Guys with no name

Manager Arsène Wenger is widely quoted today. The transfer window brings expectations, but the man in charge sounds exasperated.

"When a guy has no name, people are already sceptical."

Wenger's answers in yesterday's press conference were about what the outside world, including the Arsenal supporters, want to see as Arsenal's reinforcements. The man who brought relative unknowns like Patrick Vieira, Nicolas Anelka, Fredrik Ljungberg, Thierry Henry and Eduardo to English football, now fear that only Lionel Messi will fulfill the expectations.

But where do these dreams come from? Regular readers won't be surprised by my theory.

After oligarchs and sheikhs entered the Premier League and the Champions League, some clubs have unlimited funds. They are the very clubs Arsenal compete with. When they sign stars for inflation fees and wages, Arsenal are expected to compete still. Even if the club's financial platform is solid, it's not in the same league as at, say, Manchester City or Paris Saint-Germain.

But rumours are rumours, and rumours are reported. The frenzy of transfer speculation keep a lot of websites in business. Arsenal are a well supported club with millions of fans worldwide. The potential for clicks is enormous. As most websites have no paywall, clicks and the advertisements they sell is the most important currency in this line of work.

The more traditional media have more savvy journalists, but especially in the last few years more and more "serious" papers have resorted to the same kind of rumour-mongering on their websites. The clicks rule. It's justified with the ubiquitous statement: "When people want to read it, it's news!"

The playing field for agents, club officials, players' families and friends and even internet trolls have been widened as a result. It's easier to get your version of a story in the papers than ever before. It's easier to lie, as a juicy rumour get clicks twice: first when reported unchecked, then again when it's been checked and found wanting.

Fake Twitter accounts have started rumours who have ended up in print in national newspapers. Agents can use websites and media to pump up interest in their clients, either to instigate a move or to get a better deal at their current clubs.

Almost all of the sources compiled in the transfer rumour lists on this blog are anonymous. Sadly, very few care about other names than what's on the back of a supposed target's shirt.