Fantasy Football: Pick your team now

Well, a bit of self-promotion is to be expected, perhaps. But now that’s out of the way, we can get to the business at hand - sports news. What’s the second most important story of the hour?

Fantasy Football: Win 50k

Ah.

Still, we shouldn’t take it too personally. After all, this is a newspaper who, presumably with no trace of irony, like to put news in inverted commas:

Royston Drenthe, the 23 year-old Dutch left-back on the fringes of the Real Madrid squad, is ripe for a transfer rumour. And the rumour is a fair sight easier to muster when he does all the hard work for you. According to his Facebook page, it appeared that a deal was in the offing:

“I will soon be joining Liverpool FC. I hope I will have a good season.”

Too good to be true? Well, yes, apparently. Soon the denial came from his agent to the BBC, and in even more vociferous terms than usual:

However, his agent told BBC Sport: “Royston does not have a Facebook page, a Twitter page or a MySpace page. We will be taking legal action against the person who set up this false Royston Drenthe account.

“Royston is definitely staying at Real Madrid. He is happy there, he has spoken to the club directors and is looking forward to the new season at the Bernabeu.”

Now that’s settled, let’s have a look at the stories that took the story at face value:

Daily Star - Real Madrid’s £9m-rated wideman Royston Drenthe has used Facebook to say he is joining Liverpool. He said: “I will soon be joining Liverpool. I hope I will have a good season.”

So the Daily Star didn’t fact-check the Facebook page. But that’s no real surprise - after all, in the last week they’ve run a story suggesting that Rockstar Games were going to release Grand Theft Auto: Rothbury on the basis of a crude mock-up of the game cover based on Raoul Moat’s last days (yes - really, see the full story here at the excellent Tabloid Watch), only to have to issue the most grovelling of apologies when it became apparent that it was bull of the shittiest kind:

ROCKSTAR GAMES - GRAND THEFT AUTO - AN APOLOGY

On 21 July we published an article claiming that the video games company Rockstar Games were planning to release a version of their popular Grand Theft Auto video games series titled “Grand Theft Auto Rothbury”.

We also published what we claimed would be the cover of this game, solicited comments from a family member impacted by the recent tragedy and criticised Rockstar Games for their alleged plans.

We made no attempt to check the accuracy of the story before publication and did not contact Rockstar Games prior to publishing the story. We also did not question why a best selling and critically acclaimed fictional games series would choose to base one of their most popular games on this horrifying real crime event.

It is now accepted that there were never any plans by Rockstar Games to publish such a game and that the story was false. We apologise for publishing the story using a mock-up of the game cover, our own comments on the matter and soliciting critical comments from a grieving family member.

We unreservedly apologise to Rockstar Games and we have undertaken not to repeat the claims again. We have also agreed to pay them a substantial amount in damages which they are donating to charity.

Read that again, by the way - it gets better with every reading. So the Daily Star failing in the most basic elements of journalism is no surprise. Slightly more surprising, however, is the Independent presenting exactly the same story as fact:

Mascherano heads for exit as Drenthe claims transfer on Facebook

Perhaps our favourite aspect of this headline is the use of ‘claims’ - as if it’s ‘Drenthe’ who needs to get his facts straight.

Liverpool also moved last night to reject a claim by Real Madrid’s £9m rated Dutch player Royston Drenthe that he is moving to Anfield, a development that did nothing to solve the club’s problematic lack of a left-back.

That’s a curious angle to take on the story, too - Liverpool denying the story. After all, the club’s official site was quite happy to reprint the Belfast Telegraph’s version of events a day after said denial on their site:

£9m Drenthe will lift Liverpool

Liverpool appeared last night to have moved to solve the problem of the left back position at Anfield by attempting to secure the signature of Real Madrid’s £9m rated Dutch player Royston Drenthe.

[...] Drenthe, who can also operate as a left winger, claimed on his own facebook page that he is set to move to Anfield. “I will soon be joining Liverpool FC. I hope I will have a good season,” he said.

Which begs this question: Why would the Liverpool website carry a story which “Liverpool moved to reject” the previous day? Running speculation on official channels surely only fogs an increasingly muddy picture.

