Captain's gesture (Smalley)

GreenSam":25u2x9kj said:

Can I just interject?

I think there is no reasonable ground to assume that the players showed their support for Smalley due to some distasteful comments that were made on here and on other mediums. Far more likely surely that they just made a gesture in support of a friend and colleague who suffered a nasty injury. It was undoubtedly a nice gesture but it was one that could very easily have been motivated purely by compassion for Smalley. Such gestures are fairly commonplace in football and may well have taken place without the comments. Of course they didn't do it 'for world peace' but they may have just done it for the injury in general.

As for the comments specifically, it goes without saying that I don't support or condone such comments and in all fairness two of the people who made them have now admitted it was wrong. I agree with the point being made that real people play for Argyle and not just footballers who disappear when the game is over. I'll be honest, I did read some of the comments and bash my head against a wall. It's good that two of the people who made them have been gentlemanly enough to admit they were wrong. However:

I struggle to see the need for John Harbin to make such a public reference to it in his program notes. When there is such a feelgood feeling around the club and by and large the team and fans are happier with eachother than they have been in years, why mention this one example of tastelessness? Why, when the team dug in so well and there was such a memorable, magic moment with Curtis Nelson geeing up the fans after his injury to support the lads at 3-2 up in Northampton, could he not have resisted the urge to alert the public to what was essentially a minority of silly comments. People type crude stuff without thinking on the internet. I've done it, most people reading this will have done it. If you haven't, then fair play to you you're in a minority. I take on board that the seemingly faceless nature of the internet means that many people do not exercise the same discretion as they normally would in other conversations. However, surely that is even more of a reason not to shame people for falling into the very trap that so many have fallen into.

I don't mean to turn this into a massive dig at John Harbin because from all I have heard about him and from the impression I picked up at the meet the fans meeting a few weeks ago, he is an absolute asset to PAFC. He seems like a great and inspirational guy who genuinely cares about our players as human beings. He seems like a fantastic and straightforward person who has done wonders in his time here and whose wisdom has helped PAFC's players on both a footballing and personal level. Therefore I can absolutely understand why reading some comments would rile him (and perhaps rile the players themselves). I don't for a moment expect them to read what was said and laugh along with it. I get that they're gonna read it and be pi$$ed off.

However, I really struggle to see any merits in giving them the oxygen of publicity. All in all, these are pretty good times for PAFC from CEO level downwards. Why, when there's so much good stuff going on to write about, focus on a few people doing something we've all done which is 'press the send button without thinking' on an online forum. I can emphasise with why JH reacted the way he did but I feel he should have not given such daft comments airtime in the matchday program. I don't necessarily disagree with what he said but I disagree with publishing his thoughts on the matter. Ever heard of the saying 'don't feed the trolls'? All it served to do is dampen the feel good factor at the club and alert more people to the negative comments who would otherwise never have heard of them.

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IJN":zw7wx37j said:

spowell92":zw7wx37j said:

There are definitely some nasty pieces of work in this thread and they aren't MG or Paven.

Ian, I don't see what right you have to take John Harbin's words and go about applying them to people willy nilly as if it's freaking gospel. You have your opinion that some jokes are crass, fine. Say that. Personally I feel you're making a mountain out of a molehill and I don't think you should be twisting what John Harbin says for your own agenda.

You talk of anonymity behind the keyboard, then reveal the name of the player that apparently wants to "do" Steve Evans then... Jesus flipping Christ. How pathetic has this circus of a club become? On the field things are looking brilliant, it's a friken pleasure watching those players represent us. But off the field it's just embarrassing from top to Internet.

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Where have I said any player wanted to 'do' Steve?

Also, I repeat if you haven't the balls to repeat to someone what you have said on the net, then you shouldn't say it in the first place. I stick by that, as it's surely just common sense and decency isn't it.

I'd certainly say that to Brand, any bloke who takes part in upsetting an old man and think it's a joke is a 'vile sod' and should be called on it. Obviously I can't do that, but if I ever did bump into him, of course I'd tell him to his face.

As for twisting what John Harbin as said, I printed what he said, where have I twisted it. I agree with every word he has said, I can't improve on it, why would I need to?

As for my agenda, yes I have one, support your team not take the pi$$ out our own players. Simple really. What other agenda could there be?

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GreenSam":2a1fywf0 said:

Mannamead Green has also admitted that he was wrong in one of his comments, Ian.

You could call it 'let sleeping dogs' lie but it was barely a puppy in the first place. If someone had directly tweeted back to the people who made those comments then I accept that that would be a completely different issue but to write about it in the program? To air that dirty laundry for people who would otherwise never have heard of it?

I entirely accept that JH's motives were honourable and came from the right place of the heart but I also think that it has whipped the situation up into far more of a hullabaloo than it ever needed to be. I've said stupid things on here and on Twitter, so have 99% of people who use the internet. I've said stuff that I wouldn't say to people's face, and stuff that I later deeply regretted. Again, 99%.

Can we not accept that those comments were wrong and misguided without going down the 'STOP THESE VILE TROLLS' route of shaming them publicly? For fundamentally decent people who've made a mistake, often a quiet word in their ear is enough to make them realise how their comment could be interpreted rather than shaming their indiscretion for all to see. I don't at all condone the comments made about Smalley but I don't condone a witchunt either. That surmises my viewpoint in the most concise way possible.

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spowell92":26oili9i said:

Alright, not "do", but the "if you're man enough I'll put you in touch with the player", felt the insinuation was pretty aggressive. Particularly "if you're man enough"... Jeez. Funny how that player can hide behind anonymity... :roll:
.

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kernow19":26t3ays8 said:

Blown out of all proportion, taken completely out of it's intended context and nothing to do with John Harbin's article I reckon. I'd say it was simply a gesture of sympathy and support for Deane in much the same way as the framed/signed shirt was that they gave to Alex Bray following his unfortunate injury earlier in the season.

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Cobi Budge.":3j7qkf1p said:

Are we actually considering the possibility this might have been the players making a stand against the fans triggered by one comment from a controversial pasoti poster? Jesus Christ.

I saw it simply as the players showing solidarity and making a heartfelt gesture to their team mate who is probably feeling a bit low.

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