I think I can understand where blackandamber1 is coming from, but if players are discussed/debated politely and respectfully then that's fair game I would say. Everyone is entitled to an opinion, and football fans are full of them!

As for the left back position what happened to Sam Heal, signed from Bristol Rovers I believe?

Jesus, like the professor said like North Korea.

What’s the point if the forum exactly?

Yes.. it is a public Forum, where everybody & anybody, can air their opinions , providing they sit inside the law.  The point that The Voice was making was that while, of course, that is the case, nevertheless there are some areas where discretion and a bit of self-restraint should properly be exercised.  The rewards of supporting a Lower Tier club , as I've said before, are a closeness to and identity with players, Chairman and Club personnel, that you would never in a million years get at a League Club.  The price of that close and welcome contact, is that some self-restraint, not external restraint, is probably called for when discussing delicate subjects like player /release/retention/ remuneration etc.... remembering that the site has a wider readership than we might probably be aware of.  I, personally, am guilty as charged on that score. Of course everybody is entitled to say anything they like, ultimately, however rude and personal, if they really want to,  but should the Forum degenerate to that then (a) people with interesting  and differing opinions will no longer want to contribute and it will become a dialogue of the loudest and shoutiest, and (b) a delicate relationship between Club, players  and fans will be broken and we'll all drown in a toxic soup. One or two people have pretty sharp voices on this Forum, but then appear to get offended when they receive the same treatment. A loud put-down of another contributor is a form of censorship in its own right.  As Chipp54 says above, "politeness and respect" , which aren't particularly exciting or red-meaty words, are probably pretty healthy watchwords for all of us as contributors.  And if that sounds patronising,  well hey... maybe it is or isn't; it's not meant to be. And no... The Voice & Black and Amber are not a composite Kim Jong Un...I think they raise a valid point.  We can all ignore it if we insist on our right to say whatever we like, how we like... but I'm not sure where that particular road leads anybody.

Last edited by Rambler (21/4/2023 1:29 PM)

The professor wrote:

So if a player doesn't play, not on the bench, not even in the ground on match day, we can't have were was this player, were was that player, why wasn't he here like a lot say on here, because remember it's NONE of our business.
Left for another club.
Gone to a Wedding.
For years it's been fine ,now you can't even scratch your bits

Blimey, Professor, if you had set out, deliberately, to misread/misrepresent what I said you couldn't have done a better job. You scratch your bits as much as you like.... ( or then again maybe not ..in public at least).  I referred chiefly to the issue of end-of-season retention. It's a really good and interesting subject for discussion in the pub, in the Stand etc. It's just that some of us feel queasy about discussing players' career paths and employment contracts in a public place and doing it anonymously, that's all. The whole point of what I was saying was precisely not about outside censorship but about some people preferring to choose self-censorship on that matter.... and trying to explain the reasons why.

Here's a moral challenge for you or anyone else on the Forum: If you, like me, had made a list of players that you'd want  to see the back of at season's end and posted it on this Foum, ( which I don't believe you did, by the way) would you be comfortable going to the Awards Evening on Saturday week with a name badge on you lapel stating your Forum name  and engage in pleasant conversation at the Bar with, say, Spencer Hamilton or Alefe Santos?  If, like me, the answer is "No" it would make me  feel uncomforable".. then,  morally,I probably shouldn't have used my anonymity on the Forum to say things publicly that I wouldn't say in person.  That's all. Simple as that. No one is stopping you saying anything you want.  Scratch away.

Last edited by Rambler (22/4/2023 8:50 AM)

Rambler wrote:

The professor wrote:

So if a player doesn't play, not on the bench, not even in the ground on match day, we can't have were was this player, were was that player, why wasn't he here like a lot say on here, because remember it's NONE of our business.
Left for another club.
Gone to a Wedding.
For years it's been fine ,now you can't even scratch your bits

Blimey, Professor, if you had set out, deliberately, to misread/misrepresent what I said you couldn't have done a better job. You scratch your bits as much as you like.... ( or then again maybe not ..in public at least).  I referred chiefly to the issue of end-of-season retention. It's a really good and interesting subject for discussion in the pub, in the Stand etc. It's just that some of us feel queasy about discussing players' career paths and employment contracts in a public place and doing it anonymously, that's all. The whole point of what I was saying was precisely not about outside censorship but about some people preferring to choose self-censorship on that matter.... and trying to explain the reasons why.

Here's a moral challenge for you or anyone else on the Forum: If you, like me, had made a list of players that you'd want  to see the back of at season's end and posted it on this Foum, ( which I don't believe you did, by the way) would you be comfortable going to the Awards Evening on Saturday week with a name badge on you lapel stating your Forum name  and engage in pleasant conversation at the Bar with, say, Spencer Hamilton or Alefe Santos?  If, like me, the answer is "No" it would make me  feel uncomforable".. then,  morally,I probably shouldn't have used my anonymity on the Forum to say things publicly that I wouldn't say in person.  That's all. Simple as that. No one is stopping you saying anything you want.  Scratch away.

This is getting boring now.

But the same applies to those discussing team selection, form, retention in the pub or in the stands.
Would you then be happy to have the same conversation at the bar with Hamilton or Santos.
I guess not but it’s no different, so stop trying to come across all holier than thou.

Football fans, mangers players and pundits discuss football performances, tactics, form, ability etc etc up and down the countr, week in week out, on all social media platforms.
It’s part of the game.

Let’s not spoil an good season with snowflakes being so petty.

Last edited by Wellard (22/4/2023 6:14 PM)