GLASGOW, SCOTLAND - DECEMBER 15: Nicolas Kuehn of Celtic celebrates scoring his team's third goal during the Premier Sports Cup Final between Celtic and Rangers at Hampden Park on December 15, 2024 in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by Joe Prior/Visionhaus via Getty Images)
Regular readers will know that there’s one online publication I detest more than any other, and that’s the one that calls itself Football Insider. It is the absolute pit. The toilet bowl of online football content in this country.
But because some of its anchors are ex-players and because they occasionally have an ex-director from some club or other, they are seen as having “insight” and are actually considered by NewsNow, under its ludicrous policy, as what’s called a primary source.
The only thing Football Insider is a primary source of is clickbait rubbish. I’ve lost count of the number of articles on there that are just wired to the moon. Under most circumstances, I’m happy to pretend that website doesn’t even exist. But last night, they published a piece so preposterous that I couldn’t ignore it. It’s about Nicolas Kuhn.
Let’s start with the headline as it appears on the NewsNow aggregator:
“Nicolas Kuhn to Leeds: Expert predicts cut-price deal.”
I read that and thought—expert on what? Because that’s a word Football Insider loves to throw around, yet their so-called experts don’t appear to have any actual expertise in anything. Their football finance “experts” are so laughable that even the Ibrox sites have stopped quoting them. Their “inside info” from clubs is as weak as it gets. I genuinely can’t remember the last time they got something right about Celtic.
This particular piece is credited to Paul Robinson, the ex-goalkeeper—or at least, that’s whose name is on it. Whether he wrote any of it, I’d be very surprised. But the article certainly quotes him liberally throughout. And in keeping with the way that website and its editorial team operate, everything about it is either dishonest or just plain stupid.
Let’s start with the dishonesty, because I think that’s the worst sin in publishing—deliberately misleading readers.
The Football Insider front page headline reads:
“Nicolas Kuhn to Leeds: Expert suggests cut-price Celtic deal being agreed.”
But click into the article, and it immediately collapses under its own nonsense. The idea that we would agree—or even contemplate—some kind of cut-price deal for Kuhn is absurd. So it already makes you wonder where this story is coming from and what its actual provenance is.
You don’t have to scroll far before the whole thing falls apart. Four or five paragraphs in, you get this gem:
“However, former Leeds goalkeeper Paul Robinson told Football Insider that they are unlikely to pursue a move to sign Celtic star Nicolas Kuhn, who has been heavily linked with a move.”
First of all—linked by who? I haven’t read about Leeds being interested in Kuhn anywhere except in this very article.
So that’s nonsense for a start. But an article headlined as if a cut-price deal is close to being agreed then contains a direct quote saying Leeds aren’t even likely to pursue the signing. That’s not just misleading—it’s a flat-out fabrication.
If you’re going to present someone as an expert, especially when they’re commenting on Celtic, they should at least know what they’re talking about. Robinson claims that because we signed Kuhn for a relatively low fee, there wouldn’t be a large transfer fee involved if he were to leave. That’s ludicrous. Anyone who wants to sign him will need to come here with a very big cheque. And that cheque will need to start with a two or a three—with a lot of zeroes behind it.
The idea that we’d let him go for a cut-price deal is so far from reality that you have to wonder what planet Robinson has been living on. If and when Kuhn departs, it’s likely to be for a Matt O’Riley-style number—after all, O’Riley cost us even less than Kuhn did.
Robinson is just the latest in a long line of people on that website pretending to be experts on things they know absolutely nothing about. And this isn’t even the first time he’s talked nonsense. The other day, he claimed that since the 49ers took over Leeds, they’ve rebuilt the stadium. That’s complete rubbish. They’ve done nothing to Elland Road.
If he doesn’t even know basic facts about the club he actually played for, what business does he have pretending to be an expert on anything else? He certainly isn’t an expert on Celtic’s transfer policy—he hasn’t got a clue.
But this is Football Insider in a nutshell. It churns out utter garbage every single day. And worse still, I’ve seen it used as a source on other websites. As far as I’m concerned, that destroys their credibility too. That’s a well they shouldn’t be drinking from if they know what’s good for them. Barely a word of truth or fact has ever been published on that site.
It is the worst website in Scottish football media by far.
Nothing else even comes close.
And this isn’t the first time they’ve written a grossly misleading headline above an article containing nothing of value to a reader. This kind of dishonest clickbait is one of the worst traits of the modern blogosphere.
And the fact that the NewsNow network actually allows a site built on such a foundation to pollute its feeds suggests that their standards are in the toilet as well.
They should rename the whole site Football Ignoramuses, because that’s all they are. I wouldn’t trust their “experts” to offer insight on a junior team, never mind a professional club. And I don’t care how many ex-players they’ve got on their books—the website is a joke.
In fact, more and more, I think it’s actually trolling us with its name. It’s certainly trolling us with its content.
