The Kraken

I'm not sure why anybody needs to ask permission to have faith in their football team. If you really think we're going up, why be a sheep and wait for everyone else to believe?

To be fair, the £10 cost is harsh and unnecessary; but it seems your mate has cut off his nose to spite his face for the sake of a tenner.

I would much prefer it if my club decided not to employ people like King, but I do not believe he should be banned from football. You seem to be suggesting he should be, but your examples are not of people being banned from their industries, rather of companies within those industries having much more of a moral compass than football clubs as to not want someone "like that" on their staff. So really the fault is with the morally bankrupt football clubs who employ him, and not the law in general. Banning King from football would be akin to banning another ex-con from the cleaning profession, simply because that's what he used to work as before, he enjoyed it very much, and therefore he should be made to struggle further by retraining for a different job.

It isn't though. It's perhaps just that those companies have higher morals than football clubs and don't want an ex-con on their books. There's nothing to stop those companies hiring him, it's that they choose not to. Perhaps if football clubs were put under much more pressure from their fans, they wouldn't hire someone like King. Unfortunately it's a results driven business and club owners and even the majority of fans will be entirely forgiving if he performs on the pitch.

But is that not just one company choosing not to hire him? It's not a whole industry that was shutting him out.

How do you mean; what type of example?

And that's the part I have issue with; that he is not allowed to continue is his previous profession just because it's high profile and for the image it projects. As I've said, I completely agree from a moral standpoint, I'd much prefer it my club decided not to hire such individuals. But some club will, as they will consider that he has paid his price to society and is entitled to a career doing what he's best at, and as unpalatable as some may find it I think that's the right course of action.

Again, is this not continuing his punishment? He's served his time in prison; making him work as a cleaner or bin man just because his profession pays too well or is in public doesn't sit well with me, aside from my moral will to actually see it happen. If he wasn't a top footballer, and instead for instance played for Eastleigh, would it still be the same and cause as much public outrage?

I agree with the moral standpoint of it, of course I do. I just wonder if the argument is based upon the fact that footballers are seen as role models, and an ex-con is a poor role model. The idea of footballers being role models is just not a concept I agree with in the first place. Barring someone from a job just because it's high profile isn't enough justification for me. I think a lot of the argument for it is that people want the punishment to continue by him having to work in a less glamourous job.

I think we'll have to agree to disagree on this one; but I think a lot of the ill feeling is caused from a sense of injustice just concerning the amount of money that players earn, and how it's considered an "easy ride" of a job. If he's not allowed to work as a footballer, what jobs is he entitled to apply for? And who makes this determination?

Hmmm, an interesting question. I'm going to suggest that it might have happened before, yes. I can offer no categorical evidence to back up my claim though.

I really don't see how that analogy holds up. Yes, there are Academies but King is not in charge of them. He just works in the same place as them. If he was a football academy coach then I could probably understand it, as he's on the sex offenders register. But as a footballer, I really can't see how by any lawful means he could not return to his job. There's the obvious moral issue of it all, of course, but that's an entirely different thing. If a football club wants to employ him, I don't think laws should be there to stop this.

I totally agree with that; from a moral standpoint I'd have hated for Saints to sign someone like Marlon King. Unfortunately most clubs do not operate like that and are prepared to put aside their morals in response for potential success on the pitch.

I'm not sure I understand your analogy and how it's relevant to football.

As if that's going to stop the usual bedwetters throwing their toys out of the pram and claiming our season is in freefall when we fail to win a couple of games in a row

I'm not sure I understand the argument that convicted footballers shouldn't be allowed back in the game. So long as they serve their sentence handed down by the courts, they are deemed to have suffered their punishment and they're entitled to a career afterwards. Yes, the game is awash with money so it doesn't sit well, but they have every right to return to their previous job role.

I don't think you have to be Freud to realise the bloke is scum. Besides, I'm not sure of your argument that you have to actually know King to be able to make a judgement on him. I'm not sure since when that's been a pre-requisite for starting to form an opinion about someone. If you want to give him the benefit of the doubt, fine, you do that. No-one is stopping you. A lot of others, however, look at his rap sheet and see a certain picture developing of the type on individual he is. I'm not so sure what's wrong with that, if I'm honest.

It's got nothing to do with eggs. It's got everything to do with the fact that alot of people think the man is complete scum. You say to forgive and forget, but it's a bit difficult to do that when the bloke you're talking about seemingly has no intent of changing his ways.

If someone could only ressurrect THAT thread about the statue unveiling. Comedy history. Cracking post CB Fry

"King has convictions for 14 offences, dating from 1997. He received fines, driving bans, community service sentences, a rehabilitation order and orders to pay compensation on convictions including: theft from a person and from a car, criminal damage, and attempting to obtain property by deception; fraudulent use of vehicle licence document, driving without insurance, speeding, drink driving; a wounding incident while playing amateur football, and two cases involving assault of young women rejecting his advances in the Soho area of London." I'd suggest that the odds are pretty high on the man re-offending at some point in the future; and he has enough form to be mocked for past indiscretions IMO.

The problem with that is that there are still some (I don't need to name names) who STILL believe that a fan on the board is needed. I'm all for the club engaging with the supporter base more often; I don't think it happens enough at the moment and the removal of the fans forum is a backwards step in that department IMO. But the whole notion of extending that to a supporter on the board is unrealistic, unnecessary and just a recipe for disaster; in my view at least. It was a bad idea back then, it's still a bad idea now.

If you're going to stick to songs that are 100% accurate there's not going to be too much left to sing! You can get rid "we're by far the greatest team the world has ever seen". And my dad doesn't own any firearms, so "get your father's gun" is out.

Without wishing to go all MLG, Porto have had a far bit of success domestically and internationally. Notwithstanding winning the Portuguese league 63 times, prior to winning the Champions League with Jose they had previously won the European Cup once, UEFA cup once and Cup Winners Cup once. I accept of course they're not the footballing powerhouses you mention; but it's not as if they're a footballing backwater with no previous form. Just don't think it's the best analogy, is all. Anyway, it matters not.

Really? Porto have rarely been outside the top two of the Portuguese League in the past 20 years. Yes, Mourinho's efforts in Europe were a brilliant achievement, but domestically they've dominated (winning the league 15 times since 1990).

I think so! The immortal quote: "Ian has done a tremendous job. It's very rare I'm lost for words but I saw the statue last week and it's awesome - a tremendous tribute to a great man. Fans have waited a long time for this and it's fantastic." :lol: