Sky Sports shameful reporting on Newcastle 1 Manchester City 1 – Absolute joke | OneFootball

For various reasons I couldn’t stay out on Saturday after the match, so when I got home, I started looking round at the various reports on Newcastle 1 Manchester City 1, including this one below from Sky Sports.

It was written by Peter Smith, who is titled as ‘Senior Football Journalist’ at Sky Sports.

Obviously interested to hear and read the various ‘independent’ takes on the match.

See if they fit in with what I and 52,000+ others watched inside St James’ Park.

I have to say, this is absolutely shameful, the reporting from the Sky Sports ‘Senior Football Journalist’ on Saturday’s match.

I have reproduced parts of his Sky Sports Newcastle 1 Manchester City 1 report below, with in bold my observations on his comments…

‘Controversial Gordon penalty frustrates Man City

Anthony Gordon won a controversial penalty and then scored from the spot to earn Newcastle a 1-1 draw with Manchester City at St James’ Park to provide an early dent to the title favourites’ Premier League bid.

“I don’t think it’s a penalty,” said former referee Mike Dean on Soccer Saturday after seeing Gordon race through on goal and then hit the deck after Ederson slid at his feet and appeared to make slight contact with the forward.’

Why was it a ‘controversial’ penalty? It was a classic striker goes through in a one on one with the keeper, running at pace Gordon rounds Ederson, the Man City dives, keeper misses the ball but clearly makes contact with striker who is sent to the floor. As clear and obvious penalty as you are ever going to see and as always on penalties, VAR checked it and very quickly said the on the pitch referee had got it absolutely correct.

There was actually a very controversial penalty decision at St James’ Park yesterday BUT the Sky Sports journalist decides not worth mentioning. At 1-1, Walker looks clearly to bring down Joelinton, making contact with the Newcastle player instead of the ball, just as the Brazilian is preparing to shoot from around eight yards out. Arguably, this looked even more of a penalty than the Gordon one. Yet somehow the referee on the pitch not giving it and VAR not intervening. I am guessing this is one where this season VAR are leaving that kind of decision to the on the pitch referee, who presumably decided, for whatever reason, this contact/foul didn’t deserve a spot-kick.

‘Former referee Mike Dean’. I don’t know about you but it makes me feel sick that part of my Sky Sports subscription is being used to pay this disgraced referee. He was shocking as a referee, even worse as a VAR, now on another level above that as an ‘expert’ for Sky Sports.

Remember back in August 2022 before he was forced to step down as a VAR, as BBC Sport reported about that Chelsea 2 Tottenham 2 and Dean’s shameful action ‘Former Premier League referee Mike Dean failed to correct a mistake in a match to save his friend and fellow official Anthony Taylor from extra “grief”. Mike Dean later admitting “I didn’t want to send him up because he is a mate as well as a referee and I think I didn’t want to send him up because I didn’t want any more grief than he already had.”

‘There was concern during that first half that City would lose Haaland to injury after the striker was caught on the ankle by the studs of Dan Burn but he was able to continue despite a nasty cut. Injury-hit City – who only had eight players on their bench, including two goalkeepers – could ill afford to lose their front man too.’

You have to laugh. It is ‘injury-hit’ Manchester City! Pep Guardiola confirmed ahead of the match that he was missing four players – Rodri, De Bruyne, Bobb and Ake. Newcastle United were missing six – Isak, Wilson, Lewis Miley, Lascelles, Targett and Botman. Plus Eddie Howe had made clear ahead of the match that Joe Willock wasn’t ready to be considered as a starter in the Premier League just yet, after all his injury issues.

Pep Guardiola ‘Only had eight players on their bench, including two goalkeepers’, what about in January 2024 when Eddie Howe had Karius, Gillespie, Dummett, Lascelles, Ritchie, Krafth, A Murphy, Parkinson, Hall on the bench and at 2-1 u against Man City had no viable subs to make at all. Two goalkeepers, veterans and young inexperienced teenagers. Hardly comparable.

I can only think anyway that Pep Guardiola was doing this (naming ‘only’ eight subs including two keepers) for some kind of dramatic effect, as he made nine changes on Tuesday as Man City dominated Watford and progressed in the Carabao Cup. For the Sky Sports journalist to make out that Manchester City were somehow at a disadvantage with their subs bench is hilarious. Guardiola was able to bring on Doku, Foden and Savinho against Newcastle United AND he left England’s best defender John Stones on the bench, as well as £53m August 2023 signing Matheus Nunes. Luckily (unlike January!), this time Eddie Howe was able to bring on the likes of Livramento, Willock and Longstaff. Though no neutrals would see that trio on anywhere the same level as what Pep had available.

‘The defending champions have lost their last four Premier League games when they’ve been without both Rodri and De Bruyne from the start and while they ended that streak on Saturday they will leave the North East frustrated.’

This kind of sums up the whole report from the Sky Sports journo. It was all about Manchester City.

Eddie Howe would have been at least as ‘frustrated’ as Pep Guardiola, as Newcastle United could and arguably should have won this. Newcastle with some great chances and even more very good situations that they didn’t make the most of, whilst of course that late Joelinton penalty that wasn’t given.

Newcastle deserved a draw at the very least.

Yet if all you did was read this Sky Sports report, which many people will do, then you will have the impression that Manchester City battered Newcastle United, NUFC had all the luck, Man City all the bad luck and decisions going against them, especially the Gordon penalty, which according the Sky Sports journalist and their ‘expert’ Mike Dean should never have been given.

My final comment. This is where it so shameful and disrespectful, this kind of reporting from Sky Sports, as they then very much help set the agenda after matches. What is then talked about AND what is not.

So instead of proper analysis and debate on whether Joelinton should have been awarded that penalty, we instead have to put up with this nonsense that Anthony Gordon’s was supposedly ‘controversial’ and this is what will be simply repeated, cut and pasted, by so many others blindly copying Sky Sports.

Newcastle 1 Manchester City 1 – Saturday 28 September 12.30pm

(Stats via BBC Sport)

Newcastle United:

Gordon 58 pen

Man City:

Gvardiol 35

Possession was Newcastle 38% Man City 62%

Total shots were Newcastle 11 Man City 16

Shots on target were Newcastle 4 Man City 6

Corners were Newcastle 5 Man City 6

Touches in the box Newcastle 25 Man City 39

Newcastle United team v Man City:

Pope, Trippier (Livramento 78), Schar, Burn, Hall, Joelinton, Bruno, Tonali (Longstaff 77), Barnes (Willock 76), Gordon, Jacob Murphy

Dubravka, Krafth, Osula, Almiron, Kelly, Alex Murphy

(BBC Sport comments from ‘neutrals’ – Interesting on Newcastle United after Manchester City draw – Read HERE)

(Anthony Gordon gets very emotional about support shown to him by Newcastle United fans – Read HERE)

(Newcastle 1 Manchester City 1 – Newcastle United fan / writer reaction – Read HERE)

(Newcastle 1 Manchester City 1 – Honours even, a fair result and this was my man of the match – Read HERE)

Newcastle United upcoming match schedule, confirmed so far to end of November:

Tuesday 1 October 2024 – AFC Wimbledon v Newcastle (7.45pm) Sky Sports+ (To be played at St James’ Park)

Saturday 5 October – Everton v Newcastle (5.30pm) Sky Sports

Saturday 19 October – Newcastle v Brighton (3pm)

Sunday 27 October – Chelsea v Newcastle (2pm) Sky Sports

W/C Monday 28 October – AFC Wimbledon or Newcastle v Chelsea

Saturday 2 November – Newcastle v Arsenal (12.30pm) TNT Sports