Kercher Family betrayed by insensitivity of the media.

“Everyone needs to remember the brutality of what happened and everything she went through, the fear and the terror… I think Meredith has been almost forgotten” said Meredith Kercher’s sister Stephanie after Amanda Knox won her appeal.

The main focus of media attention naturally falls on the prime suspect in a murder case. However the particular type of attention certain sections of the media have directed towards Amanda Knox has been at best insensitive. At worst it has been morally and ethically reprehensible.

The Sun newspaper has repeatedly referred to the accused as ‘Foxy Knoxy’ quite often in big headline splashes on the front page. Not only does the sexual inference of this phrase damage the defendant’s public image, the light hearted and jovial tone of this moniker indirectly makes light of Miss Kercher’s death.

The Daily Mail, The Sun and the Daily Mirror have all covered Miss Knox’s return to the United States using phrases such as ‘delighted’ ‘all smiles’ and ‘beaming’ to describe her demeanour. Using such language in the public domain is extremely insensitive towards those who may have known Miss Kercher, especially considering the many question marks that hang over the decision and the possibility of an appeal by the prosecution.

The most disgusting and disturbing example of the blatant disregard shown to the victim of this crime and her family comes from Channel 5 topical debate programme The Wright Stuff. On his programme on October 5^th 2011 presenter Matthew Wright asked his male viewers “If you met Amanda Knox in a bar and she invited you back to her room – would ya?” with the banner on screen bearing the tag-line “Foxy Knoxy – Would ya?” Mr Wright has since apologised but the explicit sexual reference and laddish tone of this question trivialises the death of a young girl in horrible circumstances and is utterly indefensible.

What seems to have been forgotten or disregarded by some media organisations is that a family is still grieving for a loved one. Meredith Kercher’s family has suffered this kind of insensitive and distasteful treatment of the case for nearly three years. As if the torment of losing her wasn’t enough the Daily Mail, The Sun and others have turned her loss into a macabre money spinning circus for their own ends at the cost of common decency and press integrity.

Carlos Tevez and the modern footballer’s bubble.

Exactly What Carlos Tevez actually refused to do in Munich is still up for debate. The player is now claiming he declined a request to warm up after having just done so, with Roberto Mancini and several senior club officials insisting he refused to play.

Whichever request was denied, the arrogant and petulant nature in which he defied his manager is symptomatic of modern day, higher-earning footballers’ almost complete removal from reality. It shows the contempt that many well paid players have for some of the basic structures of society, like chain of command, cause and effect and mutual respect. You or I would think twice about flagrantly ignoring a reasonable request at our place of work because we are acutely aware of these intrinsic principles. 

The mind-set of players like Tevez is completely different.  Having been paid vast sums of money from a young age and constantly pandered to by club officials and agents, they seem to have a significantly underdeveloped sense of responsibility in relation to their profession. When he was asked to play, or warm up again, by Mancini it is irrelevant whether or not he wanted to. He had a responsibility to himself, his employers, his manager and the fans to carry out that request because it is what he is paid to do.

It is a depressing and bizarre aspect of the modern game that so many top flight players are so far removed from their fellow man on the terraces. This forms a large part of the reason fans are so quick to turn on a player when he is going through a bad patch on or off the pitch. The greatest and most important distinction is financial, why should they have sympathy for someone who gets five times their yearly salary in a week? It is human nature to afford the ludicrously well-paid less margin for error, the public anger towards former RBS chief executive Fred Goodwin is testament to that.

Whether he is fined, sacked, suspended or sent to the moon, the feeling of his disdain towards the club and its fans will linger and that’s the problem. Every time a high profile player shows this kind of contempt for the game and the fans, it opens ever wider the chasm of empathy between supporter and footballer to the benefit of neither. 

The Dangers of Societal Labelling

I have heard the phrase 'feral under-class' more times than I care to remember in the last few weeks since social unrest spread across the capital and quite frankly it's becoming disturbing. 


