Was the General right to comment on O'Neill

[Phil from the upper holte]

The general was right to say what he said.

[Pongos hat2]

I do think it was a mistake on the General's part.

The media were largely backing O'Neill, but in the football world it's probably a good thing to ingore what they are saying as it's mainly driven by their own agendas.  The best way to deal with their words is by our actions.  Also, Martin himself has said nothing, so it looks like a one way muck racking battle for the Genral to say something like he did.  Much better to remain quiet/dignified, as our ex-manager has done, and move on.

We won't win a war of words with the media, so lets concentrate on proving them wrong by our managerial appointment and transfer dealings.

Erm the club were not having a war of words with the media. Where the hell did you pluck that from?. Mr Krulak just told the fans the real reason for MON cutting and running to counter the lies in the media.

[Rudy Can't Fail]

I think we should draw a line under it now.  MON has gone and we have moved on, results on the pitch and improved attendances is all that will be needed without another word having to be said on this issue.

Absolutely, Bren. If Saturday is anything to go by, there's plenty to look forward to without having to waste time looking back.

[Concrete John]

Erm the club were not having a war of words with the media. Where the hell did you pluck that from?. Mr Krulak just told the fans the real reason for MON cutting and running to counter the lies in the media.

I did not say we were, I said we should avoid it, so try reading my posts more closely before commenting on them. 

By reacting to press coverage the way he did was running the risk on getting into that situation, IMO.

[not3bad]

It was vital that the "selling club" accusation was countered.  But I also agree the 'bigger than the club' comment could have been left out.

[bob]

Erm the club were not having a war of words with the media. Where the hell did you pluck that from?. Mr Krulak just told the fans the real reason for MON cutting and running to counter the lies in the media.

I did not say we were, I said we should avoid it, so try reading my posts more closely before commenting on them. 

By reacting to press coverage the way he did was running the risk on getting into that situation, IMO.

In that case John, the General couldn't win. Say nothing and people would be screaming for information about what was going on.

As it is, I think he said just enough, and said it straight to the fans (although clearly it was inevitable that it would end up in the papers). I don't think he lost any dignity by defending our policies and standing up for their side of the story.

[Concrete John]

not3bad has perfectly summed up my view on it above.

[KevinGage]

He was absolutely 100% right say to what he did.

Those tearing into him would probably be the same demanding answers if he/ the club stayed silent on the issue.

For the media, lets not forget that this story emanated from a supporters website. That rankles with them, so it suits them to have a pop. In the hope that RL and co might open up more and give them good copy directly in future. The issue I have with that is you'll often hear media post questions along the lines of "do you have a message for the fans?" when it comes to football related issues. If you have a board (like ours) that speak to supporters directly it cuts out the middleman. Effectively, they serve no purpose when this occurs. And they know it. They'd much rather have the scoop than be playing catch up.

There is a certain amount of merit to the counter argument that we can't complain about negative press if we aren't open with the media. But as a general rule, if we're actually doing more often than just saying, we should be judged accordingly. I think most supporters would be OK with that. Would we want -as an extreme example- the PR/ Bullshit overdrive that Sullivan and Gold indulge in, with very little to back it up?

For the section of our own support who seem to have a problem with the General's comments most (but not all) seem to be in the group that still feel the need to defend MON -even now. This is just a convenient stick in that regard.

Both groups listed above have an agenda, and both lack credibility as far as this issue is concerned.

[Chipsticks]

General was spot on. I think we might need to start dropping the whole MON issue soon and move on.

[paul_e]

I'm 50/50 about it.  I think anything that could've been considered negative towards MoN was always going to be picked up by the press and used against us.  I'm therefore happy that he seemed to know that full well and gave it straight rather than something being taken out of context and argued back and forth.

The other good thing is that it has, to an extent, focused the media on those comments and the general in general (meh) rather than a spotlight on Randy who, as we all know, likes to stay out of the press.

I personally think it was a pretty shrewd and well thought out response, just enough venom to show the board are pissed at him and just enough info to give the fans an insight into the problem without putting everything out to the press.

[JUAN PABLO]

General was spot on. I think we might need to start dropping the whole MON issue soon and move on.

Whos MON  ;-))

[Pongos hat2]

Erm the club were not having a war of words with the media. Where the hell did you pluck that from?. Mr Krulak just told the fans the real reason for MON cutting and running to counter the lies in the media.

I did not say we were, I said we should avoid it, so try reading my posts more closely before commenting on them. 

By reacting to press coverage the way he did was running the risk on getting into that situation, IMO.

The club had to counter the lies spun from MON's camp for it's own good. All MONS spin to the media was to puff him up and denigrate the club. The club needed to counteract that with the fans no one else.

[Concrete John]

Those tearing into him would probably be the same demanding answers if he/ the club stayed silent on the issue.

Seriously, who is 'taring into' the General on this thread?

But as a general rule, if we're actually doing more often than just saying, we should be judged accordingly.

This is exactly what I have suggested.

For the section of our own support who seem to have a problem with the General's comments most (but not all) seem to be in the group that still feel the need to defend MON -even now. This is just a convenient stick in that regard.

Ridiculous.  My opinion of what the General should or  should not have said is based upon it's own merits and how I feel the club should conduct itself and not any pro-MON agenda.  If you want to be childish about it there could be a strong argument that those agreeing he should have said what he did are only doing so as it backs up their views of O'Neill.  Works both ways, doesn't it?

[KevinGage]

I didn't name you personally John, as I wasn't aware of your stance on the MON issue.
It seemed like you were getting agitated with him yourself towards the end.

But you seem to have taken this personally, so I guess if the cap fits.

[Concrete John]

The club had to counter the lies spun from MON's camp for it's own good. All MONS spin to the media was to puff him up and denigrate the club.

Sorry, but that just sounds like a paranoid conspiracy theory with O'Neill sat in  aleather chair, stroking his cat and having all his journalists on video monitors giving them specific instructions on what stories to run!