Breaking News Joe Gubbins has joined SUFC on loan until the end of the season

[Shrimper57]

Crikey, very defensive of CP everybody. Seem to of touched a nerve there

 

[CanveyCastle]

Almost as if he was told to keep quiet about it

or perhaps Mr Gubbins wasn't the target but a late replacement on Transfer day.

 

[RHB]

or perhaps Mr Gubbins wasn't the target but a late replacement on Transfer day.

We will never know, but the Zone always has so much fun guessing what might have been.

 

[davewebbsbrain]

Right now, I'd be sorely ticked off if I were Chris Phillips.
Am assuming his relationship with the club is close, and for him to tweet there 'is no truth whatsoever' in Gubbins' imminent arrival, makes me wonder.
You don't really want to do that to the local man.

Unless it was all part of a plan so as to not alert other clubs and CP was in on it

 

[Chris Powell's mate]

This probably sounds a bit disrespectful to CP but he has no right to know about our transfer targets if we don't want him to. If he isn't able to deal with the fact that we'll occasionally lie to him about our targets as a result (and I've not actually seen any evidence it bothers him, you're putting words into his mouth from what I can tell) then he probably shouldn't be in this job.

'We occasionally lie...? Really?
You don't want to be doing that as a matter of precedence.
Yes, you're right he has no right to know transfer dealings, but there is usually a compromise between the local man and club.
'Putting words in his mouth'? Nope. Basing it on personal experience, and a long-standing working relationship with CP.

 

[harveyoe]

Unless it was all part of a plan so as to not alert other clubs and CP was in on it

A double bluff, do you mean? I like it. Smart thinking by either the echo or the club , or both.

However, Is young Mr. Gubbins so highly thought of in the football world that there would have been a rush of other clubs trying to jump in ahead of us?

 

[Chris Powell's mate]

Crikey, very defensive of CP everybody. Seem to of touched a nerve there

I think you mean defending CP?
Defensive is holding back, and I don't see the need for that in these circumstances.
Further back there was a post mocking CP. So yeah, I'm defending his inside knowledge which for once got compromised when told an untruth, it seems.

 

[southendkid]

'We occasionally lie...? Really?
You don't want to be doing that as a matter of precedence.

Precedence for what exactly?

 

[Shrimper57]

I think you mean defending CP?
Defensive is holding back, and I don't see the need for that in these circumstances.
Further back there was a post mocking CP. So yeah, I'm defending his inside knowledge which for once got compromised when told an untruth, it seems.

Defensive. - Adjective - The definition of defensive is something designed to protect or secure, or being quick to defend against criticism or anticipating criticism or complaint.

 

[StanCollymore]

As for the post above.
Poor of the club to lead him down a blind alley.

Chris Phillips was told the truth at the time by a senior club official (not me).

The group of targets were put together, as always, some aren't available so others are looked at who maybe are.

Pretty standard football business,.

 

[Magnum PI]

What a load of old Gubbins

 

[Mad Cyril]

Reading between the lines I wonder if The Echo were given one rumour, The Standard Recorder another and The Yellow Advertiser yet another in a Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy/Coleen Rooney type sting operation?

 

[Chris Powell's mate]

Defensive. - Adjective - The definition of defensive is something designed to protect or secure, or being quick to defend against criticism or anticipating criticism or complaint.

In modern usage, also: "defensive approach is a management approach designed to reduce risk of loss," as in reducing what is lost in an argument, for argument's sake, lol!
But hey! Just semantics at the end of the day.
What's at stake here is a professional's reputation compromised by the club.

 

[Chris Powell's mate]

Chris Phillips was told the truth at the time by a senior club official (not me).

The group of targets were put together, as always, some aren't available so others are looked at who maybe are.

Pretty standard football business,.

I know the drill, Stan.

But one has to ask whether Joe was a target four days before he was signed?
I think we know the answer to that: he was on a list of 'possibles'.

It seems strange an experienced journo would write 'absolutely no truth' in the rumour; as in, he's not even on our radar.

Remember also, there were two clubs involved, and that wasn't the noise coming from W12.

 

[Chris Powell's mate]

Precedence for what exactly?

The precedent that says it's OK to lie occasionally.

 

[bazzashrimper]

I think CP said something like, his contact at the club says no truth in the rumour. He didn’t say it’s a definite no. His tweet was a defensive one in that he knows sometimes things change.

There is a continued dislike towards the echo or CP from pockets on here, which I find distasteful tbh. Chris seems like a good guy with problems similar to most of us, maybe worse than some lucky people. I don’t get why people want to see him get tripped up.

The echo is a business which pays people salaries. I doubt it make millions. But people find it ok to copy the stories and paste them on here so that people don’t have to suffer the annoying adverts that pay those salaries. But there have been times when similar has been done to a casual supporters blog and posters were outraged about the theft!

At the end of the day, the echo is a business which employs some local people and delivers some journalism to a local community who otherwise wouldn’t get that info. Chris is one of the journalists who is a mad Southend fan doing his best with the information he is given. He is clear when it is news from a source, in other words, may be rubbish.

 

[StanCollymore]

I know the drill, Stan.

But one has to ask whether Joe was a target four days before he was signed?
I think we know the answer to that: he was on a list of 'possibles'.

It seems strange an experienced journo would write 'absolutely no truth' in the rumour; as in, he's not even on our radar.

Remember also, there were two clubs involved, and that wasn't the noise coming from W12.

Chris is a journalist, he reports what he either believes to be true ( sources) or knows to be true ( club officials).

When he was told "absolutely no truth in", that was factual.

When the football department worked through potential incomings, there were names on the list yesterday that weren't in there a day or two or three before. That happened even in longstanding transfer plans nevermind a deadline day coming after defensive performances recently that dictated that an emergence loan or two was needed.

The nub of many of the posters in this thread seems to be that Chris Phillips, a well respected journalist was lied to by the club. Not only is that absurd but it goes against the grain of a message I sent Chris and the BBC Essex guys when I joined. That at every opportunity, the club would give good and clear information where possible in the spirit of local journalists being the most important media to the club.

So the notion that with the evidence above being crystal clear about deadline day-constant names coming up -dealing with clubs- negotiating the deal -needing bodies in the building quickly was some sort of exercise to stitch up Chris Phillips is nonsense.

The club official gave the "absolutely no truth" comment to Chris, Chris reported it and then the football department which was going through every available name, speaking to clubs ( I spoke to QPR, asked about Gubbins, who was due to play in a game against Ebsfleet 2 days ago, a game where he played a half. They were then prepared to loan him out on the back of their in house analysis of his fitness, which only would have concluded yesterday) had Gubbins as a live option.

This is how football works.

Chris posted "absolutely no chance" 3 days ago? Gubbins played 2 days ago. Other clubs may or may not have been interested from Wednesday night to Thursday morning QPR decision on loan. We then, on QPR assessment of his status ( he had an injury) made the call.

No smoking gun, no disrespect shown to local journalists, yet again a coherent process that makes sure we are armed with every piece of information we need to get what we want.

No more running commentary from me, uou all should know how football deals are done now and more importantly you should all know that not one person in the new set up has a history of stitching up supporters or journalists.

The "club lied" line is absurd. It just is.

PS, Chris just messaged to say thank you for setting the record straight. Doesn't exactly come across as a fractured relationship...

 

[southendkid]

The precedent that says it's OK to lie occasionally.

When it's about rumours yes it is ok to "lie" occasionally (if you can even call it that, it sounds like from Stan that it may have been the truth at that point), "never lie" is something we tell small children because they don't have the nuance to understand the difference between a white lie and a serious one. Hell even with children we lie to them every Christmas.

Lying when it harms someone is bad, "lying" to keep something under wraps until it's official isn't. I don't know why people are having a go at CP for reporting what he was told but I also don't see what the club did wrong here.

 

[Leigh_Seasider]

It doesn't work like that.
Can you imagine players trying to 'force' moves? This isn't someone with enough clout to push Mark Warburton into a corner.
Occasionally, you get a top player making it plain he no longer wants to play for his club, eg Lukaku before Christmas.
Even then, he had to rein back when Chelsea told him what's what.

Have a feeling Mad Cyril was joking.

 

[RHB]

Chris is a journalist, he reports what he either believes to be true ( sources) or knows to be true ( club officials).

When he was told "absolutely no truth in", that was factual.

When the football department worked through potential incomings, there were names on the list yesterday that weren't in there a day or two or three before. That happened even in longstanding transfer plans nevermind a deadline day coming after defensive performances recently that dictated that an emergence loan or two was needed.

The nub of many of the posters in this thread seems to be that Chris Phillips, a well respected journalist was lied to bybthe club. Not only is that absurd but it goes against the grain of a message I sent Chris and the BBC Essex guys when I joined. That at every opportunity, the club would give good and clear information where possible in the spirit of local journalists being the most important media to the club.

So the notion that with the evidence above being crystal clear about deadline day-constant names coming up -dealing with clubs- negotiating the deal -needing bodies in the building quickly was some sort of exercise to stitch up Chris Phillips is absurd.

The club official (not in the football department) gave the "absolutely no truth" comment to Chris, Chris reported it and then the football department which was going through every available name, speaking to clubs ( I spoke to QPR, asked about Gubbins, who was due to play in a game against Ebsfleet 2 days ago, a game where he played a half. They were then prepared to loan him out on the back of their in house analysis of his fitness, which only would have concluded yesterday) had Gubbins as a live option.

This is how football works.

Chris posted "absolutely no chance" 3 days ago? Gubbins played 2 days ago. Other clubs may or may not have been interested from Wednesday night to Thursday morning QPR decision on loan. We then, on QPR assessment of his status ( he had an injury) made the call.

No smoking gun, no disrespect shown to local journalists, yet again a coherent process that Mayes sure we are armed with every piece of information we need to get what we want.

No more running commentary from me, uou all should know how football deals are done now and more importantly you should all know that not one person in the new set up has a history of stitching up supporters or journalists.

The "club lied" line is absurd. It just is.

Thanks Stan for the feedback and clarification. I will now take my tongue out of my cheek as my post was purely in jest. It does happen sometimes on Fans Boards.