To hear all manner of eminent and respected individuals, as well as some not so eminent and respected individuals, brazenly labelling sections of our society in such derogatory and offensive terms in the media is astounding. "What I found most disturbing was the sense that the hardcore of rioters came from a feral underclass, cut off from the mainstream in everything but its materialism." said Justice secretary Kenneth Clarke. 


So is he suggesting that there are in fact swathes of people populating our island, rabidly foaming at the mouth with the desire to get a brand new pair of trainers 24/7? To use the term 'feral' in reference to human beings is disgusting in its ignorance and short-sightedness. Has he never heard of things like 'group mentality' and 'human fallibility'?


We all make mistakes. Granted we weren't all stupid enough to loot shops in broad daylight but can we all honestly say we wouldn't be tempted by a free 48000" television if we thought we could get away with it? Those of you saying 'no' are lying to me and yourselves. Get out. 


As a society we need to be extremely careful about the kind of language we allow to be used in reference to sections of the populace. If 'feral under-class' becomes acceptable terminology to describe certain people it becomes much easier to automatically view these people as violent, criminal, scum; and in turn they become much easier to demonise and persecute.


The Justice Secretary should have a much more rounded and cautious approach to describing such large scale social unrest or he run's the risk of propagating dangerous social myths that already pervade large portions of British conscience. 

Levy and the waiting game

We are now at the end of July and it is exactly 31 days until the end of the transfer window. Manchester United, Liverpool, Manchester City and even Arsenal have strengthened their squads in key positions.


United have bought a winger, a centre half and a goalkeeper. Liverpool have bought a winger and a central midfielder. Manchester City have bought one of the worlds best players (again) and will probably buy another entire squad before the window closes just for the craic. Even notorious non-spenders Arsenal have bought a striker. 


In the midst of all this Tottenham have signed a teenage striker (albeit a highly rated one) when it is clear that our squad needs more extensive strengthening and bloodletting. 


For a start there is a considerable amount of deadwood that needs to be either cleared from the ranks or turned around. This group consists of David Bentley, Giovani Dos Santos, Robbie Keane, Jermaine Jenas, Ben Alnwick and Bongani Khumalo. In my less-than-humble opinion I would sell them all except Dos Santos who I believe still has something to offer, he's young, quick and has bags of technique. He just needs to get more first team opportunities.


Then there is the necessary strengthening. We need another centre half. Ledley King and William Gallas cannot be relied upon for an entire season meaning we essentially have two centre halves (Michael Dawson and Sebastien Bassong) and two half-centre halves. We also need a striker. We have three strikers in our first team squad but not one of them is a stand-out 20-25 goal a season striker. I think we should allow Roman Pavlyuchenko or Peter Crouch to move on and use the money to put towards a world class replacement. 


I'm guessing here but I figure most Spurs fans would agree with the changes I've outlined above and must therefore conclude that Daniel Levy recognises the necessary changes. So why in the name of Great Oden's Raven has he not done anything about it!? 


I can only assume it's because he's doing what he always does. Playing the waiting game, looking for that last minute deal to get the best value player or get the best price for a squad member. It's a tactic that has it's advantages and Levy is very good at it. However it's a risky business and I can't escape the feeling that come midnight on August 31st we are going to have the same squad we do now (minus Luka Modric) and be a long way behind our competitors.

For Harry, England and St. George.

Quite recently, over one or 7 pints, a very salient point was made by my father who is also a Tottenham fan. It's one that a large proportion of Spurs supporters have been doing a good job of ignoring (I include myself in that group for the record). I've had to paraphrase as the old man is a bit more definitive/sweary in his opinions but it goes a little something like this; Provided Spurs achieve a respectable league finish, say 7th or above, Harry Redknapp looks very likely to be the next England manager after Euro 2012.





Harry has made no secret that he would jump at the chance to take charge of the national team, a right and admirable conviction as an Englishman but I feel this represents two major problems for the football club that Daniel Levy must address.


