Guest Post by @shotta_gooner
Recently I tried making a joke at George’s expense in response to his blog “Can An Idiot Be An Expert?” PG was at pains to explain that his blog was not aimed at Pedro of Le Grove and I shot back that it was too late as the media already had a headline titled“Arsenal Supporters are Divided on Club’s Future As Bloggers Attack Each Other.” Little did I know how prescient were my comments, not that it was an amazing bit of prophecy given track record of the media and the online outfits who cover Arsenal.
The stimulus for my current ramblings was reading various reports of an interview Aaron Ramsey had with ITV and which I initially saw reports of in The Daily Mail last Friday. To be honest, unlike its usual rabid tabloid standards the headlines were fairly benign:
“Arsenal can challenge for the title next season…and don’t need a big name signing, insists midfielder Aaron Ramsey”
But the sub headings betrayed mischief afoot:
· Aaron Ramsey does not believe Arsenal need a marquee signing to make a serious challenge for the title next season – but does think it would help if Arsene Wenger moved him into a central role.
· That stationing out wide has been one of the few bugbears for the Welshman, who is convinced Wenger has all the players he needs to run at the crown, so long as Arsenal make the most of not having to qualify for the Champions League Group stages.
Clearly the Daily Mail could not ignore the thrust of Ramsey’s interview, that he was happy with the team’s progress and its prospects. But it was evident they wanted to leave a residue of controversy about the Welshman’s role and to sow or highlight some divisions with the manager.
Apparently this soft-sell by the Mail was too tame for the army of online news sites that demand the attention of the eyeballs hungrily scanning the web for some juicy football story. ESPNFC, the online arm of the 24-hour cable channel, took the Goebbels approach:
“Frustrated Aaron Ramsey admits chatting with Wenger about role”
Nope, none of this happy, satisfied Aaron nonsense. According to them “Aaron Ramsey….was frustrated by finishing the season out wide on the right rather than in his favoured central position — and says he has spoken to Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger about it a few times.”
Think I am overstating the point. Hot behind ESPN was Just Arsenal News, a seemingly popular blogging and news- site based solely on their daily frequency on NewsNow, decided to ram Aaron’s discontent down our throat with their heading:
“Aaron Ramsey again complains about wide role for Arsenal”
In the body of the post, they spent most of the time cherry picking the quotes by Ramsey relating to his playing centrally and not a word about his satisfaction with the squad.
Another outfit, who seemingly only exist as an outlet for on-line advertisements, London24, led with:
“Arsenal star reveals crunch Arsene Wenger talks….”
Ha, Ha, Ha. Need I say more.
Some websites take a different approach from ESPN or the other advertising portals masquerading as news-sites but with the same objective. In one case, I found use of a popular journalistic propaganda technique, the “sandwich”:
· Big title and abstract, stating something as a given (or an interrogative statement the article is supposed to investigate and answer to).
· Then the body full of “allegedly”, “possibly”, “tentatively” reported facts (or proved facts but unrelated with the title’s assumptions).
· Then 2-3 lines stating the title again as if it had been proven as “eventually clarified”. The reader takes this last section as a “long story short”, a personal recap from the columnist to him.
This it appears was the approach taken by, an obscure to me, news-site SportsReview.com, with the title:
Arsenal’s Aaron Ramsey fires warning at Chelsea ahead of next season
But in the body of the article (the sandwich) are the alleged complaints by Ramsey about his playing position in the recent season and ending with his desire to play centrally. Nary a word of his so-called warning to Chelsea whose name by the way he never mentioned in the interview.
In conclusion, I suspect that with our season ending so positively and no clearly identified transfer targets or any consensus with regard to playing positions in need of radical upgrade, the commercial media, news-sites and bloggers will become increasingly desperate to stir up some controversy. As in Aaron’s case the likely source is the most benign of interviews with players who are obligated to do them while on international duty. We may need to name and shame the culprits as the summer slowly wends its way to the end of the transfer window.
Positively Arsenal 
Shotta
I say it can all be explained with the need to get clicks. They are all click whores.
However, Alastair Campbell surely is not? Even he acknowledges the highly significant impact Arsene Wenger has had on football in the UK.
http://www.alastaircampbell.org/blog/2015/06/07/5964/
LikeLiked by 2 people
An erudite commentary on the state of the media Shotts, social and mainstream.
