Manchester United’s Portuguese winger Bébé has sustained a consistent attack from the Daily Mail since the player signed three weeks ago. For a senior pro the Mail’s campaign, a series of 15 almost universally critical articles, would represent unprovoked vitriol. Against the callow Bébé, it’s professionally aggressive.
While United supporters are well versed in negative media articles, the Mail’s campaign has been remarkably savage, deriding the 20-year-old, whose full name is Tiago Manuel Dias Correia, as a “dud” and his signature as a “blunder” by the club. This, almost certainly, without having seen the player perform live until last Friday’s début for Portugal Under-21s against the team’s English counterparts.
The series culminates – to date at least – with a write up of the match that makes unrecognisable reading for any supporter who actually watched. Bébé began quietly as a central striker, before performing brightly on the right-flank in the second half.
But that’s the conclusion, the series begins with a deeply misguided critique of the player by the Mail’s Ian Ladyman, after Bébé failed to appear in United reserves’ fixture against Manchester City on 24 August – less than a fortnight after his signature.
“New Manchester United signing Bebe’s impact in training has been so modest that the Portuguese forward was left out of the club’s reserve squad last night,” writes Ladyman, having failed to contact the club for an explanation. Or ignored it if one was given.
“The former Vitoria Guimaraes player is taking so much time to settle that United reserve team boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer decided not to include him in the 16-man squad to face local rivals Manchester City.”
Except Ladyman’s piece wasn’t even true, with Bébé given time to build his fitness and strength on the training ground before the club will expose the youngster to competitive football at any level. After all, the winger hasn’t appeared in a club game above the semi-professional Portuguese Third division in a short professional career.
Then came another astonishingly inaccurate piece in the Mail’s sports pages, claiming that United’s reserve team coach had left Bebé out of a training match and criticised the player’s progress.
It went further, stating that United’s supporters felt “disquiet” over the transfer. Unsurprisingly, the Mail failed to quote a single fan to support its assertion. Not that anybody at Rant towers suggests the editor put in a phone call just now.
Then the dénouement in crass misguided opinion, masked as factual journalism, with the Mail stating United had once against left Bebé out of a reserve team fixture, this time against Oldham Athletic’s second string. Strange then that the player was away with Portugal Under-21s while this supposed snub was taking place.
To compound the error the paper – in an article it has since pulled from its website to cover the embarrassment – the Mail blasted Bébé for failing to make United’s Champions League 25-man squad. He had. While several media outlets also made the same error, the paper failed to fact check its editorial by placing a 30 second phone call into United’s press office.
The paper then followed up this series with an ‘exposé’ on the transfer, claiming United failed to sign the player for a mere £125,000 last January, with his then club Estrela da Amadora struggling financially and keen to offload a star asset. Legitimate criticism perhaps, although United could have signed the player for free in July this year. Semantics.
Indeed, this is the real problem with the Mail’s series – instead of analysing the economics behind what is still a bizarre transfer, the paper chose to launch a campaign of personal and unprovoked attacks on a young player still trying to make his way in the game despite, not because of, a difficult childhood.
Why? Because United has banned at least one Mail journalist from the club’s Friday press conferences according to manager Sir Alex Ferguson.
Finally, Ladyman packed his bags and headed to Portugal to provide an insightful profile on the £7.4 million man. Far too little, too late. Many an observer might note that the Mail could have begun its coverage of Bebé’s arrival at Old Trafford this way. Despite the old adage to the contrary, the media is supposed to let the facts get in the way of a good story.
Perhaps Bébé will have the final laugh though, with the forward scoring on only his second appearance for his nation’s Under-21 side today.
Of course he doesn’t like his. His name is Ladyman which means he can’t have a Bebé.
end of the day this is fergies fault, the minute he said hed never seen the spacky cunt play he became fair game, same as when sven did it with walwcott
The only ‘spacky cunt’ here is you
Hi Ed great piece.
Unfortunately all to similar to DTaylor’s hounding and illogical maiming of Dimitar Berbatov since he rightly took the place of Carlos Tevez. This reader now has two “decent” journalists on his black list….
Extraordinary! An amazing attack on such a young and inexperienced player.Ladyman is lucky to still have a job. Just another example of the rubbish that the Mail produce throughout the paper.
I for one don’t care what these journalists haves to say on anything, Bebe is à good player and will only get better in time. Chicharito, Bebe and Smalling have already become household names and these bitter idiots don’t like it.
how do you know hess a good player
Because we have now watched 180 minutes of him in action and he looked quality at left wing!!
