Have we heard the last of all the Coloccini cobblers now?
Posted on January 26th, 2013 | 83 Comments |
While there is no doubt that the player is having personal problems at the moment, that he made a request to go back and join his family in Argentina, and that one of his previous clubs, San Lorenzo (where Coloccini’s father Osvaldo works as a youth coach) tried to take advantage of the player’s personal problems by making an audacious attempt to sign the player for free, and finally that the situation has now been resolved until the end of this season at least, there have been other things have been repeated as facts in the media which were completely unsubstantiated.
Is this just the usual dishonest media tripe? Or was a “deep throat” who was party to the negotiations leaking information?
One example without a byeline in the Daily Express confidentally proclaimed:
“Newcastle skipper Fabricio Coloccini will not be joining Argentine outfit San Lorenzo but has left St James’ Park to return home to Argentina. The 31-year-old captain has reportedly told Newcastle officials he does not want to play another game for the club.”
The title of that piece was “FABRICIO COLOCCINI ‘REFUSES TO PLAY ANOTHER GAME FOR NEWCASTLE UNITED'”
A few hours after the piece was published, Coloccini turned up for training at Newcastle United’s Benton training ground as usual. However, you might notice that the “refuses to play another game for Newcastle United” was sandwiched between inverted commas as if to suggest it was a quote, and yet the piece itself had nothing whatsoever to substantiate it’s claims.
Another one by one the Independent’s Martin Hardy, who has been the main instigator of the recent Coloccini fairytales was titled “Mike Ashley threat of court action if Fabricio Coloccini quits St James” and yet once again there was absolutely nothing in the piece itself to substantiate the claim of the title or anything that follows. The piece began:
“Fabricio Coloccini has been informed he will face legal action if he carries out his threat to walk out of Newcastle during the transfer window.
“Coloccini told Newcastle officials on Wednesday he would not play for the club again after prolonged talks to broker a solution to his desire to leave this month had broken down…”
It continued later:
“Newcastle executives, backed by club owner Mike Ashley, have warned the player that any breach of his contract will lead to a legal fight, and their position is strong, given that Coloccini signed a new, four-year contract last year to extend his time in the North-east.
“In recent months Coloccini has sought to return to his native country for personal reasons, and had hoped his current club would take that into consideration, and allow him to return to Argentina, where his wife is believed to have headed.
“However, Newcastle and Ashley have stood firm in their position that they would not allow the player to leave on a cheap deal and have told the player it will cost him £7m to buy out his contract.”
So he claims to have intimate knowledge on the subject, yet he doesn’t even know for certain whether Coloccini’s wife is in Argentina or not? Howay man! Not all Geordies are that daft.
Which leaves the qustion, could certain pieces of information about the negotiations have come from some kind of informant who was a party to the negotiations? Someone like Coloccini, his agent, or someone who was working on the “other side” of the negotiations like the club’s Managing Director, Derek Llambias, or one of his agents? Bearing in mind the way it portrays Coloccini himself, as petulant and willing to walk out on his responsibilities at the club it would be highly unlikely to be the former. Though sadly, if indeed someone from the club’s hierarchy leaked this information, it wouldn’t have been for the first time the club have circulated smear stories to the media since it has been under the ownership of Mike Ashley.
Whatever happened and whatever the motives, perhaps the most striking thing is the way such stories are still believed as fact so easily by so many with no substantiation whatsoever, despite the real fact that so many so called “journalists” have lied so many times for so long in the past in order to titillate.
Coloccini’s letter to San Lorenzo translated.
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Telegraph reporting NUFC have bid £12million for Wilifred Bony!
He would be a fantastic striker 2 bring in, absolute beast!