A manager, besides Sir Alex Ferguson, is on the cusp of becoming completely fed up with the injustice of the Football Association, and is considering boycotting interviews as well.
Harry Redknapp is threatening that he will not conduct any television interviews if he receives any punishment – a fine or suspension – for his post-match comments about the performance of Mark Clattenburg following Tottenham Hotspur’s 2-0 loss at Old Trafford.
Right or wrong, the Spurs manager is now finally feeling the pressure of the scrutiny that the modern-day media, and the football hierarchy, have put on the figureheads at a football club, which is something that Sir Alex faces everyday, and is exactly why he shunned the press.
The contrasting difference, and comedy of it all, is that the United manager does not go looking to offer his opinion on controversial topics, and then have it plastered over every single media outlet, but Redknapp does just that.
Right or wrong, the Spurs manager is now finally feeling the pressure of the scrutiny that the modern-day media, and the football hierarchy, have put on the figureheads at a football club, which is something that Sir Alex faces everyday, and is exactly why he shunned the press.
Despite being required by the Barclays Premier League to give pre and post-match interviews, Sir Alex has stuck to his guns, and has continued his well-documented boycott of BBC for all of the their interviews, no matter how much the fine, because of the nonfactual documentary that was done about his son, Jason, as a football agent.
Realizing that he may have gone a bit too far with his ill-advised, unwanted views, Redknapp is finally starting to see how it is to be the manager of a big club, if you can consider Tottenham that.
Tottenham is surely not on the same wavelength as Manchester United, but they are starting to get notoriety in the past couple of seasons, so Harry is getting a nibble of the stresses and demands that Sir Alex has been under for the last 24 years.
Ahead of the Tottenham match, Sir Alex did his first question and answer pre-match interview with someone besides MUTV, and it would have been interesting what he would have said if the shoe was on the other foot – which it almost was.
There was an incident that involved the same assistant, Simon Beck, because again he was in a poor position, and completely missed it when the entire ball crossed over the end line, but thankfully, Gareth Bale’s cross was cleared from danger rather then ending up in a goal for Spurs.
Redknapp must have simply, or selectively, forgot to criticize both, Clattenburg and Beck, that screw up.
Hypocrite
To be fair to him, Redknapp has brought a fair, reasonable point, though, however, he has yet again contradicted himself by the way he has gone about it.
He has used a tasteless tabloid, The Sun, to state his stance about his potential imposed fine, so it goes to show that he will continue to do interviews whether he is fine or not.
The conflicting issue is that if he is convicted of any wrong doing, Harry will carry on speaking to the tabloids that pay him for his services, rather than the ones he is supposed to be doing in attempts to offset his fines.
Even long-time Spurs fans have grown a little tired of his constant vocal thoughts about this or that, because it brings superfluous attention to the club.
Right
Managers, as well as players, should not be ‘forced’ to give an interview directly after a match – especially when there was a controversial decision – because of the chance for a-heat-of-the-moment reaction.
When the microphone and television cameras are shoved into their faces, they are more apt to utter something that is completely off-base, or better yet, go into a tirade about something that was a non-factor in the match.
Last season, Sir Alex went launched into verbal attack claiming that Alan Wiley was “unfit,” because he was infuriated with his performance during United’s 2-2 draw with Sunderland.
These off-the-cuff comments led to the media calling for the United manager’s head, and for him to be suspended for the rest of the season, because they saw his scathing remarks as unjustified, personal attack on Wiley.
However, the head of Prospect, which is the Premier League referees’ union, Ian Leighton, and former referee, Jeff Winter, both went a bit further by saying that Sir Alex should be removed from his position altogether at Manchester United.
Ridiculous as that may have been, it clearly shows just how much influence the media has over the directors of the Premier League, which provides them billions of dollars every year in contracts to broadcast these games all across the world.
In all, the credibility of successful managers, like Sir Alex Ferguson and Harry Redknapp, need to hold more weight than a pesky annoying journalist who are just looking to create a controversial article.
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