The question is what, if anything at all, is there to keep Arsenal fans clicking away over the Summer holidays.
The honest answer is very, very little, until the team re-assembles, any new players are paraded in the red and white, and those leaving are photographed at their new club.
In the interim the bloggers and journos try to create interest, with increasing desperation. Those desperate consumers who must have news are their victims, the addicted and the dysphoric. Endless drivel is spouted, hashed and rehashed about “signings” by journos, bloggers, and their audience, a spin cycle of nonsense.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Interesting piece, Shotta.
Scary how the story changes from site to site. Like Chinese whispers.
LikeLiked by 1 person
As it happens, I’m an actual professional journalist who has worked both in the States and the UK. I know “real” stories from click-bait, and I’m afraid that these outrageous headlines and stories about nothing are with us to stay.
This is the commercial game in the online era. The Mail has taken to such lengths that they run “stories” that are simply lies, knowing that Gooners perversely will read them just to work up a fit of anger.
This stuff will fill the web forever now, but it’s surely not a new way to attract attention (and advertisers). The late Howard Cosell made millions for himself and various outlets on American TV by uttering outrageous statements that infuriated some segment of the audience.
Bottom line, it works. Even if people hate you and rant about what nonsense you’re spouting, they win once you read or watch.
And by the way, my favourite Brit gimmick these days is justifying some outrageous statement with the phrase: “…according to reports.”
Whose reports, exactly?
The grocer up the road?
It’s actually all kind of funny, as long as you’re smart enough not to take this crap seriously.
I enjoyed your overview of all the foolishness. Tell serious fans to stick with Arseblog — one click, no bullshit.
And avoid any site that uses capital letters in headlines.
Is something more likely to be true if you yell louder?
Maybe I can sum up using their own techniques:
“Web sites LIE with invented rumours!”
LikeLike
But what are they to do Mr Steve – They have families to feed and wine merchants’ bills to clear – Starve !! ???
LikeLiked by 1 person
Although the TV will place Aaron on the right of a three.
I have news for them.
HE DOES NOT PLAY THERE.
Arsene is a master tactician.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Shotta, how true!
As Messi, has been moved to the wing, young Aaron should be happy he is in the starting Arsenal team.
Is young Aaron, ready to play with the MSN? Of course not.
That is what happens, when one is only interested in the negative.
Alastair Campbell, is a congenital liar. All those years in No.10, and Labour legislate for 24/7 opening of pubs!
LikeLike
Bob very true,
And neither does Özil play out wide either.
Arsene’s players are intelligent enough to be able to read how a game is being played and position themselves and their passing to the optimal effect.
You don’t have to believe me, it’s in Dennis Bergkamp’s book.
Arsene’s ‘wingers’ are never touch line huggers.
LikeLike
60 more days.
Just have to keep bouncing the baseball against the cooler wall.
LikeLike
some of the breaking Arsenal transfer stories on Newsnow Arsenal over the last few days,
“World Cup Winner in Arsenal Transfer”
“World Cup Winning Striker is Arsenal’s first transfer of the Summer”
“Two World Cup stars to be Arsenal’s first summer moves”
“World Cup Sensation in Arsenal move”
so who were they talking about
“World Cup Winner in Arsenal Transfer” – Podolski
“World Cup Winning Striker is Arsenal’s first transfer of the Summer” -Podolski/Campbell
“Two World Cup stars to be Arsenal’s first summer moves” Podolski/Campbell
“World Cup Sensation in Arsenal move” – Campbell
so as you can see the impression in the four headlines I quote is that Arsenal are signing a player, but the reality is that the rumors they put forward as exclusives are about a couple of this season’s loan players who might be leaving AFC this summer. so now they don’t even just come up with false transfer rumors about who AFC might sign, but slant the headlines to even make rumors of outgoings look like they are incoming, so as to get more clicks, as we are all more likely to click to see who is coming than who is going.
for me as bad as it is for the mainstream media to do this, I actually find it far more annoying when Arsenal blogs do it, and they are by far the worst for it. As I stated on another thread, when I wrote articles for another Arsenal site I was advised to include certain words in the headline, – such as transfer news – as it gets more clicks.
LikeLike
Not much can I add to shotta’s piece.
