2016 | In: Arsenal, Back pages, Liverpool, Manchester City, manchester united, Sports | Comment
Media Balls: Liverpool and Everton contest boring derby full of blood and thunder
How was the Liverpool derby? Liverpool won the match 0-1 thanks to very late goal from Sadio Mane. The Liverpool Echo says it was terrific.
As Everton’s shell-shocked players trudged off at the end of another crushing derby defeat some of the home fans offered a ripple of polite applause. They felt as though they should show their appreciation for the effort the Blues had put into a blood and thunder game…
The Daily Mirror’s David Maddock watched a different performance:
Yet the problem with the skillful yet sanitised world of the Premier League, is the lack of blood and thunder, even when things get gritty and dour. Just look at Everton’s performance in this contest…
He adds that “despite the obvious drama of that injury time winner… so little came before it.” It was pretty dull.
But in the Express, Gideon Brooks likens the match to a “battlefield”. The mood in the arena was “ferocious”. Neil Squires say the foreigners in both sides felt “the primal pull” the match delivers.
In the the Star, Chris McKenna watched “tackles flying in from all angles”.
Martin Samuels tells Mail reader this was a”full-blooded derby”. Although “it wasn’t much cop” and “failed to deliver excitement”. Liverpool were “tame”. Ian Ladyman says the match was “lacking in substance”.
Not so says Phil Thomas in the Sun. It was “explosive.” To illustrate the point the paper zooms in on Ross Barkley’s tackle on Jordan Henderson. Although, it was, says Thomas, “one of the few few moment that genuinely got the blood up”.
As for the foul, what say the clubs’ official websites?
Everton: “Tempers frayed after Barkley went in on Henderson and was booked for his troubles.”
Liverpool: No word.
To conclude: it was explosive, full of the bloody and thunder, lacking in blood and thunder and dull.
Posted: 20th, December 2016 | In: Back pages, Liverpool, Sports | Comment
Transfer balls: Barcelona and pundits conspire to push Philippe Coutinho out of Liverpool
Football reporting wears the cloak of respectability. But in the 21st century, new organs use players to get clicks and earn cash. The sad thing is that the advert-free BBC is full of this balls. The Beeb has told us – and these five news items have all appeared over the past month:
Liverpool need to give playmaker Philippe Coutinho, 24, a new contract and pay rise to fend off interest from Barcelona.
The Reds are confident of keeping the Brazilian as the player does not have an buy-out clause in his contract.
Liverpool midfielder Philippe Coutinho, 24, wants to stay at Anfield despite reported interest from Barcelona, says his former youth coach.
Former Brazil striker Ronaldo is keen to see 24-year-old Liverpool and Brazil midfielder Philippe Coutinho at Real Madrid.
Liverpool are ready to offer Brazil playmaker Philippe Coutinho, 24, a new contract to fend off interest from Barcelona.
In all that time, amid all that utter tosh, the BBC has produced not a single word from Philippe Coutinho expressing any desire to play for any club but Liverpool. Today the BBC has more on one of the Premier League’s brightest talents.
Brazil international Coutinho, 24, has been influential in helping the Reds go top of the Premier League table… His form has led to links with Spanish sides Barcelona and Real Madrid.
Links made by the BBC.
Today Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp tells media firing question about Coutinho’s future: “We all hope and think his future is here at Liverpool. What everybody forgets about Phil is that he is still very young. At 24, he has a long way to go and lot of space for improvement.”
But: “At the end, it will not be money. If there is a club who can play double what we pay then I bring the player there. Who am I to say ‘no, don’t think about your family, kids, grandkids and all that stuff’. But I don’t know a lot of clubs in the world who can do this.”
And that’s the thing, no? The narrative of Coutinho’s departure to Spain continues in spite of any facts. It’s a media story only. Get this from former Liverpool defender and jobbing pundit Mark Lawrenson. He’s been talking to the Press Association:
“Barcelona, Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid to a certain degree, Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich are the clubs continually successful in Europe. You can’t keep those top players if those clubs come in for them.”
“I don’t think, apart from arguably Manchester City, anyone can stop them. The clever thing is to plan for it. Rather than say ‘Coutinho might be going, what are we going to do?’ you have something in place already.”
And this from former midfielder Xavi: “There are not many players that can improve Barcelona, but if you are asking me if he [Coutinho] is one of them.”
It’s a pincer movement of nodding heads opining on a man’s career and life to deadline and Barcelona stooges doing the same old trick of talking up a player they hope will join them. They negate the fact that at the heart of the chatter is a professional athlete who wants to do his best.
And they should ask themselves why just one season after Leicester City won the Premier League – a club whose turnover amounts to less than Manchester United’s kit sponsorship, who had won nothing of note in 132-years, and whose first XI were bought for less than one Paul Pogba – the talk is so little about glory and creating something new, exciting and unexpected. It’s about the same old teams winning at all costs.
