MARTIN DUBRAVKA CELTIC LINK MAKES NO SENSE AT ALL, UNLESS YOU KNOW HOW LOCAL NEWSPAPERS WORK
- BY LIAM CARRIGAN
- Apr 10
- 3 min read
We all expect Celtic to strengthen a variety of areas in the summer.
However, I don’t think anyone expects us to bring in a new goalkeeper. With Kasper Schmeichel on board for at least one more year, and Viljami Sinisalo continuing to grow into the role of a Celtic goalkeeper, looking more confident with each game he plays, I’d say we’re pretty well covered in that area.
Scott Bain is, I think, still around too, though I’m not sure when the last confirmed sighting of him was.
So, I was quite surprised this morning to see Celtic linked with a summer move for Newcastle number two keeper Martin Dubravka.
If Celtic Wanted Martin Dubravka, They Would Have Signed Him Last Summer
For a brief period last summer, before the arrival of both Sinisalo and Schmeichel, Celtic were, reportedly, interested in Dubravka. I seriously doubt that is still the case.
The Daily Record ran the story, but as usual, its stolen from another source. The Chronicle is a local regional newspaper based in the North East of England. So, naturally, Newcastle United feature quite heavily in their sports coverage.
However, the Dubravka story is, in this case, what we used to call “filler” back when I worked in local newspapers as a junior reporter.
Basically, when you’re writing a story, you have a certain word count in mind. Generally, a standard news story is about 250-350 words.
You’ll notice that my blogs here on acsom.net tend to run a bit longer than this, because I’m not purely a news reporter. I also give you my opinion of the story, and where necessary, I’ll offer correction on what I think are factual inaccuracies in how other media are telling the story.
Sometimes, especially in local publications like The Chronicle, you’ve got your story written up, you’ve covered all the information, and then you realize it’s about 100 words short.
Your editor is asking you where the story is, they want to get it published in time for a deadline, or more likely in today’s market, they want to get it online in time to catch whenever their peak readership time of the day is.
You’ll notice if you read the original story, that Celtic and their supposed link with Martin Dubravka is an afterthought. It’s clearly a last-minute addendum, shoe-horned into a story that focuses on other, more important issues for Newcastle United.
Unfortunately for the Daily Record, in their desperation to find something, anything to write about Celtic or Rangers, they’ve searched and found this story.
But I’m guessing they probably didn’t read the original article. Had they bothered to do so, they would know that this is filler. There is no source quoted, no pictures of any Celtic scouts checking out Dubravka, nothing.
This tacked on story does however, give the writer an excuse to add in a link to another story on the site about Dubravka, thereby increasing reader engagement, a key element of online journalistic best practice.
So, no Celtic are not interested in Martin Dubravka. That’s no slight on him, he’s an excellent goalkeeper, but he’s under contract with an EPL team and he’s 36 years old. He is out of our range both in terms of price and age profile.
Again, taking 30 seconds to actually read the original story, and placing it within its proper context, rather than just cutting and pasting a google link, would have saved the Daily Record from yet more embarrassment.
Still, I’m glad they didn’t bother. After all, it gives me something to write about!