I can be a complete arsehole at times; especially on Twitter.
On Saturday 16th November, for no good reason, I posted a couple of
stupid, childish tweets that were comprised of some childish, unnecessary digs
at a pair of middle aged blokes I’ve never met before and who, I’ve been
reliably informed by some independent intermediaries who I’m happy to call
friends, are actually two very sound fellas. The tweets weren’t aggressive,
threatening, intimidating, abusive or anything that could be deemed to be
illegal; they were just childish, unnecessary and the work of someone who could
only be described as a bit of a sad prick, with nothing better to do with his
Saturday night than to act the cock on line. Basically I’ve let myself down, yet
again, as really I should know better and prove that I’m a better person than
this.
As a result of my actions, two people I’ve never met before have
had an on-line exchange with their mates where I was the main subject of
debate, in highly derogatory and totally justified terms it has to be said.
This is bad enough, as no-one likes to be thought badly of (especially those as
insecure as me), though I am aware enough to know I’ve brought enmity on my
head by my own daft actions, but what is far worse is that I’ve annoyed and let
down someone who I like tremendously and who has been a firm and loyal friend
over a number of years. Whatever explanation I try to find for my actions (I
was half cut and in a bad mood, despite a thoroughly enjoyable evening with
some vinyl classics from the past and a few drinks with my son), there are no
excuses or even any justification for my conduct. Yes I’ve got a busy schedule
and a lot of stress caused by my role as carer for my elderly and increasingly
frail mother, as well as certain other difficulties going on in my life, but
the existence of that stress doesn’t justify a snide and unnecessary pop at
totally innocent people who went about their business without giving me even a
second thought on Saturday. Despite the fact I deleted the offending tweets,
their content was noted, offence was taken and there’s nothing I can do to
repair this damage, other than making a sincere offer of sending £100 to the
charity of choice of those I made mischief about. Even if they take me up on
that offer, and I’ve no reason to think that they will, it doesn’t mean they’ll
suddenly begin to think I’m a decent bloke, which I think I am most of the
time. Perhaps I’ll find out at North Shields v Esh Winning in the Ernest
Armstrong Cup on Wednesday 20th November.
Most importantly for me, someone I regard as a friend and
who only days before made a wonderful gesture that I’ll be eternally grateful
to him for, will think badly of me for the foreseeable future. I hope I can
mend fences with him, but that is dependent on time I’d imagine, not to mention
me proving that there are the actions behind these weasel words to show I’ve
learned my lesson, rather than just moping around the place all day Sunday. If
it is of any consolation, the two I had a pop at probably didn’t give me a
second thought all day and my wronged friend no doubt had a great day with his
family; meanwhile I thought of little else all day and could only find a degree
of ease by penning this belated, ineffectual apology.
It is of course interesting to compare my self-inflicted,
on-line wounds with the difficulties faced by Steven Taylor after his latest
crass indiscretion on Twitter. Having had the mickey taken
out of him by Massadio Haidara for his lack of skills, while struggling to
learn French, Taylor responded by posting an insensitive tweet, including 3
stereotypical images of black people and one of Vurnon Anita. Following a
universal negative reaction to it, Taylor belatedly wised up, took the tweet
down and apologised profusely for any offence he may have caused. While his
post was allegedly made in humour and apparently was accepted with good grace
by Anita, Cisse, Haidara and Sissoko, it shows an appalling lack of tact, class
and awareness by Taylor who may be charged by the FA for his indiscretion. Of
course we are able to discount The Daily Mail’s manufactured,
opportunistic outrage as it came at the end of a week where they endlessly
campaigned against the presence of Slovak Roma in Sheffield. In addition, I was
astonished to discover that Taylor is now 27 years of age. Indeed, next March
will be the tenth anniversary of his debut for the first team. Where does the
time go?
