We need to talk about Talksport. Spouting “opinions” as controversial as possible has always been their thing, but recently it’s clearly seen a big, and surely purposeful, push.

And it works.

Simon Jordan spent days trending for giving people an excuse to be racist. “Tells it like it is”, says local man wanting to feel more comfortable about his bigotry.

It brought huge coverage, highlighted advertisers, and will have been considered very successful.

Then there was Gabby Agbonlahor slating James Rodriguez.

Saying that if Everton had better players on the bench then he’d be dropped. Well, yeah.

This was covered throughout world football, seriously... partly because it came from a former England international.

They’ll go for anything which can enthuse their perception of white-van-man, but recently it’s been getting a far greater audience, or at least more attention.

This is intriguing, because it will absolutely be purposeful. The extra attention isn’t a happy accident for them.

Genuinely, it feels like a wider effort to use Talksport as a vehicle to nudge the angle of wider narratives, rather than simply for direct financial reasons.

So get that audience who want the slant, and then drip further general narratives in. In a way, it’s impressive.

Anyway, I don’t think this is solely about listening figures, clickbait, or people calling in, it’s something wider than that.

Make of that what you will, and see how it goes from here.

(And don’t get distracted by concentrating on the perceived unfairness to your club)