MCFCforum talks to Neil Ashton

Tabloid journalists, huh? It’s a job that has to be done, and readers crave to know what they know, but yet at the same time, these journalists receive so much abuse from football fans the World-over, because of what they write, essentially because they disagree with it. Well, today, maybe we can learn a few things from one of the most prominent in the business, as we are very proud to bring you our conversation with Neil Ashton of the News Of The World. 
NB: This interview was conducted last season, but was not available on our new site to read until today.

Firstly, here’s what Neil had to say about himself:

I’m currently the chief football correspondent at the News of the World. Before that I spent four years with the Daily Mail, and four with the Sunday People.

I wanted to write about football from the moment I realised I wasn’t going to be a professional footballer (which I can assure you was a very young age), and I’m still as passionate about it.

I love the game as much as you guys, I still wake up on matchday with the same excitement I did as a kid following my team around the country.

It really doesn’t matter whether it’s a Champions League semi-final between Manchester United and Bayern Munich or Fulham v Bolton – the buzz is always the same.

Many of your questions relate to the credibility of stories in newspapers ie are they true? Well, I can tell you that nothing hurts more than when a story is inaccurate.

When most people make a mistake at work, in the office, etc, maybe only a handful of people find out about it. When I make an error, potentially millions of people become aware of it and it’s often embarrassing.

Life can be insufferable for a few days, sometimes longer, but it’s also a reality check, a little professional reminder that I’m still a long, long way off perfection.

As for the future of newspapers, I’m convinced that the quality of writing and the stories must improve in order to retain circulation and also to be distinctive from other mediums such as websites, blogs, forums etc.

The following are the opinions of Neil Ashton, and do not reflect those of the News of the World:

MCFCforum.com: During the off-season, so many like to speculate as to who is going where and for how much; why is it that time and time again, so many journalists are so far off the mark?
Neil Ashton (NA): I accept that if I write “Fernando Torres will sign for Manchester City today”, then he has to sign that day. However, if my information is that City have an interest in him, then where’s the damage, provided it is correct, writing about that interest? Clubs are fond of compiling “lists” of players, according to certain criteria including transfer fee, salary, age, nationality, personality etc. It’s my job to find out who are on those lists, which are often varied and fluid, especially as clubs now have so many staff. Aside from the manager at City, the club employ technical director Mike Rigg, chief exec Garry Cook, football administrator Brian Marwood, chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak, along with various preferred agents – all of them being offered different players by different clubs/agents, especially during the summer and also in January. That’s a lot of potential signings, and that’s just one club.

MCFCforum.com: Do you feel that sports-writers, let their own bias dictate what they write/report?
NA: I’m not so sure about “bias”, but certainly opinion. It’s my job as the News of the World’s chief football correspondent to analyse and my opinions have been shaped over the years by my experiences in the job. I don’t ask anyone to agree with them, but if I have a particular argument I always try to reason/justify it. My job is to inform, to provide a greater understanding of a situation so that readers can judge for themselves.

MCFCforum.com: Misleading and deceiving headlines, that have nothing to do with the actual story; I understand it is all about capturing people’s low-attention spans, but why are they used so often?
NA: Headlines have to be eye-catching, they need to tell a story in a word sometimes, or maybe two or three. That limits choice and space is also at a premium. There are some brilliant production journalists in newspaper offices writing headlines at great speed and under tight deadlines. It’s rare at the top end of the newspaper industry for a headline to take a story out of context, but I accept it can happen.

MCFCforum.com: Further on from that, articles often lead with such-and-such a player said ” … “, yet when it comes to the actual quotes, it was nothing of the sort. Why does this happen?
NA: It’s often open to interpretation. Being in the presence of the person being interviewed, such as a player/manager, gives a sense of perspective – facial expressions and mood are all things the reader cannot see. A classic example was John Terry at the World Cup and his comment: “If the manager doesn’t like what I have to say then so be it.” It did not need much imagination.

MCFCforum.com: Who is, in your estimation, the best sports journalist today?
NA: That’s a tough one. I fall out with enough people in the game, I’d probably cause a riot if I answered this.

MCFCforum.com: Do you believe that sports journalists should be held accountable for wild accusations they may make – not slightly off the mark articles, but ones that are so far removed from the truth that it isn’t funny?
NA: Definitely. I’m all for improving standards, including my own. I work at the sharp-end, at the coal face of our industry – there are times when information is, unwittingly or unknowingly, inaccurate. It’s a hazard of the job, but the aim is always to reduce the risk by using more reliable contacts providing better information. There is also a grievance procedure, ranging from the old-fashioned bollocking, taking the objection to the Press Complaints Commission or even legal recourse.

MCFCforum.com: I am of the belief that writers should report the news, as opposed to creating it; what is your stance on this?
NA: I prefer to think of it as “finding the news”. It’s always out there, sometimes it just takes an awful lot of phone calls. Someone, somewhere always knows something.

MCFCforum.com: Do you ever eat any of the croissants on offer on The Sunday Supplement?
NA: Ha, yes, but I always worry about the pastry getting stuck in my teeth just as Brian Woolnough is saying “Let’s go to Neil Ashton…”

MCFCforum.com: How did you get into journalism? (Age first wanted to, first big break?)
NA: It’s all I ever wanted to do. I dreamed of being The Sun’s chief football writer, living vicariously through their reporters in the Eighties, devouring every written word and trying to read their minds to work out just how they did a job I was so determined to do myself. My first big break was a chance meeting with the Daily Mail’s Matt Lawton – he straightened me out (or so he keeps telling me).

MCFCforum.com: Most journalists follow a policy of not revealing who they support. Are you sticking to this or can you reveal your teams colours? (maybe even just a clue)
NA: I’m a Palace fan and I still haven’t forgotten Eric Nixon punching Mark Bright at Maine Road in the mid-Eighties (or the result).

