[Albion] Aaron Connolly - joining Hull permanently

[Triggaaar]

Yeah Brighton fans and other members of the cruel institution that is modern, digital society.

So footballers didn't have problems before this modern digital society? Were George Best's problems due to Brighton fans on social media too?

Aaron has said that he got to PL and believed that was it, he was a star and was going to rule the footballing world (poetic license) and that he no longer needed to work hard. Because of this, his performances dropped. Because his performances dropped, he turned to alcohol and didn't listen to the people around him. He didn't turn to alcohol because people were having a go at him. Have you even watched the video? He didn't look forward to football, he looked forward to going out and drinking.

This is not on fans.

That's not to say that a lot of social media isn't a cesspit. Yes, some of those people get a life, but many of them don't have one and aren't about to get one.

By February 2020, when Aaron was in his first year in the first team and had just turned 20, Connolly had received enough abuse from Brighton fans to remove all his Brighton pics from his own social medias. Thats what Brighton & Hove Albion fans did to a 20 year old guy.

You don't know what people gave him abuse. Some were probably just trolls and with no interest in our club.

And people of course don't want to take responsibility for creating the hideous social media climate - its always "someone else" doing the bullying and the bullshitting, so we say "Aaron needs to take individual responsibility" instead of saying "oh shit maybe we shouldn't do things like this."

By saying Brighton fans, and 'we' shouldn't be doing things like this, you're implying that I (and all other Brighton fans) am partly responsible for his problems. I'm not, and if you disagree, please find my posts that contributed to his problems. If you want to name and shame individuals for specific things they did you go ahead, but don't just start stereotyping people and blaming everyone.

Yes I am a substance abuser since 15 years and has spent thousands and thousands of hours in company with substance abusers. Many have tried to resolve the growing problem of substance abuse by telling us abusers to "cut your hair and get a job". Strangely this isn't working and more and more people fall into various sorts of abuse.

As long as people like you believe that its up to each individual to sort those problems, rather than changing society into something less depressive, less hopeless and less pressure-filled, the problems will grow and grow and grow until the day the entire society will deeply, deeply regret not dealing with it as a society and instead lumping over responsibility to the hundreds of millions of people who can't stand being sober in what the f*** you're building out there.

People like me? You don't know me, you have no idea of the stresses my family and I have had in our lives. I don't say that each individual needs to sort their own problems. In the specific case of Aaron, he's identified the main issue's he's had (no longer training hard so losing form, living the social life of a famous footballer, a family propensity towards addiction), and you're trying to pretend that he's wrong, and it's somehow my (and others like me) fault.

Yes it would be lovely if society was better, if we all looked out for each other more, if there were no wars etc, but that's more than a bit difficult to achieve.

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

We could impose an age limit and ban anyone who disagrees with him but I’m not sure “Swedish 30 Somethings Talking Bollocks Stand Chat” has the same ring about it

*cough* 40-somethings *cough*.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

Middle aged men 'calling people out' on an internet forum. Grow up.

Edit: Sorry - unintended post, don’t know what happened here.

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

Yeah Brighton fans and other members of the cruel institution that is modern, digital society. There's a pandemic mental welfare crisis across the globe, ignored by everyone because its neither taxes nor symbolic politics, especially affecting young people, and strongly linked to being addicted to social media and recieving abuse and peer pressure through those channels.

People who are depressed and unhappy abuse substances to much higher extent than the few happy clappy types still around.

By February 2020, when Aaron was in his first year in the first team and had just turned 20, Connolly had received enough abuse from Brighton fans to remove all his Brighton pics from his own social medias. Thats what Brighton & Hove Albion fans did to a 20 year old guy. And people of course don't want to take responsibility for creating the hideous social media climate - its always "someone else" doing the bullying and the bullshitting, so we say "Aaron needs to take individual responsibility" instead of saying "oh shit maybe we shouldn't do things like this."

Funnily enough, if its your own son and daughter getting hundreds of tweets and messages about how useless, ugly and shit they are, people would suddenly change feet and think "hmm, people on social media should get a life". But Aaron is a footballer with money so he doesn't get the benefit of getting treated like a human being by people like those in this thread and on Twitter and whatnot.




Yes I am a substance abuser since 15 years and has spent thousands and thousands of hours in company with substance abusers. Many have tried to resolve the growing problem of substance abuse by telling us abusers to "cut your hair and get a job". Strangely this isn't working and more and more people fall into various sorts of abuse.

As long as people like you believe that its up to each individual to sort those problems, rather than changing society into something less depressive, less hopeless and less pressure-filled, the problems will grow and grow and grow until the day the entire society will deeply, deeply regret not dealing with it as a society and instead lumping over responsibility to the hundreds of millions of people who can't stand being sober in what the f*** you're building out there.

Maybe I'm doing the clhb a disservice here, but my gut feeling is the club did owe a far greater duty of care to Aaron, maybe a Tough Love mentor or something. Seems to have been allowed to go off the rails unchallenged earlydoors. Never seemed a bad lad. Bit of a tragedy really

 

[hart's shirt]

NSC has consistently wished Aaron Connolly every success throughout his career, and especially so when he was with us.

NSC is in no way responsible for the way Aaron Connolly's career has turned out.

 

[Shaktarman]

Shock - Swansman takes over a thread without having set foot in Sussex or knowing anything. Yet still people will weirdly love him including a couple of mods. And you wonder why a number of regulars don’t want his shit on here

 

[GT49er]

Shock - Swansman takes over a thread without having set foot in Sussex or knowing anything. Yet still people will weirdly love him including a couple of mods. And you wonder why a number of regulars don’t want his shit on here

I thought he was only allowed back here on condition that he kept himself to football threads only (where, TBH, his contributions are generally OK) - and not to other threads, where his weird socio-political views and occasional conspiracy theories regularly turned them into cess-pits.
Now that he's derailed this thread away from being about football into another vehicle for his amateur sociology and his ill-founded accusations of NSCers persecuting and ruining young Aaron, perhaps the mods should treat this as a non-football thread, where he shouldn't be?

