Kitson on keyboard warriors

[Adrian's Fool]

People are entirely justified to be as critical as they like about the team and the club in general - so long as they put their money where their mouths are and support the club in terms of paying good money week-in week-out to watch. That is the bottom line as far as I am concerned.

Yeah, I second that. People criticising the team annoy me as much as the next person, particularly before the season starts when no-one knows what will happen, but I still reserve the right to do so. Football is just a form of public entertainment, footballers put themselves in the public eye and should expect to be treated accordingly, in the same way as actors, musicians etc are regularly subject to criticism.

Besides, if we had to wait 6 months (or whatever) for the next fans' forum before speaking our mind a) we'd all go mad and b) it would have to be a very very long forum.

[Alan Partridge]

Regardless of whether he's missed the point or not, it's moments like these that keep our Dave near the top of my preferred RFC players list.

You might not agree with what he says, but at least he says something. It sparks debate in an otherwise dull time and gives him a personality, something which too few footballers appear to have.

Agreed but he won't practise what he preaches. Will Kitson go out of his way to meet fans that have different views to him? I somewhat doubt it.

Reading the whole article has ground the gears a little bit. I think serious questions were rightly asked 2 years ago. Why and how did we go from a team challenging from automatic promotion to a team that couldn't beat Rotherham? How did we finish 7th? Why didn't Coppell and the rest of the board act in January when we couldn't score goals? I personally have liked Steve Coppell from day 1 but I could full understand why others didn't.

You look at last seasons signings (as fans, we don't know an awful lot that goes on) and with Lita apart it looked as if we'd brought in a lot of 'squad' players. We hadn't heard of Doyle and Long, Hunt had been released by Brentford. Watford weren't too fussed about losing Gunnarsson and Makin and Oster had been released by other clubs. As it turned out they were all masterstrokes but that's what fans talk about. 98% we talk bollocks and haven't got a clue about how things are run or what the club does but because we are passionate about this club we talk about them anyway. Desperate for the team to do well, that when it doesn't go well you look for scapegoats, seems to be a British trait.

People react to things differently it doesn't mean they support the club any more or less than others. I have a laugh and a joke at Gordons Cumming who I think is a bit negative but I know he would have been bloody delighted about last year like all the rest of us!

[alad]

I hope everyone who has said a bad word about Kitson hangs their head in shame and apologises. The crime of having an opinion and expressing it on a forum is beyond contempt.

Of course he only ever slates the fans infront of 25,000 people to everyones face, not with a sly comment in an interview.

[Wycombe Royal]

So apart from fans forums where you may or may not get a chance to ask a question where else can we talk to them face to face?

I took my lads to the open training day at Hogwood. Very interesting day, autographs from nearly all the players and I had a good natter with Wally, Harper and Little.

I've also bumped into Marcus (and years ago Gilkes) out shopping. They're generally pretty approachable - not that I'd have slagged Marcus off to his face!

Fair enough, but that isn't something that is accessible to most on here. We have jobs and can't just pop down the training ground using up valuable vacation. My point is it isn't easy to talk to get the opportunity to talk to them face to face as he suggested we should do.

[RoyalBlue]

Mr Kitson, I'm disappointed. I had you down as a bright guy who would realise that the internet is now very widely used as an efficient means of communication, enabling folks from all parts of the globe to join in at little or zero cost.

Location and/or work commitments mean that many of us are unable to get along to the fans forums and anyway, as someone has already pointed out, meaningful debate is rarely allowed to flourish at such events.

I'm quite happy to waive my anonymity to debate matters RFC on here if you are prepared to do likewise.

To accuse us of cowardice is, in most cases, b*llocks. Prior to the arrival of this discussion forum, a good number of supporters used to use their real names and email addresses to debate matters RFC on Royalmail.

[Tilehurst Road]

I'll be having a word with Kitson in Sweden. Then we'll see who the real fans are

As long as it's nothing like the Harper scenario I've heard about from a few years ago.

[The Cube]

I think Kitson has it dead right. To take one example at random on the John Halls thread (and apologies to Jackson Corner for picking on him when really I should have dug out a post from the likes of John Peel):

The word you are looking for is lazy. And I agree his atitude is not what it should be. He should be busting a gut to have the chance of playing in the Premiership but he never seems botherd to me.

