By Dr Billy the Dog McGraw, head of psychiatry at the University College Hospital of the North Circular Road.
A little note on our trade marked rivals first, before moving on to the big story of media manipulation of a type so bonkers even I, with my PhD in Certain Things, was surprised…
Liverpool(™) have been charged by Uefa after fans ran onto the pitch during their 4-3 Champions League victory against Red Bull Salzburg on Wednesday.
If you are a regular here you’ll know that we predicted that no serious action would be taken against Liverpool(™) following their using of an unregistered player. After all as they only got one year ban from signing youngsters for all that they did in that scandal, no one is going to bother to take serious action against them for playing an unregistered player. I mean it is Liverpool. They don’t break regulations.
And so it will be this time. Another fine representing 0.00000000000000000000000001% of their annual profits perchance. Or less.
Meanwhile les tout-petits (as our near neighbours might be called if anyone speaking French possessd the Untold sense of humour) lost to the mighty Brighton & Hove Albion.
A misunderstanding among reporters seems to be appearing with the Tiny Totts, as when, for example, the Guardian reporter writes, after the Brighton debacle, “Spurs in crisis: it is a tribute to recent progress at Tottenham Hotspur that Mauricio Pochettino’s team has managed to attract this kind of talk so early in the season.”
Yes it is not a real crisis to concede 10 goals in two games because you have made progress in recent years. Erm????? Can you imagine what they’d say if it were Arsenal?
Surely that is nonsense. Arsenal’s crisis is set out repeatedly by the media day after day, week after week, century after century. The only thing the scribblers disagree about is the exact nature of the crisis. So we get
“Arsenal crisis on and off the pitch” from the aptly named blog, “Offthepitch” which is not to be confused with “Arsenal injury crisis this season” in the ever reliable Telegraph, and the “Crisis at Arsenal with Koscielny and the captaincy conundrum” from football365, not to mention the crisis of the failed tactical plan which has cropped up everywhere this season.
But in the media this is not the way of things with Tottenham. For Tottenham we are assured is NOT in crisis.
Indeed Sky’s “The Sunday Supplement” team have told us that there is no crisis for Tottenham are paying the price for their strict transfer and wage policies.
Which really made me think. This is not a crisis because the club has adopted a policy – in this case a policy of restricting transfers and wage increases. But how else do crises come about if not by a policy that has not incorporated plans to avoid the crisis?
Supposing I drove to Arsenal down the M1 by going down the right hand carriageway. I would cause an accident. But perhaps that would not be an accident because I had CHOSEN to drive on that side.
Supposing Arsenal ended up playing 13 year olds because they had a policy of cutting wages and not hiring first team players. Would that not be a crisis?
OK sometimes it might be a crisis through accidents, but normally the crisis element is caused by the lack of planning to avoid the accidents happening, so my imagined accident, and Tottenham’s real life 10 goals against in two games is still a crisis. Just seeing the cause of the crisis as being something that the club has done, rather than an accident, does not make it not a crisis. In fact it is the reverse. They have made this happen, just as I would have caused the accident if I drove down the motorway the wrong way.
In fact it makes it more of a crisis, because Tottenham has adopted a policy which has led to these results. If it is part of a plan it is a BIGGER crisis, not no crisis at all.
So now we see a perfect example of how Sky (and a few other bits of the media) repeatedly tries to manipulate our thinking about Tottenham.
The Sky Sports pundits do not believe that Tottenham are a team in crisis because the cause of the difficulties they have at the moment are entirely down to their policies. If that were Arsenal, Arsenal would be blamed wholesale FOR HAVING THE WRONG POLICIES.
Sky’s biased approach makes no sense at all. It is in fact the reverse of reality. Just look at these results…
| Date | Match | Res | Score | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 Aug | Manchester City v Tottenham Hotspur | D | 2-2 | Premier League |
| 25 Aug | Tottenham Hotspur v Newcastle United | L | 0-1 | Premier League |
| 01 Sep | Arsenal v Tottenham Hotspur | D | 2-2 | Premier League |
| 14 Sep | Tottenham Hotspur v Crystal Palace | W | 4-0 | Premier League |
| 18 Sep | Olympiakos v Tottenham Hotspur | D | 2-2 | Champions League |
| 21 Sep | Leicester City v Tottenham Hotspur | L | 2-1 | Premier League |
| 24 Sep | Colchester United v Tottenham H | L | 0-0 (4-3) | League Cup |
| 28 Sep | Tottenham Hotspur v Southampton | W | 2-1 | Premier League |
| 01 Oct | Tottenham Hotspur v Bayern München | L | 2-7 | Champions League |
| 05 Oct | Brighton and Hove v Tottenham H | L | 3-0 | Premier League |
One win in the last six. Four defeats in the last five. Two wins in the last ten.
