Saturday 24th July, 20102 months ago
What is in a word as Grant is convicted
Gavin Grant has been convicted of murder and expected to spend over a decade in prison. There is little else to say about the man and his conviction but there is a sense of curiosity as to why Peter Taylor gave the striker three months at City at the end of last season.
Taylor knew Grant from previous clubs and perhaps Grant – who played for free – knew that he had a long time in prison to come and wanted to leave society with something to pleasant remember. Of the players recruited at the end of last term on loan Robbie Threlfall and Luke Oliver signed for City, Adam Bolder ended up at Burton Albion, Mark McGammon made hardly an impression and Grant – well Grant will not be signing for anyone.
You can read about Grant’s conviction here in in Asian Age newspaper or if you prefer you can read the Telegraph and Argus. Both reports are very similar although there is one word missing from our local newspaper.
Bradford City striker found guilty of rival’s murder or Former football star Grant convicted of murder. The difference is obvious. The former is the Telegraph & Argus and why Bradford’s local newspaper feels the need to offer this distortion is probably obvious.
Bradford City striker Gavin Grant was today facing life in prison after being found guilty of murder.
Nowhere in the article will you read that Grant is not in the employ of Bradford City, nor that he has never been paid by Bradford City. The first word of the Asian Age article is “Former”.
The Telegraph and Argus – seemingly – have taken a view that by portraying events as one of the City players having been carted away from training leaving Peter Taylor scratching his head as to how to patch the hole in his squad is more important that conveying the truth of the situation to the people of Bradford.
Yes, he played for Bradford City on the last game of last season but Jake Speight played for Mansfield Town and on his imprisonment two weeks ago he was also a “Bradford City Striker”. Can the T&A have it both ways? Why do they want to?
Why does the Telegraph and Argus want to portray this story – a former City player has been convicted of murder – in a way that paints Bradford City in the worst possible light being prepared to break the standard of two weeks ago in order to ensure the headline reads as badly as possible?
None of which is to avoid the question as to why City gave Grant a chance to prove he was worth a contract he would never be able to take up – I’m prepared to be charitable and suggest that Taylor had the faith in Grant that when he said he was not guilty he was telling the truth and that the player deserved a chance should he not be convicted to carry on his career – but rather to ask why Bradford’s local newspaper has taken to bending the truth in a way that paints the local football club in the worst possible light?
When Jake Speight was sent to prison – the chance of which was not mentioned to the club – the words “a lie of omission” cropped up and people decided they would boo the player for his duplicity. Will the same people look at the T&A and see another lie of omission – the word “former” and a clarity that Gavin Grant is not a Bradford City player – and object in as strong terms about that publication?
It is breathtaking that rather than take an objective view on Grant and Bradford City the Telegraph and Argus – who in a very real sense feed off the club – wish to bite that feeding hand by writing headlines and articles which seek to pain the club in as negative a light as possible.
Consistency is lacking. Speight and Grant can’t both be Bradford City players just because saying so makes a more interesting headline for the local newspaper.
How long have Bradford City been the T&A’s punch bag? Painting the club in the worst light possible, sensationalising headlines to drum up sales. One can only imagine what Mark Lawn thinks about this and – being the man he is – how he will react.
I left the UK 10 years ago to start a new life in the U.S. but have followed City’s demise daily ever since. We were in the Premiership when I left! If you think the gutter press shift and sensationalize stories to sell newspapers, you should read some of the tripe they print over here. So bad in fact, I absolutely refuse to read it. I’ve gone from a 2 newspapers a day man to getting all my news from the BBC.com….. I never really thought the T&A was a bad read but that was then. I will continue to follow my beloved City, and rely on people like you to give accurate information. Well done.