Now I have never been to a fans forum where anyone has had the guts to stand up and say anything remotely like: "Steve, you bought John Halls last January. I think he is lazy. His atitude is not what it should be. He should be busting a gut to have the chance of playing in the Premiership but he never seems bothered to me."

[wehateoxford]

whilst i do to an extent agree that theres a lot of morons on internet forums, its absurd for kits to make a comment like they should come to our face. if your in the limelight for anything in this world, you'll be commented on. not all of the commentary is gonna be positive, fact.

and, dishing out more money to go to forums etc won't make you a real fan... anyone who wants to slate kitson (or praise him) might as well just go down the training ground sometime

[Mr Angry]

The problem comes where the players see ALL fans who post on forum's such as this as "the enemy"; a few years ago we had the whole furore surrounding the (alleged) reasons behind Curo's departure from Bristol Rovers aired on here.....as a result, at least one regular poster on here was told by the then manager that he was no longer welcome at the training ground - despite that poster NEVER having posted anything to do with that particular subject, nor having posted anything more negative than the typical "god, how could we lose 3-1 at home to Swindon!" sort of thing.

Asa result, most posters on here who do speak to the players tend not to let them know that ARE people who use HNA?.

[Scarface]

What a prick, typical footballer who can't take any criticism from the fans.

[Alan Partridge]

Kitson tells it how it is. This forum is poor during the season and appalling during the summer.

Find me a fan site that isn't full of shit, mind you.

10051 posts, maybe your to blame?

[wehateoxford]

seems a bit foolish to me though that you should have to hide the fact you have a voice from the players and management though, if anything they should appreciate criticism from fans as it should shed a different light on the situation, as well as letting them know what the fans really think.

There has been a lot of worry i would say over the lack of transfers in the summer, but not that much criticism, i think generally HNA? has been fairly positive and faithful with regards to coppells transfers

[paultheroyal]

The silent posters....pop in and out... probably x players.

[Gordons Cumming]

People react to things differently it doesn't mean they support the club any more or less than others. I have a laugh and a joke at Gordons Cumming who I think is a bit negative but I know he would have been bloody delighted about last year like all the rest of us!

That is an understatement. 37 years supporting the Royals remember.

Replace negative, with guarded caution, if you don't mind?

Thanks

[Maguire]

Kitson tells it how it is. This forum is poor during the season and appalling during the summer.

Find me a fan site that isn't full of shit, mind you.

10051 posts, maybe your to blame?

I think you'll find at least 9800 of those were made on Anything Else and largely concerned the issue of pornography.

My excusions into The Team are limited yet memorable

[bobby m's syrup]

As much as I rate him Kitson can be a knob sometimes.


But presumably(sp?) Kitson reads this forum?


Dear Dave,

The internet isn't real, we will say what we please. Stop being a cry baby or I'll make a thread detailing what you were saying to that waitress last Saturday after your game of golf. The wife would love that



(someone quote this before a mod deletes it)

The internet is real insofar as it is accepted by legal authorities as a published medium and in the UK at least, subject to regulation by the server host nation.

Accordingly, you may say what you like, but not, (in theory at least), if it infringes relevant legislation.

[SpaceCruiser]

Kitson tells it how it is. This forum is poor during the season and appalling during the summer.

Find me a fan site that isn't full of shit, mind you.

10051 posts, maybe your to blame?

I think you'll find at least 9800 of those were made on Anything Else and largely concerned the issue of pornography.

My excusions into The Team are limited yet memorable

And you're in the top ten now. Enjoy.

[Riseley]

We are all keyboard warriors to a certain extent. Who amongst us would be brave enough to call Maguire a 'big girl's blouse' to his navel?

[Alan Partridge]

We are all keyboard warriors to a certain extent. Who amongst us would be brave enough to call Maguire a 'big girl's blouse' to his navel?

Only if there was a step ladder handy.

[Hoop Blah]

Well make yourself known Kits and tell us the other side of the story then!

If the fans forum allowed frank and open questioning then maybe a few more of the questions, comments and opinions would be asked face to face.

If the players and management are open to criticism and willing to have a dicussion about it, how about they get Hobnob to host an online fans forum?

As much as Kits is quite amusing with his rants to the papers, all he's doing is exacly the same thing he's moaning about so I don't see why he bothered. I do hope he keeps it up though and brightens up the Premiership with a few of his 'outbursts.'