Media reporting in football

Ok, I'm not someone who is a fully paid up member of the Wayne Rooney fan club but I do realise that he is a quality footballer who has been around for a while now. I even thought that when he was bagging all those goals in the 2009/2010 season, he was not fulfilling his original promise as a creator and finisher. However, now he is being deployed in a deep-lying striker role, he's looking like a truly world class player. I completely appreciated his relaxed and amiable appearance on Talksport. Talksport has its critics but I miss Richard Keys and Andy Gray on Sky Sports so I'm glad they've got a spot on Talksport. Reproach me if you will but feelings aren't always logical. Just ask Andy. Even though I'm not a Sky Sports subscriber, I miss the fact that there previously was an option to see the duo whenever I popped round to the home of a friendly Sky customer. Nostalgia aside, when Wayne Rooney joined the duo for the last hour or so of their show, a solitary eyebrow was raised at his appearance. I thought, "What is Wayne doing? So soon after a Champions League final defeat? Sir Alex must know..." As I pondered the potential unsavoury consequences of such a decision, I realised that it was Keys and Gray. My mind stopped wondering.



So, Wayne had promised "the lads" that he would come on and chat with them. Fair enough. He spoke honestly as he could about the recent Champions League final, his rant at a camera, his preference for playing behind the striker and the fact that, a certain Lionel Messi is the best player in the world. It was just an interesting interview with a footballer who loves to play and watch football. Also, fans of tactics should listen for Rooney's insight into the final:

"Messi wins them games but Xavi and Iniesta destroy you. They are simply a fantastic team, a very special side. That's the level we want to be at and we have to up our game to achieve this. The manager will be doing what he can to see we do this. The plan was to try to win the ball from them as high as possible and not allow them time on the ball. We didn't want to allow them to dictate play. I was told to stay as close to Sergio Busquets as possible and break off him when we had the ball. At times they had six in midfield with Messi and David Villa dropping back."

The problem is how comments are reported from players in the national press and on the internet. A positive comment such as "we'll do our best to make up for the final defeat of two years ago" morphs into "we want revenge" on the back of a tabloid. Rooney was openly discussing the merits of Messi; he was very complimentary and realised that the La Liga is different to the English Premier League. However, it is being reported widely that Rooney said "Messi can't do it against Stoke" when what actually took place was a football fan who happens to play at the highest level, discussing the greatness of a player and wondering how the difference in playing style will affect his respective effectiveness.

We all discuss the merits of different footballers in different leagues. Although, I disagree with Rooney in part, it's hard for me to continue without a reader having the full facts before engaging in debate. In my opinion, Lionel Messi would fare excellently against Premier League defences and he suffers some awful challenges in La Liga. When Messi was on the charge for his second of his hat-trick against Zaragoza (in 2010) he had to fight off an opponent and evaded dangerous and desperate lunge. Yet I respected Rooney's right to air his opinion on the matter and listen to his reasoning behind it whether I agreed or not.

"Are "dark forces" at work in the media?"

Sometimes it's a wonder that footballers ever speak at all. We lament the monotone or standard answers from many footballers but the moment a footballer says anything remotely interesting, it's more of a case of potential and unnecessary attention from the media. It's sad really because listening to the interview, I was impressed that Rooney held to his word and came on the show. When I realised it was the last week that Keys and Gray were on air until August, I was even more impressed with Rooney's commitment to appear before their "season" ended.

Unfortunately I don't think many people do engage with some knowledge of the subject matter which can be part of the problem with football reporting. Often, reports are rolled out in the knowledge that many readers won't check the source to gain greater understanding whether it is out of limited time, lack of interest or investigative laziness. And in the land of the blind, those who have any semblance of vision find themselves on closer to the summit than the rest. I guess only football can stir such passionate responses as: "Shut up Fat Lad!!" and "At least Messi is a gentleman unlike these three! Most fans of the lovely game would rather see Messi play that these foul mouthed idiots." Wonderful.

Here's the live interview:

http://www.talksport.co.uk/radio/richard-keys-and-andy-gray/blog/2011-05-31/exclusive-wayne-rooney-interview-60-minute-special-keys-and-gray

Here are some of the reports on the interview:

http://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/2896/premier-league/2011/06/01/2512752/manchester-united-striker-wayne-rooney-barcelonas-lionel

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1392715/Wayne-Rooney-insists-Messis-best-suited-Premier-League.html