No, of course it’s not a crisis. It’s a… (blog paused while writer goes searching for a dictionary of excuses…)
Editorial interjection: James Milner’s penalty was the 34th time Liverpool have scored a 90th-minute winning goal in a Premier League match – at least nine more than any other side.
I remember trying to watch the Sunday supplement some years ago. I thought I had mistakenly taken a whole new drug that made me hallucinate. What a load of crap. Gave up after about 5 minutes. Never wanted to watch it again and haven’t.
The only thing that amazes me is that they get paid for talking utter b***ucks and making things up.
There’s always been a bias against Arsenal and a bias towards other teams, No idea why that is. What have Arsenal done to people?, F.A.? , the P.G.M.O.L.? , Eufa ?, the national papers?,to mention a few, to deserve such adverse treatment and bias I will never know, but it has been evident for years in my opinion.I for one agree with you, I knew Liverpool wouldn’t have been thrown out off the cup even though they should, it only cost them £200 thousand to cheat.So hey ho, Liverpool survive as we knew they would.
Yes the Spuds are in crisis !! If this was Arsenal we woul dhave been torn a new ass hole by the pundits and the media !! So what is good for the goose is good for the gander !! SPURS ARE IN CRISIS TOTALLY SCREWED AND POCH IS “THINKING SHOULD I STAY OR SHOULD I GO NOW”…..
I would say that the policy of the chairman with regards to running purchasing and unnecessary tight fisted policy is the cause of all the problems this season. We did not purchase any players last season we purchased some players but unnecessary delays during purchasing players lost us some well needed players. Levi is a good chairman and that all. the owner should only allow him to do that and leave the purchasing of players to professionals If Levi has any reason to want to remove Poch from his position
he should remove himself first.
For the media and the Pundits to brazenly claim that Tottenham’s current form is not a crisis just shows how blatant and pathetic they really are, and utterly shameless. When Arsenal had players running down their contracts, we were mercilessly slated and mocked and it being a symptom of our decline. Now its their media darling, the spin and hypocrisy is just nauseating.
I thought this was an arsenal blog. Not an ode to other teams that may or nay not have been doing better than us in the last years.
You writing and publishing this makes us come across as the small vilified club.
Shame you can’t see the bigger picture
There’s something happening at the Fowl Run. It is a pointer to relegation following a huge spend on the new Chicken Coop. Three years is what I’ll give them and then they will be playing Championship football.
It will start with the non qualification for the champions league.
The lack of funds to buy players and many of those will not want to play outside the Champions league.
The lack of on field success will have a rebounding effect on the repayments for the Coop.
Relegation will be the ultimate shame for the North London Chickens & Col. Sanders will not want them chickens anymore.
PGMOL will attempt to hold them up but have probably made their fortune on the Foxes.
Before commenting on an article, its important to ask yourself, “is the article truthful?”, in the last 2 hours alone from the Tottenham news aggregator site, you have
1. One of the worst players to wear the shirt, fans slam Tottenham defender
2. I want a public apology from all the players: several Tottenham fans in utter frustration after 3-0 loss..
3. Madrid considering January swap deal to bring Eriksen to bernabeu
4. Poch vows not to quit after second spurs humiliation in a week
5. Poch feels Tottenham have been punched another KO at Brighton
6. Danny Murphy: too many have been at Tottenham too long
7. Gary lineker makes spurs joke that will depress spurs fans
8. Tottenham Hotspur is broken and there are two ways to fix the club
Incidentally the MOTD pundits did not think Mane deserved a penalty for his dive. Ain’t that a surprise??
Loris is going to be out for a while, dislocated elbow. They wouldn’t have to get too many more injuries to help your idea along Menace.
the press handling of Spuds is as predictable as laughable. After their drubbing by Bayern, you knew they gonna make a lot of Arsenal Wenger references and indeed the guardian succeeded to make the spuds loss almost about Arsenal late Wenger period. But nobody mentions the FA Cup record for Wenger Arsenal in these ‘desperate times’ where spuds still have nothing to show for. Bit then again, their is no such thing as football journalism, just frustrated fanboys disguised as reporters.
in the guardian spuds prematch review the so called reporter went to great length to point out that the Bayern pasting wasnt significant at all because Poch posessses clearly some bounce back superpower blablabla. Arsenal im the prematch preview were up for the taking offcourse! would you believe it! Also Manure got a lot off, ‘everything is fine coverage. Very odd
Liverpool today, the stepping on the heel by a liverpool player on a leicester player was so obvious a yellow and possible red. nothing was given! the penalty offence was nothing compared to it. Before Salah went down, he clealy pushed the defender before outrunning him!