Newsnow dotcon just adds to the fervour of Arsenal ‘missed out on’ ‘failed to sign’ ‘snubbed by zpxzy’ ‘outbid by’ ‘dithered over’ ‘refused to meet fees’ and all such malarkey over some fool players who’s agents have been tapping up the media behind their own backs.
LikeLiked by 2 people
double canister
June 8, 2015 at 6:55 pm
60 more days.
Just have to keep bouncing the baseball against the cooler wall.
ah DC there are certain things to fill our Arsenal cravings during that 60 days
next monday there is the new kit launch
we have next weekend many Arsenal players involved in major international games
and then after that we have Alexis and Ospina at the Copa America
the new season fixture list is only weeks away (we then get to hear from the AAA why anything less than buying x,y and z early so that our difficult run of early season fixtures can be overcome – we also get to hear from them as to why it will be a disgrace if we don’t win at least the first ten games of the new season)
The first of our players to return to pre-season training is only 4 weeks away
Our first pre-season game is only 5 weeks away – well five weeks on Wednesday
and DC, last but not least we have all the Arsenal transfer deals, real and imaginary, the ones we need, the ones we don’t, they ones that are exactly what we need/don’t need/want, and of course no matter how or how many we sing we ill have the AAA inform us as to why we still need x.y and z if we are to challenge for the (2) worthwhile trophies.
LikeLike
my favorite little ploy by the media in regards transfers is when over a short period of time they run separate transfer stories linking player x with Arsenal, Man Utd, Chelsea, City, etc etc, and then if said player actually signs for one of their named clubs, the media outlet then runs a story about “We Told You” this transfer was on, so now you need to believe all our transfer stories.
my second favorite ploy is how nowadays media outlets quote each other as the source of said rumor. even in articles in big broadsheet newspapers you now see in little writing somewhere in their big headline article such gems as “reported in the metro”, I’ve even seen twitter rumors passed on as the source in main media articles. Journos now just don’t bother to actually do the hard work of confirming their stories.
LikeLike
it seems John Cross of the Mirror is doing a Q&A with the AST now, and one bit of info he passed on is something I reported on here a while back, and that is that there is an issue between Szczesny and Gerry Payton, as there was too with Fabianski and Payton, both Poles full of praise for our other goalkeeping coach Tony Roberts.
LikeLike
Sam @samuelJayC 1h1 hour ago
Rosicky says since Wenger extended his contract to 2016, he hasn’t even been on bench: “It’s not funny.”
LikeLike
AST say Arsenal transfer budget this summer is £70m, excluding sales
LikeLike
Sam @samuelJayC 2h2 hours ago
Podolski says he will see out the last year of his contract at #AFC “if needs be”.
LikeLike
love this tweet
Anfield Hub @AnfieldHub 8h8 hours ago
We said signings not sign Ings.
LikeLiked by 2 people
I might have said this once or twice before.:
Propaganda simply works through the mechanism of repetition.
At least that’s what I told myself after I got clipped round the ear hole for swearing in front of my nephew. Could’ve been worse. I could have been given a fine.
LikeLike
You feel it already. The outrage building up over not singing a player that some useless hack, I can’t be arsed to mention any names, has been droning on about for, oh, about the last six weeks. This summer they’ve of und the AAAA gullible for then ‘keeper meme, hook line and sinker.
Every transfer window, every year, it’s the same old gibberish save this season they’ve begun to troll the Arsenal fans before the season’s end (a sign of progress? Ha. Ha. Ha.) with success. Resulting in the demeaning spectacle of people screaming for a fast striker as an alternative to Giroud fourty eight hours before Theo Walcott scores his third hat-trick for Arsenal in the premier league. I couldn’t make it up!
We at all of us vulnerable to suggestions. Just need to be careful with how much consideration we give them.
E.g.: do arsenal really need another quick forward (if Theo stays)?
Do they really?
LikeLike
<….Not signing…
LikeLike
Ian and Andrew gave some of us the heads up on Gnabry and. Bellerin some time ago now, (two years?) and it’s been an added pleasure following their progress as a result.
Thanks.
These comments were also interesting:
“Theo Walcott is a goal machine”
“Theo Walcott has a special destiny”,
Said the most respected coach in Football. Well well well. What could he be up to.
Piss poor man management from the gaffer with that last quote. The week of the west Brum game in the build up to the final. What was he thinking! He’s a sly old fox. But he also meant those comments.
