\n<\/p>\n
We\u2019re deep into pure interlull wasteland now, with outrageous headline mischief, over-egged puddings and the classic trick of pretending information available to all in December is now somehow new.<\/p>\n
But there\u2019s domestic as well as international guff still.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s a \u2018huge boost\u2019 for Tottenham, for instance, as well as details of Liverpool\u2019s star-based approach to replacing Mo Salah<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Pure, unfiltered sh*thouse headline antics from the Daily Mirror<\/strong> here, to the extent that we are almost impressed at the total disregard for their readers and indeed the very idea that words mean anything at all.<\/p>\n Arsenal star Viktor Gyokeres called out by opposition boss on international duty<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Now, \u2018called out\u2019 can mean different things in different contexts, sure. But unless Gyokeres has a sideline as an emergency plumber and an opposition boss has a flooded basement, we\u2019re pretty confident which one the Mirror are using here.<\/p>\n It\u2019s the negative one, isn\u2019t it? As the Cambridge Dictionary defines its use in this context:<\/p>\n A\u00a0public\u00a0criticism\u00a0that\u00a0draws\u00a0people\u2019s\u00a0attention\u00a0to something\u00a0bad\u00a0about what another\u00a0person\u00a0or an\u00a0organisation\u00a0has said or done<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n That\u2019s exactly what it means. We know you know this, but it\u2019s important. We also know that the Mirror headline bod who concocted it knows what it means and thus knows precisely what they\u2019ve done here.<\/p>\n For how, in fact, did Ukraine manager Serhiy Rebrov \u2018call out\u2019 Gyokeres after his hat-trick for Sweden knocked Ukraine out of World Cup contention?<\/p>\n \u2018He showed his quality and proved he\u2019s one of the best strikers in Europe.\u2019<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Here we go again, everyone. Another front opens in the \u2013 obviously doomed \u2013 Mediawatch campaign for what should be the uncontroversial thought that words have meanings and that this is a useful and worthwhile concept to protect.<\/p>\n We\u2019re also slightly surprised and \u2013 we\u2019ll say it \u2013 a little bit disappointed that the Mirror missed the chance for even more mischief in that headline by replacing \u2018opposition boss\u2019 with \u2018Spurs icon\u2019.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n More pure mischief here, from The Sun this time, which were it again only about football tish and soccer fipsy we might let slide. But when it also comes across as unrelentingly gleeful about actual war, we\u2019re not quite so forgiving.<\/p>\n USA projected to play Iran in most highly charged World Cup match ever as Fifa face worst nightmare<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Let\u2019s see where this goes.<\/p>\n USA and Iran are on a collision course to play at the World Cup as Fifa prepare for a highly charged meeting.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n One way of putting it, yes.<\/p>\n Tournament qualifiers this week\u00a0have provided a clearer picture of what the group stage will finally look like come the summer, and it sets up a potentially fiery clash between two nations at WAR<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Do you really have to be quite so gleefully Day Today about a war, gents? Let\u2019s save the bold block caps for the usual important stuff, like how many hours after a disappointing home defeat an underperforming player has been caught smiling rather than self-flaggelating.<\/p>\n But let\u2019s also call out the guff of the whole story here. Because the idea that USA v Iran is any likelier now than it was as soon as the draw was made<\/strong> is\u2026 a stretch.<\/p>\n Sure, the play-offs currently taking place are clearing the picture<\/strong>and one of the play-off winners will end up in USA\u2019s group. The likelihood now, as before a ball in those play-offs was kicked, is that it will be Turkey.<\/p>\n Which The Sun are using to pretend any of the following is meaningfully new information:<\/p>\n Initial simulations by\u00a0Football Meets Data\u00a0\u2013 based on Turkey being the final nation in USA\u2019s group \u2013 have America progressing from the group stage as runners up.<\/p>\n Iran already know all of their opponents \u2013 they will face\u00a0Belgium,\u00a0Egypt, and\u00a0New Zealand\u00a0in Group G \u2013 and projections have them finishing runners-up too.<\/p>\n Should both teams finish as runners up then they would go head-to-head in Dallas on July 3.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n That\u2019s all true. But that\u2019s all been true ever since the draw was made in December.<\/p>\n Turkey being even more likely to qualify than they were before this week really is neither here nor there when it comes to assessing the overall chances of USA finishing second in their group \u2013 especially in terms of the projections of what is, let\u2019s call it by its accepted tabloid name, a supercomputer.<\/p>\n USA finishing second in their group is and always would be a reasonably likely outcome whether it had been Turkey, Romania, Slovakia or Kosovo who qualified and joined Mauricio Pochettino\u2019s side, Paraguay and Australia in Group D this summer.