Please keep your bitterness for the playground or the empty council house if thats what your into!
lol…
Is Ladyman not banned from Carrington and the Managers press conference?.
Again its just childish in his eyes revenge.
Anybody who is as idiotic as this to hunt down and crucify a young player starting out on his carreer to most sane people is the Pits.
I just hope for Bebe he does his talking on the football park.
Not in some Rag I wouldna wipe my backside with.
Anyone have any info on why Ladyman (or whoever else it is from the Mail) is banned?
Josh – to be honest not sure who or why but Fergie said it at his presser a couple of weeks ago
AJ Chicarito, Bebe and smalling are not household names they may be one day but at this moment in time they most certainly aren’t.
I reckon Chicarito is a household name, especially in Mexican households
@Ichiro Tell me please just out of interest is Chicarito some sort of Mexican Burrito lol.
Being pedantic is not often wise.
He scored two goals in a World Cup is what I meant, cant compare him to Smalling and Bebe.
thiese atricles are in the daily mail . need i say more ?
Why did the Mail attack Bebe
Ask Fatty, he’s the kind of right wing knob that buys this Jew-hating Hitler-endorsing shitrag while trying to come across like a progressive liberal
Bring back to UK Film Council LKHF
Robbo, I hear ya but what I meant was that they are household names in the sense that all United supporters and football fans know who they are, Chicharito is a household name thoughout mexico and signing for United aswell his world cup showing only helped spread his name thoughout the world whiles with all the press writing on Bebe in good and bad since the shock signing to United has got his name out there, playing the odd game for fulham and his move to United helped get Smalling’s name across.
any and all criticism is justified as far as I am concerned, until he plays and produced the goods
we don’t need another striker / winger / whatever he is
he is not fit and still isn’t
we bought him as a defensive buy cos others were interested
fergus never saw him play
we continue to neglect midfield
our goaly succession issue is a traversty
let him produce the goods first and then we can all bum him up, ffs.
LKHFfs
How about we back him while hes wearing red instead of putting more pressure on him. Why would you ever criticize a young new player?
You are probably one of those fools who were upset because we didnt sign ozil, someone who never wanted to come here.
Im just glad youl never come near a united game(unless you sit with the opposition fans that is!!).
mandeep lotay how can being insulted and getting called a flop and a dud be justified when the people saying it hasn’t watched him play. our midfield is good enough to help us win the league and our goalie issue to which I assume your on about the fact Van Der Sar is getting closer to retirement is not an issue as Kuszczak is the future #1 with Amos as #2. we know Fergie has never seen him as he said so himself but that is what makes Bebe special as he is a street born player who Fergie will make a star.
I hope so Aj.
It would be a fantastix story.
dude – he is a street player, great – what has he done apart from that?
fergus “will” make him great, indeed that’s my point – let’s see what the guy can do before we start investigating his love tunnel, ffs
Good to see Bebe in action for Portugal U21s and scoring.
Danny Welbeck did the same for England so as most of don’t know much about Bebe it helps us assess where he is as a player.
Probably will go out on loan in the window after a couple of sub appearances in the Carling Cup/Champions League.
Looks like United have the wing spots covered post Giggs with Nani, Valencia, Obertan, Bebe all 25 or under and Park likely to be able to play into his 30s.
ksucsaxk future nunmber one ffs
Anyone got a link for Bebe’s goal?
FFS you can criticise SAF for buying a player he hasn’t watched. But destroying a player’s confidence before he has even pulled on the shirt??? thats not journalism, it is stupidity.
Give him a season or two before passing judgement on him. Nobody is bumming him as the messiah or anything. These so called journalists can shove their “criticisms” up their ass.
somehow, somehow, I doubt that Bebe will shit his pants at the story in the Daily Mail
if his confidence can be “destroyed” by a series of articles in a newspaper then he is a spinless goon, ffs. Comes with United, comes with the EPL – comes with football.
he is supposed to be some hard cunt dread from the back street ghettos not some wet pussy from Kensington High Street, give him some credit, ffs.
a player moves from a third division of a less competitive league to one of the best teams in the toughest of the leagues in a different country and you tell him that he is a dud the moment he gets off the plane…yeah right that will help his confidence
surely all players are duds until they prove otherwise
Cheers, Ed
One thing I noticed watching Bebe in the U21 game against England is that he doesn’t look anywhere near as beefy playing against proper young players as he did playing in the third division playing against bus drivers & pipe fitters
Why don’t you give him some credit ffs?
No one is “bumming” him… but we’re not willing him to be rubbish either… just not making any opinion at all, until he’s had some sort of chance to show what he can do.