All of this leaves us with the following. Drenthe didn’t post a message on Facebook. Liverpool denied their interest. And yet on the grounds of precisely nothing positive from either club or player the rumours persist.

]]> http://www.sportwithoutspin.com/2010/07/28/royston-drenthe-and-fact-checking-his-liverpool-move/feed/ http://www.sportwithoutspin.com/2010/07/16/luis-fabiano-rumours-conflicting-statements-and-mistranslations/ http://www.sportwithoutspin.com/2010/07/16/luis-fabiano-rumours-conflicting-statements-and-mistranslations/#comments Fri, 16 Jul 2010 09:53:14 +0000 Sport without Spin http://www.sportwithoutspin.com/?p=4054

How to explain the following two statements, both allegedly made by Luis Fabiano within the last month?

June 27th: “There would be no point in me joining Tottenham, I might as well stay at Sevilla, it’s the same thing.

“Sevilla are actually bigger when you look at how much we have been in the European Cup, so there would be no point me moving to a smaller team.”

July 16th: “I must admit it’s only in the last few weeks I have understood just how big Spurs’ ambition is.”

Hmmm.

An explanation for the naive: Luis Fabiano has sat down, read all about Spurs’ history online and noticing that they are a club on the up.

An explanation for the more cynical: It has become apparent that United and Milan have no interest in such a deal, and accordingly Luis Fabiano has to reconsider his options.

An explanation for the even-more-cynical: The origins of these two apposite quotes are (1) The Daily Star on Sunday and (2) The Sun. The Spanish only report the first quotes as coming via England, and the second quotes are yet to appear in the Spanish press at all. Portuguese-language outlets don’t carry the stories at all.

And something that needed to be ignored in all this? The bit where Luis Fabiano’s agent said that he was happy in Spain and they were in the middle of contract negotiations for an extension, as explained on local radio in Seville.

El representante de Luis Fabiano, José Fuentes, dejó claro en Punto Radio Sevilla que “la única propuesta que llegó fue el año pasado del Milán. El está en el escaparate, pero sólo hay rumores. No tiene ansiedad ninguna por irse. Si tiene que llegar una oferta, llegará, si no, pues seguirá tan feliz y alegre en Sevilla”.

[...] “El Milán sabe que si lo quieren tienen que llamar a José Fuentes y al Sevilla, al igual que pasaría con el Manchester”.

Fuentes insistió en que “si se queda, lo hará feliz y alegre. Si se va lo hará para irse a un grande de verdad, de los que solo hay cinco o seis equipos en el mundo”. Sin embargo, la renovación de su contrato sigue parada, y el representante de ‘O Fabuloso’ lo explicaba. “Esa idea de ampliar el contrato vino del Sevilla, nosotros le contestamos con lo que queríamos (algo accesible para ellos) pero a día de hoy aún no han contestado”, sentenció.

Translation - The representative of Luis Fabiano, Jose Fuentes, made clear on Punto Radio Sevilla that “the only offer that was made was the one from Milan last year. He is in the shop window, but there are only rumors. He has no anxiety to leave. If an offer has to arrive it will arrive, if not, then he will continue so happy and joyful in Seville. “

[...] “Milan know that if they want him they have to call Jose Fuentes and Sevilla, as would happen with Manchester.”

Fuentes insisted that “if he stays, it will make him happy and cheerful. If he goes it will have to be to go to a really big club, of which there are only five or six teams in the world. ” However, the renewal of his contract continues to stall, and the representative of ‘O Fabuloso’ explained. “The idea of extending the contract came from Sevilla, we reply with what we would like (something feasible to them) but up to now they have not responded,” he said.

Now, that sounds to us more like an encouragement to Seville to get the contract sorted out on improved terms because he’ll be happy that way, with a nod to the possibility of other deals to keep the club on their toes. But it’s barely a nod - half-hearted and not really the point of Fuentes’ message. Mind you, if you move things around, forget convenient bits and mistranslate, you come up with this Sun story:

Make your move for Fab, Fergie

Luis Fabiano’s agent has told Manchester United: It is time to make your move.

[...] Jose Fuentes said: “We have not received any offers from Manchester United or Milan.

“The only offer we have received is a contract extension from Sevilla. The rest are just rumours and speculation.

