James Ducker is the Northern football correspondent for The Times newspaper, with great focus on Manchester City and Manchester United.
In an exclusive interview with Read Man City, James explains how he ended up in the position he currently holds, analyses the possible summer outgoings at the club, talks about Manuel Pellegrini’s relationship with the press, and much more.
What has been your route into sports journalism and has it always been your aspiration?
I’d wanted to be a journalist from as young as 14 or 15 I think. I was always active as far as the school newspaper was concerned and things like that, always sports mad and an avid reader of the sports pages and books, but the interest flourished after a week’s work experience on the Manchester Evening News sports desk about four months into my first year at university in Sheffield.
They asked me back, I started to do more and more, and by third year at uni I was doing a huge amount for them as a freelance of sorts, to the point where I ended up having to get an extension on dissertation. Not the smartest move, I must admit, but it all sort out worked out in the end. The MEN ended up generously sponsoring me through my newspaper journalism diploma at the University of Central Lancashire, Preston after Sheffield and then took me on as a trainee news reporter.
I had two-and-a-half years as a news reporter which I loved, but I still did sport on the side and the final 18 months was doing weekend matches for The Times. I was then offered a contract after indicating I was going to leave the MEN to try to make it work with them and so things progressed from there. That seems like a lifetime ago, I’ll be honest.
As a journalist, just how hard is it to break into the industry and get to where you are today?
Very hard indeed and I would say in the 13 years since I joined the MEN as a trainee and the ten years since moving to The Times, it’s even harder – much harder, in fact – for those looking for jobs in the industry now. I take my hat off to them, it’s not easy but plenty persevere and force their way through.
What advice would you offer for anyone who is keen on getting into sports journalism?
An assortment, really, although others might disagree. I meet all manner of people who say they want to go into journalism and have learnt to establish pretty quickly how serious they are. Those that really want it put themselves about. It’s no good doing a degree then coming out and thinking, ‘Right, I better get some experience’. Not only do you need to think carefully about what you study – I wouldn’t advocate a three-year undergraduate journalism or media studies degree but that’s solely a personal view – you need to be gaining as much experience as possible throughout your studies.
Take someone like Adam Crafton, who’s studying languages at Cambridge – in itself, a wise move – and is spending every spare, waking minute working for the Daily Mail and impressing while doing so. That’s hunger, that’s drive. Personally I’m of the view that it’s important to get a news grounding – it sets you up as a journalist – but I also appreciate that you often just want to get in wherever you can these days and can’t be too picky. I also think aspiring journalists too often just think about the traditional platforms of print, radio and television when there’s a whole new world opening up with social media and the many opportunities that provides.
What has been your best moment as a journalist?
I wouldn’t say there’s been a single best moment. I think there’s been an array of great, diverse experiences, the combination of which is more memorable than any single event. From a football perspective, I’ve been to World Cups, European Championships, covered Champions League finals, some extraordinary matches, met and interviewed some weird and wonderful people, but beyond football some of the experiences in other areas have been eye-catching for different reasons – travelling to Nairobi to spend time with a retired Bolton couple doing some terrific charity work in one of Kenya’s worst and largest slums, big news investigations, auditioning for Pop Stars. That’s what’s great about journalism – the diverse range of things I’ve been able to try my hand at.
At present, you are the Northern football correspondent at The Times, which consists of you reporting on City. Do you feel the access and insight you get from the club is sufficient?
I don’t think you’ll hear any sports journalist in the modern media age say they are satisfied with the access they get at football clubs. Some are much better and more accommodating than others but the days of being able to waltz up and spend hours at the training ground chatting to players and the coaching staff and having a cup of tea with the manager are long gone I’m afraid.
City have endured a tough period, and are in a poor patch in terms of form, excluding the improved display against Chelsea, what do you put that down to?
They had a poor start, got it together to go on a long unbeaten run and somehow qualify for the Champions League knockout stages but in the last few weeks some of the problems I thought they’d put behind them – basic individual and collective errors/lapses of concentration – have reared their head again. It was a good performance against Chelsea, though, so maybe they’ve turned a corner with that one.
One of the issues for me is that the team is still heavily dependent on the signings made in the pre-Pellegrini/Begiristain era and when the likes of Yaya Toure, Sergio Aguero, Vincent Kompany, David Silva, Joe Hart are missing or endure a dip in form, the team often suffers markedly as a consequence. There are, of course, exceptions to that – Rome in December being the obvious one – but by and large I really think the more recent signings need to start stepping up and easing the burden on Aguero and co. The question is whether they’re good enough to? I’m not sure enough of them are.
I think Bony will offer them something different up front but I’m still struggling to understand how the club could pay €53.8 million euros for Mangala – and City have confirmed privately that was the actual fee. You don’t pay that sort of money for very raw potential, especially not when there was a talented left-footed centre-half four years Mangala’s junior on the books already. Is Mangala really that much better than Karim Rekik? I’m not so sure and would have liked to see Rekik given a go.
Should City fail to retain their Premier League title, do you think Pellegrini would suffer from a similar scenario as the one we saw with Mancini, or do you think the club’s hierarchy would be more tolerant this time?
I don’t know. If he fails to retain the title but wins or goes far in the Champions League then I suspect he’d be OK but Abu Dhabi are intolerant of failure so anything is possible. If he stays, though, he and Begiristain really need to improve their recent transfer record and I would like to see more opportunities being afforded to young players.
