I wonder how long before footy's latest scandal...

[BobG]

hits the Rovers? There's a guy who must be bricking himself these days. Youth team coach who left rather suddenly a while ago now amidst all sorts of unpleasant stories.....

I hope we steer clear, but I don't reckon the odds are very high.

BobG

[RobTheRover]

I think it's dangerous to begin pointing the finger,  even if veiled. This is serious stuff. Especially so as Jim White on Talksport said tonight that at least 1 player believed to have been a victim has committed suicide. My first thought was probably the same as most of you are thinking.

[idler]

Innocent until proven guilty. If there is anything to come out I'm sure that it will eventually.

[BobG]

I can't see anything dangerous in this thread Rob. I agree it's a very, very serious subject. As such it's open to comment - always provided unfounded and/or malicious allegations against identifiable individuals are not made. Which no one has.

Bob

[knockers]

Bob, reading your first couple of sentences then I would say you are singling someone out therefore accusing them of something without any facts.
I'd say that's a little dangerous!

[RobTheRover]

Exactly my thought,  Knockers, and unless there is clear evidence against anyone I hope that this atrocity doesn't taint our club.

[wing commander]

   When you think about it,it should have occurred to us all that there was a big atrocity waiting to come out..Lets face it for a sexual predator a football club is a very attractive target sadly...This could be bigger than operation yewtree when it all comes out...
    There are always things that happen in a football club that we are never revealed publically..You hear the odd snippet,i've been told of one or two players who were released from contracts for lets just say "non footballing reasons" not involving kids though...
    You can only keep your fingers crossed that historically we are not involved in any allegations but I think every club up and down the country has the potential to be involved unknowingly...However if any club did know what was happening and just made the problem go away without notifying the relevant authorities then that's a different matter...

[Glyn_Wigley]

My first thought was to wonder whether the sizable homophobic minority that football attracts has helped the perpetrators. It's notable that all those who have come forward so far are no longer in the game - can you imagine the chants a current player would get from some of the opposition crowd every time he played afterwards? Not to mention that we'd then get those who would then claim it was just 'banter'....

[wing commander]

      As much as I agree that homophobia still sadly exists in football,i would hope that even the morons who take part in that would draw the line at mocking child sexual abuse victims...

[Glyn_Wigley]

      As much as I agree that homophobia still sadly exists in football,i would hope that even the morons who take part in that would draw the line at mocking child sexual abuse victims...

There's plenty of football fans who think any chant against an opposition player is a legitimate part if the game; regardless of subject, taste or general decency. We've had some on this forum defending potentially offensive chants as 'banter' and therefore actually a legitimate part of the game..!

[wing commander]

 I think it's something that is definetly on the decrease and in a few years wont exist at all..People have to remember that it's only recently in the last twenty years or so that its become unacceptable,before that everybody was homophobic,television programmes always poked fun and stereotyped homosexuality as did comedians,it was the norm....Now it's just part of life...One of my best friends is gay he didn't feel comfortable telling anyone until he was 30..He doesn't come across homophobia very much at all now in his everyday life and it genuinely has surprised him and thinks massive strides have been made in attitude's..Yes there will always be idiots but anybody who feels the need to abuse child abuse victims from the terraces is beyond educating....

[Glyn_Wigley]

That's all very well, but the fact that no professional player currently playing in this country has come out even in these enlightened days tells its own story.

And that story is the same one that I suspect is the reason any victims of homosexual abuse within the game have been reluctant to go public before now. In effect, the homophobic element are (or hopefully have been, in the past tense) protecting homosexual abusers, which is one hell of an irony.

[wilts rover]

      As much as I agree that homophobia still sadly exists in football,i would hope that even the morons who take part in that would draw the line at mocking child sexual abuse victims...

Really, that does suprise me...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwk_hSVnlIc

[i_ateallthepies]

I think it's something that is definetly on the decrease and in a few years wont exist at all..People have to remember that it's only recently in the last twenty years or so that its become unacceptable,before that everybody was homophobic,television programmes always poked fun and stereotyped homosexuality as did comedians,it was the norm....Now it's just part of life...One of my best friends is gay he didn't feel comfortable telling anyone until he was 30..He doesn't come across homophobia very much at all now in his everyday life and it genuinely has surprised him and thinks massive strides have been made in attitude's..Yes there will always be idiots but anybody who feels the need to abuse child abuse victims from the terraces is beyond educating....

On the evidence of the Millwall family discussed in another thread my bet is it will still be happening in 20 years time.

[BobG]

And who, precisely, have I accused?

