The latest trend of ex-footballers is to go onto podcasts and peddle lies in an attempt to create a narrative that you were better then what you were.
What these players forget is they all played during the internet-era, when games were live on TV and incidents documented onlines. So why they think they can lie and get away with it is beyond me.
The likes of Troy Deeney and Jay Bothroyd have already done the podcast rounds. And both consistently use the name of Arsenal Football Club in an attempt to highlight how great they were. Both have shown themselves to be liars.
Now we have Tony Pullis doing the rounds. And like Deeney and Bothroyd, he loves telling stories about how he had one over Arsenal.
Now granted, Pullis had an unbelievable record against Arsenal, considering he was managing a small club like Stoke City. And that is why I do not understand why he feels the need to lie about his experiences in playing us.
He has countless examples of getting one over Arsene Wenger, so it is baffling that he decides to embellish the truth in an attempt to boost his own standing in the game.
In a recent podcast I watched, Pulis said:
And Patrick Vieira and Jens Lehmann were on a coaching course with me. They were waiting for me afterwards and I was thinking “what are they going to say to me, two Arsenal players, we absolutely mullered them most of the time at the Britannia”.
Whilst Pullis had that great record against us, “mullered” is a little bit of an over exageration. But one to expect when they are just looking for viral clips. It is what comes next though that Pullis should hang his head for:
So they wait for me and they tell me this story that the only time Arsene Wenger coached defensive work was in that cup game.
Arsenal played Stoke City twice in gthe FA Cup with Pullis and Wenger in charge of their relative clubs – 2005 and 2010. The 2005 game, Stoke were not a Premier League club and Wenger had only played once against them – back in a 1996 League Cup game. It is highly unlikely that Wenger would have specially prepared for Stoke in 2005, so we can assume he is talking about 2010.
They say they get there and Rory [Delap] is not playing. Not only does Rory not play, but you murder us 3-1.
The 2005 game, Arsenal won 2-1. And Rory Delap was a Southampton player. The 2010 game was a 3-1 victory to Stoke. So this is conclusive evidence that Pullis is talking about the 2010 game.
What Pullis is clearly trying to do is show that he masterminded a victory over Wenger. That by not playing Rory Delap, he got in Wenger’s head and they cruised to victory. But how true was this?
The 2nd paragraph of the BBC match report states Fuller headed home Rory Delap’s long throw inside two minutes. Delap started the game, and was taken off on 84 minutes. So why has Pullis tried to change history when it is very clear that Delap played, and was highly infleuntial in the game?
But it is not just the Delap playing or not playing that Pullis is embelishing as he continues:
They say Wenger comes in afterwards and he is lost for words.
But did they really say that? In 2010, neither of Patrick Vieira or Jens Lehmann played. But it gets deeper, they were not even at Arsenal football Club.
Patrick Vieira left us in 2005, and was playign for Inter Milan in 2010, whilst Jen Lehmann was playing VfB Stuttgart; he did not return to the club until 2011.
Now cast your mind back to 2005. Arsenal won 2-1. Which two Arsenal players played in that victory? Vieira and Lehmann.
Pullis has embellished a conversation he had with two Arsenal legends about a game neither played in, to promote himself as a great manager. And that is highlighted in his final words on the matter.
Usually he would blame [thrown ins] “We should ban throw ins and that and the other”. He had nowhere to go.
This shows that Pullis was just trying to show how he mastermidned a victory against Wenger, got in his head, and Wenger could not point to Delap’s long throws. Except it was all a lie.
Remember that 2nd paragraph of the BBC’s match report? Fuller headed home Rory Delap’s long throw inside two minutes.
Pullis has peddled this story mutiple times across many podcasts.
I am not sure why a podcast mic and a few cameras are leading managers and players to lie about what happened. Especially when they know everything is documented in this internet-era.
It would actually be quite fun for clubs, management or players to take these average players and management to court over what they say. It is an attempt to damage the reputation of those they are speaking about. Is is slander.
Of course, that will never happen and our legends will rise above it.
But we just all need to remember, when listening to podcasts are those speaking actually telling the truth? Or are they lying in an attempt to raise themselves up and bring us down.
Keenos