The T and A was one of the best local papers about, especially for sport, it was unbiased and made good reading for game previews, even for the away fans. I really miss the Yorkshire Pink, nothing better than making a day out of it, walking into Bradford for 2 hours on a morning, get to a pub and dieing for that first cold pint, then eventually onto the game and then read the Yorkshire Pink at the bus station while waiting for the bus back. The T and A now really is more interested in bickering and sensationalism, just look at the messages published on their website, it is nothing but full of people bad mouthing each other slagging each other off. I won’t comment on there, at least on here, you can have debates and civilly too. Reading about Speight, I made my own mind up, not bullied, threatened, belittled, brainwashed or anything else. But the T and A I really do not class anymore as a respected tabloid. It really needs to get back to where it was, and for a start, back the City of Bradford and the Bradford clubs, and get the Yorkshire Pink out straight after the game on a Saturday. Make an effort and get back in touch with the people. It really does baffle me that the only tabloid to call Grant a City player is Bradford’s main tabloid. I am surprised they didn’t have headlines of Bradford City manager films himself having sex” regarding Jewel during that embarassing episode. Going back to the T and A and their mentality, I never bother reading the comments on their website anymore, and I actually believe some of their staff encourage it and join in. I will stay on BFB and read some intellectual comments and opinions and views. Good article and it really leads on from the article from a few days ago about Bradford needing to smile. Like I said earlier, it can only be done from within and as a City, Bradford does close itself off from everyone else as the T and A has further proved.
As I don’t live in the Bradford District, I don’t have the opportunity to buy the T & A on a regular basis.
However, I don’t often buy a national newspaper as they generally focus on the negative angle of a news story. It’s the way that newspapers sell their stories.
It sounds like the T & A have tried to put the negative angle on the Gavin Grant story. In my opinion they should be promoting their local sports clubs in a positive light and have pride in their local teams.
Just look at the recent World Cup whereby national newspapers built up England’s chances of winning the competition then knocked them down when we were well and truly beaten by an impressive Germany team.
Like others, I will continue to read BfB for a balanced opinion on all things claret and amber.
Just to illustrate the point even further, see this quote from the article on the Chelmsford match on their website:
“With no Omar Daley and Gavin Grant obviously wiped from the equation, Taylor’s resources up front are looking a bit thin on the ground.”
Now, I ask, at what point this (coming) season has Gavin Grant EVER been part of the equation? He was a non-contract player and there was no suggestion he was ever coming back even before his conviction (trust me on that) – he has not been part of the build-up, the pre season games or the squad at any point after the final day of last season, yet still they put this spin on it as though he was a key part of the plans and has been snatched away by his conviction.
I’m in London now, and I used to read the T&A when home. Sadly the articles on their website that I still read no longer float my boat. A shame that such a good local paper has to resort to kicking its own locality. Surely one of the aims of a local paper is to promote its area, not add to its decline. Although that will of course sell more papers….
I agree with the article and the comments above. Just to add my own views, I think the T&A is almost worthless. Breaking news appears two days after it appears on the BBC website, or City’s own website. The worst element is the new video ‘Bantams Banter’ with Simon & Blake who look like they’ve spent all day in the pub with their tie knots loose and their top buttons undone. Blake usually starts off with something like ‘Well, another defeat for erm, City, erm I mean a draw, but the performance could have been better couldn’t it Simon, hic?’ Terrible.
There are currently a number of issues surrounding Jake Speight and Gavin Grant, but all I wish to add is that any player who stands accused of a crime should be treated as innocent until their guilt is proven (as I believe Taylor treated Grant) and in the case of Speight who has now served his punishment, he should be treated normally again – he doesn’t deserve a second punishment from the club, fans etc. It is up to the British justice system, not us to determine how a player (or person) should be treated. I know some commentators are disappointed that Speight did not inform City of the impending trial, but I believe in this day and age that it is up to City as the employer to satisfy itself with any background checks rather than relying on the absolute honesty of an employee. I know it shouldn’t be that way round, but it is not an ideal world we live in. As an example, when was the last time anyone rang the police confessing to having broken the speed limit?