Morning all.
Two things are rolling on through this international break, the berating of David Coote and the criticism of footballers who have withdrawn from playing for England. Harry Kane started off the latter by suggesting players are choosing club over country. Even if he’s right, so what? It’s been going on for years and no one has batted an eyelid. It’s easy for a guy who throughout last summers Euros simply jogged left to right of the pitch at a gentle pace to make himself available for his country but for a player like Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka for example, who work their socks off for every minute they’re on the pitch, it’s tough. Especially when the fixture schedule is as brutal as it is in England for players involved in a European competition too. I don’t recall him having an opinion when he played for Totts.
As for David Coote, well yes, he’s been stupid, or at least stupid to get caught. We all have an opinion in life but when that opinion is as strong (for the want of a better word) as his is about something or someone, either keep it to oneself or away from a camera. Especially when in the public eye which football referees are, more than they should be in my opinion. Great referees aren’t often talked about but in the Premier League, they’re being talked about after every single game because they’re making too many mistakes.
There’s a lot written and said in life about accountability. We all have to be accountable for our actions in one way or another but it seems the media can get away with writing what they like about who they like.
As Kev suggested yesterday, all the media attention given to David Coote right now is doing more harm to him than good. The media simply aren’t learning from their own mistakes. It wasn’t long ago that Caroline Flack was making the headlines day after day. Photograph’s of her were included with each and every article and it was cruel and totally unnecessary. A witch-hunt against a woman who ended up believing the only way to get peace is by leaving this world so she took her own life.
Look at the way the media have treated and still treat Phillip Schofield. Nothing he did was illegal, stupid and morally questionable, but not illegal. They’ve tried to ruin him, to push into dark places where he’s possibly never been before and honestly, I’d have never been surprised to wake up one morning to news that he’d taken his own life.
What about the media coverage of the death of Liam Payne? It’s been disgraceful from the start in my opinion. He fell off a hotel balcony and died. We all know he’s had problems with alcohol and drugs because it’s been reported by the media, but do we really need all the information and photographs that’s been out there since his death?
This is from Cheryl Cole:
What is troubling my spirit the most is that one day Bear will have access to the abhorrent reports and media exploitation we have seen in the past two days. It is breaking my heart further that I cannot protect him from that in his future. I am begging you to consider what use some of these reports are serving, other than to cause further harm to everyone left behind picking up the pieces. Before you leave comments or make videos, ask yourself if you would like your own child or family to read them.
As far as David Coote goes, what he does in his private life is no business of mine or the media for that matter as long as the only person he’s harming. He’s been suspended which is right of course and there should be a full investigation with him about his comments on Jurgen Klopp but leave that to the judge and jury rather than having yet another trial by media. If there’s a can of worms to open about the PGMOL and its employees, let an independent body investigate it properly.
Perhaps if the media spent less time writing about what someone is wearing, the size of their bust, backside or their latest surgical procedure they’ve undergone, newspapers might be more interesting to read.
Perhaps, had the media spent less time ridiculing Arsene Wenger for not being able to do his coat up or for his teams being ‘soft southerners’ and spent more time actually listening to what he was saying, they might have learned a lot. If they spent more time listening to Mikel Arteta about how decisions which are being made against our players aren’t being made against players of other clubs instead of suggesting he’s simply moaning, they’d have realised there’s a big picture out there which has slowly been painted.
Perhaps now, the final strokes will be painted although I’m not holding my breath…
Catch up in the comments….
Great post Rico…
You make some great points about the media, as their influence wanes you can see them becoming increasingly desperate to remain relevant.
Cicero I get plenty of public speaking practice in my cab, speakers corner is more a hotbed of religious confrontation these days, but I’ll pick up and drop off from there. 😉
Harry Kane’s comments were strange, I’ve no idea where they came from and they certainly aren’t going to endear him to his team mates, I wonder if he can see the end of his international career and he’s desperate to win something before it ends?
Thanks Kev.
Honestly, the standard of “news” reporting is terrible these days. Who gives a toss what sexuality, skin colour, boob size etc etc a person is? Yet time after time, an article starts with something relating to exactly that.
Stick to the facts imo…
You’re right in what you were saying yesterday about David Coote, the media are going after him. They seem desperate to destroy any chance of him having a life let alone a career.
An independent panel should imo be asking him all the right questions about what goes on inside the referees circle etc. Mark Halsey hinted in his book a few years ago that all was not quite as good as it should be and the Fergie effect.
Good morning all, well done Rico a post that reflects what most people seem to feel about the print media, any thing for an instant headline.
Fair play to Kane, he changed the face of the game when he came on and may have been instrumental in getting England the win. Carseley had asked his players to press hard and deny the Greeks possession which, in the absence of Kane, they did to good effect, the arrival on the pitch of our Captain changed all that. He has no idea how, or inclination, to operate the press, thus Greece were able to dominate possession and move the game into the England half of the pitch thus leaving themselves open to the counter attack an so concede two more goals. A perfect example of the law of unintended consequences.
If the game had not been Carseley’s last but one, would be have had the balls to drop Kane to the bench?
It will be interesting to see what role, if any, Kane gets under his old boss at Bayern Munich.
Once upon a time there used to be two different types of journalists , ones that covered the news and those that investigated things and delved into the secrets that major organisations wanted to keep hidden.
