Chris Hatherall
AT what point did football become so uninteresting, so routine, predictable and uninspiring that the first priority at the end of a Premier League match was to find something else to talk about instead?
Cesc Fabregas has become the latest victim of the infliction that has hit almost every journalist in every section of the media, and I can vouch for how difficult it is to resist.
The Arsenal against Everton match was one of the most enjoyable of the season, played out in a surprisingly passionate and emotional atmosphere at the Emirates, a stadium that hasn’t always been renowned for its noise levels.
There was a heated debate over Louis Saha’s superbly-taken but hugely controversial goal, with 60,000 fans tying themselves in knots at half-time trying to work out the offside law; there was a rip-roaring comeback from Arsenal and emotional, dramatic scenes at the end as Koscielny scored the winner and the home crowd suddenly started to believe in their team’s title chances.
The post-match press conference went well, too, with Arsene Wenger discussing his team’s never-say-die spirit, their new-found grit to go with the glamorous football and looking back on transfer deadline day (in which of course he played absolutely no part).
But then came David Moyes, the smiling assassin. First he admitted, refreshingly, that Saha’s goal was offside and should not have counted. But then, out of the blue, and in a blatant attempt to take the attention off his under-performing team and un-ambitious board, he accused Fabregas of saying something in the tunnel that should have seen him sent off.
Was it only my heart that sank? Because the inevitable result was no more talk about an exciting match and days on end of debate about whether or not Fabregas is the anti-Christ.
As it transpires, the midfielder’s crime was to rant about referee Lee Mason’s terrible mistake and wonder out loud who was paying him. Not the most diplomatic of outbursts but one made in the privacy of the tunnel and, according to Arsenal, not directed at anyone specifically; and yet, days later, we are still debating the morality of it and The Sun even has a ‘Cescgate’ strap line complete with a glowering cartoon of the Spaniard alongside an Everton crest.
Most of Arsene Wenger’s press conference yesterday was taken up with discussing the story and the Frenchman made a salient point when he said: “The problem with the modern game is the media picks out one incident of the game. But for me this incident is minor and then you have to speak about this for days and days – something which didn’t influence the result of the game.”
It’s not a situation that has crept up on us suddenly, it has been building for years and is partly down to the saturation coverage of football which means there is an ever-increasing pressure on all types of media to find ‘another angle’. If the whole world already knows the result, goalscorers and major incidents where do you start your intro?
Perhaps the focus here should not be on Fabregas, who may nor may not be an unpleasant character but is certainly an excellent footballer who is passionate about his club; the focus should be on Moyes and why he choose to break one of football’s unwritten rules which is that comments made in the heat of the moment, behind the scenes and away from the cameras should remain private.
His decision to manipulate the news agenda Mourinho-style could well come back to haunt him; next week, after all, who’s to say it won’t be Nevillegate or Fellainigate splashed across the back pages.
Source: http://feeds.examiner.ie/~r/iesportsblog/~3/9OtZylRJCgM/post.aspx
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