[Albion] Aaron Connolly - joining Hull permanently

[Commander]

No because many are older. Think about Lewis Dunk at that age? Or Adam El-Abd assaulting a police officer outside Event nightclub. Tommy Fraser, John Sullivan, Dean Cox all used to be a handful in various nightclubs in Brighton, Worthing etc.

But I think it is a bit sad that basically we don't care as long as you are performing.

Are they? What about Roberts / Richards / Ferguson / Alzate etc? We have loads of players that age group.

And yes I agree with the last bit. It's always been like that though, and always will be.

 

[Swansman]

I don't know either, I just didn't realise anyone was claiming he has. Has he said he has?

I didn't dismiss mental health problems as essentially finding an excuse for your own failings at all. I said there isn't much people won't use mental health as an excuse for these days.

I had a friend who killed himself a few years ago after having mental health problems / depression. He was mid 30's, it was absolutely horrific. None of us knew he had problems, he never told anybody. It was a total shock, which made it so much worse. It bothers me that in today's world the first sign of hardship or going through a bit of a rough ride seems to be classed as 'mental health problems'. I employ a number of Millennials and they love a 'mental health break'. They take time off sick on a Monday and Tuesday 'to deal with some mental health problems'- then you find out they've been putting 3 grams of gear up their nose every night of the weekend, which is probably why their mind isn't in such a great place on Monday.

Mental Health is absolutely a serious issue, but I genuinely feel like it is currently being hugely trivialised by every bit of difficulty in someone's life suddenly being called a mental health problem. It trivialise the real issue (like what happened to my mate, for example) and it's an easy get out for people to just do what they want. Society's current obsession with it is also completely setting the younger generation up to fail, as at the first sign of adversity they give up and say they 'need to focus on their mental health' or something. I see it all the time, they have a complete lack of resilience, and I genuinely believe a large part of this is because of all this 'it's OK not to be OK' stuff. Of course it is OK not to be OK, but it's also true that adversity makes you stronger, and getting your head down and cracking on is often the best thing you can do.

I'm sure this is an incredibly unpopular opinion, by the way, and I'm fully expected to get slaughtered for it.



You always say this about people never meeting him or watching him train etc. But you don't seem to get it- this is Sussex, it isn't London or Manchester where the players are like Hollywood Superstars locked away and completely inaccessible to the public. He's a 20 year old kid who lives in Ditchling, a little village nestled in the South Downs. Why do you think no Brighton fan can have ever met him? It's bizarre. I've seen him around a few times and I know various people who've had dealings with him. He was in a local pub my friend works at the other day, for example. He's often out and about in the pubs and clubs of Brighton, fans meet him all the time.

"then you find out they've been putting 3 grams of gear up their nose every night of the weekend".. which is obviously a sign that their mental health actually must be really good?

Yeah, you hear x about your employees, you have a friend working at a pub and you heard y from him, and IIRC you (sorry if mixing you up) said that you had people you were working with telling you z about Connolly, a few weeks someone had a friend on the physio team who said Sanchez had a shit attitude while someone had a friend on the goalie team who said he has a great attitude, a year back someone had a friend who knew all the players in the dressing room and said Potter lost the boys. People talk a lot, people hear a lot, it turns into a self-playing piano. I dont do or trust gossip.

 

[Audax]

I'd argue that there are a couple more factors than that. Natural aptitude (body co-ordination, hand-eye co-ordination, balance, memory skills, ability to learn) coupled with physiology (height, body shape, speed), actually set that min / max window. A lad whose final height is 5'7" is never going to be a top level fast bowler, or rower, or high-jumper.

Then where they settle within that window, is down to their motivation and effort, as you rightly suggest, but even more so, down to opportunity, environment and tools (facilities, coaching, equipment). Part of that 'opportunity' is sadly down to income and status, but also down to stages of development / talent recognition. Kids all develop their co-ordination / motor skills, as well as sport-specific talents, at very different rates. A lad who develops early (even to an ultimately moderate ceiling) and noses ahead of his peers (who might ultimately have had more natural ability) has a higher chance of being identified, and granted access to earlier / better coaching and facilities and higher levels of competition.

Quite a significant part of that is just down to the lottery of birthdates. It is not by chance that a massively disproportionate percentage of UK professional footballers have birthdays early in the school year (Sep / Oct).

Can't disagree with any of that . My post was horribly simplified presentation of my view on it, but didn't have time at the time to go into more detail - which you've neatly done.

 

[Commander]

"then you find out they've been putting 3 grams of gear up their nose every night of the weekend".. which is obviously a sign that their mental health actually must be really good?

Yeah, you hear x about your employees, you have a friend working at a pub and you heard y from him, and IIRC you (sorry if mixing you up) said that you had people you were working with telling you z about Connolly, a few weeks someone had a friend on the physio team who said Sanchez had a shit attitude while someone had a friend on the goalie team who said he has a great attitude, a year back someone had a friend who knew all the players in the dressing room and said Potter lost the boys. People talk a lot, people hear a lot, it turns into a self-playing piano. I dont do or trust gossip.

I think it's simply a sign of being young mate. I am regularly astonished at the amount of drugs this age group take, and the proportion of them doing it. It's moved on another level altogether since I was that age.

You don't need to trust gossip, but you do need to realise that this viewpoint you have of nobody on here ever meeting or having dealings with Aaron Connolly is completely incorrect.

 

[Insel affe]

Yeah, you hear x about your employees, you have a friend working at a pub and you heard y from him, and IIRC you (sorry if mixing you up) said that you had people you were working with telling you z about Connolly, a few weeks someone had a friend on the physio team who said Sanchez had a shit attitude while someone had a friend on the goalie team who said he has a great attitude, a year back someone had a friend who knew all the players in the dressing room and said Potter lost the boys. People talk a lot, people hear a lot, it turns into a self-playing piano. I don't do or trust gossip.