MCFCforum.com: If you were Roberto Mancini, who would you sign to improve City’s team to transform them from 5th place to top 4?
NA: Fantasy signing has to be Iniesta or Xavi, or preferably both.

MCFCforum.com: Yesterday you reported: “Manchester City have thrown Stephen Ireland, Nedum Onuoha and Michael Johnson into the package as part of a plan to sign Mikel Arteta.” Is this speculation, or do you have insider information? What makes your assertions any more accurate than the average football fan?
NA: It’s always information from people I rely on and almost always from within the game. People can’t keep secrets and that’s never more apparent or evident than in football.

MCFCforum.com: Do you think Mancini has embarked on signing Spanish countrymen Silva and Arteta as a lure to attract his marquee signing, Fernando Torres? Has Torre’s valuation diminished from his agent’s figure of £70M since his poor showing at the World Cup, injury problems, and lack of viable suitors? How much do you think he will sell for?
NA: I’m staggered Torres is talked about for £70m – he spends too much time injured, although he is an exceptional finisher. His goal against Blackburn on the edge of the area in 2008/09 is one of the best I’ve seen in the Premier League.

MCFCforum.com: Do you think the Germans had an unfair advantage at the World Cup by having played Bundesliga football for a number of months with the controversial Jabulani football? Why on earth did the Premier League not use that ball last season? Do you think the Germans had insider information that this particular ball would take some getting used to?
NA: No, it’s too easy to use the Jabulani as an excuse. Players can adapt and there haven’t been too many complaints from the most aesthetically pleasing team of the World Cup, Spain.

MCFCforum.com: Are Manchester City ruining football?
NA: That process started long before Manchester City began their spending pattern. The frightening greed counter-balances everything that is good about the game.

MCFCforum.com: Is there really an anti-City agenda in the media? We often use it as a catchphrase in our community because of so many negative articles written about City’s attempts to break into the top-4, as if we have never been a winning club, but is it really substantial? Do we just not have enough City fans writing articles?
NA: If it exists then it is not anti-City, more about what the club currently stands for – it changed at a stroke. I reported on the team when they were in the third tier of English football, playing Millwall and Stockport at Maine Road and there’s a certain amount of nostalgia attached to that, a team packed with honest professionals such as Kevin Horlock and Andy Morrison. I can’t see people feeling that way about the current City squad in ten years’ time.

MCFCforum.com: Where do you see City in 5 years? Do you think City will remain a ‘Manchester’ team because of the far reach of Manchester United? Or do you expect the worldwide spread of City to lose the soul of Manchester, in the way that United has simply become a brand and not a local fan’s HOME team?
NA: Despite the spending, I’d like to see the supporters who have been through the tough times remain the heartbeat of the club. They will still support the team, whether Sheikh Mansour is there or not and that will be admired in years to come.

MCFCforum.com: What’s more important in the media world: Quantity, or quality articles? Sites like Goal.com focus on regurgitating, whereas NotW at least writes original articles. Which approach has a better pay off?
NA: Quality. There is no professional pride or satisfaction from ripping off other people’s stories.

MCFCforum.com: How can our site become a better informational site regarding City news? Can a fan-based news/talk site ever hope to become as big as a typical newspaper website?
NA: The only way is to have better contacts within the club, but they will argue that the official website already does the job. As for a supporter’s competing with a newspaper, it will take a lot of money through advertising revenue to bring in people capable of challenging huge newspaper organisations.

MCFCforum.com: Neil, I always love hearing you on World Football Daily, especially your recent segment on the England team. Given the firestorm of media pressure around that team, how as a newspaperman do you look to positively influence the situation in the years to come, particularly given that Capello apparently wants to bring in the new young talent? Can England ever get out from under the madness surrounding it?
NA: The media will have to respond by giving young players time and grace. Personally I’d forget about Euro 2012 with the current squad and instead strike out long-term for Brazil 2014. Following the national team becomes an obsession, with reporters desperate for the team to succeed. When they fall so spectacularly short, as they did at the World Cup, the reaction is a result of the country’s expectations. Remember, Capello’s target was the World Cup final itself. That’s a demand, the media’s target was a dream.

MCFCforum.com: Is it really that beneficial to a newspaper to pay players and managers to write a weekly column? Sure, they should have footballing knowledge, but can it not at times become a conflict of interests (how can a newspaper condemn someone on their books, for example?), or indeed give them a large platform to speak from, where they can put forward their own self-issues?
NA: Provided the columnists are insightful and express their personalities, they can add value to a newspaper’s coverage.

MCFCforum.com: Given the chance, would you prefer to write for any of the broad-sheets, as opposed to a tabloid?
NA: I don’t have any particular preference. I read all of them every day and both have their strengths and weaknesses.

MCFCforum.com: Neil, where do you think Rooney will be when Fergie retires? Is Rooney one to go down with the sinking ship or is he gonna hop off to Madrid like so many before him?
NA: He’s a United player through and through. Provided United remain successful, competing for the Premier League and Champions League, I’m sure he will stay at Old Trafford.

MCFCforum.com: Can you shed light on who exactly told you what was in Yaya Toure’s contract. Its a genuine question and one I am dying to find out. If you cannot explain or give that answer, why did you make it up?
NA: As with most sensitive stories, there is usually far more information left out, usually for tactical or legal reasons. I work on a 50:50 principle with most “big” stories: 50 per cent of the detail goes in, 50 per cent is left out.

A massive thank-you to Neil, who didn’t duck away from any questions, and a special thank-you for him tweeting about this Q&A on his Twitter page http://twitter.com/neilashton_notw

Additionally, a big thank-you to bluemooner_mcfc for setting this up for us.