I have a brilliant idea – why don’t these football players actually STOP speaking with News of the World and The Sun? That would cut down on 1/4th of the crap news we hear, and perhaps 20-30% of the blog posts generated around that crap news.
Excluding this one, of course.
So what did Smith ‘actually’ say to SunSport?
He was, IMO, asked if he knew whether Manchester United were going to sell him this summer:
“If they are going to sell me, I’d like to know. But I won’t find out unless I get to speak to the manager.
If you’re no longer wanted, then you have to consider your options.
If the manager tells me he wants me, I’m there for him. If he says he doesn’t, it’s time to move on.”
That makes sense – if he’s not wanted, the manager will tell him and then, yes, it’s time to move on. If you’re given the option of going out on loan to build your fitness or staying and slogging it out in the reserves, the choice is with you (and in this case, was with Smith). But if the manager says you gotta go, then you gotta go.
Note that SAF had nothing but praise for Smith and that he has said NOTHING about who will go and who won’t.
When asked if SAF had said anything at the end of the season:
“He didn’t say anything to me at the end of the season. We played the FA Cup final, went home the next day and that was it.”
That could be because SAF was busy bringing Anderson and Nani to Manchester United, not to mention Hargreaves.
When asked if he’s ok with being on the bench:
“I want to be out there from the start.”
Who doesn’t?
Here’s how the media played this one:
The Sun: Fergie’s left me in the dark
ALAN SMITH has asked Alex Ferguson: “Do you want me at Manchester United or not?”
Our dear friend Shaun Custis made this up – I wonder if he’ll ever be attacked by a fan or not?
BBC: Smith admits he may quit Man Utd
Manchester United striker Alan Smith admits he may leave Old Trafford if he fails to get assurances about his future from boss Sir Alex Ferguson.
Technically a lie as Smith has said that he will leave if the Boss says he’s not needed – which is another way of saying that he’ll leave if he’s sold. He’s not saying much, is he?
Sky Sports: Smith to ‘consider options’
Alan Smith says he wants assurances from Sir Alex Ferguson over his Manchester United future.
Another lie since Smith hasn’t said that either.
What really pisses me off is that we rely on these sources to tell us what’s going on with our clubs and the players. If we have to play detective and sniff out the bullshit under the layers of innuendo and crap (no better word for it) for every single article, that’s tough on us, ainnit?
This article was originally published (comments closed here, please discuss it there) on our Manchester United blog, Red Rants.
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