Posted: 17th, November 2016 | In: Back pages, Liverpool, Sports | Comment
Transfer balls: Liverpool won’t be drawn on Philippe Coutinho to Barcelona
The news media works in a pack. The BBC says Barcelona fancy Liverpool’s Phlippe Coutinho. The Beeb’s news is based on a reprot in the Liverpool Echo that Liverpool “need” to offer Coutinho, 24, a new deal to see off interest from Barcelona. The Echo says Coutinho to Barcelona is just a “rumour”, albeit one fuelled by the player’s friendship with Barcelona’s Neymar and Luis Suarez.
We read that Coutinho visited Suarez at the Barcelona team hotel in Manchester to collect tickets ahead of their Champions League clash at the Etihad. And there it is. To keep their best player, Liverpool need to be in the best competition. But having given air to the rumours, the Echo tells readers, “Coutinho has never shown any signs of agitating for a move away from Anfield.”
So where does the rumour come from? And it’s growing. The Metro says, “Luis Suarez and Neymar are speaking to Liverpool’s Philippe Coutinho about Barcelona transfer.” Well, maybe. Maybe not. The source for that spot of room bugging is Sport, more of which later.
On October 31, the Sun told its readers: “Liverpool transfer news: Philippe Coutinho wants Barcelona move as Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain show interest.”
Having name-checked three of the wealthiest clubs in Europe, we’re interested to know how Coutinho expressed his desire to leave Liverpool and play for Barcelona? Over to Spanish newspaper Sport, then, which claims the Brazilian “tried to force a move to the Nou Camp in the last transfer window. His representatives apparently sounded out Barcelona over a transfer but Luis Enrique wanted to strengthen other positions instead.”
Sport reports: “He’s a player who has been liked by Barcelona for a long time and he’d love to wear the Blaugrana shirt.”
He would?
The reality is that Coutinho would like to play in Barcelona, where his style would fit in. His agents, Kia Joorabchian and Giuliano Bertolucci, sounded out the possibility last year, but Barça ruled out any deal due to the price and the fact they had other priorities. They consider his position well covered, but anything’s possible in the future.
Bit murky, no? No quotes from Liverpool, Barcelona or the player. But it’s enough for the Indy to declare: “Barcelona have made Philippe Coutinho their priority for next summer’s transfer window.” They read that in, yep, Sport.
It might be worth noting that Sports’ slogan is “Sempre amb el Barça”. The paper is printed in Barcelona.
On another note, the Times reports: “Liverpool sure Coutinho will not join Barcelona.”
Liverpool are confident of keeping Philippe Coutinho, despite the attentions of Barcelona, because their influential playmaker does not have an escape clause in his contract.
He’s contracted to Liverpool until 2020. The paper adds:
Coutinho’s eye-catching displays will be recognised by Liverpool should he maintain his high standards. Yet there are no plans in place to rip up his existing contract, which was agreed 18 months ago, and an extension would not necessarily safeguard his future.
Quite.
Posted: 12th, November 2016 | In: Back pages, Liverpool, Sports | Comment
Manchester United bore Liverpool with Mourinho’s media ‘masterclass’
Last night Liverpool and Manchester United bored the watching public to their second 0-0 on Premier League history. Manchester United were unambitious, carrying 35% possession, their lowest total in a Premier League match since Opta began recording this data in 2003-04.
Jose Mourinho side have won their lowest points total after his first eight league games with a new club since his time with Uniao de Leiria (10 points).
The BBC say the game was “rubbish”.
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp says: “No one will show this game in 10 or 20 years.”
Chris Crocker adds: “Reality is if Van Gaal’s team had played like that every ‘expert’ would be slating him for weeks. Jose does it he is a genius.”
Not everyone. But some, yes.
This is what Neil Curtis said in the Sun on the morning of the big match:
JOSE MOURINHO is desperately trying to rid Manchester United of the memories from the Louis van Gaal era. That is why he will never serve up a borefest like the Dutchman with his much vaunted ‘philosophy’…
Mourinho is up for another tactical masterclass just like he delivered two years ago…
The Portuguese said: “Last season Liverpool vs United and Liverpool had 14 shots on target and United had one and the result was 0-1. I don’t think that is going to happen again.”
It didn’t. Last night United had one shot on target and failed to score. Under Van Gaal United player Liverpool four times in the Premier League. They won them all.
It’s all about Mourinho in the media. The BBC holds a debate on the United manager with itself:
“Is this a new United way?” asks the BBC. Yes there is, says the BBC.
How United fans will be thrilled by supporting a pragmatic team.
Says Jose Mourinho:
“I think was a positive performance. If you analyse the game see the reason why did it, playing Young and Fellaini. We had control of the game – there were two amazing saves by David de Gea it’s true but they were out of context. The reaction from their crowd was permanent disappointment. People expected us to come here and be really in trouble, which we were not.”
To recap: United were boring when they won at Liverpool with a philosophy; United are exciting and new when they draw 0-0 with a “masterclass” and a “new way”.
Still, at least Jose has won over the media. Van Gaal never did.
Posted: 18th, October 2016 | In: Back pages, Key Posts, Liverpool, manchester united, Sports | Comment