Photo by Joe Prior/Visionhaus via Getty Images
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Yes absolute guff and not really worth commenting on, other than to say I have always disliked Leeds ever since they played Celtic in a pre season friendly around the turn of the century. Next to the huns they are the worst support I have ever experienced at Celtic Park. Animals, who caused trouble in Glasgow before the game and were antagonistic fukkers during it. They sang songs about the Munich air disaster and generally created a hostile and toxic atmosphere throughout the match and I haver never changed my mind about them since. Poison!
I’ve been in Yorkshire quite a bit over the years Johnny (Leeds, Huddersfield, Rotherham, Doncaster, Halifax, Sheffield, Wakefield, Castleford, York City) and yep – They definitely are the worst of what are generally very good folks from that county…
In territorial proximity and success wise Huddersfield Town should be their rivals – But Jeez Oh never suggest that to them they become really irate and suggest that their rivals are – wait for this – MANCHESTER UNITED – This by the way was back in the days when Alex Ferguson was in his heyday of ruling the roost in The Premiership and they (Leeds) were not just one but TWO fuckin divisions below !
As it turned out the ‘little old Huddersfield Town’ ‘Dog Botheres’ whatever that description means fuck only knows – are ahead of them in Head to Head wins and Huddy Town have won more titles and FA Cup the same amount of times so it’s amazing what you find out in lots of town hopping in Yorkshire to counteract those of an utter deluded perspective as in such Leeds United fans…
They will fit in perfectly at Liebrox if The Fat Fitness Instructor (Jim Traynor’s) toilet skidmark cleaner (That Guy Jackshun) is telling the truth for the first time in his undoubtedly sordid work life !!!
EDIT = *Dog BOTHERERS and not Dog Bothers as it reads…
Unfortunately, I clicked on that shite , sry , site and read down to the part where leads won’t sign him then stopped.
Where the feck do these peepul think they can do this .
Utter gash , never again will I click on ggem again, worse than the daily rangers
Excellent that you have learned your sore lesson then Mr Magoo and took steps to rectify it…
Starve the bastards of every penny – Even if it is only £0.000001p per click or whatever it that The Scummy’s get…
Well done again buddy on your policy going forward !
I’d let Kuhn go for a discounted £35m once we had a replacement. The EPL pay for for players who have had no CL experience.
Hoping the start of next season we are genuinely stronger than how we finish this season.
One good thing though I learned afterwards from a workmate who lived in Bridgeton, was that the the Leeds hooligans had stopped their buses in Bridgeton assuming, by their proximity to Celtic Park, that the pubs there were Celtic bars, they invaded them and knocked fk out of their customers. LOL
Every cloud has a silver lining right enough 🙂
I don’t get anything from Football Insider on the News Now site since I blocked it some time ago.
I have also blocked the Daily Rectum and other sevco sympathetic organs, so I only see the publications I choose to read.
Personally speaking Tony – I wouldn’t buy any to read in shops or online either but great news that you have blocked The Scummy Record – Whatever blocked means !!!
Click bait Crap right enough
And as for the extensive list of “Pundits” “Experts” used by these sites these guys are no brained no marks who have as much inside information as you and I. Simply former players who are usually cheerleaders for their former teams.
Unless of course in Scotland where every former Rangers player is worth a decent salary from the BBC (. Steven Thompson ffs? ????) or every other broadcaster ( Kris Boyd) or can also trouser a decent wad for being on Willie Collums VAR Review Panel!
I had the misfortune to click on one of their articles on Celtic about three transfer windows ago and found so unbelievable that I immediately looked up who owned it,and who worked for it. Suffice to say I also immediately blocked it. You could get closer to the truth seeking opinions in any pub at closing time.
Glad you’re another one Wee Jock that’s learned your lesson and mended the error of your ways !!!
Well done !
Sounds like he’s been eating his own shite …again
That’s all understandable, but surely if you block everyone with different views from yourself you’ll have nothing to get up for in the morning! If we sanitise every media outlet we disagree with then what are we left with? This blog would cease to exist because 90% of James’ articles are complaining about anti-Celtic stories. He reads them in the interest of research but tells us we’re more or less banned from reading the same articles.
I’ve grown up with the feeling that what separates Celtic fans from Rangers fans is an ability to self analyse, to consider all the facts and decide what’s right from wrong. We can only do that if we read everything for and against our cause, otherwise we’re in danger of ending up like the peepul we despise for those very reasons.
Interesting point DannyGal – And I do very much read ON HERE and other Celtic forums what the fuckin fan boys with crayons that hate us with a vengeance – poison the said crayons with about Celtic on a daily basis…
This forum then let’s me get things of ma tits about them…
But I’d probably rather die of the most aggressive form of cancer than put one even halfpenny bit towards financially supporting The Scummy’s of The Scummy Scottish Football Media for sure !
Maybe they’ve been told that the 69ers are actually buying into Celtic according to an expert and that’s why it’s us and not the midden club that’s gonna be Leeds feeder club.