“We will analyse Sevilla’s offer in the coming days but we are not in a hurry.”

And with scrupulous translation efforts like that, you can decide how seriously to take the Luis Fabiano rumours doing the rounds in the British press this summer.

“I must say that at the time I thought it was a bad decision to leave Theo Walcott at home,” he told the Daily Star.

“And I think that has been proved right. I can only speak from experience but he was one of the most dangerous players I have ever played against.

“Barcelona players are not scared easily but I can tell you that when we played Arsenal last season he truly worried us.

“When we were playing Arsenal at the Emirates we were so in control of the game at 2-0, with all respect Arsenal were not even in the game.

“Then Theo came on and changed the game. He pretty much single-handedly salvaged a draw against Barcelona that night.

“Even in the return leg our manager Pep Guardiola was telling us he was the player to watch out for.

“And the best players in the world like Xavi and Gerard Pique were telling us to watch out for him. The truth is that he really rattled him.

“If he could do that against Barcelona, think what he could have done against Germany and Algeria. Even if he didn’t start, he would still have been very important for England.

“Along with Cesc Fabregasand Sergio Aguerohe would have been the best impact player at the World Cup.”

Messi, whose Argentina side crashed out in the quarter-finals after also being thumped by Germany, says Walcott’s pace is his best asset.

He added: “Even at the top level, pace scares the world’s best defenders. And, take it from me, he would scare any defender.

“When England brought on players, I don’t think they were at the level to make any impact. But Walcott would have been and I still can’t understand why he wasn’t taken.

“He is a big-game player as well who rises to the occasion. He scored a hat-trick in Croatia, which nobody ever does and was the star against Barcelona.”

Suspicious? It appears that he “told the Daily Star” (ho-hum) and subsequently the quotes were reprinted by Sky Sports (ho-hum).

And there isn’t a Spanish version of this quote to be found on the web, despite it being fairly clear that Messi’s English, should he actually speak any, doesn’t extend to “He is a big-game player as well who rises to the occasion. He scored a hat-trick in Croatia, which nobody ever does and was the star against Barcelona.“

Does Messi really have time in the immediate aftermath of the World Cup defeat to Germany to start ruminating on the peripheral figures of an already long-gone English squad? In English? Direct to a British tabloid?

Or instead, is the Daily Star (whose online site strangely doesn’t have these quotes given what a remarkable coup it would be to have the world’s best player talking direct to you) simply putting a rather positive view of Walcott into the mouth of Messi rather than, say, that of an apologist or agent who wants the winger to emerge in a positive light following the World Cup debacle?

 —  — -

PS - You may notice some similarities between today’s article and yesterday’s article. The press are doing much the same trick, so it seems fitting that we just cut and paste our scepticism.

GARY NEVILLE claims Wayne Rooney has been the Premier League’s top player this season.

The England striker returned from an ankle injury to lead the line for 65 minutes at Manchester City on Saturday.

“He has been fantastic with his goals and general level of performance, as well as helping England.”

Didier Drogba seems like a very decent alternative candidate, even if he doesn’t win. Given he’s scored the same sort of number of goals, laid on assists, and all for the side a point ahead in the Championship, it doesn’t seem entirely unreasonable to talk about him in the same breath as Rooney. Not that we’d expect Neville to credit that, mind, and that’s fair enough. In fact, that’s the point. If you were to hide Neville in a bunker ten feet underground and give the media those quotes saying what you think he would say, you’d probably write what’s above. Verbatim.

And then you probably wouldn’t publish it as news.

A man on a mission with a budget to confuse - Photo Blenky64 CCA

The Mirror haven’t let Newcastle celebrate promotion for very long, have they? You see, no sooner did they secure an immediate return to the top flight than things took a nasty turn:

Newcastle promotion party over already as Ashley rules out Prem spending spree

Ashley will ignore ­warnings from key figures in the game that investment in the order of £40million will be needed in the summer and another £20million in January.

Instead a budget of no more than £20million will be provided, plus whatever Hughton makes in sales, with the emphasis on discovering players under 26 who are on the up and eager to make their careers on ­Tyneside.