Fuck knows why Ferguson bought a player unseen, but he did, so now he’s a United player… and a very young, raw player… and I’ll give him a year or so under Ole, to see how he develops/or not… before I make any pointless cracks about his ability.
exactly, that is why his fitness level is shit and he needs a “special program” just so he can train with the team let alone play a game
thankfull with the likes of anderson and gibson in reserves he has a big opportunity to shine
fergus after admitting he has not seen the player, even on video and blasting x million
‘He is a terrific finisher,’ says Sir Alex Ferguson of Bebe
yep, because Gill told him. right.
Laydman…… born in Thailand?
haha yeh formerly known as ladyboy
http://www.caughtoffside.com/2010/09/08/manchester-united-to-sell-flop-bebe/
wayhay justin..
Justin is famous now.
Bah!…
I bet Justin wrote the fuckin article in the first place, and then called himself… “Jude”.
This is typical from the Daily Mail. They are United’s biggest critic. Their pure vitriol and hatred towards United is often so blatant, that it is laughable. They are incapable of writing a balanced, well researched article on any issue, but when it comes to United, they excel in writing utter garbage. Just read their articles on the whole Rooney affair (pardon the pun). They even write a headline ‘quoting’ Rooney, before later going on, in the small print, to say how Rooney hasn’t said anything, but that it was a ‘source close to Rooney.’ Oh right, care to disclose this source? Perhaps the voice in your head? What is sad, is that many readers don’t see the lies and believe it. Oh well.
I reckon, the only reason United bought Bebe was because Real Madrid were looking at him and the Glazers smelt a profit. Isn’t that United’s transfer policy now? Buy them young, make them great, then sell them to Real Madrid. I hope I’m wrong but this transfer stinks. Could even be that somebody is taking a back-hander somewhere along the line – that will no doubt fall into the Glazer’s pocket. And it wouldn’t surprise me if Harry Redknapp is lned up as manager after Fergie goes.
Redknapp wants the England post, and I think he’ll get it.
Redknapp is a cunt
He knows he has the media on his side along with some of the dickhead (cockney) England players, and he’s slowly working his way into the job while undermining a much greater manager in Capello
I wish he’d stop with these fucking soundbites about how he would “make the English Lions roar” and all this PR bollocks
To be fair Sid… I agree with a lot of what he’s saying… The England team should have an English coach… whether it’s him or not, I don’t know… but it’s definitely not Capello.
harry should have no chance of getting, he’s the fucking king of elf promotion and he’s bent as fuck and hed just fill up the squad and coaching sstaff with his mates
and I don’t wanna read his post match analysis in the fucking sun the next day coming out with ‘frankie lamps and crouchy and tghe boys gave there all but at the end of the day blah blah fucking blah’
fucking massive cunt, an almost but not quite club like spurs are perfect for him
Bollocks though
We had this debate years ago when we appointed McClaren; we got the best English manager available and we didn’t qualify for the Euros.
So we went abroad for a proven winner – now, suddenly, he’s not right. Not because the team did shit at the World Cup (the bigger criticism) but because apparently he has to be English.
We’re going in circles
What are Redknapp’s European and International credentials exactly? Fuck all. McClaren had more cred than ‘im
If he gets the job then I’m not gonna bother to even half watch England games anymore. The whole England scene is shit anyway – “If you build a fucking mosque we’ll burn it down” – and the way its run is fuckin farcical.
It will be the FA finally handing England over to the Ingerland muppets who will play an 11 of chest beating cockney wankers
We may have had this debate before, but it was never settled by appointing McClaren… he was only given the job, cause he gave the best head.
First Sven, the gormless… now Capello the stubborn…
England may well be shit, but if we’re going to go down, at least let an Englishman be to blame.
Remember England wanted a tough, stubborn manager to get rid of the curse of the celebrity that dogged McClaren’s reign
Capello has successfully done that. Now, apparently, it’s too much – he’s too harsh and he’s too foreign
Let’s get one thing straight, England are shit not because of Capello’s nationality, but because the team can’t pass the ball and they have average players in key position
And they continue today:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1312739/Bebe-dire-Manchester-United-debut–7-4m-striker-makes-reserves-bow.html
Actually this could be a good thing.
If Bebe does turn out to be cack, then Fergie deserves a good slap for signing him.
And if he comes along to be a good player, it’ll be great to see the mail shown up for the shit paper it is… again.
That article is full of shit
This bit pissed me off the most “…it wasn’t for the real United” fuck off
The Daily Mail don’t like champagne socialists
I agree with Sid. It’s a never ending cycle with the England team and the English public are controlled by the puppeteering press in this country.
