The media really is taking a huge amount of fuel from Barry Fry’s original interview on Emmanuel Fernandez, the Peterborough chairman who has been very smugly in the press talking about his former charge and how he believes Rangers will sell him for £40M. It caused a bunch of clickbait in the press because once a story like this appears, other sources will use it over and over again. To say that the press has run with this story and used it is hinting at something which suggests the usual kind of branching out from an original story, and Fry provided the fuel big time for this one.
Press recycling the same narrative
The latest comes now from Rangers Review, Chris Jack, who now seems to have a random claim that Rangers secured a goal clause in Fernandez’s contract. Something about having to score a certain amount of goals that Barry Fry insisted on as well.
Origins of the claim unclear
We are not entirely sure exactly where this story comes from in the sense that we know who the origin is, but the imagination behind this one is certainly original. The idea that Barry Fry would insist on a goal clause, or that Rangers would regarding Fernandez’s contract, is about as surreal as it gets. Barry Fry on Fernandez is a recurring theme.
Fernandez not a natural goalscorer
Fernandez only scored five goals for Peterborough last season. Last season. He is not exactly a goal machine and he never really has been. He had 7 career goals for Posh in 61 appearances. But randomly, from nowhere, a few set piece scores from Scott Fry gets Fernandez three or four goals in the league and suddenly a whole bunch of content material has surfaced regarding his future.
Recent form tells a different story
It may have escaped some people’s attention that Fernandez has not scored in weeks. The one time he scored was in fact handball. In all fairness, we admit that the story we saw in the press regarding him kind of ‘conning’ everybody with that one was not entirely untrue.
Hand of God moment
He knew he had handled it into the net, but celebrated anyway, very much Maradona style hand of God. But nevertheless, he has not scored legitimately in quite a long time. A month, to be exact. Last scored in the Livi draw.
Set piece threat has vanished
The set piece goals that Scott Fry apparently was being so praised for have entirely dried up. Rangers are rotten again on dead balls. We are not doing much on those at all. Possibly because teams have cottoned onto the game and are snuffing the plan out.
A very strange clause indeed
So this new story saying that Rangers insisted on a goal clause, or that Barry Fry did, is a very surreal clause and story indeed. The originating of it is, well, original. The cause of it we are not entirely sure.
Hype does not match reality
But Fernandez’s goals have dried up entirely, yet there is so much hype about him. Barry Fry on Fernandez is part of it. We will discuss that separately. For now, the whole thing is baffling.