Saturday, January 30, 2010

*insert Biblical reference to throwing first stone here*

It is heartening to see old habits refusing to die.

It is less than six months until the association football* world cup, a tournament the national side has a better than average chance this time around of actually winning. As I write, joint talismen Wayne Rooney and David Beckham have the correct number of intact and functioning feet and are both playing exceedingly well. In fact, everything in the footy garden looks pretty rosy for a change. Or does it. No, of course not. More fool me for being so presumptuous for, bang on time and with the precision delivery most centre forwards would give their eye teeth to be on the end of, the massed ranks of Her Majesty's Press play their traditional morale-sapping spoiler and pick on a vital member of the team, in this case the captain, for no reason other than the fact he's human and has a willy. And, probably more's the point, that his cuckolded team mate has a photogenic wife.

I fail to see what relevance this load of crap has to anyone outside the four people involved. We do not need to be told and it is not in the public interest. If readers were that interested in the sordid behind the scenes goings-on of people most of them had neither heard of nor cared about, I am pretty certain journalists themselves would be the subject of most news items printed. Comments welcome from any ex-hacks amongst my distinguished readership.

And on vaguely the same subject, this story beggars belief.






*Note I have used the "correct" term rather than the accepted term for the benefit of both my ex-colonial readership and Vicus. Both of these parties believe "foot"ball is better played primarily using one's hands, a point of view that puts them happily alongside the French and Argentinians.

7 Vegetable peelings:

Blogger YourEastbourne said...

indeed, “in the interest of the public” is not the same thing as “in the public interest”.

8:08 pm  
Blogger Dave said...

John 8: 7 - re your heading. Which, by a spooky coincidence is what I decided, four days ago, would be the heading for my post today.

8:06 am  
Blogger Andy said...

Far better from the press point of view for England to fail miserably in the world cup and a bonus if the captain is caught in bed with team mates wife the night before causing him to score an own goal because he is so knackered!Suggestions for headline in the sun on a postcard please!!

4:17 pm  
Blogger Malcolm Cinnamond said...

I know it's nobody's business and I have no interest in John Terry, apart from hoping he has a day off when Chelsea play Wolves.

Sadly the rag in question is far-and-away the best seller in what's left of the newspaper industry. Maybe we get the Press we (and by 'we' I mean the country as a whole) deserve. The red-tops cling to an old 'Carry On' attitude to sex and, while circulation continues to dwindle, they still sell millions.

Terry's attempt to surpress the story was ill-advised. The cat was out of the bag and all over the internet and hacks (all totally paranoid about the threat the internet poses to their jobs) can get very bolshie when they are told what they can or cannot write.

It's hard to see a way out of this one. Restrictions on Press coverage of people's private lives is attractive in theory, but surely open to abuse.

Wouldn't it be nice if, like Chelsea Football Club, everyone could be grown up about it and let Terry carry on doing his job.

7:58 pm  
Blogger Robert Swipe said...

Unfortunately Richard, we tend to get the football team our tabloids deserve, don't we....

Mind you, can't see what Mrs Wayne Bridge was thinking about...

That's ridiculous about Togo - mind you, Bob says it's bad karma for Adebayor leaving Arsenal but refusing to relinquish the shirt...whatever that means!

"What's offside??"

;?

Oh, and thank you for your kind thoughts - Bob's recovery proceeds apace...

xxx
'Berta

11:47 am  
Blogger Tennessee Jed said...

Just scribbling in the sand here.

11:16 am  
Blogger Richard said...

Jed!! Where you been?

4:49 pm  

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