Danny

I've tried to be helpful and explain certain things (eg how stories come about, the reasons why things may take a few days to make it into print, the reality behind certain perceptions etc.), where appropriate, but that seems to have backfired spectacularly, I'm sorry to say.

I never 'came out' on here as a journalist. A few posters figured it out following a web chat with Adam Leitch that I was running, after they recognised my name from the old SaintsForever, and as such it is now relatively common knowledge. I'm not overly thrilled about it, but there's not a lot I can do about it now, so there's not much point in me denying it. It does however mean that I can't say ANYTHING about Saints/this forum without someone having a pop about who I work for. Some people seem to think I am the embodiment of the Daily Echo, rather than a Saints fan who works there. Obviously I'm not the only person who doesn't think we need to have this thread as the points it begins on are being debated at length on other, active threads - just look at some of the comments following my initial one. TDD is allowed to start the thread just as much as I'm allowed to say I don't see the point. If that is an insult, well, I'm flabbergasted.

Where have I said you can't have an opinion? We're well aware of your opinion. We've been told what your opinion is many times in the last few days. I don't understand the need to start again with the exact same thing when the other debates are still going. Still, at least this thread has gone on enough of a tangent to warrant being something else now!

1. Something is expected to happen. 2. Something has happened. 3. Someone took the paper version of a (minor) story and uploaded without noticing the previous day's story on the website. Hardly a crime. Look, I'm aware you have a problem with me by virtue of who my employer is. I notice you've begun to comment on the Echo site though, so obviously you like it enough to use it every day. What remains though is that everywhere I look on this site today, all I can see is "you've got to pay for success" and people being pontificated at about credit cards and what have you. Apparently though, my job means I'm not allowed to have opinions on my personal interests.

Please, show me the insult I've thrown at anyone on this thread.

I'm a journalist. Whether or not that makes me THAT reporter is something else altogether.

Oh noes! I have a job so can't have an opinion. Good one.

What we really need is another thread on exactly the same thing.

I haven't applied for a credit card for a number of years now, but from what I remember it took about a month for it to turn up after applying for it. That's cutting it a bit fine if you want to renew your current season ticket.

I don't doubt it'd be very good doing what it does, but I just can't see how to justify the price tag for essentially, just web browsing, email and the odd game.

I emailed it in earlier, but sod it, if everyone else is doing it on here: http://twitpic.com/1s4ick

I think you might be best off waiting until the fourth generation iPhone is released (probably on sale in July) and then getting a 3GS (the current model) which will then be quite a bit cheaper. Or looking at some of the Android phones, which do seem quite good.

They are contacted because they are happy to speak and give their opinions. We have their details, they are happy to speak and do so in a seemingly informed and coherent manner. Sometimes they do just call up of their own volition, but usually we contact them. If people from this forum want to provide contact telephone numbers then there is no reason why they wouldn't be used - just ask Steve Grant. I bet he hates the fact I gave his number to all the sports reporters! It would have to be phone numbers though as email/forums take too long.

That's fair enough, but it is not always possible to say where something has come from for various reasons. There's a story at I did at my old paper involving some information I had from a public sector organisation making some cuts, which I'll bore you with in the pub sometime which is a fairly good example of this. Of course, that's not to say that is always the case as I can't speak for all media across the nation (a lot of stuff is just a complete flyer and they are usually the completely left-of-field things), but just because something doesn't happen doesn't mean it was a lie/made-up. Right, I REALLY have to do some work now!

If you don't like the opinions of the fans printed in the paper, get in touch. Those people are quoted as they are happy to give their views - simple as that. There's nothing stopping you (or anyone else) calling the sports desk (023 8042 4515) and offering yourself as a fan who is happy to be named and quoted in stories about Saints. Please, do it. The more people who are happy to be quoted, the better. The media at large uses comments/submitted pictures to interact with their audience - and the audience enjoy it, hence the success of things like the snow pictures on the BBC or phone-ins on Talk Sport - or the letter pages in every single newspaper in the UK.

Well, that's a shame, as you make some wild assumptions about what actually goes on in newsrooms and how stories are formulated. This would be a good chance for you to find out what actually happens rather than believing the same list of accusations/insults at aimed journalists (for example some of the ones I've had thrown at me: lazy hack, copy-and-pasting from xxx site, get all their stories from here, have a hidden agenda, must be a Pompey fan, etc). No-one would know why you were here (after all, you don't use your real name on here, so unless you apply as 'Matthew Le God' I'd have no way of knowing who you were, nor would anyone else) and assuming you're a competent person, you wouldn't be treated like a 15-year-old child on work experience. After all, we have dozens of people do this every year (plus far more teenagers on actual work experience too). If you change your mind (it may even be that you come in and find you were right after all!) please do get in touch with the email address I mentioned earlier.

That's a chicken and the egg scenario really. Something happens --> People talk --> Paper finds out & covers it --> More people talk about it --> Paper follows it up --> More people etc.. (Of course, where you enter in on that chain depends on your view of where you heard about it). The key difference now is that when something happens, more people know about it quicker, through text messages, forums, rolling news, websites etc.

I can only assume you don't read the diarists in the 'broadsheets' (technically, the Telegraph is the only broadsheet these days) as this is all they are - 'unsubstantiated' news that has no attributed source. As I've said, come in and see how it works rather than talking about it on here. It is a serious invitation.

"Idle unsubstantiated gossip" is usually the most popular part of the sports pages in any paper (see the diary columns, transfer columns etc.). Why would you cut out the most popular content?

Tell you what MLG, why not come into the Echo offices one day? We have all sorts of people come in for experience of life in the newsroom from time to time (from trainee reporters to pensioners who have won "day in the life of.." competitions). It won't cost you anything and you can shadow the sport reporters (or news reporters, where I predominantly work). I'd suggest waiting until after the World Cup, as there will be more Saints new going around then. Email anne.dickie@dailyecho.co.uk and tell her you are interested in coming in.

Erm, the world does extend beyond this forum! The transfer rumours are a combination of various things - mainly agent chatter, stuff in the national papers and things readers have seen/heard and sent in (for example, the Grella and Francis links) to me via email or by leaving comments on the story - it's no secret and is why I made that quite clear in the story. If they don't have links, that's because the rumour has not come from an online source. I don't use this forum to that end as there's no point - most posts are about the players people would like to see (but not actual transfer rumours) or are just links that I (or Echo readers) have already spotted to stories on other websites. I'm pleased to see the article gets so much attention though - in the three weeks it's been running, it's already had over 100,000 hits on its own - so it's obvious the vast majority of people like it. As for the £125 thing, well that has been going around for weeks. You only need to walk into a pub or read the comments on the Echo site to see people are talking about it - even if they doubt it'll come true. The paper has to reflect what readers are talking about.

No, I don't.

I got £182 for mine about a month ago on a phone recycling website. At the time, that was pretty much the same as they were going for on eBay, BNIB.

Pompey definitely benefit from it: http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/sport/football/8157251.Football_League_accepts_bigger_parachute_payments/ I asked the Football League as it didn't think it was all that clear and they confirmed it.

As far as stupid ideas go, this must be quite high up there: http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-news/local-news/2010/05/10/stadium-idea-for-liverpool-and-everton-football-clubs-unveiled-100252-26411623/