A curious transfer tale emerged late on Thursday night that may perhaps highlight how mainstream media is increasingly reliant on social media and Internet Bampots for their stories and sources.
Over the last few months @yataoda4 has been providing Celtic fans with a very informative and entertaining perspective of the club from Japan.
With a manager and and six players moving from the J-League to Celtic in less than two years the links are getting stronger every passing transfer window with the relationship being strengthened in the summer with a week long tour to Japan for the 2023 SPFL champions.
Back in March @yataoda4 made a few suggestions of players that seemed to fit the profile of those already signed by Ange Postecoglou, Ryotaro Ito was one of the names highlighted.
Over the last four days, since Celtic won the SPFL title at Tynecastle, the Daily Record has been overdosing on good news stories about Ibrox transfer targets, usually out of contract Championship players who had looked superstars five or six years ago, previously been at a big club or named in an u-18 international squad.
Last night the Record brought some balance to their pages with Ito apparently on Celtic’s radar.
The first name against the story is Graeme Young, not someone known as having the inside track on Celtic’s transfer activities. His job title is Deputy Live Sports Editor which is the Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen sites that Reach Group are trying to build a future around.
Scott Burns, who genuinely does have contacts involved in transfers is also tagged on the by-line, had his name been first the story would have carried more weight.
Perhaps there is substance to last night’s story- or in the chase for pageviews a two month old tweet seems to have done the trick for the Glasgow based publisher.
In other Record news Chelsea have given the green light for Dujon Sterling’s move to Ibrox which translates to not offering the 23-year-old a new contract. Micky Beale left the Chelsea Academy in 2012.
This is also really secret, but I’ll introduce only one more 25y/o MF/FW Ryotaro Ito to you? Ange may have already checked him, but I hope other league scouts haven’t discovered tremendous talent yet. This is a video of him playing the game a week ago. Watch it secretly? pic.twitter.com/YfTW9Mf8Ok
— Yatao (@yataoda4) March 6, 2023
Any good @yataoda4?
— Michael O’Donoghue (@michaelod1888) May 11, 2023
— ? (@Ryyaaaannnnnnn) May 11, 2023
Is this the player you tweeted about the other week, the next hatate? @yataoda4
— the dob matchmaker (@hatategoals) May 11, 2023
He’s been banging on about him for months
— Nicky Higgins (@nickybhoy7) May 11, 2023
You literally just pluck names from the Kerrydale Street forum don’t you? It’s an embarrassing excuse for journalism. Mentioned on there last night as a good player, not one we’ve been remotely linked to, and suddenly the next day it’s on here. Laughable
— Declan Brown (@b90479613) May 11, 2023
Exclusive my arse 2 month too late ffs
— Gs (@gshep8867) May 11, 2023
That’s what happens when you are still working from your living room . All those suggestive biscuits and pots of tea contribute to the overall sub standard scooping at the daily Record ! Gone are the days of true , honest , ears to the ground journalism . Try that nowadays and you get run over by a truck ! According to a report of course ……