Given a victim of hype.

The view from the bench isn't at all great, and it's something Shay Given has rarely experienced in his time as a professional goalkeeper. When you've been a top Premier League keeper for nigh on a decade, oozing class on an impressively consistent basis, first team football is surely something you should be expecting, especially as a 34 year old. A worrying age, maybe, for a right winger, but certainly not a goalkeeper.
Yet, when Given should be starting a new season in goal with Manchester City, with the club's best chance for proper glory in years, he finds himself sitting on the bench, while a young upstart in the shape of Joe Hart is preferred to him.
Let's make no bones about it. At White Hart Lane last Saturday, Hart single-handedly prevented Tottenham from annihilating and humiliating his team mates, the most expensive collection of players in the Premier League. On the day, Mancini's selection of Hart ahead of Given seemed totally justified, as he heroically prevented 3 or 4 certain goals. Given's expression said it all - after his younger comrade tipped over a deflected, dipping volley from Tottenham left-back Assou-Ekotto, a slight shake of the head and wry smirk from the Donegalman displayed his feelings for all to see; how the hell is Given going to get back into this Manchester City side?
Well the most obvious answer there is if Hart loses form; but if he performs at even 50% capacity for the rest of the season, the kid should be fine. He is a very talented goalkeeper and has a massive future ahead of him if he gets his head down and works.
But this brings me to the crux of my article; what exactly WILL happen if Hart loses form, in terms of the media?
I theorize that the only reason Hart was picked instead of Given in the first place is because of the intense pressure from both the English media and fans, with regard to their new buzz word; 'youth'. After a disastrous World Cup campaign, the media and fans alike clambered over themselves to find a solution, and came up with a complete overhaul of the international team; deadwood, underperforming superstars out, young, promising players in. Simple, right?
Rob Green's howler and David James's age put the goalkeeping position under particular scrutiny, and the one goalkeeper who didn't play a minute at the World Cup was hailed as the next big thing. Yes, Joe Hart.
By pure process of elimination, Hart is now England's best keeper, because one is being put out to pasture in League One, and the other's career on the international stage is effectively ruined because of one mistake. So naturally, England fans want their new darling playing regular club football. So now, it's a toss up between an established international goalkeeper with a decade or so of experience in the Premier League, versus a player unproven on the international stage, with three seasons at most in the PL. And obviously we've all seen who came out on top.
But what happens when Hart makes the inevitable howler, or string of howlers, for either City or England? Will the media stick to their guns (like they should when they're zealously calling for the heads of the likes of Lampard and Gerrard, in lieu of 'youth' like it's some form of religion)
or will they dish out the exact same harsh, ridiculous treatment that they subjected Rob Green to? If it's the latter, will we see the pro-Hart City fans do a U-turn and question why they ever dropped Given in the first place, in true fickle English football fan nature?
This is all highly speculative of course but it paints a picture whereby the media hold the real power in English football; they build players up on pedestals and then tear them asunder viciously when expectations aren't met. They never explicitly came out and said that Hart should be preferred to Given, but by their general message they may have pressurised Roberto Mancini in some way to make the selection he did on Saturday.
Had Robert Green played a blinder at the World Cup, would Hart have been glorified by fans and media alike without due proof of his international credentials? I have a strong feeling that Given would have been in goal for Saturday had this been the case.