Following on from my moan the other day about the ridiculousness of football managers “banning” the BBC from their press conferences or making any comments to them, it was pleasing to hear Chief Sports Writer of The Mirror, Oliver Holt, saying the same thing on Sportsweek this morning. He said it was a bit of a hobby horse of his, as it is of mine. As he pointed out, last night’s Match of the Day featured neither Sam Allardyce nor Alex Ferguson (yes I know Man Utd only played today). If the BBC investigate, say, where Abramovich’s millions come from and Chelsea take issue, might they be banned as well?
It is indeed for the Premier League to insist on its managers talking to all their partners as part of the deal.
And here’s something really scary. After Bolton’s Monday game, Sky Sports presenter Jeff Stelling asked Sam Allardyce if he’d ever taken a bung. Allardyce said that he was “out of order” and an hour later, reports say that Bolton officials were harranguing Sky’s producer.
The scary part is that the interview was not replayed or shown on either Sky News or Sky Sports News. The impression given suggests that Sky appreciates that to make their multi-million investment in football work, they have to have access to players and officials. If they fall out with them, then the value of their investment is reduced.
So if you’ve made a large investment in a product, you don’t want to rock any boats and ask tough questions, even if it begins to make people question your editorial integrity. Sky News has just appointed a Viewers’ Editor (link broken at time of entry), so maybe that’s a question for them?