Prepare to be ‘baffled’ by FA’s ludicrous reason for Howe ‘snub’ as White words twisted

England did not ‘snub’ Eddie Howe; they decided not to pursue a managerial candidate they could not afford. And that is apparently ‘baffling’.

No Hope
The good news is that the Premier League is almost back, so the England manager nonsense can subside soon enough. The bad news is that a) there is another international break next month, complete with a poppy discourse already laborious enough without a GERMAN being involved, and b) Friday is the last day the media can drag all this out for so they absolutely will.

Not content with simply asking every single Premier League manager their thoughts on the situation so Sky Sports can chop it up into a neat little press conference montage with Gary Cotterill rocking up to one with a stein and full lederhosen, there is still more back-page space available to offer the FA outside for an actual fight.

‘Howe was not even on England shortlist’ is the offering from the Daily Mail, with respected Newcastle journalist Craig Hope filling us in. ‘FA snub to Newcastle manager before they plumped for Tuchel,’ says the standfirst, leaving little doubt: England rejected Howe in favour of appointing GERMAN Thomas Tuchel. That is the only possible read here.

‘Eddie Howe was not among the 10 candidates the FA say they interviewed for the England job – because they could not afford him.’

So it’s a ‘snub’ in the same way Mediawatch ‘snubs’ buying a Ferrari or 427-bedroom mansion. Which is to say it’s not a ‘snub’. The FA decided that their recruitment process probably shouldn’t involve someone they knew they ‘couldn’t afford’.

‘The FA were put off by the compensation payment that would have been required to release the 46-year-old from his contract.’

In a story designed to make the world point, laugh and shake their head at yet more FA incompetence, it is difficult to do much more than shrug at the mundanity of an organisation not considering employing someone they knew was too expensive.

‘Those leading the search were aware of the likely figure of £6million early in the process, so there was no further contact.’

So it’s even more boring and understandable a decision. The FA were well-informed as to the value of the release clause they would have had to pay and so they decided to waste no time in pursuing a manager employed by a Premier League club with essentially unlimited funds. Indeed, they went for a free agent instead. That feels like neither a coincidence nor a strange thing to do.

‘But given Howe was widely considered the outstanding English candidate, it is baffling the FA did not even attempt to enter talks with Newcastle, especially when sporting director Paul Mitchell appeared to leave the door open.’

You mean in that interview when Mitchell said “we want Eddie Howe as our head coach for as long as we can”, and reported interest from England was merely “a really good practitioner being recognised for what he’s done”? That ‘door’ is barely ajar.

And ‘baffling’ is an absolute nonsense. Just take a second to imagine the headlines if the FA, knowing Howe’s release clause, still asked to speak to him or Newcastle. It is delusional to think they would not have been crucified for wasting time chasing an unattainable candidate.

But no, ‘for that resolve not to be tested by the FA will leave many in the game scratching their heads’.

Mediawatch is certainly confused, but only by how the Mail have set about the world’s easiest task of making the FA look stupid and amateurish, and succeeded only in making it look like the FA knows precisely what its doing.

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A mother’s instinct
It would be nice to move on from the Tuchel stuff as soon as possible but this line from the Daily Mirror‘s exclusive chat with the GERMAN’s mum is too good to ignore:

‘Asked if our first ever German boss can win the World Cup for England, she told the Mirror: “He can do it, I am convinced of that.”

Weird that she didn’t say he’s awful, England have no chance of winning the World Cup under him and she’d rather the FA have appointed an Englishman instead.

The White stuff
The back page of The Sun leads on Sean Dyche questioning whether the role of England manager is really a “dream” job – which seems to be dressed up as some sort of dig at Tuchel rather than a point about how deeply unforgiving and grim a professional life it can be – but buried elsewhere are some quotes from Ben White.

And quotes from Ben White are valuable, because few players rile people up quite like Ben White. The only frustration in the media must be that the massive turncoat didn’t discuss England and how much of a massive turncoat he is, the massive turncoat.

But this will do, says Ken Lawrence:

‘Ben White insists he is one of the most UNPROFESSIONAL players at Arsenal – despite his superb appearance record.’

It seems a strange thing for a player to say, never mind for them to ‘insist’. Did the interviewer suggest that William Saliba must be quite lax before White corrected them? Let’s look at the quote:

“If you were to ask anyone at the club, ‘Who is the most professional?’ It wouldn’t be me.”

His argument amounts to not taking ice baths or stretching. But that isn’t the key point here. It might seem remarkably pedantic – surely not from Mediawatch?! – but saying ‘I’m not the most professional player here’ is absolutely not the same as ‘insisting’ that ‘I’m one of the most UNPROFESSIONAL players here’.

It’s a relatively small but very important difference and more than a slight twisting of words. And for as long as the erroneous idea persists in big 2024 that White ‘hates’ football purely because he doesn’t watch it in his free time, it feels like The Sun have simply taken the opportunity to try and stir up some controversy by playing up to that narrative.

READ NEXT: Arsenal fan shouts at Howard Webb hypocrisy as England manager debate rages on

The long Con
”That’s me done here’ – Conor Bradley makes Liverpool admission as new challenge emerges’ – Liverpool Echo.

‘Liverpool ace Conor Bradley makes honest transfer admission – ‘That’s me done here” – Daily Mirror website.

How unfortunate that those headlines make it sound as though Bradley is leaving Liverpool and do not quite reflect the way he spoke candidly of how being sent out on loan as a teenager made him feel two and a half years ago. Must be a mistake (coincidentally made by two Reach publications during a massive panic over traffic).