GARETH ROBERTS and John Gibbons were joined by Tony Barrett of The Times and Paul Joyce of The Daily Express in a TAW Player Special.
Paul and Tony talk to the lads about how the industry works, how stories are sourced, how they are verified and how difficult it is to sift through masses of misinformation.
I haven’t listened to this yet, but fuck me, I don’t for a second believe the vast majority of what “sports writers” run with isn’t pure clickbait slurped from twatter and forums, or opinion fodder. Some twat ran with a sarky joke from RAWK recently for example, and it’s not limited to footy.
Hope everyone is having a good end of season with no summer distractions. Jeez I’m bored. When does the season start…
Really interesting this! I heard Tony Barrett on a podcast recently, might have been ‘And Could He Play’. Either way, he was talking about his relationship with Kenny. It struck me then that some journalists clearly do know what they’re talking about. They have contacts we can only dream of. I make that point as it appears the whole ‘journalist’ thing has been watered down by the amount of garbage around.
I like the transfer window. It’s genuinely exciting as, after all, the success of the team is primarily a result of what happens in the summer. I’ve just become sick of it all though. I never click on links anymore. I’m not giving them the satisfaction of my click. “Wow, Is this player about to become Liverpool’s next signing? Make it happen”. Fuck off.
I think this show has restored my faith in the window though.
I don’t know how I thought it worked but I was intrigued to see how it’s all a network. I found it interesting that Paul’s first and last text was from Tony. Kind of didn’t expect those links, even if in hindsight it’s obvious. Sounds like my life except I don’t get paid for it. Anyway, the solution to all this is clear. Fuck the Twitter trash off and listen to the more respected journalists. That way you can enjoy the window without the frustration that comes with it. My favourite point made on the pod came from our very own John though, about how we all get angry about not signing a player none of us had even heard of a week earlier, haha.
How much are football journalists independent analysts or mouthpieces for clubs? It all sounds a bit too cosy.