Premiership / Dan Fitch / 27 October 2010 / Leave a comment Bet Now View Market

After a week of non-stop transfer speculation, Dan 'The Betting Man' Fitch takes a look at a media world obsessed with stories about big money moves.

You've got to hand it to the media. Despite the fact that no football club is able to buy any players between September and January, it doesn't stop everyone from constantly speculating about transfers.

Sometimes there is substance to this incessant chatter. No one would expect the media to ignore the Wayne Rooney story of last week, when for a few days it did genuinely look like he was destined to leave Old Trafford. Rooney is now a [1.05] shot to still be a Manchester United player come February.

The Rooney story was more of an exception than the rule though. It is far more common for the media to create their transfer headlines from nothing more tangible than thin air.

Take the example of the media reaction to Gareth Bale's hat-trick against Inter Milan. Instead of praising the player for his performance, Gareth Southgate and his ITV cohorts focused on how many millions Bale's goals had added to his transfer fee. I know Southgate flogged all of Middlesbrough's best players on his way to getting them relegated, but surely he should stop short of selling other clubs' stars?

Why is it naturally assumed that Bale will be sold? Spurs are in the Champions League and in a healthy financial position. With Bale having signed a four-year contract in May, there is absolutely no pressure for Tottenham to sell unless Bale agitates for a move. He has pledged his loyalty to the club, but that doesn't stop the TV pundits and the press speculating that he'll move to Inter or Manchester United.

Bale is the [2.02] favourite to be named as the PFA Young Player of the Year and despite his protestations that he just wants to concentrate on his football at Tottenham, he wouldn't be human if he hadn't considered life playing in front of twice as many people every week, while earning twice as much money. I can't help but think that the continual transfer speculation from the media unsettles players almost as much as the agents who are desperate to earn their percentage.

Can I really complain about this practice though? As a consumer of football media, there is nothing more likely to catch my eye than a juicy transfer rumour.

When I was a kid, I'd covertly run up large phone bills on services like Clubcall and Teamtalk to hear the latest transfer stories. The first website page I visit every morning is the BBC transfer gossip page. I'm 33 years old and should really be more interested in important world news, but I prefer to start my day by finding out who is in the frame to sign Southampton's Adam Lallana.

Then I pop over to Newsnow, which is awash with links with to made-up transfer rubbish, from a plethora of traffic seeking websites. Again I can't claim to be holier than thou, because not only do I visit these websites, but I actually run one that has been known to conjure up visitors with enticing headlines like: "Spurs to sign Egyptian playmaker".

The newspapers start these rumours to fill column inches, which are pounced upon by Sky Sports News and a blogosphere equally desperate for content. Then we fans keep this cottage industry alive by eating it all up.

Why do we love it so much? Because we all want our team to be better, whether that means gaining promotion to the Football League or winning the Champions League and we love to dream of the fantasy team that will make those wishes come true.

I'm just hoping that mine still has Gareth Bale in it next season.