He is abused for 2 reasons his poppy stance, which is wrong. McLean on this front in completely in the right.Originally Posted by geysir
He is also abused because he himself looks for trouble. Ie balaclava gate and being a fool on twitter.
He is in no way abused for being irish.. none of our other players get that abuse.
Mcgoldrick is abused for no other reason then the colour of his skin
I think it's relevant if he's is expecting (the same) sympathy and outrage from a media outlet like TalkSport, which formed the basis of his most recent statement. And instead of having a pop at his teammates for not backing him publicly, maybe he should ask himself why they're so reluctant to do so? The fact that he draws at least some of it on himself has to be in their minds I think.
I admire McClean in a lot of ways but it's pretty obvious he thrives on a lot of this stuff, whether it's self inflicted twitter wars or his own unique way of teaching his kids Irish history. Nobody is condoning the abuse, it's clearly toxic, but maybe he should take some responsibility for media and professional support not being at the levels it could be.
The other thing is, the majority (but not all) of Irish players in England will not get abuse the way he does. I would say it's the reverse for black players. The majority (and possibly all) will have been abused because of the colour of their skin during their career.
I'm not too concerned about the chicken/egg aspect, but McClean has had social media issues going all the way back to Sunderland. Being unnecessarily provocative isn't the same thing as 'fighting back'.
McClean is abused because he's Irish and because he refuses to wear a poppy. He was abused long before the balaclava thing or anything else. The moment he chose to not to wear a poppy, he became a target for abuse.
Matic, the only other person who has chosen not to wear a poppy, doesn't receive abuse for it ala McClean. It's the fact he's Irish that single's him out.
If I was a Premier League footballer, I wouldn't wear a poppy. Like many in Ireland, I have family members who fought in the first and second world wars and equally my great-grandfather was sent to prison for his role in 1916. For me, if you look at the behaviour of the british army on the island of ireland, if you look at the behaviour of british soldiers during the troubles and if you look how the The British Legion uses their funding - i couldn't in good conscience wear a poppy.
I assume most just don't want the headache and abuse that McClean has had to endure.
I think it's a combination of three things that earns McClean the abuse: his refusal to wear a poppy, his on-field character and his Irishness. On the on-field character factor, he's aggressive and he's in your face. He's a lightning rod for opposition supporters amongst other things.
If we strip out the on-field characteristics and, for example, Seamus Coleman didn't wear the poppy then I don't think he would receive anywhere near as much abuse. I do think, however, he would still gain more of a reaction than Matic did because he is Irish.
I have not referred above to McClean's nationalist leanings. I do believe that this is another contributor but I'm unwilling to build that into my very rough conclusion (I wouldn't know how!). He has expressed support for Sinn Fein and his love for republican songs. Neither things are a crime- I love the republican songs myself and supporting Sinn Fein is very popular these days. However, it doesn't take much for a simple Englishman to take these likes and hastily think "IRA".
On the last point, I'm sure many have seen the case of Margaret Keane. Margaret was an Irishwoman who passed away and her family sought to have a message As Gaeilge on her headstone in a Church of England graveyard in Coventry. The Church of England refused them permission on the basis that: “Given the passions and feelings connected with the use of Irish Gaelic there is a sad risk that the phrase would be regarded as some form of slogan or that its inclusion without translation would of itself be seen as a political statement".
James is Irish. David is black (as well as Irish). Both have been subjected to racist abuse on these grounds- which is wrong. Has James advertently or inadvertently manufactured a position for himself whereby his actions and beliefs are provocative to a portion of English football supporters? Maybe.
Similar to the Church of England, the authorities in England which should know better really don't. The problem is that if James McClean had to win a game of Jenga to earn widespread condemnation of his abuse, you might see a piece with 'Balaclava Joke' etched on it being pulled out a bit too carelessly, causing the whole thing to topple.
McClean is abused because he's Irish.
He's the type of Irish the British Media hate. One with a political conscience.
None of the other Irish players probably know a whole lot about or care about the poppy or the history of the British Army in Ireland (which the poppy commemorates by the way - not just WW1, of which I also had family members participate in - Herr Kavanagh and Herr Dunne (that's a joke) )
The British media and, in turn, public have no problem with the good little Paddies who act like they do, but when an Irishman stands up to them they go after him like a pack of wolves. And his nationality is most certainly a part of that.
As I've said before though, he is a confrontational character. It's in his make-up and in his game, like it or dislike it.
I wonder would his game suffer or enhance if he wasn't like this? Hard to know.
If I was his manager I'd want him to stay offline for sure.
But I like the he's not afraid to show some personality. Very few footballers like that these days.
Folding my way into the big money!!!
I'm not sure. I think he's targetted because he is seen as an IRA sympathiser or at the very least a dark green republican. His haters are the Tommy Rbinson fanboy types who stand up for Soldier F, sing No Surrender and FTP at England matches, types who align with NI loyalism. He is a very convenient bogeyman for a certain type of English nationalist.The poppy is a key emblem for these people. It's loved by many others in Britain too, but these mainstream others would respect the choice not to wear it.
Me, I like McClean. I admire his conviction. But when he posted the balaclava image I think he was goading his haters tbh. It doesn't make the haters any less wrong but we was waving a red rag to a John Bull.
Anyway, may this can be moved to McClean's own thread? It's been a while since Didzy has been the topic under discussion.
You’d think BLM would Back James McClean ! !
Then it would be BLMBJM. Doesn't have a great ring to it
Folding my way into the big money!!!
I think it should be left here because it is linked but maybe we should all agree to get back to talking about McGoldrick and how much we wish there were more players like him in the Irish squad.
Folding my way into the big money!!!
100% in a far from vintage year he was our best player I guess
Another glowing tribute from Wilder - https://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/...-40052927.html
Scores an excellent goal against Arsenal.
Great finish against Arsenal there. Can't see him being the one to lose out with the Brewster signing, he looks sharp at the moment.
Any link welcome. Thanks
Here you go...
GOAL ! McGoldrick scores vs Arsenal. 2-1 https://t.co/KHjpjflISR
Love a foreign language commentary of an Irish goal (albeit this time for Sheffield United).
That link doesn't seem to work
Possibly it has been taken down. It was working earlier.
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