Taylor is an increasingly divisive figure among Newcastle
United fans; initially being seen as the great Geordie hope, which resulted in
him being inappropriately christened the Cullercoats Cannavaro, the Monkseaton
Maldini or Steven “The Power” Taylor by those who really ought to have known
better, he became better known as a figure of fun for his ridiculous theatrics
to try and avoid being sent off for handball on the goal line against Aston
Villa in April 2005 and a farcical run down the full length of the pitch after
his debut goal in the 2006 UEFA Cup, which gave us a 2-1 win over Celta Vigo.
Also, a stupid, impetuous streak entered his game that meant he was often more
interested in kicking the player than playing the ball; the 5-1 loss at home to
Manchester United in February 2008 demonstrated this, as did his red card on
the opening day of this season away to Manchester City. In many ways this
explains why, post 2009 relegation, no other top flight clubs came in for him;
he just isn’t as good as he should have been or thinks he is. Certainly, I’d
put Mike Williamson as our third choice centre back ahead of Taylor. When one
considers Taylor’s glib quotations to the media and his arrogant persona, it
isn’t far from the truth to state he is equally unpopular with Newcastle and
sunderland fans.
However, despite the fact he had his jaw broken by Andy
Carroll after a training ground fracas allegedly caused by Taylor’s big mouth,
Taylor is still at St. James’s Park, though Carroll obviously isn’t. Taylor
hasn’t been in any sort of bother off the pitch, other than this Twitter
idiocy, but Carroll’s difficulties are legion and legendary; yet many Newcastle
fans would forgive him still and some harbour a desire to see him back at the
club. Personally I prefer to stick with Loic Remy, despite the continued
presence of the pair of elephants in the room; his loan deal and the as yet
unresolved rape allegation against him that is next up for review on November
21st. Without seeking to prejudice the outcome of that investigation
or the legal process involving former Newcastle striker Nile Ranger, who is in
court to answer a charge of rape in February, I do feel Carroll and Remy were
given far more understanding, support and an easier ride by fans of Newcastle
United than Nile Ranger.
It is my contention that Nile Ranger will prove to be the
great lost talent at Newcastle United this century. Of course his off field
antics don’t help him, especially as they appear to be continuing at Swindon
Town, where he has repaid their faith in him by going missing without
permission from training for the past week. While Swindon have now given Ranger
leave of absence to prepare for the trial, where he intends to plead not
guilty, the whole grubby mess seems to show all parties in a bad light. While
Carroll’s antics off the pitch were seen as high jinks by a Geordie lad and
Remy’s conduct is seen as none of the club’s business as it happened before he
arrived at SJP, Ranger was relentlessly pilloried for any mistake he made; to
the extent that one middle aged NUFC fan offered to meet Ranger for a pagger
outside The Forth after the Chelsea home game last season. Such conduct
is totally uncalled for; Ranger made mistakes and failed to do the business on
the pitch in any sustained way, but he deserved more support than he got and he
certainly didn’t warrant the kind of relentless personal condemnation he
attracted.
I feel that Ranger suffered because he was English, black
and a Londoner; all these elements combined to make him antipathetic to many of
our fans. Remy is foreign and exciting, Carroll is a hot-headed local, but
Ranger is arrogant and antagonistic. While Remy is French and therefore exotic,
granting him a degree of latitude, and Carroll is a Geordie and therefore “one
of our own,” Ranger pushes the button for many regionally intolerant types. I
suppose it is relevant to point out Steven Taylor was actually born in
Greenwich at this point.
I hope Steven Taylor grows up and realises the folly of his
actions on Twitter, as do I; we’re both idiots, we both should know
better, we’ve both apologised, we both need to learn from recent events, and we
both hope that a line can be drawn under the past few days. However, even more
sincerely, I hope Nile Ranger can get his life back on track and harness his
undoubted talent to ensure he has a career he can look back on his pride and
not regrets. I hope Andy Carroll can also achieve something tangible from his
career once he is over his injury problems. All of these things are in some
doubt, but it does put my stupid conduct in context.
Apologies again to all those I’ve offended.
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