Fergie was right about the England job. It’s a poisoned chalice. You can give any manager that job and he will struggle. Our players simply aren’t good enough and we have a media determined to make the manager’s life a living hell. In fact, we shouldn’t underestimate the power of the media in this country.
I couldn’t give a shit whether the manager is English or foreign. Get the best man for the job – and if he can’t do it start asking some serious questions and taking remedial action instead of burying your fucking heads in the sand until the next poor sod takes the England job.
“You can give any manager that job and he will struggle. Our players simply aren’t good enough and we have a media determined to make the manager’s life a living hell”
Ya see, this is the argument I have a real problem with.
The only part of that I agree with, is the press are fickle, and destructive.
You say, “Our players simply aren’t good enough”… good enough to what? Win the World Cup? Why not?
Look at the last WC… the highly rated Argies sucked, Brazil sucked, Germany were better than everyone expected, and Spain, the favourites, who although may have gotten to the final… never really impressed anyone.
Where as England drew brutally against the States and Algeria… started off badly against Germany, but for a bad ref call might have made a real game of it… bottom line… England were shit… proper shit… but we are a much better team than the one that showed up… but how much better? We never know anymore, cause in crucial games they never show up… Why?
I’m not saying we should be winning the WC… but I have no doubt what so ever that we could… just like Inter won the Champs League last year… just like The Verrrmin won it against AC Milan, just like Greece won the Euro Champs a few years back.
It’s not that England is rubbish, they’re not… they’re a fuck of a lot better than their performances… the problem is, they just don’t play well in crucial games… why is that?
It’s a mentality issue. The English team has no fuckin confidence at all… they shit themselves every time they step out to play an important game… and both the past 2 managers, Sven, and Capello have done fuck all to address this problem.
The FA needs to pick a manager that would give England back some pride, and get them playing English, Premier League football. This is the football our players play week after week. So why would you pick a manager who’s never managed a single game in the PL?
I always said that the best man for the job would have been Ferguson about 10/15 years ago. He would have been ruthless enough to pick the right team, he would not have allowed any of the ridiculous WAG culture that infected the squad, and he would have at the very least got them playing with some fuckin passion.
Again… I’m not saying we “WOULD” win the Cup… but we “COULD”… and at the very least we “SHOULD” be leaving the country with the pride of having at least played our best.
tbf alf you make some good points, but in all honesty we are not as good as some of us think……..and BEBE will be laying for alacante in a couple of years time
You’re right, a lot of it is confidence
But the fact that Capello has never managed a Premier League team is irrelevent IMO. International football is like European footbal; slow, methodical, clever. It’s not the crash, bang wollop of the Premiership. If you play like that, you’ll get turned over.
All this “the opposition can’t handle our pace” – yes they can, quite easily. In the big, cagey games there is little space in which to run in behind anyway
And this “they can’t handle our Premier League tempo” – yes they can, and no team in the world can sustain that intensity. It usually lasts about 5 minutes before they drop off.
Forget all this 442 proper English football bollocks and learn to pass & move, then we might have a team that looks somewhere up there with the likes of North Korea, Serbia and all the other teams who move the ball better
Appointing Redknapp would send us in the other direction – the 442 proper English cockney chest beating direction that is shit and doesn’t work. But we’d be passionate!!! And that’s all that matters to the Ingerland mob.
No, I’m sorry, I cannot accept this argument that man for man England are as good as any of the top sides or even close to them.
The likes of Spain and Argentina have technically better players, more match winners whereas Rooney is our main match winner. Without Rooney, we are virtually missing half a side we are that reliant on him.
The Germans have a mentality that sees them perform consistently well in every international competition. Again, they’re not a side that relies on one player. No Ballack? No problem. Step forward, Sami Khedira.
I could go on.
You talk about the sides that underperformed at the World Cup. I think a lot of it is down to the fact that most of their players play in European leagues where domestic seasons had just ended. They still outperformed England…as they always do.
ffs…its bebe not england
I don’t think that it’s just down to the players, either. I don’t think it’s unreasonable to question how good the coaching techniques are in this country. How are we coaching the youngsters at a very early age? What are we teaching them? How much practice are the youngsters getting?
How good are our coaches? Why is that very few English managers work outside of this country whereas so many foreign managers are offered positions in this country.
How many English players are there plying their trade overseas? Why are the numbers so few?
We have politicians and an FA that are seemingly more interested in wasting money on a national stadium and trying to bring home the World Cup tournament as opposed to looking at ways to ensure we win the damn thing by taking remedial steps from the grass roots to the national side.