Firstly, How can a manager who in all likelihood will be taking charge of England when Fabio Cappello's contract runs out at the end of Polkraine 2012 be 100% committed to season 2011/12? A prospective England manager needs to be on good terms with all the managers in the premier league in order to avoid club/country rows. Spurs and Harry Redknapp going out all guns blazing at the Premier League, FA Cup and League Cup this coming season would be bound to ruffle more than a few feathers along the way which wouldn't exactly be conducive to a good working relationship were he to take the England job. Admittedly Harry is very adept at getting on with most managers but surely a quiet season would be a safer bet. Why go all out for Spurs this season expending a lot of energy and enduring heart attack inducing levels of stress when he could coast along and still get his dream job?





Secondly, it is impossible for him to be fully committed to the future development of Tottenham Hotspur. As the tournament gets closer throughout next season so the debate about who should be Cappello's successor will rage ever louder. As the din of that debate grows Redknapp's name will surely be heard louder than most as long as Spurs aren't bottom of the league at Christmas. Given that we know he will take the job if it is offered to him, all thoughts of future planning for the club will quickly disappear from his priorities.


I am not for one moment suggesting we replace Redknapp. However Daniel Levy must, if he already hasn't, discuss these issues with Redknapp and obtain some assurances on how he would seek to balance his ambitions with the ambitions of Tottenham Hotspur. Otherwise the club is in danger one of its most important seasons in recent years becoming disrupted and hindered by the distracting ambitions of the manager.

Modric Malaise

Another summer, another high profile Spurs player wants out and has well and truly jettisoned the toys from the pram as a result of the chairman's refusal. It happened with Dimitar Berbatov and it's now happening with Luka Modric. As a Spurs fan it feels as if it's become a depressing recurrence however there is, as always, a silver lining. 





Modric wants to go to a 'bigger club' in order to further his career which is a perfectly understandable aspiration. Unfortunately he, as Berbatov did before him, has conducted himself in a fantastically unprofessional and undignified manner. Telling the press Levy 'threatened' him with sitting in the stands and that he's gone back on a 'gentleman's agreement' poor little Luka, everybody feel sorry for him. It's a little naive as nothing is definite, Chelsea may not come up with a sufficient bid to pierce Daniel Levy's resolve and the player may have to tuck his tail firmly between his legs. The more likely outcome however is that Chelsea or another suitor make a large enough bid and off the little Croatian goes, this is where the silver lining comes in. Modric goes and is replaced. 


The old cliche that no player is bigger than the team or club is very true in this instance, as good as Modric is he isn't irreplaceable and when a player's heart isn't in it, he's not worth keeping. Levy must avoid making the same mistake he made with the sale of Berbatov, yes we got a very handsome fee of around £30m but we got it at the death of the transfer window. As a result, we were unable to replace him and were light up front the following season (Manchester United sent us the extraordinarily average Fraizer Campbell on loan as part of the deal which frankly I found insulting). If Modric is to be sold it has to be at least a fortnight before the transfer window closes so we can find an adequate replacement. 


What constitutes an adequate replacement for Modric is highly debatable but there are certain requisites: must be about the same age, must be a very good passer of the ball. 





In my humble opinion I believe Riccardo Montolivo (pictured above) to be a perfect replacement. He's 26 years of age, a very talented passer of the ball and is widely thought to be open to moving on from Fiorentina. Also he looks a bit like Luka so we might not even notice he's gone! Hypocrisy I hear you cry. Not quite. A large proportion of the fans want him out as they feel he has gone back on his commitment to the club by not signing a new contract, with sections of them urging him to remove his captain's armband during the end-of-season game against Brescia. Conversely you would be hard pressed to find many Spurs fans that 'want' to lose Modric. Whether or not he would want to come to Tottenham is another speculative point especially as he recently attracted praise from AC Milan manager Massimiliano Allegri who said "[Montolivo] is one for the big stages, one of the best Italian midfielders blessed with great skills and athleticism" Although Spurs are an ambitious club in a healthy financial state so have a fair chance of luring him to London


A fee of around £35m may tempt Levy into selling Modric and about half to two thirds of that may be sufficient for La Viola to sell. A replacement, profit and a player who wants to play would be a very nice conclusion to the whole sorry affair. 

