JOHN SALAKO
Crossing the great divide from player to pundit
WHEN I finished playing, I wanted to move into coaching or management. I did my badges, went on courses.
But I’d already been doing a lot of media work with Sky TV and, little by little, that side of things took over.
Crossing that divide from being a player to being a journo is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, managers will give you that extra bit of time and access because you’re an insider.
You’ll speak to someone before a game, then maybe go for a glass of wine afterwards and have a more insightful chat.
For a manager, that’s a worthwhile tactic. You want to build bridges and make allies and, personally, I’m much less likely to be critical of someone I know than someone I don’t. That’s just human nature.
Advantage
Where the normal journalists have an advantage, though, is that they can come in as an outsider and ask some tough questions. Managers may not like it. But there’s an understanding that it’s the job they’re paid to do. If you’re an ex-player, you’re viewed differently. Like a traitor, almost.
I once got asked by Sky to go and interview Chris Powell, who is an old mate of mine from Crystal Palace and Charlton.
There’d been rumours in the press that he could get sacked and they’d sent me there to ask some difficult questions. I did it, but it was very awkward. I’d ask a question and Chris would look at me with this expression that was like ‘Really? Are you really going there with me, Sal?’.
That’s kind of when you know you’ve sold your soul and truly crossed the divide. But that’s what the fans demand. They want brutal honesty.
If you’re Chris Kamara, that’s the easy gig. You go to grounds as a neutral and most fans quite like you. It’s ‘This is what happened, these are the goals’, ask a few questions at the end. You don’t really have to criticise.
It’s the studio roles that are more demanding. If you’re a pundit – a Jamie Redknapp or a Graeme Souness – you’ve got plenty of time to go through the detail and you are expected to be very critical.
Critical
Over the years, I’ve sat in a studio and said ‘That’s the wrong team selection, this or that wasn’t right’.
And the next time I saw
Steve Bruce, Bryan Robson, or Graeme himself, they pulled me and said ‘What are you saying that for? The last thing I need is one of our own digging me out’.
I’ve had phone calls, awkward confrontations. Believe me, if you step out of line, a manager is quick to let you know.
But if you want to succeed in the media, you’ve got to say it as you see it. You can’t say something was good when it wasn’t. You’ll look stupid.
It’s a fine line, and it’s always in the back of your mind that you shouldn’t go too far. But whether you’re a pundit, a player or a manager, you’ve got to be honest and you’ve got to be fair to the other side.
It’s the classic thing of walking a mile in someone’s shoes. It’s easy to go ‘That was poor, he should have done this, he should have done that’. But it’s like Boris Johnson. Everyone has a go, but if we were in his situation would we make better decisions? Or is the situation just so tough that it’s impossible.
Be honest, look at things from both sides and you can’t go too far wrong. And always remember the whole thing works on trust. Break that, and it isn’t coming back.
● John Salako is an ambassador for My Club Group, who provide goods and services to help grassroots sport clubs survive, revive and thrive. www.myclubgroup.co.uk
PAUL Warne has told his Rotherham players they must start taking their chances following their damaging home defeat to Reading.
The Millers are now five points adrift of safety and are on a losing run of five games ahead of a crunch short trip to Hillsborough to face relegation rivals Sheffield Wednesday in midweek.
Defender Michael Morrison netted the winner at the second time of asking from Omar Richards’ cross.
His initial effort was kept out by Viktor Johansson but the rebound came back to him and his second was deemed to have crossed the line.
Reading had chances to make the points safe but both Alfa Semedo and Lucas Joao should have done better with good opportunities from close range.
Rotherham’s best hopes of an equaliser looked like coming from long range, but their shooting was wayward, with frontmen Michael Smith and Freddie Ladapo both off target.
The big scare for the visitors came in added time when Ben Wiles’ effort from the edge of the box was deflected just wide of a post.
With the successive defeats all being by a single goal, Warne knows the fine margins are hurting his side’s chances of survival.
Warne said: “I think against a good Reading team, we created enough to get something out of it. But you’re judged by your two boxes and we just weren’t good enough in the final third.
“I was just waiting for the net to ripple. Lady luck has eluded us with the deflected shot. We had to change our shape which was a massive blow but, all in all, that’s five defeats on the spin all by a single goal.
“We have to dig in and fight for survival but I just don’t think we are taking our chances in the final third. We didn’t do enough to come away with anything.
“We are creating chances, we’re just not taking them. We now have got 15 absolute fights ahead of us to stay up.” Rotherham made a bright start to the second half with Ladapo heading over from Matt Crooks’s cross.
A scrappy second half was suiting Reading, who looked to catch Rotherham on the counter, dangerman Joao led one attack but he made a mess of a chipped effort after breaking clear.
The ball fell kindly to
Rotherham loanee Wing at the edge of the box but he skied the ball high and wide.
The home side were largely being restricted to efforts from distance and Smith was the next to take aim, but again could not trouble Rafael Cabral.
Reading manager Veljko Paunovic was relieved to get their promotion push back under way after a patchy run saw them claim just one win in the previous six.