Many City fans have the view that Patrick Vieira, currently in charge of the EDS side, is being groomed for the first team job. Do you think there is any truth to this and what do you make of his accomplishments with the U21 side?
That’s not an unreasonable view at all and some coaches have shown they can make the jump to the highest level right away. Vieira seems to be doing an impressive job with the Under-21s but I’ve learnt not to read too much into what happens at that level – the step up to first teams is so great these days that success in the Under-21s often offers little indication of how a player might fare at senior level, unless it’s obvious to all that there’s an exceptional talent in the offing. And often the reality then is they aren’t in the Under-21s for very long.
If Vieira is not the man selected to succeed Pellegrini, who do you think would be chosen as the Chilean’s replacement?
Whatever they say to the contrary, they would love Guardiola at City but I don’t see him leaving Bayern any time soon.
With the recent opening of the £200m CFA facility, there now appears to be a great emphasis on integrating youth players into the first-team. In your opinion, how serious are the club when it comes to youth, and if any, which of the current crop do you think could realistically make the grade?
The club certainly talks a good game, although I never quite understand why the current ownership regime seemed so keen to distance itself from the excellent work that was done at youth level under Jim Cassell’s tutelage. City had an enviable record not just of producing professional footballers but Premier League standard players and in the case of the likes of Micah Richards and Daniel Sturridge, Champions League standard ones.
The difference, then, was that there was a clear pathway to the first team. Now, no youth coach at the club can turn around to a young player and say, ‘You will get your chance at first team level at this club’ but there’s been little to no evidence of that happening in the six and a half years since Sheikh Mansour bought the club.
Yes, City’s first team is much better now than it was when the Arabs took over but if Richards and Sturridge were coming through now they’d both easily be good enough for Pellegrini’s squad. I think you have to have a manager at the top who believes firmly in the promotion of youth if that’s the way you want to go and we really don’t know if Pellegrini is that man.
He’s shown precious little appetite in my view so far to blood kids. Equally, if the manager is under intense pressure to constantly deliver silverware, is he going to take a chance on youth with a view to four or five years down the line? A lot of people I speak to at the club have raved about Jose Angel Pozo so we’ll have to see how he does. Angelino Tasende has talent, as does Marcos Lopes, presently on loan at Lille. A little younger still, Tosin Adarabioyo has a genuine chance.
Despite some rumours, there were no high-profile January exits on City’s part, but that could change in the summer. Yaya Toure, Stevan Jovetic and James Milner have all been touted as possible outgoings, what are your thoughts on each player’s situation?
Jovetic is a lovely player on his day but he’s far too inconsistent for me, a little too lightweight and also injury prone. If a suitable offer comes in from Italy in the summer, I think City would take it. Toure’s situation is complicated and would depend both on his wishes and the success the club might have in attracting a Paul Pogba or Ross Barkley type. James Milner I’d keep – great character, dependable, consistent and obviously important to the home-grown quota – but unless City raise their contract offer he could go. Liverpool seem to be the favourites to get him if he does opt to leave.
From the outside, it seems as though Pellegrini does not reveal too much in interviews and press conferences. How would you view his relationship with the press and for you as a journalist, how difficult does this make your job?
I don’t think any of the other Manchester reporters would expect to have a close relationship with Pellegrini. He’s no interest in that but even some of the more forthcoming and convivial managers, foreign or otherwise, like to keep their distance. Some, by contrast, go out of their way to engage and others are great once they’ve established a level of trust. For me, Pellegrini often gives off the air of a man who would rather be anywhere else than in a room full of journalists but that is his prerogative, his nature and I think most accept that. All reporters want is managers who make good copy and can deliver a sound-bite but that’s just not Pellegrini so you have to work with what you have. I think the frustration is not that he won’t come out and make controversial comments, rather that he’s reluctant to talk about most things and, moreover, expand on a subject, even if that’s something that will reflect well on him, a player or the club.
I think all of this feels more pronounced because his predecessor, Roberto Mancini, was the polar opposite – outspoken, funny, a dab hand at a one-liner and generally engaging. City were tired of being in the papers for the wrong reasons with some of the side-shows during Mancini’s time and so Pellegrini was viewed very much as a safe pair of hands on that front but the flip side is that it’s harder to get Pellegrini led quotes/stories in the paper now. I don’t think a manager should or should have to pander to the media, though. He should do what he thinks is best for his club and the one thing you can say about the Chilean is he’s his own man. I admire him for that.
Inevitably, a lot of fans already have one eye on the Champions League tie with Barcelona. Will City be better equipped for the task at hand this time around?
Yes, I think they will. This is their fourth season in the competition, the second time they’ve got through to the knockout stage, where, of course, they also met Barcelona last time out in the last 16. My concern would be that if Messi, Neymar and Suarez hit it off over the two legs and for much of the two legs then City’s defence/midfield will be vulnerable to that, especially if Kompany is not on the top of his game. But City have enough weapons of their own to hurt that Barcelona defence. I wouldn’t be in the least bit surprised if City go through – and I’m dearly hoping they do – but I wouldn’t be remotely surprised if they go out either.
Many thanks to James for taking the time out to take part in this interview.
You can follow him on twitter: @DuckerTheTimes
