LDL Premier Division: 2016/17 Season Preview
In tandem with the publication of my preview of the 2016/17 Premier Division season, I'm delighted to announce that I will be working with the Limerick Leader throughout the coming season; penning a weekly column on the junior soccer scene, to appear every Wednesday from August 24. The same newspaper will also carry the soon-to-return Limerick Soccer Podcast on a trial basis from September.
Taken down from FB Alan? No holds barred my arse!
No Holds Barred (unless it's one of my buddies in the hold, in which case you're banned).
Incredibly negative reaction to the piece from more than one source to be fair. You read it; what did you think?
Thought it went a bit far to be honest. Report the facts Jack, just the facts.
I would counter that nothing in the article is unsourced or untrue, to the best of my knowledge.
What exactly spurred you to feel that it "went a bit far"?
It got personal. Even the post accompanying the link read like a man with an axe to grind.
One's personality is a vital determinant of whether or not one can manage people, is it not? Remember, I'm not a news desk journalist; I will write, and have always written, opinion pieces. Sticking to the facts or raw data is not conducive to doing that kind of job properly.
If I'm going to judge the likelihood of someone being a success at the helm of the club, I'm not inclined to ignore that as a factor. Obviously my own dealings with people are going to be an input to my analysis of their chances or performance to date.
Having said that, regardless of whether someone added to my axe-grinding queue, I'd be the first to hail their positive achievements if and when they arrive. Indeed, if you look hard enough in the offending sections of the piece, you might see that already in train.
Last edited by AlanOB; 12/08/2016 at 11:39 PM.
Right so
Appreciate the discussion.
If the Carew Park statement is correct, and I have no reason to think that it isn't, then any reporter/journalist contacting a club and telling/recommending them on their own club decisions is crass to say the least. Objectiveness is key in reporting and in contacting Carew Park it shows either a biase towards them and/or a personal grudge against their choice of manager, also mentioning that said person wasn't first choice brought nothing to the above "preview" just exposes the authors prejudice.
Ya I understand your pieces are opinion based Alan but they still need to be based around facts and should never become personal vendettas. It's pretty clear to see through your reports who you have a distaste for. Two managers seem to get the brunt of it.
Surely when writing an article/opinion piece it needs to be based around the truth rather than a he said she said type of sourcing? Its not the first time either that you have written an article filled with "from what I'm told" or "my sources have said", only to be called out on it as complete fabrication. All rumours and sources should have some supporting evidence, especially if you are going to start writing for the newspaper.
Nothing in that preview article is fabrication, let alone "complete fabrication". I take huge issue with that accusation. I also take issue with the claim that this is "not the first time" I've been called out for telling outright lies; feel free to let me know when that happened.
Again, my opinion piece, as always, is based around the truth. I repeat; nothing in there is unsourced or untrue, to the best of my knowledge. In fact, everything factual about Carew Park was sourced from people high up in the club; that they now don't like seeing it in print is not my problem. Most of their statement is outright nonsense and I will speak to it further in my next podcast; including the line about contacting the club, which does have an element of truth to it.
As for "supporting evidence", do you understand how journalism of this nature usually works? We are not usually in the habit of betraying our sources!
As for "prejudices" or "vendettas", of which you both speak, I repeat - my opinions of a man's ability to manage people are going to be influenced by my personal dealings with them, and I refuse to shy away from that. Reading what I wrote back, while it is of course close to the bone, the reaction to it is way overblown, and probably more attributable to people's distaste for me and/or their love for those that I have not rated highly.
No matter what I feel about the people involved, I will always hail their achievements if and when they arrive, and have done so in the past. In that sense, I'm as objective as a journalist can be expected to be.
Thereins the rub I'm afraidOriginally Posted by AlanOB
I should add, it's not like my opinion is unique either! If I've lined up to question one's ability to control a dressing-room, or another's closeness to his players, I would be nowhere near the front of either queue. Those in that queue have also formed their opinions based on their experiences of the individual(s) in question.
I could have hid the fact that I share both viewpoints, but I'm not about to assist in rubbing either well-massaged ego. I've never held back since I started on this journey, and I'm not about to start now.
If people want to swerve my output, and check out something less honest, that's their prerogative and I totally respect it.
Last edited by AlanOB; 13/08/2016 at 10:40 AM.
"As for "supporting evidence", do you understand how journalism of this nature usually works? We are not usually in the habit of betraying our sources!"
Are you a member of the NUJ?, if not you are certainly not a journalist. You do reports on Junior Football games, let's get real. If that was the case everybody who writes something on social media can claim to be a journalist.
Last edited by pearse4t3; 13/08/2016 at 12:35 PM. Reason: Spelling
Now someone is in need of checking their facts.
I'm an FAI-accredited professional, who also writes about the LOI and the Irish national team for Goal Ireland. I also perform editorial functions for the same website.
Union membership has precisely zero to do with anything.
Finally, while I post links to my work on social media, the articles are published on my website, that I work hard to maintain.
To be honest Alan I have better things to do than traipse through old Facebook posts to find where your misinformation was pointed out over the last few years, just off the top of my head one was about a certain player "going awol", not being available for a game and that you had it from good sources and it turned out to be rubbish.
The bottom line for me is I went to read your article with an open mind and was looking forward to a preview of the season ahead but after a few paragraphs it was clear to see it was not at all objective with certainly opinions of people outside of football influencing the article. I wanted to read a football piece but it was reason more like something from the News of the World.
If you want to continue to allow personal feelings influence your reporting on games and previews then that's your business but just don't be surprised if people get frustrated or call you out on things they feel you have mis-reported.
On AWOL-gate, my sources (two) were technically incorrect, but the spirit of what they told me was spot on; unfortunately both weren't aware that the player in question rang his manager a couple of hours before kick-off, despite promising only the previous night to be present. Although that to me is AWOL by any other name, I stepped down on that occasion and retracted it, yes.
Again, I will try to drill home - opinion pieces are not objective by their very nature. If I have (good) reason to believe that an individual's personality is mismatched with the job he's taken, that's the place for me to express it. Match reports or news pieces, on the other hand, are different affairs, which renders your line about allowing "my personal feelings to influence...reporting on games" nonsense; I don't do that and won't do that.
You're a staunch Limerick fan, a body of people that has been "carefully cultivated" by a certain individual. I doubt you've noticed the rampant outright bias in the coverage of your beloved club elsewhere; unless you're willing to tell me otherwise?
I'm not surprised in the slightest that you didn't like what you read. Not in the slightest.
Last edited by AlanOB; 13/08/2016 at 4:53 PM.
Alright, alright, keep writing the way you do, keep ****ing people off and getting abused. It's junior soccer, we all have work in the morning.
Fair enough!
Whatever your view, being banned from the Facebook page is ludicrous, given what others have gotten away with over the years. Indeed, the levels of abuse I've been subjected to have been outrageous at times; usually by the same lowlife too.
Who apparently is now making thinly veiled threats from what I'm told; doubt anything will be done about that either.
Hilarious hypocrisy.
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