*Official* English Football Season 2015-16

[cpr]

Talented player plays well in good team with decent manager. Honestly didn't read more than a quarter of that article, because it was an exercise in rewording the obvious and regularly trodden topic. Might just be me, but I've always thought if you're going to write an analytical piece, either analyse something new or come up with a new conclusion to others...

 

[dontcloseyoureyes]

ESPN used to have pretty good football coverage but they're barely a cut above goal.com these days. Absolute trash.

 

[duffer]

They ruin everything.

 

[Uppercut]

I haven't minded him. I make particular effort to not pay full attention though, because collectively, they're awful most of the time.

Yeah he doesn't say plain wrong **** all the time like Owen but he's not interesting like Neville either. I liked Hargreaves commentating on a different game but he was shocking tonight.

 

[sledger]

As a pundit Savage has considerably better than Owen, and a few others. His main drawback is that he's an oik.

Anyway, last night was thoroughly expedient.

 

[Cabinet96]

Lots of fans and people in the media have definitely tried to downplay how good Sterling is though. You even had people who were saying he wouldn't get in the team or whatever. Worth pointing out he's still actually amazing despite poor Liverpool.

 

[Ikki]

Just people being bitter. Sterling is a really special talent. Burns me I'll have to watch this **** play in the EPL for another team for 10+ years.

 

[Uppercut]

I think there must be a racial element to the extent of the backlash against him. The guys who would normally be driving the hype train on young English players don't love black people.

 

[Cabinet96]

Liverpool's Raheem Sterling is a standard-bearer for 20-year-olds everywhere - Telegraph

Still love that first paragraph.

 

[Cabinet96]

No one really thought it acceptable for Liverpool to not vastly improve this year either, which was seriously downplaying the significance of losing Sterling.

 

[Lillian Thomson]

Just people being bitter. Sterling is a really special talent. Burns me I'll have to watch this **** play in the EPL for another team for 10+ years.

I wouldn't bet on it. He has the potential to be good enough to be wanted by Real Madrid. In that case it'll be goodbye and good riddance to City as far as he's concerned.

 

[Ikki]

It seems you can't rate the kid and also say he is a bit of a **** for the way he left. But, really, he was itching to move when he already had 3 years left on his contract. The way that panned out throughout the season IMO is enough for the media spin against him but I think the move caught the ire of several groups of other people. Liverpool fans; anti-City fans; fans who are disillusioned about the money that has taken over the sport and has replaced a semblance of loyalty; those against the rise in agent importance; and I'm sure others. The first 3 probably make up a lot of fans. I think the way Delph also left added more slime to the narrative.

While I guess there could be a racial element I don't think that would be the prevailing reason - especially in the media - but I don't live in England to comment on it with much accuracy. Despite it all, I think his mentality and his talent will see him through. He'll go down as one of the greats of his generation and that's why in the long-run the transfer fee will look astute. I said at the time I'd rather us not sell him and just keep him for 2 more seasons and lose out on the money. For reasons to do with football as well as off-the-pitch reasons.

 

[Uppercut]

I agree with all of that, but there's an unexplained portion of hate. Other players pull that stuff too but don't get the same level of hate. Part of it is Liverpool's media presence of course. But there's something that's, I think, indirectly a bit racist. People feel more comfortable making patronising comments about him being "badly advised", for example, than they would if he was white. He doesn't phrase things in "polite" terms in the way a white person would. It's not that people are thinking "**** him, he's black". But it's making a difference to how his behaviour is perceived.

 

[sledger]

Hard to say really. I suspect you might be right, but personally I don't think there's much to support this view other than gut feeling.

I remember the "badly advised" line being trotted out a fair bit over the years in conjunction with players like Rooney (even though his transfer request that time went nowhere) and Nasri for instance.

 

[aussie]

ESPN used to have pretty good football coverage but they're barely a cut above goal.com these days. Absolute trash.

So as a general armchair expert like most of us, which website and journalist would you say gives the best football coverage in the world?

 

[aussie]

I agree with all of that, but there's an unexplained portion of hate. Other players pull that stuff too but don't get the same level of hate. Part of it is Liverpool's media presence of course. But there's something that's, I think, indirectly a bit racist. People feel more comfortable making patronising comments about him being "badly advised", for example, than they would if he was white. He doesn't phrase things in "polite" terms in the way a white person would. It's not that people are thinking "**** him, he's black". But it's making a difference to how his behaviour is perceived.

I can tell you a lot of black/mixed race football fans in UK like myself have picked up on exactly what you have said here.

 

[dontcloseyoureyes]

So as a general armchair expert like most of us, which website and journalist would you say gives the best football coverage in the world?

I generally don't read football websites anymore, most of the formerly good ones have gotten buzzfeed-ish. I tend to stick to podcasts at this point. The Aussie one The World Game is still quite good, and I still find myself going to football365 even if the quality has seriously deteriorated since the glory days of 07-10.

 

[Pratters]

There are some good ones I follow on twitter who put up intelligent analysis. Zonal_Marking is terrific. Some others I follow.

 

[dontcloseyoureyes]

Yeah Zonal Marking is good.

 

[aussie]

There are some good ones I follow on twitter who put up intelligent analysis. Zonal_Marking is terrific. Some others I follow.

Ye Zonal marking is excellent, especially considering he is not a guy that actually coached football.

Of the list you mentioned yea Sid Lowe one of the best spanish football correspondents around if not the best, Barney Ronay is a very creative writer.