Leaks, informers, weird stories…what’s really going on?

Has someone got a grudge against the club

By Sean Whetstone

A number of reporters have been accused of lazy journalism after a spate of stories in the Evening Standard, Daily Mail and the Times each suggesting they have a reliable source.

It would be easy to accuse the papers of having an anti West Ham agenda  but in this case it seems a bit more to it than that.

It seemingly started with an article by Tony Evans in the Evening Standard on Monday 3rd September, at the foot of the story Evans says “Pellegrini is not the real issue at West Ham: the fish rots from the head. Almost all the problems at the London Stadium can be traced back to the boardroom. The idiosyncratic, incoherent and frequently changeable policies that have characterised the eight years of the Gold and Sullivan era have led to this point. If Pellegrini turns things round it will be a bigger achievement than winning the title with Sergio Aguero, David Silva, Yaya Toure, Vincent Kompany  and City’s  mega-expensive supporting cast.”

One day later and it was Ian Herbert the Daily Mail with a strange story hung on a tale about Sakho’s  car (above right)  being left at the training ground. They quote an unnamed source who speaks about the lack of facilities at Rush Green, transfer policy and a poor scouting network, all later denied by the club with Pellegrini possibly under pressure to contribute  a club website article saying he had no problems with the training ground.

In the last 24 hours the Times and Matt Hughes have joined in the action first suggesting that Pellegrini was unhappy with leaks of team teams on social media, possibly even suggesting that the board have a hand in it.

Pellegrini flatly denied he is angry about team news leaks but the journalist is still standing by his story and even seems to infer that Pellegrini was not being truthful when he said the leaks didn’t bother him.

The Times has since moved on to suggest the board are not happy with director of football Mario Husillos and his summer deals.

So who has the most to gain from briefing the media in the past fortnight, well it certainly won’t be the West Ham board or the manager, neither of which have anything to gain from the recent media exposure so count them out.

The likelihood is it is a disgruntled former employee or current West Ham employee with an axe to grind.  What the motive is unclear but it could just be good old fashioned revenge for something over which they think they have been wronged.

This might not be the end of it, it will all depend how determined the individual is, what is clear is the source is senior or informed enough for journalists to run with the stories.

Journalists don’t make this stuff up

Paul Walker – top columnist with www.kumb.com – and a man with years as a journo on  the nation’s top titles has entered the debate going on between the media and its regular emphasis on all things West Ham.

Paul has his own informed and highly experienced time in the business to call on and gives his view on what’s happening here. We are pleased he has entered into our coverage on what at times seems to be a case of  ‘The Media v West Ham United!’

Good to hear from you buddy.

By Paul Walker

Now this is not going to be popular because everyone thinks all journos are scum.

But I have done 50 years in the trade,much like Hugh, and people do not just make things up.There is always some sort of source feeding snippets out.

I do not believe the Times lad invented his recent stories and had some sort of help which could have been from within club or could be an agent or someone who had access to club officials.

I have no real problem with ExWHUemployee whose account was mentioned in one story. I have written already that he reminds me of an old fashioned regional reporter who knows everyone and only has to bother about his club.

When you work at it 24/7 you get the trust and rewards. My main concern is the other stuff that comes out,

Sakho’s car, the recruitment being questioned,the lack of a youth structure and now claims,which Hugh insists as far as he knows are untrue, about Pelle’s signings being questioned.

All this is coming from somewhere, so don’t shoot the messenger.

Question: Is Pellegrini telling the truth or The Times?

By Hugh Southon

I’ve had much to say on this but a final couple of points!

Given the “yes he did, no I didn’t” conflict of opinions between The Times and Manuel Pellegrini on whether the manager did indeed get upset by ExWHUemployee’s tweeted team news may we suggest a possible solution!

We don’t want to know the source but given that the manager has said he’s not angry or upset do the Times stick by the yarn or are we to believe that the West Ham boss is being economic with the truth?

Second point is this: Ex is a West Ham man to his backbone. Yep, like us all he has his good bad bad sides – nothing unusual about that.

But as Paul Walker mentions he’s in the business of developing his sources and bringing news, whether we agree with it or not is immaterial because it’s done in good faith.

So why would any newspaper want to take a pop at somebody who is doing precisely what they are paid to do – get stories first?

It’s what the better ‘papers still do today and it was the world some of us grew up in. So for him to be attacked for doing what he does seems to me to be out of order but demonstrates why social network and internet reporting has left the printed word way behind.

As a bloke weaned on hot metal and ‘scoop ‘ language it, of course, gives me some nostalgic sadness but whatever differences I may have or had in the past I don’t intend to do anything other than support anyone who tries to serve his Hammers public – keep rocking Ex.

COYI