He said: “I am very happy with the result and the performance, too. The way we played against a team with a peculiar style. It was very hard for us.
“Winning today gives us an important boost and a chance to build new momentum. This was probably the toughest game for me since becoming Reading manager.”
BARNSLEY head coach Valerien Ismael praised his side’s mentality after they beat Millwall, with goals from Cauley Woodrow and Michal Helik giving the Tykes their fifth win in a row.
Mason Bennett had levelled for Millwall after just six minutes, before Helik won it for the Reds and Ismael said: “Congratulations to the guys for the performance and the mentality on the pitch.
“It was a tough game – it was exactly as we expected against Millwall. We were prepared for the direct game. That’s why we put a lot of bodies and physicality on the starting XI today, to compete at that level.
“I think we started very well and we scored quickly. To concede the goal was really poor. There was a concentration failure.
“After that it was a fight and a 50/50 situation in the game. In the second half we made a tactical change to have more pace behind.
“Today was a great team effort. To show a desire to keep moving and stay on the winning way.
“For sure, it was another game and it was another fight, but we did it and we won and it’s a great feeling tonight.”
Woodrow put the hosts ahead in only the second minute, stabbing the ball in from close range after Alex Mowatt’s free-kick into the area caused problems for the Millwall defence.
A swift counter-attack resulted in Millwall levelling four minutes later, Jed Wallace setting up Bennett who slotted low past Brad Collins from the edge of the box.
Barnsley’s Carlton Morris forced his way into the area and Shaun Hutchinson did well to make an important block that saw the striker’s deflected effort tipped over by Bartosz Bialkowski.
Collins made a comfortable save after Bennett met a Shaun Williams cross with a header.
Bialkowski was then called into action at the other end, tipping over Mowatt’s free-kick and also keeping out an effort from Woodrow.
Helik struck the winner in the 59th minute, blasting a closerange volley into the roof of the net.
Millwall had a chance to draw level in the 73rd minute when Bennett found himself with just the keeper to beat, but he fired over.
Lions manager Gary Rowett said: “I thought it was a very close game. I thought we were the better side in the first half and they were probably the better side in the second half.
“We started poorly and two moments in the game undid us. It’s two set-pieces – the second one a second phase – and for both goals we don’t win the first ball and then we don’t react to the second ball.
“The first goal is offside. I’m not going to massively complain about it, but it’s a clear offside and I think the linesman should certainly be able to see that.
“After the goal, we settled well. They are really direct. They’re probably the most direct side that I’ve seen in the Championship. They’re good at it.
“It’s the Championship and you’ve don’t always get what you feel sometimes you deserve.”
MARK Robins says his “outstanding” Coventry side deserved to win after fighting back to draw at Blackburn, despite being down to ten men.
Ben Brereton’s first-time finish in the 27th minute was cancelled out by Matty James’ first goal since March 2017, with Leo Ostigard seeing red late on for the Sky Blues.
Robins wasn’t happy with the nature of the goal conceded, but felt his “outstanding” side “deserved” to win.
He said: “I’ve got to be happy with it. I wasn’t really in the first half. We started brightly, controlled the game, they didn’t have anything in terms of attacking in the first 25 minutes. And then, for whatever inexplicable reason, we start giving the ball away and they’ve got real quality players in the final third.
“We moved the ball better when we had it in the second half, we had more of a purpose, certainly without the ball, and away from home we have to do that because our away form hasn’t been good enough. We deserved to win, the lads were outstanding.”
The visitors were fastest out of the blocks and Sam McCallum’s fizzing left-wing cross in the first minute deceived Thomas Kaminski, who was saved by the woodwork, and the same player was given time and space 10 minutes later, but dragged wide.
Jordan Shipley fired over from 20 yards as the Sky Blues looked to capitalise on Blackburn’s fragile confidence.
They didn’t manage to do so and were made to pay in the 27th minute when Ryan Nyambe’s cross was missed by Dominic Hyam and the ball fell invitingly to Brereton, who thundered into the left corner from 12 yards.
Rovers had two chances in the final minutes of the half. First, an audacious Barry Douglas free-kick cannoned off a post and, in injury time, the hosts broke at pace and Harvey Elliott released Adam Armstrong, who was denied by a smart Ben Wilson save.
The Sky Blues started the second half in the same vein as the first, but were rewarded this time as McCallum’s deep cross was headed back across goal by Tyler Walker and James pounced six yards out to hook it into the far corner.
Blackburn looked the most likely to snatch a winner as the game entered its latter stages and they were giving a helping hand when Ostigard’s pull-back on Armstrong earned him a second yellow.
Rovers avoided a sixth consecutive defeat, but have won just two in eight at Ewood Park. Boss Tony Mowbray was disappointed at the “poor” defending for the equaliser.
He said: “We started poorly, they started really hot for 15 minutes. We grappled the game away from them in the first half, came on pretty strong and scored a good goal.
“It would have been nice to have scored a second. But we got undone by some poor defending, a long punt from the keeper. The worst thing that could have happened was them having a man sent off because they sit in a line of five, drop their midfield in and nullify the space.”