The British Press is destroying English Football

When members of the Tottenham Board went over to Spain to talk to Juande Ramos about his position at Sevilla they were doing nothing wrong. If you are the Chairman of a business and believe you can replace, say, your very decent marketing manager with someone better you wouldn’t fire them and then see what you can attract. You would sound out (using various staff members/ directors) prospects that are, in your opinion, better and if one of them agrees to come on board you fire your current manager only once you have signed the replacement.

The vilification of the Spurs board by the clubs fans is largely for their lying about the whole mess instead of being open and, by failing to immediately throw their unequivocal support behind Martin Jol, leaving the much loved manager in an untenable position. Ultimately BMJ might have still had a chance of getting morale back into the Tottenham camp, though, if not for the daily hounding and speculation of the press as to his demise.

When England finally got rid of Sven Goran Eriksson for underachieving, being dull and having sex with attractive women their new man was Luiz Felipe Scolari. He was tagged. He was bagged. He was on his way to London. Then he encountered the British Press and the man immediately, and with some justification, made an about- turn. He was perfectly clear why: the British Press were invasive and prone to writing popular fiction rather than the news.

In viciously tearing apart a young England player for a single mistake they might well have killed David Beckham’s love for the game and destroyed his career. He wasn’t even 21 at the time and England could have lost what became one of their most important players in the following 10yrs.

According to the Great British Press Wenger’s career at Arsenal was, apparently, over last year. He was done. How many times has Alex Ferguson been “on his way?” Rafa Benitez and Big Sam are the latest managers to be targeted. Yet there have been no noises from the Liverpool or Newcastle Boards about dissatisfaction.

Dimitar Berbatov has been the latest victim on the playing field. By all accounts a mild mannered, quiet gentleman he settled down and did great things in his first season in the Premier League. He tried desperately to keep away from the press.

In the pre-season transfer window, though, wild tales were spun of a transfer to Manchester United. Speculation increased as Alex Ferguson said some complimentary things about him. In response first Berbatov’s agent was sent out to deny and then, when speculation continued to increase with papers quoting “close friends” who said he wanted to move and that the agent was just pushing up the price, Berbatov had to come out publicly with a personal statement of intent to stay.

Speculation stopped for less than 2 weeks and he had to do it again. With Tottenham, against expectations, struggling at the bottom of the table the British Press have started quoting, without substantiation, Berbatov’s father and brother forcing him to make the same statement a third time. Most footballers want to play football, not spend endless time facing off with the press about lies.

It is quite possible that Dimitar Berbatov will leave Spurs at the end of the season. It is feasible he will stay. The point is there is not a news story here, only speculation that destabilises players and teams and, this is important, stops certain managers and players, often the quieter, more gentlemanly ones, wanting to have anything to do with the English game. Much to its detriment.

Wouldn it not be good if every British paper were required to carry, large, at the top of their sports page, a percentage rating of how many of their speculative stories came true? No avoiding liability with “it has been reported” in the story, either- trying to blame the rampant fiction on another body.

They would have to move The Daily Mail over to the fiction section in the libraries.