<\/p>\n If anything, the chance of USA and Iran meeting is far lower now than it was in December, with Iran\u2019s participation in the tournament at all very far from certain<\/strong>. You know, because of the WAR<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n This might be our favourite edition yet of the Missing Words Round, thanks to The Sun<\/strong>.<\/p>\n England\u2019s biggest fan reveals he\u2019s selling his house to fund seven-week World Cup bonanza<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Now we won\u2019t deny there\u2019s a human-interest story here in the tale of \u2018England superfan\u2019 Andy Milne and his upcoming seven-week odyssey at what will be his 10th World Cup following England around the globe.<\/p>\n But accuracy still matters, and both that headline and the intro alas had no room for one six-letter word that changes things quite significantly.<\/p>\n ENGLAND superfan Andy Milne has revealed he will sell his house to fund his trip to the World Cup this summer.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n That detail eventually, grudgingly, emerges eight paragraphs later.<\/p>\n He has decided to put his second home in Northwich, Cheshire, on the market for \u00a3350,000 to help pay for his trip.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n There is a pretty clear difference between the implication of \u2018sells his house\u2019 and the actual reality of \u2018sells the second house he\u2019s kept on as a rental property while living in Thailand\u2019.<\/p>\n He\u2019s not leaving himself out on the streets for the rest of his days just so he can follow England all the way to a limp quarter-final exit against Brazil.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Elite and indeed top-tier interlull content from football.london<\/strong> here with some timely good news for the world\u2019s most beleaguered football club<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Tottenham could be given huge Premier League relegation battle boost thanks to FA rules<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n You may want to sit down, dear reader, for we are about to say something that may shock and alarm you. There is no huge Premier League relegation battle boost here for Spurs. What there is, is an expertly crafted bit of pure headline housery.<\/p>\n The main part of that headline is just your classic over-egging. Words like \u2018huge\u2019 and \u2018boost\u2019 are textbook headline words of long-standing to make the mundane and humdrum seem vital and exciting.<\/p>\n What elevates this are the final four intriguing words: \u2018thanks to FA rules\u2019<\/p>\n They know exactly what they\u2019re up to there. Exactly what vibe that suddenly gives the whole headline. There\u2019s intrigue and mystery here. A clear sense of something maybe involving a loophole being exploited or better yet a conspiracy. What are these opaque \u2018FA rules\u2019 that are about to hand the biggest club to be in relegation trouble for a generation a \u2018huge boost\u2019?<\/p>\n They are the suspension rules.<\/p>\n And it gets better\/worse. It\u2019s not even about how the suspension rules directly affect Spurs. It\u2019s about how they affect Brighton.<\/p>\n Brighton could be without a key player when they face\u00a0Tottenham Hotspur\u00a0after the international break.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n There\u2019s that \u2018could\u2019 again.<\/p>\n Next month, Igor Tudor\u2019s side will host the Seagulls as\u00a0they continue their quest for Premier League survival.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Optimistic. Both in terms of the phrase \u2018Igor Tudor\u2019s side\u2019 and the very idea that Spurs are currently even involved in a quest for survival. They don\u2019t look like they\u2019re on a quest. Not for survival, at any rate.<\/p>\n But that\u2019s not the point. The point is that Diego Gomez has nine bookings this season. So if he gets booked against Burnley on April 11, he\u2019ll be suspended for Brighton\u2019s trip to Spurs the following weekend.<\/p>\n Now Diego Gomez is a damn fine young player. But we think it\u2019s going to need a bit more than a 22-year-old midfielder possibly but probably not being suspended for one game over three weeks away to qualify as a \u2018huge Premier League relegation battle boost\u2019 for the team with the worst home record in the division<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Yes, these are desperate times for Spurs. But that doesn\u2019t excuse resorting to desperate headline measures.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n How do Liverpool replace Mo Salah? With stars, according to the Daily Mirror<\/strong>.<\/p>\n THE MO, THE MERRIER! Liverpool want TWO major signings as part of Salah replacement plan including \u00a352m star and Premier League star<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Honestly, the repetitive lengths people will go to just to stop us being able to bring back Acewatch.<\/p>\n <\/div>\nTo the Viktor the spoils<\/h2>\n
\n
\n
\n
This is the<\/em> one thing WE did\u2019nt WANT to<\/em> HAPPEN<\/h2>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
Seconds out<\/h2>\n
\n
\n
\n
Boost<\/h2>\n
\n
\n
\n
Look at the stars<\/h2>\n
\n