They are interesting. Very interesting. Bearing in mind Theo’s stats when fit and healthy.
LikeLike
I see some of the AAA are already pushing the wenger out stuff saying by the fact we have not signed anyone yet it shows he is 1. dithering 2. actually has no signing targets 3. does not want to win one of the only two worthwhile trophies we should be winning 4 etc etc etc
LikeLike
another on line poll that Arsenal fans will surely influence the result of
http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/20150608/goal-of-the-season-vote-now
LikeLike
Llew @NoCLlew 3h3 hours ago
More from John Cross at the exclusive AST meeting: there is a transfer window this summer, clubs likely to use it.
LikeLike
George, do you think that Le Grove twat has it in him to predict we’ll finish lower than Spuds next season?
LikeLike
“I was wrong when I said that Arsene wasn’t top class. I hadn’t seen the bigger picture and I thought Wenger was blind to our problems when in reality he was just waiting until he had the resources to fix them.
This season I learnt what top class is. It isn’t necessarily about winning the league and champions league every other year. Top class is creating a legacy. The name Arsene Wenger will forever be etched into the history of Arsenal football club, and we will tell our grandchildren about him in years to come.
Top class is standing by your players when nobody else does, either because they were the best you could afford at the time and they needed support, (Gervinho) or because you know they have the potential to be great, (Ramsey).
Top class building a new stadium whilst keeping us in the top four and setting us up for success under the most difficult of circumstances, (and then reaping the benefits with back to back FA Cup wins).
Top class is losing your best players every year and not falling apart like Liverpool and spurs when they lost Suarez/Modric/Bale.
Top class is giving us, the fans something to lord over or rivals, such as St Totteringham’s Day, 12 times, (our latest) and my personal favourite, ‘is yours gold?’
Arsene Wenger is top class”
http://www.gunnerstown.com/arsenal/2015/06/09/i-said-last-year-that-arsene-wenger-wasnt-top-class-i-was-wrong-wenger-is-top-class%E2%80%8F/
A lot of nonsensical assumptions led this writer down the path of idiocy but a couple of baubles and he’s back onside! Heh, just kidding with that last bit. I hope.
I suppose it’s better then the posture adopted by the more jingoistic and xenophobic AAA and the PR Experts at the AST
I try not to laugh at the PR Expert bit but it is properly as in genuinely genuinely funny. Unfortunately for the AST they were as competent with their finances (being generous here) as they are with their PR.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Transfer window doesn’t open until July 1st and Arsenal has already been snubbed by James Milner, who has joined Liverpool, and Craig Stanley, who has signed up for Lincoln City.
LikeLiked by 1 person
what of the lamentations over refusal to pay for Morgan S who hasn’t even joint any club and who we do net even know for sure that we were in for? just like these other snubs i guess.
I read somewhere that Cech has snubbed us and then again that we have been given encouraging signals by him… so which one is it?
LikeLike
Veering away from the joys of transfer gossip i think it’s time for people to try express what it is that they enjoyed the most about the cup final performance. I’ll try and share my thoughts later – PG maybe all comments, if people make any, could be used to make a post?
No point speculating what it means for he future. Injuries etc. will be impossible to predict. What does or did it mean at this moment? At the end of this season?
The scream at Wembley th greeted the second goal, that was awesome. And a highlight for me.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Great work Shotta, unfortunately there are very true journalist in any sector any more let alone in sport. Most of these writers are hacks, just low life scum that feed off the back of others. It might just upset us in general but remember these people don’t care about the consequences for others when they write their lies. If they are prepared to hack the phones of the dead then calling someone a peadophile is just run of the mill.
Personally there would be a large majority lined up against the wall if I was ever in power.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Cop a load of this http://www.fortynineundefeated.co.uk staggering work. Brilliant in fact.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Fins, The Guy that wrote the article you copied and pasted, spend hours arguing with me against the very conclusions he now draws, and said I was a clueless cunt that didn’t understand football when I put them forward in argument against his original attack on Arsene.
Now who is the cunt?
LikeLiked by 2 people
What did I enjoy most about the FA Cup win Fins ??
Probably the dominant pleasure was playing football the way we can, and after a series of games against opposition who set out their stall only to frustrate us and stop us scoring, to see the back of the net ripple (repeatedly).
