jonh wrote:
I think the current climate is against him as you say.
Not able to fully immerse himself in the club and the culture of the fans. For me that’s a big part of this negative perception of a player who is a massive asset to the club.
I think we're going through a period a bit like in the early 90s, where the media were all over sportsmen, but they didn't have the training/advice/savvy to manage it. Now players are given a lot more preparation for the media and generally manage not to slip up (usually by saying nothing interesting). Now we have social media which is even more dangerous to sportsmen but they don't seem to have it hammered into them yet that they need to either keep it private to people they know, or if public then don't say anything that could be construed as controversial.
That Gildart one is potentially a good example. If we knew the meaning behind what he said then we may well learn it wasn't what people assume. I've had first hand experience of seeing fans misconstrue something they've read on social media or heard on the pitch, and the people they concern not being in a position to correct them. Take the Cas game the other week. Barrie McDermott jokingly mentions he would back Tony Martin's decision because of the part of the world he is from. Next thing it is all over the Cas forum that Tony is from Wigan and that's why he awarded us a forward pass, a joke that he is allowed to officiate us etc. One small problem - he's from Oldham, the same as Barrie.
