Left: Jermaine Defoe getting by Manchester City goalie Joe Hart (courtesy of ESPN.com). Right: Andrei Arshavin being chased by two Man United players (courtesy of ESPN.com).
By Ian Brophy
“Death by Manchester” written by David Hirshey is an article on ESPN.com. It was published on January 23 and is about two English premier League games: Tottenham vs. Manchester City and Arsenal vs. Manchester United, both on January 22. The article talks about the important points in both games and the impact of the outcomes.
The analysis in the article is very insightful and takes on both games individually. I think his choice to analyze the games separately was the right decision because dealing with them at the same time could confuse readers. The introduction of the article is also good because it ties the two games together and sets up the article.
One part of the article I think could be bad sports journalism, is the fact that Hirshey openly talks about how he is an Arsenal fan. This could lead readers to discount his writing as biased. Especially when he is writing about Arsenal and Tottenham (Arsenal’s bitter rivals).
However, when reading the article his love for arsenal comes across as him being open about his feelings with his readers. It is as though he is giving full disclosure to the readers. In a way it makes his writing seem more objective at times and also more personal to readers. Such as when he says “As much as I always enjoy seeing Redknapp in a lather — not that I could revel in Spursfreude all that long considering the nausea-inducing result that followed barely two hours later — he can feel aggrieved that his side’s improbable title challenge dissipated in a cloud of controversy thanks to the cue-balled, bat-blind Webb.”This shows that while he dislikes tottenham, he still recognizes that a referee’s mistake led to them losing the game and possibly a shot at the title. He also criticizes Arsenal and their coach throughout the article.
The only time I think you can see a bit of bias is when he is analyzing the Arsenal game. He writes about Arsenal’s mistakes but fails to credit Manchester United adequately for their performance. This could lead to people pointing out a clear bias in his writing. I think as an Arsenal fan he should be careful about the way he rights about Arsenal, but I like that he has full disclosure with his readers about where his loyalty lies.
His writing style is very entertaining, eloquent, honest, and to the point. Overall I think this is a very good article by a good, well respected writer. However, it does have it’s flaws. As I stated before, I think Hirshey should be more mindful of the bias in his writing and how it looks to readers.
David Hirshey (courtesy of ESPN.com)
The Press Box 