£20m? That sounds really financially responsible doesn’t it? And that’s no fun. But on the other hand that’s roughly what Birmingham spent this year and they seem to be managing to stay afloat. And Wolves look set to beat the drop too, and they spent even less.

But then, if Newcastle fans are depressed by the news that they won’t be spending loads of money on Michael Owen (he was an unequivocal success on Tyneside, remember), then perhaps they will be cheered by the fact that their budget is even bigger in the Guardian:

Ashley and the club’s managing director, Derek Llambias, believe £20m to £25m is a healthy budget for a club looking to consolidate its Premier League position.

See? That’s awesome - there’ll be another £5m for players if they really, really, need it. Either that, or there’ll be less, if you read the Star:

CHRIS Hughton will be ­handed a transfer kitty of just £15m this summer to keep newly-promoted Newcastle in the Premier League next season.

Crap - if we were Geordie fans we wouldn’t know how to feel about the size of said transfer kitty. Let’s hope the Star can point us in the direction of the how to feel:

News that Hughton will receive only a ­fraction of the funds most of his predecessors were given will dismay the Toon Army, many of whom feel substantial investment is ­required for Newcastle to stay up.

Ah, right. We’re dismayed now.

Anyway, as the examples of Birmingham and Wolves show, extravagant spending isn’t a prerequisite for staying up (although it goes without saying that more money is likely to increase your chances of success). And besides, who were these ‘key figures in the game’ that the Mirror spoke about suggesting that £60m of investment in players was essential? Step forward, The Times, while you’re still free:

“Newcastle are already sitting here with a budget that exceeds ‘X’ amount of pounds, with a squad depth that carries huge experience,” Billy Davies said. “They are more equipped than any other team in this division, but they will still need to spend and, as a greedy manager, I think it would need to be at least £40 million for the first window and £20 million for the second.”

Ah, Billy Davies, Nottingham Forest manager, currently yet to manage a full season in the Premiership, nor, obviously, to take a side into the top flight and keep them there. Good work from the Mirror describing him as such a key figure, and good analysis given the efforts of this year’s promoted teams.

Ashley Cole - Photo Downing Street CCANC

Even when Ashley Cole gives the media a gem of a quote, it can still be misreported. Clearly he said something to indicate his despondency at the latest events, but as the Guardian astutely points out, who knows exactly what?

The England left-back lost his cool yesterday while relaxing on his balcony, launching a tirade of abuse at bemused paparazzi. Exactly what he said we don’t know, because although he was quoted in four different daily papers, none of those quotes are quite the same. So choose from the following:

The Mirror: “Why don’t you just f*** off? F*** off – you’re scum, you’ve ruined my life. Why doesn’t everyone just leave me alone?”

The Star: “Why won’t everyone leave me alone. I’m meant to be here for treatment. F***ing hell, my life is ruined. Why don’t you all just f*** off, just f*** off.”

The Sun: “F****** hell, my life is ruined. I just want to be left alone – everything’s gone so wrong.”

In the Mail he doesn’t even precede his asterisks with an F, saying bluntly: “**** off! Why doesn’t everyone just leave me alone? Just **** off, my life has been ruined.”

He sounds pretty unhappy in all versions, so we’ll just leave him alone at this point, shall we?

Tape recorder, schmape recorder. They’ll probably remember the gist of it when it comes to writing it up. As we said last week, you’d have thought it would be hard to have any sympathy for old Ashley, but somehow the misreportings of his every move as he tries to stay out of the limelight and recover from his injury aren’t helping us hate ‘the love rat’ as much as they feel we should.

David Beckham - Photo Simo82

As soon as the draw for the Champions League 2nd round was made the talk was of AC Milan’s clash with Manchester United and the prospect of David Beckham returning to Old Trafford for the first time since leaving the club in 2003. It was to be expected if not desired that the ageing midfielder would set the agenda for the coverage of the tie. And what if he didn’t really have anything worth saying? Well, no matter, use it as the headline anyway. Here are a selection of headlines which hint at shocking lead stories:

Mirror - Beckham: I want to beat United

The Sun - Becks: I want to see United lose

The Daily Star - Beckham: I want United to lose

BBC - David Beckham wants AC Milan to beat Manchester United

Now, given that David Beckham is paid by AC Milan, plays for AC Milan, and would probably like some personal success in the twilight of his career and the run-up to the World Cup, we humbly submit that the above headlines might just be uninteresting drivel.  Presumably Michael Owen, boyhood Everton fan, didn’t secretly hope for Liverpool to beaten in the derby when he played for them, nor for United to lose against them this weekend, as it happens. The story would only become ‘news’, in the sense of being something that we don’t already know, if the opposite were true. Consider the following, regrettably fictional headline:

The Daily Fiction - Beckham: Old Trafford ties too strong to hope for Milan win

The Sun are especially culpable here. Framing the story around Beckham’s return is a bit rash given that only last week they were concerned that he’s fallen out of favour at Milan and may not even start tonight…

Photo Johnny Terry Wiki CCA

No, we’re not going to try to throw any light on what he was thinking over the last few months - but the tabloids are certainly are going to have a go. And doubtless after reading this morning’s stories on Terry’s position on the England captaincy, things will be much, much clearer:

Daily Star: John Terry ready to quit as England captain

JOHN TERRY is on the verge of quitting as England captain.

John Terry spent the weekend considering his future after lurid details of his affair with Wayne Bridge’s ex-girlfriend came to light.

However, Starsport understands he is close to giving up the job he treasures most in an effort to save squad morale ahead of the World Cup this summer. And that  resignation could even come as early as today, as the pressure for him to be sacked continues to grow.

… which has nothing to do with its constant repetition in the newspapers, does it? And incidentally, what are these calls for him to quit, and how strongly do we feel? According to a YouGov poll, reported in the Telegraph:

A YouGov poll commissioned by ITV found that 51 per cent of men believed the England captain should resign, compared with 41 per cent of women.

In total, 46 per cent of those polled said Terry should give up the captaincy, with 40 per cent believing that he should stay on.

Pretty even, then, unless you read the Guardian, whose online poll currently runs at 37-63 in favour of Terry retaining the captaincy. But since as we all know polls mean essentially nothing given that they are completely unscientific and can be massively manipulated according to the framing of the question or the selection of people who feel motivated to vote or the information or lack thereof that they possess before making the decision, let’s turn our attention back to the beginning. Terry’s ready to quit. At least, thanks to the Daily Star and their unatrributed understanding, we know that much. However, the Mirror sail a slightly different course:

Mirror: Terry: I will never quit

John Terry will tell Fabio Capello he never wants to quit the England captaincy.

The Chelsea skipper has weighed up his position in the wake of his alleged fling with England team-mate Wayne Bridge’s former girlfriend. But with the FA confirming that Capello will take the final decision after meeting Terry on Saturday, the defender is set to tell the coach he wants to keep the armband.

“Jt has wanted to be England captain since he was a kid, so if people think he’s going to give that up they’ve got another think coming,” said a close friend yesterday. “His life off the pitch has got nothing to do with his abilities as a player or as a captain.

“He believes he can still do the job on the pitch - and that’s all that matters in his eyes. You tell me a better man to lead England? There isn’t one.”

Which leaves only one issue outstanding - does an unattributed ‘understanding’ trump the testimony of a ‘close friend’?

GERMANY is set to kick up a Reich stink at the World Cup by playing in Nazi-style black shirts.

Probably one of the more debateable uses of the term ‘Nazi-style’…

They will first wear them in friendlies and then against Ghana at the South Africa finals.

The strip, created by German firm adidas, resembles the first-ever colours worn by a German national team in 1898.

At this stage, it might also be worth pointing out that it resembles the Germany away kit of 2004, which somewhat renders the whole story irrelevant:

Germany shirt 2004 - Photo oldfootballshirts.com

Kit-makers claim the outfits will symbolise team spirit. But critics blasted the move as a goose-step too far.

There are no critics, are there? It was made-up for a Nazi pun.

But they are sure to also conjure up memories of the notorious SS, who terrorised Europe during the war. Hitler’s personal protection squad wore a jet black uniform.

If there are genuine fears about that, our advice would be not to give it coverage in a national newspaper when most people wouldn’t have been following the launch of the new Germany away shirt all that closely.

