Why are the Media so Anti-Villa?

[Holy Trinity]

I'm starting to get tired of us getting slagged off for spending a large amount on Bent. We are being portrayed as the bad guys yet did the press slate £iteh for taking Barry & Milner off us, course not. Bollocks to the lot of em.

er..yes...with a vengeance !

 what papers mate? down here i didnt see any of that. not saying they didnt. just that i missed it.
 if it was in manc papers they editor was probably a red lol. like Twatum who takes such pride in pouring bile on the villa

[bob]

The quality of football journalism is very very poor, they can hardly string a coherant sentance together let alone come up with relevant opinion.
I dont read much of it, once i read some idiotic comment by one of them or see thier pathetic ramblings on Sky, I avoid them. It must be one of the easiest jobs on the planet, few of them are any good at it.

Try it if you think it's easy.

It might not necessarily be one of the easiest jobs on the planet, but he's right that the general quality is very, very poor.

[Chris Smith]

So to summarise, any journalist who writes anything we disagree with is not only shit at their job they are all being manipulated by arch villain Martin O'Neill as part of a huge anti Villa conspiracy.

[Holy Trinity]

So to summarise, any journalist who writes anything we disagree with is not only shit at their job they are all being manipulated by arch villain Martin O'Neill as part of a huge anti Villa conspiracy.

no not just villa. every club the media see as being small gets the same whitewash from the media.
if i ran a paper and sales were way down in london i too would make my writers spam it with bollox about london clubs if it ment a nice bonus for me in the long run.

[Deano58]

I'm starting to get tired of us getting slagged off for spending a large amount on Bent. We are being portrayed as the bad guys yet did the press slate £iteh for taking Barry & Milner off us, course not. Bollocks to the lot of em.

er..yes...with a vengeance !

 what papers mate? down here i didnt see any of that. not saying they didnt. just that i missed it.
 if it was in manc papers they editor was probably a red lol. like Twatum who takes such pride in pouring bile on the villa

One of those things you only notice when you're on the receiving end. Since we won the lottery, it's been unbelieveable until quite recently Believe me, it'll die down and they'll move onto the net target unless it's a media darling club based in London such as Spurs Arsenal, Chelsea or United !

[Billy Walker]

i would love to be paid to write about the sport i love BUT! what i would hate is my editor breathing down my neck about what should and should not be said. making you fill page after page with soft news about the latest flavour off the month club, or media darling manage. rather than relevant storys. there are those that seem to revel in it, such as holt. there are those who seemingly dont ( different format )soccer am, who find the media frenzy around beckham to spurs as pathetic as we do.
People delude themselves into believing we have a free press and journalists write what they truly think but i think if you sit back and think about it you realise they are puppets whos masters are seldom seen
investigative journalism seems to be restricted these days to finding out what bog gorge michael like to visit.

Pretty much this.

Man United fans want to be told Alex Ferguson is the greatest manager of all time.

Chelsea fans want to be told how they're still good enough to win the league.

Man City fans want to be told why spending £27 million on Edin Dzeko is going to win them the league.

Spurs fans want to be told they can go far in the Champions League.

Liverpool fans want to be told... ah, forget it.

That's the sort of thing which will sells the papers. Nothing too controversial most of the time, just the same repetitive droan. Just provide the biggest consumers with what they want to hear to massage their ego. So simple yet so effective.

It's all a bit chicken and egg, though.  The reason why a club wins over new followers is partly because of the media coverage they get.  Compare the coverage in the media Susan Boyle gets compared to Leonard Cohen; who has the most fans and who sells the most records?  Media bias affects a club's earning potential and development - surely that is not fair?

If anyone saw Sky cover Kenny Dalglish's return to Anfield and witnessed the the editorial decision they made to allow the broadcast of the whole of "You'll never Walk Alone" (along with obligatory shots of crowd, banners etc.) then you would have seen the subtle bias of the media in all its glory.  When was the last time a TV company featured the whole build up of a match at Goodison? When did they last allow us to hear the whole "Z Cars" build up with shots of the Everton fans?  I've never, ever known them to do it.

The media creates clubs' identities and sells these identities to the public.  When it comes to Villa they don't seem to be interested:  they could focus on our role in the formation of The League, they could focus on McGregor but they don't.   

Maybe it's not their fault, come to think of it.  Maybe we should be looking at our own PR guys?  Perhaps the clubs mentioned in the post above simply have more effective PR departments?

[Deano58]

It's all a bit chicken and egg, though.  The reason why a club wins over new followers is partly because of the media coverage they get.  Compare the coverage in the media Susan Boyle gets compared to Leonard Cohen; who has the most fans and who sells the most records?  Media bias affects a club's earning potential and development - surely that is not fair?

If anyone saw Sky cover Kenny Dalglish's return to Anfield and witnessed the the editorial decision they made to allow the broadcast of the whole of "You'll never Walk Alone" (along with obligatory shots of crowd, banners etc.) then you would have seen the subtle bias of the media in all its glory.  When was the last time a TV company featured the whole build up of a match at Goodison? When did they last allow us to hear the whole "Z Cars" build up with shots of the Everton fans?  I've never, ever known them to do it.

The media creates clubs' identities and sells these identities to the public.  When it comes to Villa they don't seem to be interested:  they could focus on our role in the formation of The League, they could focus on McGregor but they don't.   