The news reporter is now totally redundant , their market is gone , the world’s news is now splashed all over the various rolling news outlets before the paper has a chance to get anywhere near the presses. Now they are merely gossip column fillers which have the requirement to follow the lead of their owners and this also affects the investigators and in effect they will only look into things that propagate the owners profits and bias.
The Premier League and football gives them masses of column inches and the last thing that they would want to do is expose any systemic corruption which might sell their papers for a couple of months but eventually kill the very product that props them up.
They treat the game as they treat Hollywood it’s no longer sport it’s entertainment and if they can divert peoples attention and keep the pot boiling with a little scandal here and there they will they will.
As we head into a Premier break suddenly the Coote story appears ( how long have they been sitting on it )? and Kane’s comments are manna from heaven . Gossip and scandal all wrapped up neatly into one weeks worth of diverting attention away from a possible corruption within the golden goose.
This is why their sales have fallen and the world seeks information from social media , Which is probably why governments are trying to curtail those outlets .
But that’s a rant for another day.
Morning Cicero. I detest most of the journalists. All they seem to do is write for the comments section knowing full well they will get them. The comments section is often full of nastiness which goes unpoliced. Social media is criticised a lot a rightly so but imo, the comments section, certainly in the DM is as bad, if not worse.
The Kane ‘influence’ on the England performance doesn’t surprise me at all. The fact he’s selected at all continues to baffle me. Hopefully Tuchel will drop him rapidly.
Well put Potter.
Watch it Potter, or Starmer will send the Stasi around to your gaff to feel your collar…
It took a little longer than H.G.Wells, a socialist in his day, predicted it but 1984 really is here…
These days the radical left would consider Wells a fascist, it’s enough to make you weep.
And here we are this morning , don’t talk about football but let’s have a nice scandal
Marcus Rashford dons glitzy grillz as Man United star makes the most of his England exile by sitting courtside in New York… and he is joined by former team-mate who he visited before his 12-hour Belfast tequila bender: As United’s fortunes have fallen off a cliff edge, so have Rashford’s and the forward has scored just eight times in 44 Premier League appearances over the last two campaigns
Well put Rico.
It’s not only the media, it’s also some stand up comedians who cant make up there own jokes / stories with out picking on other people.
As I said the other day, like coote or not, or any ref, hopeefully they get the help they need. and the PGMOL need to test the ref’s the same way the players get tested.
Glad I’m not being into this world now. It’s an awful world imo.
They’ve forgotten to mention what he’s wearing Potter, or the size of his……….. thighs…
I’m surprised comedians are still in existence really Geoff, after all, most things are deemed offensive. 7nless it’s written by journalists.
George Orwell actually, Kev. Wrong name be but right sentiment none the less. 😉
WNLD about to kick off on BBC 1. Spurs vs Arsenal.
Yes and annoyingly, I’m off out into the cold with the hound…
One minute forty- one seconds Totts 0 – 1 Arsenal.
Twenty-one minutes 0 – 2
3 – 0 up now.
Three goals, clean sheet, three points. That’s the way to do it! 🔔🔔🔔
Excellent result…
Good evening Rico and all
A very good post Rico. Sadly though, its reality.
We had a situation here where a journalist was blown up in her car. Whether or not her articles were true or false depends on which side of politics one is. Some claimed her to be a martyr, some claimed she deserved it. Who is right?? Imo no one. because the freedom and right of expression and journalism does not mean one can write whatever he/she wants. And imo, whatever one writes, true or false does not mean that someone else should resort to blowing a person up.
In my daily job as an educational counsellor, I come across families with a lot of baggage. One has to be morally and mentally strong to work in such a field when you see kids with a lot of baggage which they have to carry. Can you blame the parents?? not always because sometimes they behave in a way which is reactive to what they are facing. I have seen many bad situations within families, but the moment which really hits home and is painful to see, is when you see grown ups with tears rolling down their cheeks because they feel helpless in their situation. Now imagine a journalist or someone continues to drive the knife deep in the wound or rub salt by publishing or saying something. Not everyone is morally and mentally strong.
With regards the referees, imo the only time they will stand up to be counted and become accountable for their actions besides taking a good deep look at themselves and the whole PGMOL, will be ONLY WHEN the whole EPL opt to terminate their allegiance with the PGMOL and begin hiring foreign refs for EPL. The EPL is superior to the PGMOL. And the EPL is made up of the Chairmen of all the EPL clubs. They can have the PGMOL at their mercy if they want.
Whether or not they want refereeing to improve or not is in their own hands.
The amount of English refs at the Euros or WC gives a fair indication of the standard of refereeing in the EPL.
Evening Devil. Thank you.
I too agree very much with freedom of speech but, when it gets personal or repetitive, as it often does here, it’s cruel imo. Coote has cocked up, he knows that better than anyone but there’s no need to destroy him.
By the way Devil, couldn’t agree more re the referees. They need to look in the mirror because they can change if they really want to and overnight.
Blimey Cicero what a clot I am, of course it was George Orwell, thanks for the heads up, Orwell also, if I recall, wrote Animal Farm which again has echos today…
The England vs Ireland game sounds a rip-roaring, thrill-a-minute, not to be missed, end-to-end, celebration of everything we all hate about international footballzzzzzzz.
We did win five nil Kev, Kane scored his routine penalty and did f**k all else. It certainly wasn’t any sort of cliff hanger. I did a crossword while sitting in front of the tele, the commentary kept me awake…..just.
Morning guys
New post up