General Wolves News

[Elephant Pyjamas]

I quite like that about him though, I hate when a site like SI has an article I want to read, and the first 700 words are trying to over elaborate to paint a picture of the field some NFL player, played high school football on.

His references for the most part didn't work for me, it felt like he was trying a bit too hard, but I liked having such regular content on Wolves, from a Wolves fan, so I saw past it.

I actually quite like the bloke, how he comes across on podcasts etc, i like his humour, he's humble and just seems like a normal bloke. There are some journalists, in fact a lot of journalists that are arrogant and pompous, he's never come across like that. He doesn't take himself too seriously, and he must have got dogs abuse down the years, which he's taken pretty well i think.

 

[Johnny75]

It might've helped if Spiers learned something about the actual game of football itself.

Like Nixon and other assorted hacks it seems they know so little about the actual game they write about.

If he had learnt about the game then he could've written the deeper pieces and could've also run different styles of match reports/ analysis.

But if you've got no understanding you're a one trick pony.

Seems the Athletic got tired of that trick.

 

[Jack Regan]

Seems the Athletic got tired of that trick.

They haven't as he's still going to be writing for them.

"After seven years, it’s now time for a new challenge as a London writer for The Athletic, penning features and covering clubs in the capital. There are an abundance of fascinating tales out there to tell and I can’t wait to bring them to you."

 

[Kenny]

They haven't as he's still going to be writing for them.

"After seven years, it’s now time for a new challenge as a London writer for The Athletic, penning features and covering clubs in the capital. There are an abundance of fascinating tales out there to tell and I can’t wait to bring them to you."

Sounds like he is getting the Athletic version of the quirky bit ITV had at the end of their 10 o'clock news.

 

[Jack Regan]

Sounds like he is getting the Athletic version of the quirky bit ITV had at the end of their 10 o'clock news.

Yeah, I was just about to edit my post to say if they focus him on the former rather than the latter (more like all that Vardy trial shite) then Johnny may be right.

 

[Paddingtonwolf]

Its a push to an athletic backwater.

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

Send him to cover Leyton Orient and Barnet.

It *might* do him some good to have a bit of distance between his work and who he supports. Maybe.

 

[Paddingtonwolf]

All the big London sides have dedicated Athletic correspondents, some of whom are very good indeed, so I struggle to see what the "London correspondent" will actually be covering.

 

[YoungWolf]

Send him to cover Leyton Orient and Barnet.

It *might* do him some good to have a bit of distance between his work and who he supports. Maybe.

Woah - the Os are fine thanks

 

[Alan]

I quite like that about him though, I hate when a site like SI has an article I want to read, and the first 700 words are trying to over elaborate to paint a picture of the field some NFL player, played high school football on.

High school football catching strays out here

 

[pr0sl0]

I quite like that about him though, I hate when a site like SI has an article I want to read, and the first 700 words are trying to over elaborate to paint a picture of the field some NFL player, played high school football on.

Yeah, I don't want to sound too critical of him - there is absolutely a place for both kinds of sports writing, neither is inherently better or worse than the other, and I've got nothing against him as a person. I myself like self-indulgent literary waffling in my sports writing, but either way Spiers was never really the right kind of writer for the kind of coverage The Athletic generally tries to provide.

Considering they sucked up loads of journalists just like him - the most prominent local reporter for each team in the top leagues in the UK, regardless of their actual reporting style - then I can imagine he won't be the last to get shuffled around from beat to beat as they try to improve coverage now the brand is settled.

 

[Tony Towner]

Spiers was always the same kind of writer, and never really evolved to fit The Athletic's house style.

A tabloid guy.

All his pieces use simple, plain language, with each individual sentence almost always split into its own "paragraph" to make it even easier to read.

It works fine for 500-word match reports in The Express & Star, but it's a world away from the tradition of American long-form magazine journalism that The Athletic emerged from.

The tone and structure of his longer, in-depth pieces never came together as a result - like trying to run a marathon in flip-flops.

He also never managed to get out of the client journalism trap, and while that's true of most sports journalists it also never particularly felt like he was much of an expert on football as a sport, so his work always felt shallow in both tone and content.

I think he came across more naturally in podcast form than in writing. Decent sense of humour, self deprecating, more critical where necessary and dropped in some itk stuff than in anything he wrote. Both the ones he did had their flaws, too much bantz with Judah and Jacqui Oatley acting like a primary school teacher, but always thought he came across in a decent light.

As said by others his writing style is too try hard and the client journalism was getting worse. I don’t know if that came from him or is a direction from The Athletic's UK office, because it's not how the US writers operate.

If they've moved him into a role to be whimsical then it won't last long.

 

[Deano]

Its day 1 and I can already tell I'm not going to like this Madeley chap at all

 

[Tony Towner]

Its day 1 and I can already tell I'm not going to like this Madeley chap at all

He's more active than Spiers was on none Wolves stuff. Very team Gareth tonight, retweeting Carragher slagging off the Molineux crowd when a decent proportion will have been Wolves fans probably could have done with a rethink

 

[PuntsWolf]

ST’s go on sale to waiting list tomorrow. Apparently 1500 available and it’s £622 behind the goals. 10am mad scramble tomorrow.

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

I look forward to those on the waiting list from here walking the walk and buying one.

 

[YoungWolf]

Trying to remember what number I am. Either way no way I can afford it at this point

 

[PuntsWolf]

Trying to remember what number I am. Either way no way I can afford it at this point

If you haven’t had the email then you’re not in the top 1500

 

[YoungWolf]

Ah okay. Just had a look and I was around 5000 so way off anyway!

 

[Del Woppio]

You stand half a chance I reckon, I'm sure people in the 4000s were being offered them last Summer