Still, that article, which appeared in yesterday’s Star, was merely an appetiser. This morning, the main course arrived:

Germans go to war with Daily Star

Has there ever been a headline in the paper that made you more curious to see the rest of it than that one? Let’s read on:

HUMOURLESS Germans are up in arms after we revealed they will be playing at the World Cup in Nazi-style black shirts.

Brilliant - invoking the old stereotype about Germans lacking a sense of humour, the recycling of the term ‘Nazi-style’ (can any shirt made for playing football out of ultra-modern fabric by a massive global brand really be ‘Nazi-style’?), and the very questionable suggestion that the Daily Star ‘revealed’ this information, when what they really did was pick up press releases and a launch, then unnecessarily drag in references to the events of two generations ago.

We revealed the last time a gang of Germans took on the world wearing a black uniform was under Hitler.

Apart from in 2004.

But rather than raising a smile, the article sparked a furious reaction in the Fatherland.

Were Germans supposed to find it funny? In what possible way?

And downmarket German newspaper Bild printed our story on their website, blasting it as “the absolute summit of tastelessness”.

In the course of two articles intended to be humourous, this is by some stretch our favourite line. The Star have found a paper which they feel that they have the right to mock as ‘downmarket’.

The rag,

Not a typo before, then.

which called David Beckham’s sister Joanna a pig and his kids dwarves during the 2006 World Cup, stormed: “Gigantic scandal over our World Cup shirts! The English are comparing our black World Cup strip with black shirts of the SS!”

They added that we were “guilty of the largest case of bad taste in the history of the competition” between England and Germany. Another po-faced paper, the Cologne Express, wrote: “The British find this really funny; apparently nothing goes on The Island without Nazi comparisons.”

Furious Germans also deluged our email. One anonymous emailer said: “Germany is better than your f***ing Nation called England!! This article about our new jersey just shows your jealousy. Piss off fish & chipheads !!!!!!”

Another, Rainer Wenning, added: “Go to hell!”

And Michael Renner wrote: “Dear British island monkeys, you are sooo damn idiots. I think you Britons have a nightmare with your lack of success in football!

“You always fetch out the Nazis. We built the best tanks, submarines, cars and planes!”

All of these possibly fictional Germans make pretty dull points, but what exactly does the Star expect? It’s the equivalent of poking someone repeatedly in the eye and then shrugging the shoulders and saying “what?” when he tells you to stop.

But fun-loving Brits were more positive. Matt Harmer, from London, said: “The article is bloody hilarious.”

Hooray for fun-loving Brits. Yes, they’ll always see the funny side of these things. And newspapers, too. Take, for example, how they got the joke alluded to above when Bild passed judgement on Beckham’s family. Here’s an article from the Mirror at the time:

DAVID Beckham’s sister Joanne was called “fat” and “a pig” in a shameful attack by Germany’s biggest newspaper yesterday.

The tabloid described other relatives as looking like The Addams Family - as in the American TV monsters - and claimed his family was cashing in on his fame.

The disgraceful article, published in Bild, was last night attacked by angry England fans.

It featured pictures of Joanne, 24, as she watched England’s 1-0 victory over Paraguay on Saturday.

Showbiz columnist Tobias Holtkamp wrote: “Crikey! She is fat.

“Her arms, her bust and her bottom are very British.

“Joanne is the sort of person who hangs out on a Majorca beach, drinks booze by the bucketful and then wants to be the first to get on the table and dance topless.

“And where does the porky Beckham earn her money? According to an English colleague, she is a professional sister.”

To make matters worse, Bild described his mum Sandra, 59, as having “the smile of a peasant”.

Last night Beckham’s official spokesman refused to comment on the piece. But a source in the England camp said: “It really is a disgraceful personal attack on Joanne’s character, and completely without any foundation.

“All she was doing was supporting David and the England team.”

England fans in Baden-Baden claimed the German tabloid, which has around five million readers, had gone too far.

John Jackson, 59, said: “What has she done to deserve that? All she was doing was supporting her brother in a game of football. To describe her as fat and looking like a pig is too personal.”

The photomontage, which covers the entire back page of the news section, also features Becks’ wife Victoria, 31, and children Romeo and Brooklyn, who watched the game.