It reminded me that sometimes at least we get the result the quality of our football deserves. It emphasised that in spite of what some people will tell you it ain’t all about winning. It is how you win, it is how you conduct yourself in achieving the win.
Clearly the other highlight for me was Jon Moss’ performance but that may be for another day.
LikeLiked by 2 people
George
I am not surprised. I also imagine that not many more of these Expert Bloggers who wrote reams over years mistakenly attacking and abusing that which they say they love will be able to muster up the footballs required to admit that they were wrong in or to the public. Mid life crisis? Xenophobias? Who knows the cause of their malaise. What was remarkable was the effort they put into attacking those who disagreed with them. Literally making shit up. Fascinating if you are an anthropologist, less so if you are just a humble fan of the beautiful game.
LikeLike
< who knows or cares the cause
LikeLike
Or even:
cause of their…
LikeLike
Thanks anicoll
Having been at a couple of those late season games I agree that it was really nice to see some goals. Variations in the forward patterns, I did think OG was a little leggy only because I think most players need a tiny break.
I agree about Moss. He looked like Atkinson and pals when not officiating PGMOB Rules Football in the PL, when they apply a different code for the CL. And of course AFC have a perfect record with Moss! If every ref in the PL managed to apply the rules during most games of assoc.football as witnessed this year in the final as opposed to the previous the England team might have had a little more joy with injuries and baubles over the decades, before the growth in the coaching gulf.
I almost spat out my dummy when Moss gave the harsh yet totally deserved yellow to Delph for going OTT. We don’t often see that in our league games. Most refreshing.
Moss’ biggest online critic (not untold) has also been a big critic of Walcott so I’m not sure I’d trust his judgment on all things.
LikeLike
< Need a break every now then, steww thought every seven or eight games, especially when players my midweek.
LikeLike
My highlight?
Some of you will already have guessed. Any game with Walcott Ozil & Sanchez (&others) involved is a highlight for me. I hope we see many more.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks Shotta.
LikeLike
https://vimeo.com/130081944
LikeLike
“Sanchez disappointed in first season”
Heh. I think Shotta wrote that one. No, not really.
That gem was unearthed upon good auld Aunty Bleeb.
The hack dwarves, they really don’t like the good ship Arsenal. Do they?
LikeLike
That wasn’t enough for the shrill bleeb.
They’ve only been interviewing the Bleeb spud producers favourite manager/special firend of the special agents, no not Mourinho but his smaller predecessor in The Game, ‘Appy ‘Arry.
“He’s got to start producing, Walcott,” Redknapp said. “I keep reading about new contracts, this that and the other, what he has to do is start producing on the field. We need Walcott to show us now and realise that great potential.”
Indeed. We saw ‘Arry goad anc coach the best out of players like Lennon, SWP who he signed more then once (i think, you’re better off asking his agent), players who at 18 had more consistent techniques then our own dear Wally who is now and has been light years ahead of his peers in his age group.
Yet the AAA were trolled and programmed into abusing towards their own player. the first 5pur2s game will always stand out. What an answer that was from Walcott. Perhaps that is why the gaffer believes he has a special destiny. I don’t think he was ever leaving!
LikeLiked by 2 people
Abu Diaby and Ryo Miyaichi have both been released by Arsenal, several youths let go too, Semi Ajayi, Brandon Ormond-Ottewill, Austin Lipman, Josh Vickers, Renny Smith and Elliot Wright
LikeLike
While the cub have not officially confirmed it I wish Abou well in the future;
If for no other moment than this you will be fondly remembered.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5hd-RJUHIg
LikeLiked by 4 people
He did however score some corkers;
Here is a 3 minute compilation I spotted;
LikeLiked by 4 people
Wow, he will be missed. Hope he is okay to continue to play though, maybe in France? he is always welcome back though
LikeLiked by 3 people
I really hope Abou can find a club willing to give him a chance but I suspect he will find it very difficult because of his fitness.
The option my be there for some sort of ‘pay as you play’ contract and if he did ‘play’, and play regularly then it would be a great bit of business.
The problem for a club even on that basis is if Abou did play a game or two, then his injury problems flare up, they would have to provide the medical/physio/rehab support – they could not just put him out on the pavement even if he was on a pay as you play contract.
LikeLike
Its a sad day. What a talent he was.
LikeLiked by 2 people