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The two big \u2018football\u2019 stories of the day have left Mediawatch first queasy and then enraged, which is never a good start.<\/p>\n
And that\u2019s before we even get to transfer messages being sent to Arsenal that are neither transfer messages nor being sent to Arsenal, and some elite mischief-making from the Mail as Spygate turns into Ticketgate.<\/p>\n
Today is a very silly day.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
We don\u2019t really have anything much of value to say on this beyond feeling the need to express a kind of vague queasiness about just how prominent the news of the end of Leandro Trossard\u2019s marriage is across all the usual-suspect sites this morning.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not like there\u2019s a shortage of actual football news this morning. Man City have kept the title race alive in England<\/strong>, as have the officials in Scotland<\/strong>. Meanwhile, Spygate 2.0 is an absolute gift from the gods for a football media that simply adores a juicy yet very, very stupid scandal absolutely chock-full of a winning combination of genuine outrage and cartoonish slapstick farce.<\/p>\n Yet here we are. Somewhere within the top four or five stories across every major tabloid side in the country comes \u2018news\u2019 that really is absolutely nobody else\u2019s business. And all of it reported with such undisguised relish that frequently approaches glee.<\/p>\n THEY THINK IT\u2019S ALL OVER: Arsenal star Leandro Trossard\u2019s wife confirms marriage is over days after deleting photos<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n The single biggest football story on planet earth this morning, according to the Daily Star<\/strong>.<\/p>\n \u2018GUNNER MARRIAGE SPLIT\u2019 parps The Sun<\/strong> nonsensically above a story that required the combined newshound efforts of not one, not two, but three intrepid reporters to read and rehash a statement posted publicly on Instagram.<\/p>\n Arsenal star Leandro Trossard\u2019s split from wife confirmed as she reveals pair have been \u2018separated for some time\u2019 after removing ALL images of him from her Instagram<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n The Daily Mail<\/strong> there, obviously.<\/p>\n Leandro Trossard\u2019s split from wife confirmed after her social media actions spotted<\/p>\n Spotter\u2019s badge to the Daily Express<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Leandro Trossard\u2019s split from wife confirmed as statement shared on Arsenal star\u2019s relationship<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n The Mirror<\/strong> at least plays it reasonably straight if with undue prominence.<\/p>\n Look, we\u2019re no sweet summer child. We get why this celebrity magazine gossip-column sh*te gets clicks. Especially after all the looky-loo rubberneckers got themselves all excited about Laura Hilven\u2019s social-media activity last week.<\/p>\n None of it is anything new. But it doesn\u2019t mean we have to like it or think it reflects at all well on any single person involved in the writing or reading any of it.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Rare that Mediawatch gets an unnecessarily hot head over tish and fipsy that doesn\u2019t really matter (ha!) but we are absolutely raging<\/em> at The Sun<\/strong> here. Raging. Just look at this utter disgrace of an intro.<\/p>\n THE LINE-UP for the first ever World Cup half-time show has been confirmed \u2013 featuring some of the world\u2019s biggest stars and\u2026 the Muppets.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Are\u2026 are you actually suggesting here that the Muppets aren\u2019t<\/em> some of the world\u2019s biggest stars? You appalling, irredeemable heathens.<\/p>\n But really what can you expect from an article that goes on to describe The Muppets and Sesame Street as \u2018rival\u2019 shows. Honestly, this might be the worst thing The Sun have ever done.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n We\u2019ve calmed down a bit now, we think. Let\u2019s soothe our troubled soul with some good old-fashioned transfer bullsh*t courtesy of football.london<\/strong>. Thanks, guys. We appreciate you.<\/p>\n Arsenal sent Bradley Barcola transfer message by PSG boss Luis Enrique after title triumph<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n What\u2019s good about this one is that, while you all obviously know precisely how many times Luis Enrique used the word \u2018Arsenal\u2019 in relation to Bradley Barcola, it\u2019s actually even worse because he made a very specific point of saying absolutely nothing about anything having withdrawn the player at half-time of PSG\u2019s title-winning win against Lens.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat I can say here is that I can\u2019t say anything. I have no important information for you and you must think what you think. I don\u2019t have to explain anything. But it\u2019s very clear.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n The only message here is \u2018You must think what you think\u2019. And what football.london think is that this is a transfer message to Arsenal. Which, to be fair, is what they think an awful lot of things are.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Bit of mischief-making here from the Daily Mail<\/strong> after Southampton, embroiled as they are in the whole Spygate 2.0 drama, have also now had to delete play-off final ticket details from their website.<\/p>\n The reason for that is that they bungled the timing of their announcement, which was supposed to coincide with fellow finalists Hull\u2019s.<\/p>\n It doesn\u2019t actually have anything to do with the Spygate saga or the slim possibility the whole disciplinary procedure and inevitable subsequent appeal might all be wrapped up so swiftly that they might actually get kicked out of the play-off final. The Mail know this, but they put the news under this headline anyway.<\/p>\n Southampton pull down play-off final ticket information from their website as fears they will be THROWN OUT of \u00a3200m Premier League promotion showdown grow after spy was caught in the act<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Indeed, so excited have the Mail got about all this that by the time we reach the intro their cut-and-shut tendencies have resulted in a rare double amid. Nothing good can ever come from finding yourself in a double-amid situation.<\/p>\n Southampton\u00a0have removed play-off final ticket information from their website, amid growing fears they could be thrown out of showdown with\u00a0Hull City\u00a0amid the ongoing investigation into alleged spying.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Ten paragraphs, if you\u2019re interested. Ten paragraphs of undeniably juicy gossip about all the lovely spy drama before this grudging admission.<\/p>\n The Championship side, however, pulled the information from their website after reportedly being required by the EFL to publish ticket details at the same time as their play-off opponents Hull City \u2013 rather than being due to the ongoing spying investigation.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n But even if anyone other than Mediawatch has bothered to read so far, by that point the sweet, delicious clicks have long been safely banked from Hull, Middlesbrough, Southampton and elsewhere so who cares, yeah?<\/p>\n <\/div>\n\n
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Disgraceful intro of the day<\/h2>\n
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I am a message<\/h2>\n
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Ticket out<\/h2>\n
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