Is it just me or are the quotes we read in the papers attributed to Stevie Frail on a seemingly daily basis just getting more and more tiresome?
To be to fair to Frail, I suppose it’s the guy’s job to go and speak to the media and give them something even when there’s nothing of any real interest to talk about. He’s also not really got the personality to give them much more than a low-key account of what’s been happening, so it’s difficult to criticise him for it.
But then on reflecton, it’s also the media’s job to create stories when there are none isn’t it? And they get a hell of a battering if they start printing any old nonsense that’s completely insubstantiated
don’t they (like some we know do on a regular basis!), so all they can really do is quote Frail and try and write something around it that may or may not grab some people’s attention. Very difficult job.
No wonder people in the media world love characters. People like Jose Mourinho and Alex Ferguson are always good value and liable to say something controversial, and going back over the years we’ve seen people on both sides of the border providing wonderful entertainment even at the quietest of times.
Just think about some of the quotes we’ve seen from the likes of Ron Atkinson, Kevin Keegan, Graeme Souness and even Gordon Strachan in fairly recent years – at one stage with the likes of Strachan it was practically ‘rent-a-quote’ wasn’t it? And while we’re talking in those terms, we can’t exactly ignore two men who’ll be very familiar to Hearts fans, namely our esteemed owner Mr Romanov and one of his predecessors, the late Wallace Mercer. A lot of VR’s quotes can be taken a multitude of different ways due to translation difficulties and media spin, but Mercer was always good value wasn’t he? Even if it was the biggest load of old cobblers he was coming out with (and it frequently was), people would still be interested in what he had to say, and that is, as they say, the difference!
People tend to slate these guys for being arrogant or what not, but at least they have something about them. I would love to see someone of the personality of Atkinson or Keegan in the manager’s job at Tynecastle, if only to make things a bit more interesting even when there wasn’t an awful lot going on. Hearts are crying out for someone who can bring a bit of the feel-good factor back to the club, along with helping to rid the place of the considerable apathy that’s been slowly setting in.
Will it happen? Hmm…….
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Must admit, I am getting a bit sick of the same old tired rubbish coming out of Frail’s mouth. I understand the need to keep fans informed, and also for the papers to continue to print something, but it’s time he and the players just did their talking on the pitch & only have press conferences when there’s something worthwhile to report. If I hear another word from him about giving Elliot or Miko a chance for example, I swear I’ll throw something at him at the next home game.
Same old same old. I really think he needs to shut up. We all know he needs more from the team and the sad fact he isn’t going to get it out of them. I’m with Stockport Jambo on the Elliott front here… Honestly the guy is useless, okay I know that sounds rough but Elliott is not the sort of player Hearts need to improve. If Hearts have any ambition they need to be bringing in, or through the youth ranks better players and try to hold onto them. The less said about Miko the better.
I know what you’re saying guys … but surely this is actually Hearts own fault ? The Hearts News service (via the website and WAP service) is the one which seems to hold Press Conferences on a daily basis – thats a policy decision, taken on the back of Vladimir’s dislike of the Scottish press, to have a direct communication with the fans through this service. So its little wonder we see Frail and some players “stating the obvious” in website articles – which are then carried word-for-word into the newspapers and Talk 107 etc. So in an effort to keep the fans informed through a “friendly” media, it has rather backfired against the current backdrop of under-performing players. One solution might be to stop having a DAILY press briefing… 3 times a week is enough, surely ? As for Elliot … it is actually a bit ironic that when the fax machine was picking the team, the fans reckoned that Miko must be Vlad’s “love-Child”. Now that Frail is picking the team, it seems like Calum could be Frail’s “love-child” – although not getting picked every game, the manager keeps harping on about what a good player he is.
Maybe we haven’t seen the best of Elliott. But I feel is he not the future of the club if, and this is an important if, Hearts are going to try and challenge the OF. Good point about the news service though sir. I suspect I would use all the usual cliches if I were dumped in front of a camera as much as Frail is. After all it is a game of two halves.
All these love-children….perhaps Tynecastle is a much closer unit than we thought!
I’d keep yer hands off Romanov’s niece though if I were you… 😉