SombreroBu11 wrote:
Personally, I doubt that's the reason, but Mr Heppenstall, or at least his Editor, do seem to have some pro-OK slant to what they write.
I agree, I very much doubt there is any racial angle in there at all.
I've discussed this question of perceived slant with Ross. He assures me that there is no slant from him, and that he is just trying to report what is there. Judge for yoursellves, although I know for a fact that OK played hell with him over some aspects of reporting when HE was in charge - not least because someone I trust saw it first hand. Maybe it is the lot of the messenger to be shot at?
Let's not forget, Ross is a journalist and his job is to report news and stories. Not to be the club PR department, and equally not to be the voice of those who might wish to upset the applecart. For every reader who sees Ross' reports on the financials as negative, there will be another who plays hell with him for not digging into (or legally being able to publish) things further. You can see plenty of the latter on the T&A rantaboard.
I'm sure he is as frustrated as the rest of us with what is going on, and the continuing lack of closure and of sugar daddies. Regardless of in what form, OK DID put funds into the club, so maybe he is taking that into account? Don't forget, he is a sports journalist and so the financials and legals are not really his field. (I suspect most fans would empathise with that!)
I used to play merry hell with Caisley for berating the media - or the fans for that matter - when they said things he did not agree with. Indeed, my own more active engagement with the club started at the turn of the century, when (in a post titled "A new year's plea") I pleaded with Caisley and Sadler - and others - to quit trying to score points off each other and move on. And we had a major run-in with the guy over a piece Bullseye and I wrote regarding his silly proposal for a Sky "Blackout" a few years later, that figured prominently in the T&A and other media. He went apeshit over it, but tough titty mate - spout bollox and you have to expect a reaction!
And I'd make the same plea to those running the club now. If you don't like what is being reported, sit down with the guy and explain your case. But recognise that he has his job to do, and that job is not the club PR department.
I DO think the T&A ought to be asking a lot more questions of the invisible Gerry. As I have said before, as an active director more than happy to share the limelight when things looked positive, IMO he has serious questions to answer now. But maybe if this ownership crap gets finally sorted, that will prove unnecessary. And probably best all round. But you can hardly take issue with a sports journalist for not paddling in that pool - its way out of his league. Whether, as some allege, the T&A is in the pocket of the council and the politicians is not something a sports journalist should have to concern himself with, surely?
And it sure as hell is not something the fans, who just want to watch a load of supreme athletes chucking an oval ball around on the park with extreme skill and bollox to all the financials and legals, should have to worry about?
