“That’s a stonewall penalty Ray. What do you think Dwight?”
by Kevin Henning
Whilst reading the Manchester City forum Bluemoon this season, the feeling that the media have an agenda to keep Manchester United at the top of the English game has been overwhelming. A recent topic asked why Sky would want to keep United at the top. Is it the paranoia of City, Liverpool and others throughout the country or is there more to it?
Since the dawn of the Premier League back in 1992, I feel that Sky’s attitude towards Manchester United has changed enormously. Throughout the early years of Sky’s dominance, I religiously sat with my dad as we watched dramatic title races unfold. We often watched United for two reasons. Firstly, we wanted them to lose with a passion. Reds refer to people like us as ABU’s. This is a spot on diagnosis, we would rather anyone but United have lifted those crowns during the ’90’s. The second reason though, is one I have begun to find more intriguing. As I remember it, Sky used to show United’s tricky away games far more than their run of the mill home games such as the QPR and Aston Villa matches of recent weeks. It was as if Sky wanted United to lose. They were trying at the time to convert football fans throughout the country to their systems and what better way than to broadcast the pantomime villlains getting their comeuppance on a regular basis.
Only the plan didn’t quite work out. United overcame each and every challenge and collected Premier League medals the way Lisa Riley collects slap up meals – often and plentiful. Sky began to realise that for every United hater throughout the country, there were 4 or 5 plastic supporters who would subscribe to their package and claim allegiance to a club they had no connection with just to feel part of something. To bask in the reflective glow of United’s success. Don’t get me wrong here, we all know reds who go to games, come from Manchester and just happen to support the most successful team of their lifetime. However, we all know far more people who are as likely to have sex with a supermodel’s mouth as they are to purchase a match ticket to Old Trafford. Sky realised that whilst United bashers throughout the country were heading off to watch their own incompetent side, there was an army of armchair fans whose only realistic chance of watching their heroes was to tune in to Super Sunday once a week.
Now why does all this suggest that Sky prefer United to reign supreme? Well it’s incredibly unlikely that they would want their flagship show becoming a turn-off for the majority of their viewers isn’t it? Sky began to build up each tricky away tie as a challenge for United to overcome. Each Premier League match live from Old Trafford, the latest unruly mob arriving to be given a sound thrashing and be sent packing. Each title race as another feather in the cap of ferguson (sorry about my puntuation there but the only capital he deserves is punishment). Martin Tyler began to excel in it all. His constant auditioning for the next edition of “Grand Slam Sunday” adverts throughout every match involving their preferred four teams saw him screeching “ROOOOONEYYYYY!!!!” or “HENRYYYYYYY!!!!!!” or “GERRARRRRRDD!!” or DROGBAAAAAARR!!!” every time one of his heroes approached the penalty area with the ball. The fact that Sky own a part of MUTV tells us a lot. The more successful United are, the better their televison station will do. The better the station does, the more money rolls in for Sky. The more they keep winning, the more the gloryhunters around the country will keep paying their money over each month for both MUTV and Sky Sports. It’s a snowball effect that threatens to roll over any new challengers to the throne.
The turning point, I believe, was the now infamous night when Kevin Keegan, confronted by a shockingly leading series of questions, blew his top and ranted live on Sky. It was pure gold for the channel. They began to buy into ferguson’s mind games baloney. Managers came and went and Sky did the United manager’s dirty work for him. Keegan, O’Leary, Wenger, Mourinho, Benitez and now Mancini and Dalglish have all been prodded like caged animals into giving a controversial response to a soundbite from the Govan born bully. Benitez was driven to his “Fact” statement which Sky then claimed was proof of him losing to Fergie’s mind games when they dropped points a day later at Stoke City. Arsene Wenger stood in the Main Stand at Old Trafford when sent from the dugout became one of their iconic images of that season. Treatment that would never be served to United’s boss.
Only last weekend, Carlos Tevez was denied a blatant penalty at Carrow Road. Despite the Sky cameras clearly showing time after time that he’d had his foot stamped on, the interviewer’s first question to the hat-trick scoring man of the match was “Did you dive?” When pointed out by studio guest Mike Summerbee how disrespectful it was to open an interview with a man you could ask a thousand different questions to, the presenter defended it by claiming it was said “Tongue-in-cheek”. The very next day, Ashley Young clearly dived to gain an ill-gotten penalty for the second time in a week at Old Trafford. Was he asked the same by Sky? I reckon you can guess the answer. They wouldn’t want to upset anyone who may refuse to talk to their interviewers for the best part of a decade would they?
Rather than dismiss the mention of an agenda against City this season as paranoia, I prefer to think about the differences in the treatment shown to managers and clubs throughout the land in comparison to the media darlings of Warwick Road.
Pmsl. Another city fan with small club syndrome, if utd win the league you will of thrown it away. And to talk about bullying teams, you have been doing it with someone else’s money for 2 years. You are a small club who have no more right to win things than say tottenham. You couldn’t even fill the away section at anfield for a semi final or the home game.
Despite the fact that this kind of inane drivel is commonplace, it still amazes me that people conjur up these pathetic theories. I’m a lifelong United fan and have been putting up with this type of shit since the 70’s. Sky in general do not like us. Where do you get this love in thing from? Rednapp hates us, so obvious as does Tyler. Listen to yourself man and write something worthwhile. Both games where Young dived and the media go off on there ride there were absolute nailed on penalties we did not get but, as ever these slip conveniently out of focus so the circus can commence.
