Nice one. I just keep sticking in the various comments section that they are The Talksport Telegraph.Earlier this week I emailed this to the Telegraph sports ed, Gary Payne. I sent a second email today below.
I'm a regular Telegraph reader. However, I was taken aback by a very poor piece of journalism In yesterday's (11/5) Telegraph sports section.
There is a piece on the Erling Haaland forthcoming transfer to Manchester City and it's implications for Liverpool in particular for future seasons. The author, Chris Bascombe, states - "Nothing more succinctly demonstrates the uneven playing field in this and the next Premier League title fight than City confirming the £213m package for Erling Haaland, while Liverpool fret over the futures of their prized duo because of salary expectations."
Chris Bascombe chooses to ignore published Premier League transfer and wage costs from reliable sources such as Swiss Ramble. These clearly show wages at City, MU, Chelsea and Liverpool similar in the £315m-350m range annually.
The same can be said for transfer fees, with Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea and City all operating at the same financial level, ahead of the rest of the PL. Hardly an uneven playing field, especially in the case of Liverpool.
The transfer fees for Van Dijk, Becker, Keita clearly illustrate that Liverpool F.C. is more than capable of competing at the very highest level in the transfer market.
City certainly are big spenders, but not to the extent the reporter Bascombe inaccurately asserts.
I note that Bascombe is a dedicated reporter for Liverpool F.C., should that be propagandist?
The Telegraph readership deserves better journalism than Chris Bascombe's shoddy and biased efforts.
To:gary.payne@telegraph.co.uk
Cc:jason.burt@telegraph.co.uk,sam.wallace@telegraph.co.uk,luke.edwards@telegraph.co.uk,jeremy.wilson@telegraph.co.uk,matt.law@telegraph.co.uk
Fri, 13 May at 16:00
Hello,
Further to my previous email, there is an interesting article from The Guardian (Stephen Conn) on Liverpool F.C.'s shameful methods of acquiring property around the Anfield stadium to enable stadium expansion and redevelopment. The appalling tactics used are exposed in the article and show how Liverpool F.C. forced local residents out of family homes so as to facilitate stadium expansion, purely to enhance income and profits at the football club.
The article is not new, but reveals that Anfield residents losing their homes received little in compensation. Those remaining residents had to endure dreadful noise and squalor whenever Liverpool played at home, in addition to the ever present threat of hooliganism. Hooliganism, clearly illustrated by the now common and notorious 'welcome' Liverpool fans give visiting team buses. In one instance threatening physical danger to the players on the bus and badly damaging the bus, rendering it unroadworthy. Indeed a very dangerous episode.
Contrast the Anfield Stadium situation with that at the Etihad Stadium in East Manchester, little more than thirty miles East down the M62; although only a short distance it could be on another planet!
Since the Abu Dhabi take over of Manchester City F.C. a large area of dilapidated housing and abandoned industrial sites have been transformed into new schools, community centres, sports facilities, shopping centres, as well as new affordable housing for aspirational 21st century people, and very pleasant the houses are.
The value of the regeneration is now estimated at close to £2 billion, that excludes any investment in the football club M.C.F.C. Compare that with the estimated £2 billion that the Glazer family have apparently drained out of Manchester United F.C: no local investment of note and stadium neglect the sum total in return by the Glazers.
One only has to visit the Etihad Stadium area, known as 'Sport City' to be amazed at the transformation and to appreciate the benefit to local citizens. This is in stark contrast to the poor souls and victims of Liverpool's Anfield area, still seemingly anchored in the 19th century.
The Manchester City success story, on and off the pitch, is the result of a partnership of the funding by the Abu Dhabi group and Manchester City Council, whose foresight, ambition, imagination and drive made a reality of, what is now, a much acclaimed project.
As for Chris Bascombe? A journalist must always check the background to the particular subject; the facts, the circumstances, the reality. What are the three rules of good journalism? Accuracy, accuracy, accuracy!
Perhaps, it is time for the hapless Chris Bascombe to try his hand at something else; quality journalism is the hallmark of the Daily Telegraph and poor old Chris's sorrow full efforts are clearly bargain basement
Today I noticed ud had some comments removed so I stuck another one in about freedom of speech.
The Vampire Squids comment was the most stupid comment I have seen in any media outlet.