The Football Addicts Non-Competitive Summer

Once every two years football addicts are faced with the horrific concept of a summer without any competitive football being played.

I use the term ‘addicts’ because there is a difference. A ‘fan’ enjoys football and supports a team but its absence doesn’t hinder their day to day, or more specifically, week to week life. An ‘addict’ like myself is obsessed with football and his or her team and dreads the prospect of empty weekends and having to watch Wimbledon.

In this recurring summer of discontent a football addict must adapt to survive. The usual topic of 60-80% of your conversations is absent and your need for competition in whatever form must be sated so here’s my guide on how to get through it and make it to that glorious occasion, the first week of the new season.  I must stress at this point this piece is targeted at the British audience so may be of little to no interest or use to you if you don’t fit that demographic.

 Although derided by inference earlier on in this piece, The Championships at Wimbledon are a key component in getting through the summer football drought. They might only last two weeks but there are matches on every day in that period making for a massive dose of real time competition. For people from Great Britain it also contains one of our favourite pastimes, failure on the international sporting stage. Personally I’m not the biggest tennis fan but I, along with most football addicts I assume, enjoy sport and hence can appreciate and enjoy the sporting technique and athleticism on display.

A helping hand in our search for football subtitutes, this summer in particular, is boxing. This year simply for the fact that British boxer and WBA world Heavyweight champion David Haye is taking on the imperious Ukrainian Wladimir Klitschko who holds the IBF, IBO and WBO heavyweight titles. Even if you don’t really like boxing it’s an absolutely massive fight and one that all sports fans can enjoy and look forward to.

One sport the summer was positively made for is a good old fashioned, gentlemanly spot of cricket. England are bound to have one if not two test series during each summer accompanied by a host of One Day Internationals and Twenty-Twenty matches, meaning if tennis or boxing really doesn’t do it for you then perhaps some sledging and silly mid off might suffice. A plus for cricket is that alcohol is freely available to purchase and imbibe in the stadium AND in view of the pitch, eat your heart out Premier League.

Another sport that’s enjoyed yearly when the sun has his hat on is Rugby’s Super League. With the competition being called the ‘Engage Super League XVI’ and with team names like ‘Wigan Warriors’ and ‘Salford City Reds’ it’s all a bit American for my liking. However if cricket and tennis are a bit too civilised for your taste then perhaps the other end of spectrum might do the trick. After all, who doesn’t like seeing a guy get knocked out whilst chasing an egg shaped ball and losing a few teeth in the process?

Underlying all these sports and truly underpinning our collective survival of the summer is the one constant in our football lives. Sky Sports News. The channel was launched in October 1998 when I was a snot-nosed 12 year old, what I would have done as an adult before the introduction of the football focused sports news channel I don’t know and dread to think. Where else would I have gone to find out exactly which part of south east Asia Manchester United had gone on pre-season tour? Or where could I have watched pundits and presenters alike pouring over footage of footballers on mobile phones and cars speeding from training grounds, speculating as to who was heading where in the transfer market? Worse still where would I have gone to see that Arsenal or United’s star foreign player had given an interview to a radio show from the motherland in which, by virtue of some dodgy/creative (delete as applicable) translation of his native tongue by a journo, he has intimated that he wants to do one to Real Madrid?

Sure, you can get this kind of thing from a newspaper or the radio but it doesn’t have the same excitement, the same feeling of real time over-adrenal hyperbole and more importantly newspapers don’t have Georgie Thompson anchoring.  The hype and drama added to football by Sky Sports News doesn’t fall away once the football stops meaning that throughout the summer you have a diminished yet faintly adequate version of constant football related excitement.

To summise, though the biennial summer bereft of football is a scary and cold place when viewed from the warm fuzziness of a fixture packed January. Fear not, the addict in you will survive on the methadone of other sports and transfer rumours until the heroin of the Premier League returns.