It got the pigmob fingerprints all over it. Liverpool must win this season.
Its as blatant as Leicester champions run at the end of their glory seison.
Vardy get pens by the dozen, leicester defends as a rugby team with impunity. It actually as funny as scary that the majority dont see any corruption at all in the way matches are ‘fixed’ What a confidence boost any team would get if you knew that you can play your little dirty game the way you want it.
What was the fuss about VAR? It certainly hasn’t made much difference in refereeing. How that Mane dive can be given as a penalty by VAR is beyond my understanding.
To comment on the subject of the article, I honestly don’t know what press you’re listening to Tony, but where I am I can’t remember the last time there was anything positive about Tottenham. It’s either Tottenham has embarrassed English football or the players need to apologize to the fans or discussion whether the players have downed tools no longer playing for the coach and the club, or Kane and Eriksen have to leave to win stuff in their careers or whether Alli still deserves his place in the national team and lately, the debate on whether pochettino is leading the managerial sack race.
As a head of Psychiatry at UCH with a doctorate to boot, you would know all about “persecution complex”. Heal thyself, physician.
I think Mark just because people see conspiracies doesn’t mean there aren’t conspiracies.There is a certain way the media sensationalise Arsenal and the way they see other clubs. And the F.A. DO treat clubs differently .You only have to look at how Arsenal were treated by the F.A. in the infamous Highbury Brawl with Man United , we were docked more points and fined heavier than United, yet THEY threw the first punch ( I’m not saying that we were not at fault but that we were Equally at fault ) but most of the blame was squarely put on our shoulders and I have been suspicious of the F.A. ever since.And read the papers too, they blamed us too ( I actually kept the papers too they’re somewhere in my loft ).
Yilch
I think you are right to a degree, there has been criticism of Spurs and their current plight, however what is apparent to me is the polar opposite tone which the media use to express themselves when covering either club. Spurs are still treated respectfully when in trouble as they are currently whilst Arsenal were and still are mocked and insulted gleefully under similar circumstances.
Do we see a ‘Daily Tottenham’ on Talk Sport as we did with Arsenal where both our club and manager were regularly insulted on a daily basis by the despicable radio bully Adrian Durham. No we don’t, and this demonstrates perfectly the difference. Spurs are still treated respectfully whereas we most certainly are not.
Wenger was always shamefully made out to be a silly old fool who had lost the plot whilst ‘Poch’ is still the best thing since sliced bread. It is amazing to me how Arsene Wenger tolerated such despicable media treatment with such restraint and dignity.
the form of the chickens has taken a “dive” since VAR has come in.
they are not playing much worse than last year but Kane and Alli are not getting the little edge to turn the game around or set up the first goal.
the bin dippers are still immune to this as the love in goes back to the early seventies.
Regarding the Mané penalty, I thought it was a dive when seen in real time. Later, replays showed that there was contact by the defender, so I suppose that the penalty was justified (in a “soft” way). The slomo seemed to show that Mané managed to stay on his feet after the contact and later changed his mind, so I think some sort of retrospective action would be justified.
I’m not holding my breath.
MickHazel
“I think you are right to a degree, there has been criticism of Spurs and their current plight, however what is apparent to me is the polar opposite tone which the media use to express themselves when covering either club. Spurs are still treated respectfully when in trouble as they are”
Exactly what is happening on SKY right now talking about Manchester United.
Yes of course they are being critical, you could hardly be anything else, but with nothing like the tone used to criticise, insult and abuse Arsenal.
Although critical, Neville is going to great lengths to find rubies in a pile of rocks, which is fine, but only if he treats everyone with the same reverence, which he clearly doesn’t when it comes to sticking the boot in to us.
Redknapp and Souness, though slightly more critical, are still nowhere near as vitriolic as they are when talking about us.
It sucks.
Or perchance shame on a hapless philosopher who either can’t read or can’t be arsed to do any research.
The front page of this blog, and indeed the top of the page on every post says “Football news from an Arsenal perspective” and that is what we publish: football news from an Arsenal perspective.
And anyone who has taken more than a millisecond to read will know that we do not represent the club – so nothing we say can logically be taken as reporesenting the club. We are, as many articles point out, the outsiders casting a lone shadow.
As for the bigger picture, I fear it is you that misses it. A sizeable chunck of the 10,000 odd articles here are humour. You might not get it, but you could surely understand that for some people it is funny.