Garth Crooks selects two Newcastle players in his TotW and fails to actually praise either of them

 · April 16 2024, 10:59
Garth Crooks selects two Newcastle players in his TotW and fails to actually praise either of them
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After Newcastle United demolished Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday the players then went down to the BBC offices and flipped off every member of staff. Or at least you'd think so given the BBC's coverage of the game.

Match of the Day was an embarrassing affair, spending the entire analysis time criticising Tottenham and not once actually praising Newcastle for executing their game plan to perfection.

Now Garth Crooks has managed to pick two Newcastle players in his Team of the Week without actually giving either of them a lick of praise in his write-up.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but shouldn't the Team of the Week be about celebrating players who did well?

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At least he picked Newcastle players

Prepare thyself for intense bitterness

We know Garth is a Spurs man, and that's fine, but could he at least have done his job objectively? The write-ups for Fabian Schar and Alexander Isak make no mention of how well they played. Schar's in particular was just a rant about referees. Do your job, Garth! Also - A goal and two assists by Anthony Gordon and he's not in your team? Have a word.

Look at what he's had to say:

"Fabian Schar (Newcastle): Fabian Schar should have been booked in the first few minutes against Tottenham for his tackle on Son Heung-min and so should Dan Burn for pulling back James Maddison. If referees are going to be lenient in the opening exchanges, and I detect more officials are giving players a little latitude, it should not be for deliberate or premeditated offences.

"Let's not go back to the days when it was accepted a defender could have a free hit at a striker and the official would turn a blind eye. Having said that, the fixture was never in doubt once Newcastle realised that their visitors were never up for the battle. This was a poor show by Tottenham but an impressive performance in the end by Newcastle.

"From his very first tackle, Schar was determined to leave an impression on the game and he did just that."
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The BBC are an actual embarrassment

That last line about Schar wasn't feint praise either, it was another moan about him not being booked. Things didn't get much better when he wrote about Isak.

"Alexander Isak (Newcastle): Spurs were 3-0 down in less than 60 minutes. If ever there was a case of a team showing how desperately inconsistent they are, then Tottenham's performance at St James' Park was it.

"The normally impressive Micky van de Ven looked like he was playing on skis, while James Maddison seem to go through the entire match as if the scoreline didn't matter, oblivious of the fact that his team were fighting for a Champions League spot, and getting hammered.

"Newcastle's Alexander Isak took complete advantage of Tottenham's failings with two well-taken goals, and with a bit of luck the Sweden international might have had a third. Tottenham have increased their ticket prices for next season. With a Champions League spot looking increasingly unlikely as the season draws towards a close, can anyone offer a justification?"

What have Tottenham's ticket prices got to do with Alexander Isak's two goals, please? And where in there, other than acknowledging the fact that he scored twice, was there any mention of his outstanding performance?

It's almost as if someone told him he had to pick at least two Newcastle players in his team and he really didn't want to, so he spat his dummy out, included them but wrote this tripe to go with it.

Just more 'big-six' bias embarrassment from the BBC.

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