This week into Room 433 we are inducting a weird, vague, and yet very prevalent concept. It is something that is constantly happening in football and while sometimes it can be good (don’t want to anger potential future employers too much), at other times it can be weird and overtly negative. Yes, I’m talking about the weird media narratives that shape a lot of discussions about football.
Throughout all football media, there always seems to be a big media narrative. Which, again, is fine, as often the story that the media focus on is sometimes incredibly important. But other times, it just seems a bit odd.
Did you know Harry Kane is absolutely knackered, exhausted, and fatigued all at once? Of course you did, because it is literally all large chunks of the media have been talking about over the last few days.
Did it matter that a historic, proud club like Bolton Wanderers was seemingly minutes away from going into administration? Not really because Harry Kane is a fraction slower than he was before his injury in the Spring. These weird narratives seeming to be getting in the way of genuine footballing news.
Obviously, I am not naïve enough to suggest that the near demise of Bolton Wanderers will get more views than arguably the most recognisable player in the country, but the level to which these certain narratives dominate all radio, TV and newspaper coverage is getting ridiculous at this point.
Another fine example would be the fact that there has been a lot of chatter about whether Marcus Rashford should stay at Manchester United. Given we are nowhere near the next transfer window, this kind of discussion tends to dominate the footballing world for days when it’s obvious that the story is not being resolved any time soon.
Again, I appreciate the constant need for stories – even sports news is a 24 hours a day 365 days a year business these days – but come on, let’s stop having these weird narratives rammed down our throats constantly.
Probably the most harmful of these narratives is, of course, the furore around Raheem Sterling when he seemingly does almost anything, such as having the audacity to have breakfast. But it seems now that the Raheem Sterling coverage has slightly died down. Be prepared, however, for it to make an unwelcome return in the annoyingly near future.
So that’s the weird media narrative chucked into Room 433 alongside other luminaries such as Jose Mourinho.
