Watford Observer v WD Sport

WD were the first to tell us that a club source had informed them that the Iturbe deal was not as done as the Italian stes were saying.

A lot of insanely excited forum members, some of whom seemed to consider Di Monkeyfekkinbrain as an official club sorce, accused them of making it up, and got very upset. When it turned out the club source was correct, a lot of people, embarrassed at being taken in by Di Monkeyfekker, and having declared WD as certified ****s, lacked the the grace to simply say "fair cop, WD's source was right, and blamed them for all the worlds wrongs.

It is fekking incredible that fans criticise the only news source that had the nuts to say, fairly, that there may be a problem with this rumoured transfer.

I'm not saying people can't say it; everyone is entitled to their opinion. Just that it is incredibly naive of them choosing to do so.

 

Di Marzio is usually spot on and I'm not entirely sure what he's supposed to have done wrong here. He reported we were in for Iturbe which we were and that he had a medical, which he did. Then he said Bournemouth were in for him, which they were. Obviously WD Sport have a contact inside the club which Di Marzio probably doesn't have the luxury of. The name Watford meant nothing to him a few years ago yet he still comes up with players we're interested in way before WD Sport so if it's alright with you I'll still be looking out for his updates on Watford during the transfer window.

 

WD Sport have some good stories, insights and features and they're usually quicker than the Wobbly to breaking news. It's just the incredibly smug, annoying tone every sentence is slathered with that makes it so infuriating to read. The Twitter feed is even worse. I really don't know why they do it as they could be a good, respected Watford news source if they just reported... Normally.

 

I agree with you about their tone.

They strike me as a YTS Eddie Howe,which a hint of Andrew Castle thrown in.

 

Since frank smith left the observer is puke-inducingly sycophantic, and produces articles with annoying pacing for 'impact'

These days every wobbly article is as follows:

Some managers would have demanded change. Someone would have demanded respect. Quique Flores demands one thing and one thing only: love.

Blah blah blah the club is great blah blah blah everybody is fantastic blah blah blah joy, miracles, unicorns. COYH

You don't need negativity, just some basic journalistic style rather than brown-nosing fanboy blabbering

 

Not criticising Di Monkeyfekker, only those that treated his information as if it was official club source. Remember, for a while the prefix was changed to 'confirmed' based on Italian posts and people were deriding WD for being crap fekkers who reported only pooh.

They are graceless in their entirety. But you have to admire their determination, given they then criticised WD for getting it right too.

I also think that people are mistaking confidence and old fashioned, properly sourced journalism for smugness. So many sites wildly state rubbish with only second hand or zero source to get the click, and their writing reflects this. WD generally give sources, and they demonstrate confidence in them. Not smug, just confidence.

WD are far from perfect, but their handling of the Iturbe story, imho, is not a good example to use when saying they are a load of poop.

 

Hilariously spot on

 

In all seriousness, if it annoys you that much, why do you still go on it? Noone forces you to. I'd be interested to hear because, personally, if something bothers me to that extent, I'd just stop looking at it.

 

I saw an article being tweeted, I read it, I didn't like it, it was the final straw, I haven't been back on WDSport since.

Thanks for your input though

 

Was it that article about the chip shop on Vicarage Road where they claimed that the batter in the Battered sausages wasn't quite batter?

 

Wi dn't sell battrd sawsg not halal m8.

 

It it wasn't actual batter what the hell was it?!



On second thoughts I think I'd rather not know

 

What's this WatfordTalk vs WD Sport thing all about on Twitter?

 

WT is clearly all about the playground humour and is riffing off the dislike people have for the smugness of WD sport lately and waving it in their face when they're wrong (just as they wave it in our when they're right)

 

The worst thing about WD Sport's coverage is that you just know Affleck thinks he's being amazingly clever and witty with comments like these on Holebas:

He probably gave himself the rest of the day off when he came up this those two little nuggets.

 

If dear Kevin understood English he would know that it is ready made, not readymade

 

My take on this for what it's worth:

I have for many years regarded the WO as a main source of usually well sourced and presented WFC news stories.

Recently, and especially since Frank Smith left, I get a feeling the Wobby is not the force it was, has lost insider club contacts and the grammar/spelling errors don't help - if you can't be bothered to check the copy what does if say about checking the story?

I'm not on the twittersphere /bloggerspere/facebook, so I quite enjoy the WDSport site as it gives timely newsbites and gossip which the WObby doesn't normally report.

