Pep Guardiola kickstarted a debate about media bias when it comes to the title race.
The trouble is that every single manager in the Premier League thinks people are biased against them. Referees, pundits, fans, neutrals, journalists. Well, if we’re all biased against everyone, doesn’t that mean there is no favouritism? Think about it for a moment.
Guardiola’s point was that the whole of the country wants Liverpool to win. After the week Manchester City had in the Champions League, you can bet Pep felt like sticking two fingers up after thrashing Newcastle 5-0 to regain the initiative in the title race.
It would be easy for me to say it’s ridiculous, Guardiola is talking nonsense and it’s completely wrong. But the truth is that he’s got a point to some degree… but other parts of his argument doesn’t stack up. Look at the ex-Liverpool players as TV pundits. Jamie Carragher, Jamie Redknapp, Graeme Souness, Michael Owen, Peter Crouch, Danny Murphy.
I think Carragher is great, he’s a star on TV, a terrific pundit who is one of my favourites, but when he’s on co-commentary, he regularly celebrates goals in the background. Exhibit A: “Mo, you little dancer.” Now, if Pep is watching that… no wonder he’s thinking everyone wants Liverpool to win. And City’s ex-player contingent is… Micah Richards and Michael Brown. Richards is terrific but plays up to his fan image. Brown is excellent on BBC radio. Liverpool’s presence on the TV far outweighs City.
But does the media really love Liverpool more than City? I bet Jurgen Klopp doesn’t think so. Nor Liverpool fans. Everyone thinks the press has it in for their club. As a journalist, I really don’t like it when other journos tweet stuff like: “Gooooooaaaal” when the team they cover score.
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Maybe that’s me being old fashioned. If they are dedicated reporters then maybe it’s different. But it’s hard to argue journalists are impartial. Personally, I just want a good title race. I think Guardiola is a genius who has been fabulous for English football. Similar for Klopp. English football should celebrate the fact that
I was at the Merseyside derby recently. I thought Joel Matip fouled Anthony Gordon. When I said so, I have subsequently been told that I wanted City to win the title. Er, no. It was just a penalty. Clear as day. Yes, it’s reached those levels. I’ll always remember after one Arsenal win over Tottenham some years back, Arsene Wenger was under the pressure at the time and said to a couple of journalists in a very general sense: “You won’t be happy with that then.” I wasn’t part of the conversation, but one quickly told him he’s a lifelong Arsenal fan.
So, does it matter? I’ve seen some journalists pile in on social media and talk about how colleagues want City or Liverpool to win the title. To me, that’s embarrassing. We all grew up as fans, probably supporting a club and going to games. But if you cannot detach yourself, be fair, impartial and celebrate greatness in equal measure then you really shouldn’t be in our business.
