The truth is still out there – not in a 2028 memoir
Revelations in ex-players’ books are no substitute for contemporary reports
Jose Mourinho was partially correct. The Old Trafford “manhunt” has begun, but it has nothing to do with forcing his exit, and its origin can be traced to half-time on Saturday. That was the moment publishers drew up the list of candidates to write the inside story of what happened in the dressing room when Manchester United were 2-0 down to Newcastle.
What a book it will be.
The agents will be salivating, advising clients to save the juiciest revelations for their autobiographies, coming to a writing festival near you in 2028.
Mourinho will be savvy enough to recognise the long-term advantage from the most torturous period of his managerial career. His press conferences may be getting briefer, but it will be party time for a ghostwriter.
It is the same across the Premier League. Once Harry Kane gets nostalgic, we will know what he really thinks about Spurs’ great missed opportunity in the summer of 2018, when stadium finance compromised team investment.
Rest assured, someone within the Arsenal family is biding time to give us full disclosure on those final years under Arsene Wenger, and the nature of the Unai Emery revolution.
We will more fully understand how Antonio Conte lost the Chelsea dressing room when it is financially expedient for him or one of his former players to tell us.
Even at those clubs where there is (currently) no such debris to sift through, such as Manchester City and Liverpool, eye-catching revelations will be saved for the memoirs (or next documentary).
We are all doing our best to tell you what is going on right now – and, to be self-indulgent, reckoned by and large to do a good job – but you cannot know and report everything, which is why an increasing glut of footballing autobiographies are necessary, revelatory and exasperating.
The main criticism when reading a new spin on historic events has to be, “Why didn’t you say this at the time?”
So often when contemporaneous reports appear about dysfunctional relationships, incompetent scouting networks, match-fixing approaches and dressing rooms bereft of managerial authority, the default response is denial, a passive-aggressive code of silence or – worst of all – accusations of undermining, agenda-driven reporting.
Those with the courage of their convictions to speak out from the epicentre retain credibility – witness Kevin Keegan in the courtroom in 2009 – but, elsewhere, a belated union between a strong opinion, their vocal chords and a spine is lamentable.
The cash-conscious canaries will chirp about this grubby era at Old Trafford in a few years, but, unless they are keeping a detailed diary, sitting down to excavate memories risks being an unreliable narrator.
In fairness, current players who take it upon themselves to express forthright opinions on defining issues are considered brave but ill-advised. It still happens occasionally but was more common before agents and press departments placed themselves between a train of thought and its publication.
Many clubs are becoming specialists in creating a culture of control and fear where freedom of expression is considered a threat. Witness those official websites with anodyne match reports and interviews, frantically editing out a contentious syllable so as not to upset a despotic coach or chairman.
There are now specialist courses for footballers warning how they are a thumb touch away from “liking” the wrong social media post.
As reporters – and readers – we crave details of half-time rants, boardroom disputes and transfer blunders, but must get past ever-increasing obstacles to public confirmation, or dissect responses so carefully worded they are open to wilful misinterpretation.
Note the suggestion that Mourinho was under no “immediate” threat following the report that a decision to sack him was made ahead of Saturday’s game.
What does “immediate” mean? It will not be this morning? Do not take Monday off, maybe? Keep the phone nearby during the international break?
In the past week, Paul Pogba was gagged, Antonio Valencia apologised for appearing to agree with a negative opinion on his manager – and was promptly dropped – and United failed to publicly respond to a report that the manager’s time was up.
The most reliable insights into the state of affairs at your clubs are being published right now – infinitely more credible than the carefully worded trips down memory lane to follow.