WHY SAY ANYTHING?

In our constant crusade to bring internet football education to the masses, today we take a brief look at clickbait. What it is, what it does and what it means for you, the reader.

Todays headlines are all true. They could be described as softcore clickbait as they are designed to bring readers to our site rather than another. If they weren’t true, then they could be classed as hardcore clickbait.

In other words, hardcore clickbait is a deception. It is a lie to make people click on a webpage in order to increase the “visitor count” to that particular page. This, in turn, increases the revenue paid by advertisers who have their products displayed on that page.

“Mourinho Signs Messi” would be an example of hardcore clickbait whereby, on visiting the site the reader would very quickly discover that the statement was completely untrue. Obviously there are real examples and one, from not too long ago, was that United had signed a particular player. On reading the article in question the fact was that United were “reportedly” interested in signing the player. A big difference between what you see as a headline and what you then read when the truth is revealed.

Another example is this one from the Manchester Evening News. It could be argued that it falls somewhere between hard and soft core as there actually is a “response“, just not quite as described in the headline.

The reason that today’s three headlines are all true, even if a little exaggerated to make a point, is because Mourinho will, at some stage, leave Manchester United. Pep Guardiola, during the occasional game this season has been unhappy at how City have played and Jürgen Klopp is, again reportedly, being very slow to deny any interest in managing Bayern Münich, hence the question mark.

Hardcore clickbait is a despicable way to attract visitors to a website as it is downright lying. Fortunately, it will only cost a little time and nothing else but it is, basically, a way of obtaining money under false pretences for the owners.

Unfortunately, no action is likely to be taken against sites who adopt this method of attracting visitors because, from the point of view of the advertiser, “the more, the merrier”.

So if you see a headline and think, “wow! surely that can’t be true!!?” you are probably right and the best thing you can do is not visit the sight to have your belief confirmed as you will be playing right into the hands of the unscrupulous site owners.

Meanwhile…..

News is always scarce when there is an international injury window because players disappear all over the world to play in games which have little or no interest for the general footballing aficionado.

This causes the said supporters to suddenly “fix that hole in the roof” which they had been meaning to do for a while, or “take the kids to the park” to fulfill a promise made weeks earlier.

So imagine, if it is newsless and boring for the fans, what it must be like for those poor publications such as ourselves, whose very lifeblood is the club game and it’s monotonous, yet comforting, regularity.

Having to peddle such stuff as transfer rumours is, for a serious-minded outfit like WSA, a little like The Times suddenly reporting how “Freddie Starr ate my hamster”. But needs must and the show, as they say, must go on. Anyway, if it’s good enough for The Guardian to devote a daily column to, then who are we to argue?

You know it’s a quiet time of the season when…..

According to the aforementioned broadsheet Cristiano Ronaldo is, yet again, being linked with a return to Old Trafford. At the ripe old age of 33 he is reported to be open to the idea of going back to Manchester. Yawn number one out of the way.

Now for yawn number two. United are also interested in Gareth Bale. Bet you haven’t read that before! This is despite the fact that Ryan Giggs, now his boss at international level, has advised him to stay at Madrid and has also advised him on how to stay fit. We bet Bale wishes he had gotten to know Giggsy better a few years ago, what with all this free advice now flying around!

And finally…..

Arsenal, Spurs and Liverpool are all interested in signing Abdoualaye Doucouré from Watford so he’ll probably go abroad and Chelsea are favourites to sign 15 year-old Dutch wonder kid Jayden Braaf who is also arousing interest on both sides of Manchester, in Münich and in the east end of London.