BBC - Liverpool make bid for Lallana

Nevertheless, AA makes a valid general point. The media look for the tiniest chink in the armour of a broad statement to undermine it. They can also then be said to have reported the truth. What surprises me these days is that responsible news agencies are beginning to take on similar traits when it comes to sports, and especially football, as the trash merchants. All in a pursuit for a story. Inevitably, that's what it ends up being most of the time - a story, and a fictional one at that.

 

Suarez is as likely if not more likely to move than Adam in this window, so I think AA makes a good point. Can't wait till Madrid stir things up, it is coming.

 

The BBC football site used to just have the gossip column as a medium for airing unofficial and unconfirmed stories, everything else was news or opinion pieces, but now they seem to be increasingly engaging in gossip aswell, as a licence fee payer, I don't really want the BBC to head down that path.

 

They always make a huge signing in the summer and after missing out on the league again they are going to want someone who scores bucket loads of goals to compliment Ronaldo and Bale. Suarez fits that bill and money will be no object.

 

That's a good similarity TBH. Luis will only leave if someone meets his value to Liverpool, same applies for you guys with Lallana. Only difference is that said value. A lot more clubs can afford Lallana (should they wish to buy him) than what can afford Suarez. Only a select few clubs could splash £70m on one player, and that's not including English clubs since they'd reportedly have to pay £100m which just isn't going to happen (well, maybe Man City since they don't give a **** about FFP).

I agree about the media point AA made though. They did the same thing last summer too. I never pay attention to headlines or the articles anymore, I just scan through for quotes.

 

It's one view, I'm not sure I agree with it. The BBC have taken one stance on the Suarez story, other media outlets will take a different one, here for example is the Guardian's (admittedly tongue-in-cheek) gossip column today, leading with "Luis Suarez to Real Madrid for £70m?": http://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/may/15/football-transfer-rumours-luis-suarez-real-madrid

What AA is suggesting is that the media exaggerate our players' desire to leave compared to those from other clubs and I'm not really seeing much evidence for that. The fact is Lallana, an England international, possibly moving to Liverpool, who nearly won the title, is a big story, and any news agency would be letting down their readers were they not to report on it. Suarez possibly going to Real or Barcelona is in the same category, and although there's probably even less truth to it than the Lallana stories, that will be reported in much the same way.

 

I wasn't only referring to us, I think it is a lazy media bias whereby assumptions are made about players/managers at smaller clubs and stories are written to conform to a click generating media agenda.

 

I think if there are biases at work here, they're biases that we all have. People are more interested in reading stories about big clubs. Even we are - if you see a story about Suarez going to Barcelona or Real Madrid, you're much more likely to read it than you are to read one about Lee Cox transferring from Swindon to Plymouth, or whatever it might be. Obviously the big clubs are going to get more attention.

On the other hand, we're Southampton supporters and we're biased in favour of our own club. We notice everything the media says about us and feel personally affronted by anything negative, even though to most people, the story is actually about an England player being a target for Liverpool, which is something that will always be newsworthy.

Lazy? Maybe. But there's no underhand agenda at work here, they are just giving the people what they want.

 

It's human nature, we as fans do exactly the same thing in reverse.

 

You're spot on there. Just to make things worse, when you don't agree with it you are considered bitter by opposition fans too

 

I didn't say it was underhand, just that it was an agenda, that agenda is to sell papers or generate clicks, these aren't altruistic organisations, they are revenue making enterprises, my complaint is that to generate maximum revenue stories are spun rather than reported.

But I do accept your point that they are just giving the people what they want, it just doesn't happen to be what I want.

 

In the end, the board will do what they want...the media destabilises fans more than it destabilises those within football.

 

Well they are spun inasmuch as they need to be for there to be a story. Suarez saying he's not aware of a clause in his contract isn't particularly newsworthy, but relating it to a possible approach from a bigger club makes it so. I suppose they can be guilty of creating stories where there shouldn't necessarily be one, but as I say, people want to read stories about players like Suarez so even the smallest crumb of news has to be made to meet that demand somehow. I don't really believe they are spinning the news in a concerted way (at least, not usually).

The same applies to the Lallana story really, there is nothing to report, but people are dying to hear something, so they rehash the same story based on whatever information they can infer from the latest content-free quote (or they just wildly speculate with no basis at all).

It is annoying when it concerns your club, but if we manage to keep hold of our manager and/or players, the papers will have to print stories about how strong and principled our board were and how loyal are players are, even if there was never actually anything happening!

The best policy is probably to ignore everything until it's announced by the club, but wouldn't life be boring then?

 

Do you have kids? If so you should be used to this. You say something to your kids and they 'pick the words in whichever way suits them'. When you question why they are not doing what you asked they say they are and tell you what you said. My aspergers son is even worse than normal kids and we have to make things very very clear and every instruction explained very carefully so it can't be taken the wrong way.

So when I see the papers taking snippets and then reporting it as fact, I am quite used to this process. lol

 

Perhaps your son has a bright future in sports journalism ahead of him

 

I do and I am!
As an aside, my eldest who is six and prone to emotional outbursts, cried last week when my wife came home and carelessly said "I hear Adam Lallana has been sold to Liverpool..."
With his bottom lip quivering, he said "b..b..but, I have his name on my Shirt"!

 

Let's hope Adam is aware of how many kids hearts he'll be breaking if he goes. No pressure, Adam, honest.

 

never mind kids, i've yet to encounter a human who doesn't interpret even slightly vague or ambiguous instructions to the minimum degree of their inconvenience.

it just so happens for most people it's kids they get to give instructions to.

 

A Spurs fan on another thread made a very good point that it happens to most clubs eventually. Usually a smaller club that is percieved to have over achieved.

 

**** the kids, what about me??!!