Ps, any readers who previously wondered why we call em bitters….. You now know.
It never fails to amaze me the myriad of reasons people can try to come up with to explain away the success of United. Can you not be gracious and just admit the genius of FERGIE? My apologies for capitalizing the name but I wanted to carry on your theme and respect his obvious greatness. The fact is, unless Sky have somehow managed to order the opposing teams to lose each and every week, or perhaps bought the ref, then the influence on the pitch is minimal. Or perhaps, just maybe, you are a bitter and blinkered ‘fan’. I put fan in its context because you may support a team, but I hardly think that qualifies you as a football fan. If you were you would be more understanding of the fact that United just are that good, that Fergie is just that talented and the success we have has been worked for on and OFF the pitch. I respect all the teams that play football and give them their dues. City, for example, are a fine side with very talented players and a proven manager. They will win the league at some point, and good luck to them. I do not begrudge them the money they had come in or the success that will follow. The challenge for my own team is to match it as we did with Chelsea. If you play well and deserve to win, that just means we need to come back, play better and work harder. What I don’t do is cast about for reasons to belittle an obviously great club (talking about United here, not city 😛 )and somehow make myself feel better by trying to diminish and tarnish their success. Oh, and yes… I was born in Manchester, and yes, I remember the days of Champagne Charlie.
you should be writing about yorr mega rich over paid nonentities across the city instead of the drivel you have here,just proves its easier to be a wannabe writer than a professional one, sad
Being a supporter of a team in the Irish premier league and knowing exactly about conspiracys and actual agendas against certain teams, I have to admit that this may be the worst article I have ever read. You show no connection at all to actual conspiracys or plots, seems as though it is a piece aimed purely at getting likes from these as you put it “abu” supporters. Also your haterid and description of Manchester united and the success they have had discredit your piece as purely personal and unfounded.
What a muppet…simple as that …
All these City fans getting in a tizz!
You could always do what I did and swap teams. I used to be an Arsenal fan.
United ’til I die!
A good read Kevin, obviously slightly tongue in cheek and predictably the Rags take the bait. I dont buy into conspiracy theories and i have read the 100 page or so thread on Bluemoon espousing such. What i would say is from a blue perspective is i dont think Sky particularly love te rags but they have taken to our growing improvement with disdain. I suppose it comes with the territory and a few years down the line when an article appears here by an ABC i will reply like one of the rags have today.
What a pile of embarrassing horse shit.
It is quite incredible how Manchester United fans cannot see the obvious media bias – Which everyone else outside of Old Trafford can. They find any sort of criticism toward their team or club incredibly difficult to accept, always looking at the author as some sort of obsessed hateful driven despot – I guess if the word Manchester United were replaced with Liverpool they would be cheering from the rafters [do they do cheering at Old Trafford].
Spot on. Sky are arguably Utd’s mouthpiece these days, major arse lickers to them as well.
And that Tevez interview was disgraceful though no surprise considering other interviews theyve given (Dalglish has been given some distasteful ones as well as Mancini for the last 18 months).
Although I suppose none of this should come as a surprise, its “Manchester Utd” afterall. A side that actually isnt from Manchester the city district, but acts like its the center of it; rather they should actually be called Newton or Salford. Their support base all live in glass houses, throwing rather large bricks at clubs who do wrong when their own supporters are much worse. In fact as a City fan I find it hilarous how 90% of their chants have something to do with Liverpool or Ourselves. Obsessed?
Let’s be honest, there’s a bit of tongue-in-cheek with this, but then most Mancs can’t take a joke… but it’s largely based on some truth. Andy “sexist pig” Gray used to salivate at the thought of Man Utd, and when he was binned off for being a lowlife who comes in to relace him… why it’s Gary “I hate scousers” “Ratboy” Neville… hardly a drive for neutrality is it? What will keep the money rolling in from Surrey-based “die-hard” reds better than the one-club, one-eyed inbred Neville filling their 50″ plasmas on game day?…. Ironically on the rare occasions I haven’t thrown stuff at the TV long enough to listen to him, he’s been much better than I ever would have expected. The reality is that Mr. Ferguson is feared by the media so they play by his rules – we’ve all see him dismiss questions in press conferences and try to get journalists banned like some sort of only-child brat, and lets not forget the boycott of the BBC…sky hardly want the same treatment do they.. hence rather ass-kissing questions, as opposed to them asking the stuff they’d rather ask to all the other managers… although don’t get me started on their flirting with good old “top top” “triffic” ‘Arry… they sooner he goes to England and fails the better!
Could have been written by a sun journalist. Tripe.
SKY’s complete non-coverage of that teese chap throwing a bottle at bellamy who should have taken a corner that barry did and united scored from, baconface’s insistence that adebayor be banned for the upcoming derby for a foul alrady dealt with by the match official only to arrive at the hearing and find david gill on the panel, the non-existant added time before and after the 4-3 derby where time was added on for City’s equaliser. Go away you yellow and green wearing, deluded fools.
I remember when you supported Man United Mr Henning ….
what?!? where do you know me from? you lie man. announce yourself.
Rite with you bro all those rag fans chanting chapions when they were 3-1 up against everton ha ha how must they feel now!!! It ain’t over CTID