Say's the man on a social media message board.....
Who posts on average approximately 12 posts a day...

what a load of tittle-tattle...

 

[AmexRuislip]

Good luck

 

[herecomesaregular]

I don't know either, I just didn't realise anyone was claiming he has. Has he said he has?

I didn't dismiss mental health problems as essentially finding an excuse for your own failings at all. I said there isn't much people won't use mental health as an excuse for these days.

I had a friend who killed himself a few years ago after having mental health problems / depression. He was mid 30's, it was absolutely horrific. None of us knew he had problems, he never told anybody. It was a total shock, which made it so much worse. It bothers me that in today's world the first sign of hardship or going through a bit of a rough ride seems to be classed as 'mental health problems'. I employ a number of Millennials and they love a 'mental health break'. They take time off sick on a Monday and Tuesday 'to deal with some mental health problems'- then you find out they've been putting 3 grams of gear up their nose every night of the weekend, which is probably why their mind isn't in such a great place on Monday.

Mental Health is absolutely a serious issue, but I genuinely feel like it is currently being hugely trivialised by every bit of difficulty in someone's life suddenly being called a mental health problem. It trivialise the real issue (like what happened to my mate, for example) and it's an easy get out for people to just do what they want. Society's current obsession with it is also completely setting the younger generation up to fail, as at the first sign of adversity they give up and say they 'need to focus on their mental health' or something. I see it all the time, they have a complete lack of resilience, and I genuinely believe a large part of this is because of all this 'it's OK not to be OK' stuff. Of course it is OK not to be OK, but it's also true that adversity makes you stronger, and getting your head down and cracking on is often the best thing you can do.

I'm sure this is an incredibly unpopular opinion, by the way, and I'm fully expected to get slaughtered for it.



You always say this about people never meeting him or watching him train etc. But you don't seem to get it- this is Sussex, it isn't London or Manchester where the players are like Hollywood Superstars locked away and completely inaccessible to the public. He's a 20 year old kid who lives in Ditchling, a little village nestled in the South Downs. Why do you think no Brighton fan can have ever met him? It's bizarre. I've seen him around a few times and I know various people who've had dealings with him. He was in a local pub my friend works at the other day, for example. He's often out and about in the pubs and clubs of Brighton, fans meet him all the time.

You make some interesting points, some I agree with.

Emotional resilience and / or mental health problems? mixed together but not always the same thing imo.

 

[Commander]

You make some interesting points, some I agree with.

Emotional resilience and / or mental health problems? mixed together but not always the same thing imo.

And that is exactly my point. There are huge grey areas there, which are currently being lumped together way more than they should be. I just don't think this thing we do where somebody who is going through some shit is immediately described as having mental health problems. We all go through some shit at some point or another, I don't see why or how that is a mental health problem.

 

[stingray]

I have no idea about ACs mental health but people never had a problem claiming he has a bad attitude despite never meeting him, never watching him train or barely ever seeing any interviews with him, so why is it suddenly a problem to claim that he might have had a rough time?

there's no 'claiming' about it. multiple cases, some well publicised. Even that old faithful 'company man' Andy Naylor reports it. I have no faith at all that he's make it at Championship level, but a fresh start might work.

 

[Joey Jo Jo Jr. Shabadoo]

Not in the Boro squad today for their FA Cup game, not even on the bench and they've only named 8 of the permitted 9 subs. According to the local press they expected him to make his debut today. Has he picked up an injury?

Edit - looking through Twitter they've had 4 covid cases in the last 24 hours and that maybe why he's out. Can't catch a break, could have been a good opportunity for him to impress in a cup game.

 

[Insel affe]

Not in the Boro squad today for their FA Cup game, not even on the bench and they've only named 8 of the permitted 9 subs. According to the local press they expected him to make his debut today. Has he picked up an injury?

Edit - looking through Twitter they've had 4 covid cases in the last 24 hours and that maybe why he's out. Can't catch a break, could have been a good opportunity for him to impress in a cup game.

Sad news, if true, the lad can’t seem to catch a break.
Today would have been the perfect chance to hit the ground running.

 

[GT49er]

Not in the Boro squad today for their FA Cup game, not even on the bench and they've only named 8 of the permitted 9 subs. According to the local press they expected him to make his debut today. Has he picked up an injury?

Edit - looking through Twitter they've had 4 covid cases in the last 24 hours and that maybe why he's out. Can't catch a break, could have been a good opportunity for him to impress in a cup game.

Hitch with his registration, apparantly.

 

[Dave the OAP]

Good luck to him. Must say I wasn’t ever that much of a fan, but wish him well at his new club.

 

[Insel affe]

Hitch with his registration, apparantly.

Oh that Ol’ chestnut

Does this mean, he will be back in Sussex by Monday evening

 

[GT49er]

Oh that Ol’ chestnut

Does this mean, he will be back in Sussex by Monday evening

Nah - still three weeks left to sort it. Although Aaron might feel less enthusiastic now they seem to be getting in more competition with Balogun coming in too.

 

[maltaseagull]

Aaron is still an Albion player.
I really hope he does well on loan and comes back a better player.

 

[Vin]

Starts today for Boro

 

[Hugo Rune]

Starts today for Boro

And people said he wouldn’t get a game?

He starts ahead of Watmore and Balogun, he must have impressed in training.

I’m putting some money on him to score.

 

[British Bulldog]

Hopefully the lad will prosper with this loan and go on to be the player he can be.

 

[hart's shirt]

BBC Final Score HT report.

"Aaron Connolly has missed a hatful of chances on his debut."