I'm afraid I dsiagree. Profoundly, Rob, Knockers. Nobody is publicly identifiable from what I wrote. A few people will know the subject of my thought, but no one will have learned that from either me or what I wrote.  Therefore my post contains no danger whatsoever to anybody. And, please remind yourselves, danger can only exist if something is said which is found to be libellous. To be libelled, somebody has to be identified (which hasn't happened), and, their reputation damaged (which also has not happened). So, my post is perfectly legitimate, proper and without risk to man and beast.

Bob

[knockers]

Bit aggressive there Bob.
Plus I think you underestimate how many people can quite easily suss out who you mean.

[Bentley Bullet]

http://tinyurl.com/je2hnk8

[afro goal machine]

Bit aggressive there Bob.
Plus I think you underestimate how many people can quite easily suss out who you mean.

There could also be people getting the wrong end of the stick snd thinking it be someone else

[RobTheRover]

And it just generally paints our club in a bad light for the sake of what exactly?  A suspicion?  I'd rather we didnt go near that without anything resembling proof, thanks.

[nightporter]

This man is a massive Kitson.  http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/darts/38139647

[Glyn_Wigley]

This man is a massive Kitson.  http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/darts/38139647

Presumably it's a 'real man' who's put Bennell where he is at the moment...

[MrFrost]

Best get collecting some more money for a solicitor

[BobG]

Knockers: 'sussing out' is NOT identifying someone. You might know the person, so might I. But only beacuse we knew information that was floating about at the time. I have not named anyone. Therefore no one has been impugned by my post. Simple. If you decide to publish that name, then you will have released it into the public comain. Not me. Your choice.

BobG

PS. Aggressive? Maybe. I'm sick of pillocks with half baked theories and very little knowledge claiming to be the arbiters of what I can and cannot say.

[Bentley Bullet]

Bob, I don't know of any information that was floating about at the time the bloke you're referring to suddenly left the club. Now though, because of this thread you started, I am suspicious that he might be guilty of sexually abusing young footballers.

With this in mind, I could easily discover the name of the person you're putting under suspicion.

[BobG]

Good for you BB And it still would not have been me who released the information into the public domain.

Cheers

BobG

[MrFrost]

Good for you BB And it still would not have been me who released the information into the public domain.

Cheers

BobG

As self righteous as ever.

[Bentley Bullet]

Good for you BB And it still would not have been me who released the information into the public domain.

Cheers

BobG

Ha ha, nice one Bob! I hope your victim and his brief takes your view on it!

By the way, did you read my previous link?
http://tinyurl.com/je2hnk8

[NickDRFC]

I don't know the ins and outs of the law but I wouldn't have thought that you expose yourself to any lawsuit by starting this thread.

My question is why bother starting this thread at all? It's as if it's been written by some lonely old gossiping fishwife!

[wilts rover]

The initial post in this thread is pathetic, unnecessary and almost just leads to pointless rumour-mongering about any former youth team manager at any point in the last few decades.

It's a deplorable insult to those who have been previously involved in youth set-ups at any club, who are just decent human beings.

In any case, if there are any perverts out there who have committed crimes in a football environment, they deserve to be hung, drawn and quartered, but a lynch mob mentality achieves nothing - this has to be done through the proper legal channels and, those clubs who have covered things up (such as Crewe Alexandra) should be shut down.

In terms of homophobia in football, it's still very much prevalent from my experience. Could a player come out as openly gay? Possibly, but it would depend very much on the individual's personality and their popularity in the dressing room. That said, I personally think it'd be more damaging to a player's career as opposed to anything else.

Why? Did the BBC close down after Saville? Or the Catholic Church after their revaltions? Or the Scout Movement? Or Clifton College? Or British Olympic Swimming? Why should football clubs be treated differently to other organisations?

And why pick on Crewe and not Manchester City, Stoke, Newcastle, Chelsea?

You have done exactly what you said shouldn't be done with your lynch mob mentality - lets hang Crewe and it will be alright.

[Glyn_Wigley]

I'll just give you a quote that was in one of the papers this morning...

“If kids’ teams in Manchester knew about him, and [Barry] Bennell’s reputation had stretched all the way to grassroots junior football 40 miles away from Crewe, it's strange, to say the least, that Crewe are saying they had heard absolutely nothing to trouble them about their own employee.”

How that football club acted, regardless of how many years ago this was, is absolutely deplorable. For all the kids that have come through their system, and were abused, how do you think they feel about Crewe Alexandra F.C. - and not just their tormentor, but the other people at that club who claim to have never heard a thing?

And, yes, if other clubs become more central to this disgraceful scandal, they should be shut down too.

Absolutely hilarious given that on every other contentious subject raised on this forum you invariably say that whatever it is just part of life, nothing can be done and that people should just shrug their shoulders, get on with their lives and ignore it. Presumably Crewe followed your advice!