Back on topic, I thought Connolly came across well at the interview - seems to have taken on board his mistakes; a good positive step. I for one will be following his career at Sunderland with interest to see how he's getting on. I hope he does well. I wish him well.

 

[Thunder Bolt]

Poor fella. Addictions should be supported and helped. The response on this thread is generally very nice and empathetic.

People with addictions can only be helped if they want to be helped. In my experience of life, people with addictions blame others for their circumstances because they can’t admit they have a problem.

It’s the whole basis of AA meetings (or equivalent)
My name is…. and I am an alcoholic.

 

[Napper]

If he’s an addict then he would have had a problem had he worked in a shop , office or been a premier league footballer .

 

[Shaktarman]

People with addictions can only be helped if they want to be helped. In my experience of life, people with addictions blame others for their circumstances because they can’t admit they have a problem.

It’s the whole basis of AA meetings (or equivalent)
My name is…. and I am an alcoholic.

True, but we need to listen to people and why they made those bad decisions. I class empathy as the best human quality. But also, you don’t know what was going through X’s mind for them to have a problem with Y. We need to listen.

 

[Thunder Bolt]

True, but we need to listen to people and why they made those bad decisions. I class empathy as the best human quality. But also, you don’t know what was going through X’s mind for them to have a problem with Y. We need to listen.

I witnessed it in my own family. Listening is ok if you want to hear excuse after excuse. I reserve empathy for those who cannot help themselves like those with serious health issues.
Tough love is needed so the addict faces up to the consequences of their choices. If they don’t, they can’t be helped.

Gamblers & drug addicts will rob their own mothers.

 

[Shaktarman]

I witnessed it in my own family. Listening is ok if you want to hear excuse after excuse. I reserve empathy for those who cannot help themselves like those with serious health issues.
Tough love is needed so the addict faces up to the consequences of their choices. If they don’t, they can’t be helped.

Gamblers & drug addicts will rob their own mothers.

You’ve had your personal opinions and that’s fine. Your last comment is tosh. I’ve had gambling issues - and overcame them on the whole. I won’t rob my mum anytime soon. That is a wrong statement in my opinion and not fair to group everyone together. You know ‘gamblers’ constitutes most of the uk population right -
Lottery / accumulator at the weekend etc
Etc. Not fair imo.

 

[Thunder Bolt]

You’ve had your personal opinions and that’s fine. Your last comment is tosh. I’ve had gambling issues - and overcame them on the whole. I won’t rob my mum anytime soon. That is a wrong statement in my opinion and not fair to group everyone together. You know ‘gamblers’ constitutes most of the uk population right -
Lottery / accumulator at the weekend etc
Etc. Not fair imo.

It’s not an opinion, it is fact. i didn’t say every gambler steals but many addicts do steal to feed their habits.
My opinion is based on experience. Women struggling to feed their children, pay the bills, etc because all the money has gone.

 

[Shaktarman]

It’s not an opinion, it is fact. i didn’t say every gambler steals but many addicts do steal to feed their habits.
My opinion is based on experience. Women struggling to feed their children, pay the bills, etc because all the money has gone.

What the hell has gender got to do with it?! There’s plenty of female addicts in the world & males looking after children you know..! Cannot fathom how anything you wrote is fact - and yes you did suggest every gambler steals:
‘Gamblers & drug addicts will rob their own mothers.’
Poss poor attitude and generalisation regardless of experience. Everyone’s experiences are different.

 

[OzMike]

Only time will tell.
He talked the talk, but can he walk the walk.
Lots of support on here and he has mine too.
Down to you now Aaron, good luck.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

True, but we need to listen to people and why they made those bad decisions. I class empathy as the best human quality. But also, you don’t know what was going through X’s mind for them to have a problem with Y. We need to listen.

Maybe you can ask Arron now, but previously , by his own admission, it would have been a waste of time as he wouldn’t have listened.

 

[jackalbion]

Well this degenerated.

 

[Cheeky Monkey]

I want you to be completely honest with me here. Did you read his post?

I never read any of his posts, life's too short. It always amazes me how people on here get so wrapped up in knowing everything that goes on on here, I'm just not interested. Make a post (preferably one that puts the cat amongst the pigeons without doing any proper research on the topic in question) log off and get on with your day has been my MO for years on here.

 

[Napper]

It’s not an opinion, it is fact. i didn’t say every gambler steals but many addicts do steal to feed their habits.
My opinion is based on experience. Women struggling to feed their children, pay the bills, etc because all the money has gone.

simply not true

Trust me , I know !

 

[Withdean South Stand]

I’ve read a lot of mental shite on the forum over the years, I’ve even gone back and read the WWE thread Kev The Ape started.

However the notion that a teenager living away from home and earning tens of thousands of pounds a week must have been bullied in to drinking and partying is probably the biggest crock of horseshit yet. Go to any pub in Sussex tonight and there will be young lads drinking themselves silly and shovelling a load of Peruvian wallop up their snozz. Uni students spend the entire first year drinking, sniffing horse tranquilliser and trying to get their willy wet. Is that all because somebody called their shelf stacking or scaffolding shit on Twitter?

If anything I’m surprised it doesn’t happen way more often in such a public manner. If I had almost unlimited money fall in to my lap age 18 along with the pulling power that comes with being a professional footballer then I’d have died with no sternum and 17 kids before I was 25. FACT.

That's the single best post I've read on here all year. Magnificent from start to finish! Seems to have been glossed over in all the unpleasantness posted since.