By John Toner

Follow me on Twitter @johnedwardtoner

Ashley Cole and the Football Bubble

In tonight's game between Chelsea and Manchester United, Ryan Giggs will probably make his 606th league appearance for the club equalling Sir Bobby Charlton's record. However, this achievement is being overshadowed by the fact that Ashley Cole shot someone.


Writing, reading or hearing that sentence will never stop arousing incredulity. Whether or not it was an accident the fact remains that a professional footballer took a weapon to the training ground and injured somebody. This is a perfect example of the 'Football Bubble'. Many of these people no longer live in the real world and most of them haven't done since a young age. In their formative years these young men are thrust into a life of unbelievable wealth and comfort meaning that some of them end up behaving in ways that most people would find absurd, but they seem to think is acceptable. Obviously each player is different and I'm not suggesting that every player behaves like a wealthy, deranged moron. Just some of them. 


It seems to me that there are three main reasons as to why some footballers end up so out of touch with reality. First up, those most wonderful and popular of persons, agents. The football agent has come to prominence in the last 20 years of football due to the increased revenue and earnings in the game (I'll get to that) and the idea of an agent in its simplest form is quite understandable - let the player concentrate on football and the agent negotiates a good contract for his player and sorts out things like buying a house on his behalf. Fine. However, the agent has become more than that, he has become the players 'cleaner', if he makes a mistake the agent is there to protect him from the consequences. A case in point would be Ashley Cole (him again) allegedly having unprotected sex with a hairdresser whilst married and his representatives then offering her money to keep quiet and have an abortion. This is not an option for normal people, we don't have someone to go around mopping up our mistakes and most would consider the idea of paying the girl for her silence/to have an abortion reprehensible. This relationship results in the player not having to learn about causality in the way the rest of us do and is of severe detriment to the quality of their decision making skills.


Next we have earnings which have also changed incredibly in the last two decades. At the inception of the Premier League in 1992 the average player wage was around £75,000 per annum, for the 2008/09 season the average was around £1.1 million per annum. Now, although £75k a year is a very handsome wage its not enough to distance you entirely from the common man and in the case of most footballers where they came from, £1.1m plus the vast amount of sponsorship deals now available to footballers on the other hand is. In the case of Mr Cole who signed a contract worth £120,000 per week in 2009 at Chelsea, it most certainly is. A large proportion of supporters in this country earn a modest wage which means the £40-£100 it costs for a ticket to see your team play is a lot of money to you or I, but to someone that earns £120k a week its loose change. This has resulted in a perfectly human yet depressing reaction on both sides, envy from the stands and alienation on the pitch.

Lastly, the cult of celebrity. There are not enough expletives in the English language for how I feel about the 'cult of celebrity' there is a whole other rant to be had there, but in the context of football it has had a huge effect on the players. At the risk of sounding misty eyed and nostalgic about days of yore, before the Premier League and Sky, footballers where wealthy and famous sure and they would endorse products on television (type 'Kevin Keegan Brut advert' into Google and you'll see what I mean) but now, thanks to the tabloid newspapers and celebrity magazines we know who they're having sex with, we know all about the ridiculous amounts of money they spend on cars, weddings, jewellery e.t.c, we even know what they are going to call they're new baby before the child is able to say its own name. Its a self perpetuating cycle of sycophancy and banality, footballers used to be famous for being half decent at the game and it stopped at that (George Best being an exception). Now they're famous for their footballing talent, then they become famous for being famous and so does their girlfriend/wife/son/daughter/friend/neighbour/dog and so on. This pedestal that the players and their partners are put on by certain sections of the media simply because of their wealth and extravagance further pushes them out of normality.


Ashley Cole getting of seemingly scot free for shooting someone with an air rifle is yet another example of the increasingly bizarre and distant world footballers live in. As I said before I'm trying not to be too nostalgic about the past and footballers were different to other people years ago I'm not disputing that, but you still felt that you could sit down and have a reasonable conversation with most of them. You still got the impression that the majority were regular people lucky enough to be doing a job they loved and getting paid well for it. That impression has become very a much a rarity in the modern game to the benefit of nobody.