Just over 30 years ago an event occurred that I think all of you would consider to be of greater import than the current struggles of our beloved football club. In July 1988 the captain of USS Vincennes panicked and let loose 2 surface to air missiles. He brought down an Iranian passenger plane. 290 souls were killed including babes in arms and it is believed, with some justification, that some were conscious as they fell 10,000 feet into the Gulf. Imagine.
Robert Fisk was a proper journalist working for a proper newspaper, The London Times. He didn’t buy the American versions of events (they changed as evidence changed) and he investigated the story as a good journalist does, using his many contacts in the area. He wrote a story that destroyed many of the American lies. When it was published all the points contradicting the American versions of events were missing, taken out by Fisk’s editor. What was left was largely anodyne drivel. Fisk left for the Independent. Their gain.
Our match today is, for various reasons, a big story, played in a febrile off field atmosphere and always was going to be - two big clubs with big traditions fallen on hard times; our manager; a takeover; the financial consequences; and the football ones too. And yet many appear to be surprised by the drivel that is being written about us; and, worse, appear to be believing it; and, worse still, appear to be repeating it, giving it a life of its own. There are negative comments about the tabloids and the Daily Mail and yet, apparently we’re more than prepared to take as gospel what Craig Hope and others are feeding us.
What do we actually know about the takeover and Erik Alonso’s finances? Diddly squat is what. We know Mel has agreed a deal and with whom; we know that’s with the EFL for the owner’s test. That is pretty much it. And that is all anyone actually knows apart from the 3 parties involved (plus their advisors).
All the rest is guesswork and rumour, pure and simple. But there are plenty who might want to disrupt us in this week of all weeks. Mr Chansiri for one. Might he be Craig Hope’s source? Not beyond the bounds of possibility.
If a paper like The Times can distort the truth about the death of 290 people why do we accept the word of hacks whose sole aims are to get clicks on an article, names on the stories and followers on twitter? That’s now a job apparently. We don’t have to help them.
There are times too when not only am I glad that I have no social media presence but I’m also happy not to be a moderator of this board; when I feel so out of sync with my fellow fans that I question my sanity. This is one of them. Imagine having to read all the codswallop that’s being spouted in the name of ‘it’s my opinion therefore I’m entitled to express it’. There are very few, I suspect, that would say much of what they have written on these pages to the faces of the players, the manager, coaching staff, recruitment team or our current owner. There are more than a few contributors to these boards who allegedly espouse treating people with respect, who say they believe that mental health is important (and we have at least two players who have publicly described their own mental health challenges) but who have joined in the general pile on with apparent alacrity. Apparently it’s even worse elsewhere. An opinion is not necessarily correct just because you’re willing to die for it (Oscar Wilde). ‘Chancer’ is the latest adjective being liberally bandied around about a bloke none of us have met and none of us know. What if he isn’t? Why can’t we give him a chance, if he is, eventually, to take us over?
We have no say in who runs the club we support. It is not in ‘our’ gift to choose our next owner whether we like it or not. Never has been. Whether that’s right or wrong is a legitimate point of discussion. In the meantime we have a team to support and a match to win and a future that will take care of itself, win, lose or draw. And I hope it’s the first of those.
Maybe so, but I honestly don't know anything about the guy, never heard of him or this Matt Southall he is mates with (I thought Southall was an ex- Everton goalie!) These days everyone is an amateur detective and a lot of what I see on twitter and here is a feeding frenzy of trying to find out every possible bad thing about him and condemn him for it.
I don't think football is a democracy, no, in fact if I take a step back I think it is probably run by some people who are pretty corrupt. But I obviously don't care about that enough to boycott it any more than I don't care enough to stop buying stuff off Amazon or watching Sky Sports. So I suck it up and generally keep my mouth shut on this side of the game.
I don't think the comparison with politicians works well. Politicians are publicly elected officials placed there to represent us, but football club owners? No they are the guys with the money and/or the ambition. Football clubs are private companies accountable to shareholders not to fans, who at best are the ever-woolley "stakeholders".
Again, I return to the statement that if you find that morally unacceptable, then walk away from it.
Or at least wait until there is something to be vocal about. There really isn't yet, is there?
You may all be proved right in the long or even the short term, but at least give the guy a chance.
I am not sure the football club owner exists that would meet the exacting standards of some of our fans.
"Close friend"
Do we actually know that? Are all friends/associates to be classed as "close friends" for the purposes of highlighting a point?
He didn't say that on the interview I saw on sky, he merely said that they have money and will spend on the club what is required to be successful without being reckless. "If it takes £20m or if it takes £150m then ok"
It's always better to listen to an actual interview than go on a headline tweet.
NellyRam reacted to ilkleyram in El DerbyCo
