I take my hat off to those "in the know" posters and tweeters who post on social media the latest news on transfers. We (football fans) are greedy for news about who could be coming in or transferred out. I do have issues about how and why someone not connected with football directly or in the media would be told information that is obviously confidential. There has to be a reason behind it and that is my big concern. Speculation is one thing, and the occasional tit bit does no harm, but if a club has a leak about transfers, how come we do not know the details and nitty gritty about deals? How come so much remains guarded, yet we are expected to believe that transfer targets are somehow different. Our club for instance is very introvert at the moment and we moan about lack of trust between the club and supporters, transfer "rumours" from social media would more than annoy me as a manager and there can only be one real reason behind then and that is as a form of tapping up. Let someone know that we are looking at a players from another club and it sows the seed. The buying club can claim that "we have not released anything to the media and we have not approached any player in contract. My point is that whilst I have no doubt that there are people "in the know" I am not convinced that transfer rumours should be anything but a bit of fun and certainly should not be used for personal glory or gain. As a footnote, this post is not aimed at any individual, it is about ITK posters in general and is not club specific, nor is it really limited to transfers. So are ITK posters harmful or harmless?
Most ITK posters imo are just lucky, sometimes they've got a sniff of something and posted it in a more factly manner and it turns out to be right. Rarely do we remember the ones that started the ones that don't come off. Personally I just wait to hear for the official releases from the club, and whilst they (rightly so) don't release ongoing details generally, they're pretty quick on twitter and facebook etc when they do have something to release. It might not seem like it but we find out stuff a lot quicker from the club than we used to.
Betting odds changing is usually a good indicator of something happening! Which gets me thinking if some people are really in the know can they earn some money first before showing off on social media?
You can always tell a con man, who is in the know, as they start everything off with "I have heard", "I have been told", or "my source says"... Most of it is a bit of luck in trawling the news now posts, and having a massive twitter list of people followed so you can pick up other clubs gossip. I used to know a player via a relative, who would avoid telling me anything for fear of it being posted. When I did hear I would just say it as fact. I wouldn't flower it up with he "I have heard..." rubbish that is like saying: "no offence but..." It is drawing attention to what you are about to do. People who say "Dawson will join Friday" are more likely to be real and won't need to make the statement have extra gravitas by the "my source says ( I read it in twitter or am making an educated guess)". I can spot he deluded ones who love the self importance of what comes with he mystique of being the first to break news. There are no significant leaks at all at this time, and most of it is from other clubs posters, and the press. So there
If you have enough time to scan social media, gossip sites, sports sites, newspapers, websites, other club's forums etc then fair play & many appreciate the "gossip" that they reveal, but please just say that is all it is. You'll be a lot better thought of. The self proclaimed ITKer is quite a sad breed. Low on self esteem, without external human contact & lacking in social skills & personality. He takes little, or no, pleasure & satisfaction in delivering "exclusive information", because it's either false or copied quickly from elsewhere. His satisfaction comes solely from the attention he is receiving for being "ITK". It's an ego thing. Let them carry on if it gives them a boost. Any person who is really ITK & breaking confidences would surely hide the fact behind other mediums so as not to potentially reveal their disloyalty.
ITK leakes come from agents by and large as they have there own agenda. However when people within the club are happy to mention something and dont say ""keep it to yourself"" then why not put it out there. I have been told and heard alot(chinese whispers) this summer and most of it has been wide of the mark or still on going. I am sure that anyone within the club who lets info out that hurts any deal or the club will be gett a P45 very quickly. The club leaks can also be used to deflect what is really going on.
If I was every really ITK on anything previously I had promise never to say. Posting it would get me rumbled and I wouldn't be told anything ever again. So I kept my mouth shut and was then privy to more as I was trusted. And there is no personal credit to be had to pass it on to avoid detection. Now and again I would get some random inside stuff, like the golf pro telling a relative what Brian Horton had been saying about Bullard that day. All genuine stuff but not very repeatable for legal reasons! Safe to say the club knew what he was up to of an evening!!
We must have, and i don't get why they're keeping it quite. I'm absolutely certain, it's going to be another ****e one though. And it'll all be the fault of the "hooligans". You know the kind of thing.... We could have had Apple, but they'd only invest if the club were to be re-branded, blah blah ****ing blahdida. I'm in the know you see. Bookmark this
This is what I think also, I am sure the story about Palarse interested in Livermore was just a ruse to get his price up. I a sure a lot of this goes on.
