Invented player to sign for Arsenal according to The Times

If you have followed my ramblings in the past you’ll know I am rather critical on occasion of my fellow professional scribblers who, I suggest, have been known to take a list of players and a list of clubs, slide them up and down, and come up with links.  It is easier than working.

My all time favourite, and one that I managed to slip into my Highbury High piece for this issue, was Peter Crouch to Arsenal to replace Adebayor.  Such imaginative inventiveness.  Such drunkeness.   Such drivel.  How do you think up stuff like that?

Anyway, never to be outdone, the journalists of the Times have gone one better – instead of just being satisfied with linking a player to a club that would never sign him in a million years, they actually found an invented player who has no basis in the real world, and said Arsenal would sign him.

Of course in true “1984” fashion The Times hve now changed their web site to remove all traces of the mythical player and their insane error (just like Chelsea paste out any comments on their fans forum that they don’t like. )

(Actually it is not surprising that Winston Smith, the hero of “1984” worked for The Times going through old copies, and re-writing the news to make it fit.  What George Orwell didn’t know when he wrote that novel in 1948 was how true it would be, even in the tiny detail.)

Anyway, back to our invented man: Masal Bugduv, who plays (?) for Olimpia Balti in Moldovia (club and country do exist).  He’s 16, he’s an attacker and “strongly linked” to Arsenal who are trying to get a work permit.

Theofficeside.com suggested it was all a load of made up cobblers.  But that great and glorious web site (oft mentioned on RedAction and elsewhere as a source of gibberish) goal.com picked up the story and ran with it, failing to notice that by then others were wondering if this was a hoax.

What actually happened was that a bunch of bloggers, (no names, no sites, because they are going to do it again soon) decided to get a moment’s revenge on the idiot journalists in pubs who spread rumour and gossip, without giving a thought to the fans who believe their drivel.

The method used was the usual one – Wikipedia.  Journalists of little brain are known to inhabit it, as a short cut to doing any research.  Place glowing articles on Wiki from various people and you are going to be read, not least because you can change articles to incorporate your own updated extra information.

Of course I would not be willing to suggest to anyone that they deliberately set out to mislead the drunken copywriting fraternity.

But it is funny.

Will The Times and other journalists now learn, and start checking their sources?   I wouldn’t put a penny on it.

(c) Tony Attwood 2009.

6 Replies to “Invented player to sign for Arsenal according to The Times”

  1. The football media are a joke….in any other part of the newspaper this could get the editor fired. But in football? It’s just another day on the job.

  2. Firstly I would like to say that Wenger is tryng to explian in todays economic worries 100 million + on one player will unbalance how we value a player. Kaka thankfully is a player with a very humble character, something to be admired around the world, is very well respected here in Brasil, giving to charity and his family without any second thought. My personal view is that Kaka will go to the EPL but not to MAn City, when you have endless amounts of maney more really doesn´t count for much, ambition should take over. I do feel this is a if the shoe was on the other foot sonario, if Man City were fighting for Europe this would of been a done and dusted deal, I´m not trying to insult the Man City faithful but that is not and will not happen this year. I am also sure there are 3 teams worse than yourselves, which means you should avoid relegation. Wait till the summer, evaluate the situation and see………you never now, we all start on the same amount of pionts, so you will look a more attractive option then for players to join. The SUPERSTARS you want with the money you want to throw at them. Trying to buy the league trophie is one thing but u are close to relegation you need to think why would a world class player want to join a team who could be playing championship footy next season. BE REALISTIC!!!!!!!

  3. I’d like Andrei Arshavin to play for Arsenal because he is a quality player.

    However, despite this quality, I would be very wary of him joining if he forced the move through by striking against his current club, Zenit St Petersburg.

    I’ve read that he has threatened to go on strike if he doesn’t get his move to Arsenal. I don’t like this one bit.

    I agree it puts us into a strong position to gain Arshavin’s signature but put yourself into a Zenit supporters shoes. Would you like your best player forcing a move through?

    We Gooners wouldn’t like it if he played for Arsenal and forced his way out of the club because he wanted to play for someone like Barcelona would we?

    I keep thinking that whilst him on strike benefits Arsenal in the present, how do we not know that he wouldn’t do the same to us in the future?

    If he did sign for Arsenal I’m sure he would only have a three year contract offered to him because of Wenger’s over thirty policy. We could be in the shit!

    I’ll agree that Arshavin has been very loyal to Zenit over the years and maybe if he did join Arsenal he would stay until the end of his career but these little things worry me!

    I can’t wait to hear that it is his dream to play for Arsenal. I’ve heard him say it about Real Madrid, Barcelona, Inter Milan, AC Milan, just about every top club in Europe!

    Anyway, he is a good talent and one that Arsenal could do with. I just hope that if the transfer does go through, it is on good terms and benefits both Zenit and Arsenal.

  4. I think AW will see what happen on weekend before he will put the deal of Arshavin more seriously. If we can beat Hull, then it means we can deal with all those key players missing. However, AW will try to sign Arshavin as soon as possible. At the moment, AW will wait what happen. He is good at mind game. I believe he will have another backup plan if he can’t sign Arshavin. Maybe he has another player he wants. Let see what happen on this weekend. I really hope Villa lose their game.

  5. No doubt Arsene Wenger will get a bashing for coming out and having the temerity to question the man City purchase of Kaka. But he is right, and any sane football fan will agree. Now I know if we had a rich sugar daddy who could bank roll us to the tune of £100 million for ONE PLAYER, I would be deliriously happy, but a tiny part of me would think, ‘this is madness’.

    I am not going to have a go at Man City, it is not their fault they are being bent over a barrel by Milan, but at some point, Michel Platini and Sepp are going to have to take their blinkers off and realise the money is ripping the soul out of football. I am no romantic, and I know this has been going on for ages, and I am not rose tintedly looking at the past, but something has to be done sooner or later.

    Manchester United got to their position by playing the best football, having the best marketing and winning things. Barcelona have a feverish and huge international fan base, and again play a brand of football that allows them to generate large income. Man City are 15th, 2 points above the relegation zone.

    To quote the scally on my street corner, ’nuff said’.

  6. Hello Ole, quite a good site this isn’t it, makes a change from ACLF. Just need a couple of posters to start having a daily punch up and it could be right up there with the best.

    Keep ’em comimg Tony.

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