Footballs darkest secret | Vital Football

Footballs darkest secret

Red Wimp

Vital Football Legend
Watched part one tonight, a pretty harrowing watch. It’s been said before but Crewe don’t come out of this at all well, even to this day they’re trying to prevent their manager make a full apology.
 
I’ve read David White’s book about his harrowing account whilst at Man City, and the abuse he suffered at the hands Bennell. Will watch this on catch up at some point 😞
 
I'm not sure I can watch this. I hate seeing stuff about abuse to kids. Any takeaways about stuff still going on today?

Well the chief takeaway for me (apart from the horrible, horrible details) is the FA failed in it's duty to care for these young lads and stuck their head in the sand. An all too depressingly familiar tale from this organisation. Everyone involved in the FA at a senior level from this period should hang their heads in shame and take a good long look into their own hearts, I am not sure how some of them can sleep at night...

Oh and the first chink in the armour of these people in respect of legal progress came from the US...
 
Yep, will watch on catch up at some point. Have to be in the right frame of mind.
It’s absolutely horrible, I’ve had to turn it off. Quite how the likes of Bennell & Higgins can still show no remorse is beyond the pale. You’ve just got to hope karma catches up with them in the next lifetime, because they’ve escaped it in this one. 😡
 
I'm not sure I can watch this. I hate seeing stuff about abuse to kids. Any takeaways about stuff still going on today?

Oh and the other thing I took note of, all of the people interviewed (who were unbelievably honest) noted that as they got away from their tormentors and moved up in the ranks of clubs towards the first team they were totally unequipped mentally to deal with the mental toughness required to succeed as a professional.
Some of them made their way into the professional ranks and freely confessed to dealing with the pressures by using drink and drugs because they felt so lost and bereft inside. The rest said they just couldn't take the pressure...

The tale of one player who was asked by Bobby Robson to get involved with the England set up and turned up to his first meeting absolutely hammered was heart breaking...
 
Oh and the other thing I took note of, all of the people interviewed (who were unbelievably honest) noted that as they got away from their tormentors and moved up in the ranks of clubs towards the first team they were totally unequipped mentally to deal with the mental toughness required to succeed as a professional.
Some of them made their way into the professional ranks and freely confessed to dealing with the pressures by using drink and drugs because they felt so lost and bereft inside. The rest said they just couldn't take the pressure...

The tale of one player who was asked by Bobby Robson to get involved with the England set up and turned up to his first meeting absolutely hammered was heart breaking...
Yes, the player in question played and scored a hat-trick for City in the 10-1 v Huddersfield when Malcolm McDonald (ex-Fulham on our fateful day in 82) was their Manager.
I also felt for his poor mother, who had no idea what her son was going through.

I just feel there is no justice, as BB sits in his comfy heavily protected cell for the rest of his days, although I’m no advocate of Capital Punishment either.
 
It’s absolutely horrible, I’ve had to turn it off. Quite how the likes of Bennell & Higgins can still show no remorse is beyond the pale. You’ve just got to hope karma catches up with them in the next lifetime, because they’ve escaped it in this one. 😡

What is really chilling about people who have a sexual interest in children and target victims that are known to them, is that they commit the offences fully anticipating to be held to account at some point.

In other words, they have already processed what they are going to do and have their account rehearsed and ready to go. Consider that for a moment; they commit these offences in the expectation of being reported, and back themselves to ride it out.

It's part of something called 'The Spiral of abuse' and is just one aspect of a complex system (other parts include things like distorted thinking, grooming the victim AND the victim's guardians, plus 'normalising' dubious behaviour) which they ALL instinctively follow without having to learn.

The FA are no different to the police, social services and all the other institutions who simply did not understand how these vile creatures operated and have only truly started to unpick their method over the last 20 years or so. Where the institutions can't be forgiven is when they had clear and unambiguous allegations of abuse and it was brushed under the carpet.

Wider societal attitudes didn't help either. There were serious discussions amongst some civil liberties groups and politicians to give PIE a platform! and in the 1970's nobody batted an eyelid if an adult was fined a fiver at the magistrates having been caught on waste ground doing 'things' to a three year old child - NO I am not being flippant with that example either!
 
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I played at every level of schoolboy football through the 70's and had many, many different coaches and am pleased to say that I personally never experienced any untoward behaviour from any one of them.
I have though as a youngster
been in a dressing room and trained with someone who was many years later convicted of serious offences against children. This person was a fair bit older than us and had asked if he could train with us. He wasnt a footballer but was coach in a sport that gave him access to to many children of all ages. Whether he asked to train with us so that he could be close to teenage boys nobody will ever know as he is now deceased. As I say my personal experience was that nothing ever happened and to my knowledge no other players ever mentioned anything either.
 
I played at every level of schoolboy football through the 70's and had many, many different coaches and am pleased to say that I personally never experienced any untoward behaviour from any one of them.
I have though as a youngster
been in a dressing room and trained with someone who was many years later convicted of serious offences against children. This person was a fair bit older than us and had asked if he could train with us. He wasnt a footballer but was coach in a sport that gave him access to to many children of all ages. Whether he asked to train with us so that he could be close to teenage boys nobody will ever know as he is now deceased. As I say my personal experience was that nothing ever happened and to my knowledge no other players ever mentioned anything either.

I played football for a few teams in my teenage years during the 70's and 80's. I never experienced like this or heard of anything like this. I would also say that 4 blokes from George Fisher turned up at the works junior team training sessions to coach us every week like clockwork on their own time, after putting their own money in to get kit etc. and get the team going. I learned so much from them (how to play the offside trap properly for instance) and my development as a keeper and how to work with a defence owed a huge amount to them. There are good people out there...
 
It doesn't get any easier. Part 2 is, if anything, more gruelling.

Yes, I watched episodes 2 and 3 over the weekend. It's really difficult to watch. You have to feel for the blokes who had to go to court more than once to argue their case. At least some clubs - eg Southampton and Man C - seem to have acknowledged their responsibilities, whereas others - eg Crewe and Newcastle - haven't. Lives destroyed is a message coming out of that programme