The other main source of info (apart from the official club site) is this forum where I enjoy the banter and spectrum of views even if some threads go off track and get personal - amazing how feelings differ so much on stuff like players performances etc I wonder if I was watching the same game, which is what makes the forum work.

But the point is I don't have any axe to grind, so the 'smugness' and apparent point scoring that people see on WDS and get upset about usually goes over my head, which is fine for me as I just want the news.

I suspect there are many others who don't normally post on this site who would have a similar profile to me in terms of where they get their info.

So for me the WDS site is where I visit to get the latest as the one thing in their favour imo is they are on the ball for breaking news. The Wobby is not far behind and may give a different slant, then this forum gives the wildly differing extremes and banter that I look at several (many) times a day.

.. and my missus says I should stop wasting all my time on here and get a life ... :doom:

 

At the moment I tend to believe a little more from the WO, as they seem to report on the club where WD are coming across a little like ClubCall, full of speculation.

Both are good for the club, as long as they report facts and not fiction. Putting tasters out saying "News About Troy and Barcelona at 1pm" and then putting up a ridicules blog saying Barcelona haven't made an approach for Troy, is just cheap fishing to get people to visit their web site.

I also find with WD that they have their favourites at the moment and can't see past those players. Whether it is to try to get a handful of players on side to get an exclusive or a contact i don't know. The WO though have lost something in terms of relationship and credibility with the club since Frank Smith left.

 

Don't forget your daily update later guys about a footballer who was born in Watford playing against another footballer who played in Watford's academy a few years ago.

 

I did use to like WD they had a lot going for them with breaking stories quicker than elsewhere and clear insider knowledge.

However, the smugness and I told you so attitude is turning me right off. They have clear agendas over certain players (Jurado, Holebas & Adebayor spring to mind) whilst criticising anyone who disagrees or reminds them when they get it wrong.

 

I does seem to be much more of an opinion based outlet rather than just news. It's more like a fan site.

 

WD gained a lot of positive following because they sent people to cover the pre-season tour in Germany whereas the WO did not meaning WD were actually able to report real news. I suspect that as WD can sometimes get childish that any links WFC have with WD are informal but with the WO are more formal as they are an accredited local media outlet.

 

I think the club probably uses WD Sport for its own gain, like a puppet on a string.

With the Gueds deal, they probably wanted to keep it under wraps and told them that a deal wasn't happening.

With the Iturbe deal, questions about his temperament probably meant that they were cautious about giving fans false hope, and so the club told them that we rejected him (which is probably true considering the lack of rebuttal from Iturbe). From the top of my head, and I might be wrong, WD reported that the deal was far from done and was nowhere near as advanced as the media were reporting, and then he rocked up in Watford the next day. Whilst it eventually didn’t happen, such definite reporting (when we had a meeting arranged the next day) suggests that WD went in too strong, and were either unaware of the next days meeting, or told a different story by the club.

They clearly have a bit of help inside the club. But so have a few on this forum, Adam Leventhal, that DM reporter etc. As a journalist, you are meant to be consistently right, not gloat on the odd occasion that you actually are.

And the utter disregard for neutrality makes it more of an opinion piece page, not a news site.

 

That's all well and good but we haven't heard any updates on Sheffield Wednesday recently....and that's all Watford fans are interested in.

 

Spot on. But if you need updates on footgolf or news on some guy who's friend's brother once almost played in our academy, it's the place to be.

 

I like WD Sport and welcome all sites and sources of info about WFC. Sometimes there are things on there that I didn't know before.

However, I don't place as much credence in their stories as I do those of the Wobby.

Like the clock says:- Tells more, sells more...

 

Good summary. Agree completely.

 

What clock ?

- the one in the Red Lion?

 

BREAKING: Victor Ibarbo set to leave Watford in January - and you won't believe who the club are looking to replace him with! A must read for all Hornets fans! CLICK HERE: http://bit.ly/1VJev6R

 

Is it Balotelli?

 

Dammit, can't resist. Must click.

 

What clock indeed! According to this piece I found, it's in the Watford Museum, but not on permanent display. A great shame.




http://fromtherookeryend.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/wfc-in-100-objects-10-watford-observer.html


This pic is from the later time when they gave the away fans about a third of the rookery. You can see the barriers. Some good times in there and even though everyone migrated away to stand under the scoreboard, I always carried on going in the rookery. The wide open terraces were very nice for having a bit of a disco after we scored, in front of the howling away fans. Best times though were when it was our end and the away fans were in the corner up the other end.