Maybe it's not their fault, come to think of it.  Maybe we should be looking at our own PR guys?  Perhaps the clubs mentioned in the post above simply have more effective PR departments?
[/quote]

That is undoubtedly true. Every year City have to play united at old Trafford on the Munich anniversary  for maximum sympathy arousal and yet they would have you believe that the fixtures are computer-genearated. Look at Fergie who selects which media he will speak to and woebetide anyone who criticises his club. Journalists are not stupid and no wonder none of them risk getting themselves banned by saying something that the club might not like. That said, you also have to look at the allegiances of the pundits in the media. Stan Collymore and, to a lesser extent, Andy Gray will always give you a villa perspective. I defy you to tell me a pundit symathetic to City.

[PeterWithe]

Lee Dixon

[Pete3206]

I have to be honest, I'm loving all this. It'll be even sweeter if Bent hits the net today. An even bigger 'up yours' to the media folks.

[Meanwood Villa]

I defy you to tell me a pundit symathetic to City.

Lee Dixon. Boyhood fan, ex-Arsenal so hates Man U.

I think there's more pro-Liverpool pundits than Man U. Ex-Liverpool go on to the pundit's sofa, ex-Man U into management. Of course that then leads to all the vomit inducing "master vs apprentice" bollocks whenever they roll over for Fergie twice a season.

My view on the original topic is that I think the media is only anti-Villa in so much as we're not one of the chosen few (Sky 4 plus Spurs). I don't think they're any more anti-us than about 14 other clubs in Prem. As has been pointed out earlier in the thread as well, we've had 4 years where we were viewed very sympathetically due to the MON factor so don't really buy into any conspiracy theory against us.

[PeterWithe]

We all get a little bit precious about it, it was only ten days or so that most were calling GH all the ****** under the sun, he's now spent a few bob, we've got no more points but he's the best thing since sliced bread. The favour of the press lurches in much the same way.

[The Situation]

Pretty much this.

Man United fans want to be told Alex Ferguson is the greatest manager of all time.

Chelsea fans want to be told how they're still good enough to win the league.

Man City fans want to be told why spending £27 million on Edin Dzeko is going to win them the league.

Spurs fans want to be told they can go far in the Champions League.

Liverpool fans want to be told... ah, forget it.

That's the sort of thing which will sells the papers. Nothing too controversial most of the time, just the same repetitive droan. Just provide the biggest consumers with what they want to hear to massage their ego. So simple yet so effective.

I've got loads of time off at the moment, I'd be willing to give it a go. Hook me up with a Macbook and supply me with all the skinny latte's in the world. It'll be a blast!
[/quote]

As A Manchester City fan I agree with this except that there is actually another side to it. For example, fans not only like to see their own temas getting praised but fans of all  the other teams want to see their opponents getting slagged off. So if you write an article saying how great, say Edin Dzeko is, then you please the City fans. However, if you write an article saying how shit he is and what a waste of money, you please fans of United, Chelsea, Liverpool, Villa, arsenal etc etc. so there's more mileage in doing that. Hence all the shit we've endured for doing exactly what United and Chelsea have been doing for years. Anyway, beware, if you sign top players, that's what you get.

[/quote]
Yep, that's the flip side of the coin too.

Every non-Chelsea fan joined united in there hate for John Terry after what he (alledgely) did. Same for Rooney and Ronaldo etc...

You have to take the smooth with the rough, especially being a high-profile club which is why I'm sick of all the whining, narcissistic, self-centered plastics which falls under the category of Chelsea, United, Arsenal, Man City and to an extent these days, Liverpool.

As for Man City being criticized heavily (and deserved some times too) by the media as their prime target, it's just something you've got to accept. Mancini's playing fantasy manager spending like it's a battle of armageddon, the slightest thing that goes wrong and they'll come down on you like a sledge hammer. You can't really complain though, who cares what some poxy journos think? Spend your money and stuff the media, pandering to the media claiming you're not 'ruining football' is a no-go because it's universally agreed Man City have taken the spirit and fun out of football.

Chelsea fans couldn't give a damn what other small timers thought when they won the league. Just enjoy the ride, everyone dislikes big market teams for numerous reasons.

[Dave]

Every non-Chelsea fan joined united in there hate for John Terry after what he (alledgely) did. Same for Rooney and Ronaldo etc...

Did Man Utd fans dislike John Terry more than anyone else beforehand?

I didn't think anyone other than Chelsea fans had ever liked him.

[The Situation]

Every non-Chelsea fan joined united in there hate for John Terry after what he (alledgely) did. Same for Rooney and Ronaldo etc...

Did Man Utd fans dislike John Terry more than anyone else beforehand?

I didn't think anyone other than Chelsea fans had ever liked him.

It went up as #3856 reason to dislike John Terry for United fans - they always seem to 'have it in' for Terry, the Ferdinand vs Terry debate adds fuel to fire too.

Terry is a scumbag though. Overrated scumbag.

[Dave]

Every non-Chelsea fan joined united in there hate for John Terry after what he (alledgely) did. Same for Rooney and Ronaldo etc...

Did Man Utd fans dislike John Terry more than anyone else beforehand?

I didn't think anyone other than Chelsea fans had ever liked him.

It went up as #3856 reason to dislike John Terry for United fans - they always seem to 'have it in' for Terry, the Ferdinand vs Terry debate adds fuel to fire too.

And reason #3856 for the rest of us as well then?