All Change at the Merc Jordan Blackwell - Out / Josh Holland - In

[Tommy Fresh]

1 minute ago, moore_94 said:

 

 

Hidden gem, like he's unknown 

[Miquel The Work Geordie]

"A hidden gem" the bloke will be one of the highest paid players at the highest profile club in the division  

[Stadt]

The most embarrassing thing about these  glazing pieces are he’s not really gaining from it, maybe the odd ‘nice’ scoop lands his way but there is no journalism going on.

[gerblod]

On 01/06/2026 at 21:22, Lineker's Left Foot said:

My God, a slow news day?

 

Could we have Laura Kussenberg grilling our Reprobate Owners, an equivalent of Brian Clough doing it or even Gene Hunt.. anybody but another ‘Yes Man Puppet’ doing it?

Kuenssberg. More properly Künßberg. Fascinating background - paternal grandfather slipped out of Germany (more properly Deutschland) when invited to join the SS (they didn't know he was part Jewish on his mother's side). Smart move. His father's side traces its ancestry back to Charlemagne (748-814).

Slow football news morning - thought I'd pep it up with something completely different 😊 . 

[smudger63]

On 12/06/2026 at 16:04, inckley fox said:

From what I've read, a few things strike me.

 

First up, I wonder whether the Mercury feel Jordan had burnt his bridges with the club. Maybe the club have quietly suggested that a more sympathetic writer would get more access. And maybe the paper has memories of the halcyon days of Bill Anderson pandering to the club and, regardless of fans' views of him, having significant stories to break as a consequence.

 

If these misconceptions and lingering memories were a factor, then I'd expect it to go very wrong for them. They might get a couple of early scoops, but nothing significant, and having a club-friendly voice in the paper would only make it seem like they weren't adequately representing the full range of the fans' views. It'd also make them seem complicit if things continued to go downhill - which they probably will - and Josh Holland will be laughed off as little more than a sycophantic irritant. 

 

The second thing is that I don't think, technically speaking, that he's any good at writing!

Its always been the way of the club to want a local mercury reporter that it is "club friendly". Even going back to the seventies. That now extends to radio leicester too. People lambast Ian Stringer on here, but he would ask the difficult questions if he felt they needed asking, which would and did upset people at the club. It does feel like the club are using the new guy at the Mercury as an extension of their own in house media at the moment though. That needs to change if he is to be taken seriously by fans with a mind of their own. 

[Claudio Fannieri]

In fairness I think a lot of this will be about social media views and interactions, I think Josh is creating content in what is a pretty quiet pre season at the moment, given there is little in the way of transfer speculation to report on.