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Post by lordb on Mar 26, 2021 12:20:20 GMT
Wonder what likes of Nick Powell and Dean Ashton thought watching it, if indeed they did? The same as everyone else as it happened years before they joined the club. not sure that's right in Ashtons case
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Post by davejohnno1 on Mar 26, 2021 12:23:47 GMT
Maybe one of the few that saw nothing at the time. Thanks for posting that. Really interesting. Danny Murphy was potentially very lucky. Perhaps his first and only stay at Bennell's house was the start of what would have been his grooming process. As Murphy says, he was one of the lucky ones. I imagine he was very good friends with Steve Walters. Sure their times at Crewe would have overlapped. It seems cras now, but we've joked in the past with one of our mates who was coached by Bennell and was never "touched" that it must have been because he was crap!
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Post by Deleted on Mar 26, 2021 12:33:18 GMT
Without double checking I think Walters is q quite a bit older than Murphy. Walters would have been playing first team football in Murphy's younger days
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Post by Gary Hackett on Mar 26, 2021 12:46:36 GMT
Without double checking I think Walters is q quite a bit older than Murphy. Walters would have been playing first team football in Murphy's younger days They both played together in the mid 90s, Walters lived a few doors down from my parents. Walters used to frequent the pubs and clubs in Nantwich and was known to be be a bit of a dick by all accounts.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 26, 2021 15:37:51 GMT
Without double checking I think Walters is q quite a bit older than Murphy. Walters would have been playing first team football in Murphy's younger days They both played together in the mid 90s, Walters lived a few doors down from my parents. Walters used to frequent the pubs and clubs in Nantwich and was known to be be a bit of a dick by all accounts. I remember Rob Hulse in a pub I used to go to, Not very popular but Seth Johnson was an utter prat, One taxi firm refused to pick him up
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Post by davejohnno1 on Mar 26, 2021 16:18:31 GMT
Without double checking I think Walters is q quite a bit older than Murphy. Walters would have been playing first team football in Murphy's younger days I wondered if Murphy broke into team as Walter's was established, but still young himself
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zelem
Academy Starlet
Posts: 164
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Post by zelem on Mar 26, 2021 22:24:29 GMT
I found it so so sad, it really left me gobsmacked and upset. I (probably like a lot of people) , can imagine there was a few people down lancaster gate and a handful off people at a club in cheshire not far from here who knew exactly what was going on but were to busy feathering their own nests and ignoring it!. I hope to got they are ALL bought to justice!
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Post by lordb on Mar 26, 2021 22:28:51 GMT
What makes this worse is it wasn't really a secret
No one can be truly shocked especially re Crewe, stories/rumours going around for decades now.
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Post by iancransonsknees on Mar 27, 2021 7:54:03 GMT
What makes this worse is it wasn't really a secret No one can be truly shocked especially re Crewe, stories/rumours going around for decades now. I read yesterday that Crewe still had photos of Bennell around the club in 2017! I wonder if anything with Gradi is still up?
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Post by Deleted on Mar 27, 2021 8:00:12 GMT
What makes this worse is it wasn't really a secret No one can be truly shocked especially re Crewe, stories/rumours going around for decades now. I read yesterday that Crewe still had photos of Bennell around the club in 2017! I wonder if anything with Gradi is still up? I a street near the ground named after him.
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Post by george2again on Mar 27, 2021 19:20:04 GMT
I think one of the saddest things of all is that this thread is only 5 pages long and deserves to be longer that the infamous Zigic thread such is the high octane emotion of the subject.
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Post by scfcstevie on Mar 27, 2021 19:39:34 GMT
I think one of the saddest things of all is that this thread is only 5 pages long and deserves to be longer that the infamous Zigic thread such is the high octane emotion of the subject. the saddest thing is that we have to talk about it at all and that it actually happens, so fucked up people in this world.. Had zigic signed yet 😂
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Post by scfcbiancorossi on Mar 27, 2021 23:53:37 GMT
Just seen this series, horrifying stuff.
Really makes you appreciate the line - "never judge a book by its cover".
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Post by duckling on Mar 28, 2021 8:34:36 GMT
I am a gymnastics fan from the United States. I don't know how much of this is known in the UK. Basically, the team doctor for the USA ladies gymnastics team, Larry Nassar, sexually abused hundreds of gymnasts over the span of two decades. As with a lot of prolific sexual abusers, people in power knew but didn't do anything.
But it would be simplistic to blame it all on the adults hearing about it and not doing anything. The culture was rotten in the sport. Girls were emotionally abused by coaches who had complete power over them. There was a culture of fear and a hypercompetitive atmosphere. Winning was all that mattered. That allowed Nassar to step in as a compassionate father figure and gain the trust of the girls.
Preventing sexual abuse in sport requires more than background checks and reporting requirements. It requires an entire cultural shift.
Here is a documentary about the gymnastics case. It's very disturbing but really worth a watch.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 28, 2021 9:20:36 GMT
I think one of the saddest things of all is that this thread is only 5 pages long and deserves to be longer that the infamous Zigic thread such is the high octane emotion of the subject. Not as easy to talk about as a light hearted subject to be fair. Doesn't mean those who watched it didn't feel shocked by it.
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Post by milky on Mar 28, 2021 12:24:57 GMT
Watched all 3 now and it did make for harrowing viewing.
Andy Woodward and Paul Stewart in particular looked broken men and its now obvious why Steve Walters never fulfilled his potential, then of course the ultimate tragedy with Billy Seymour.
The arrogance and flippant response of Crewe chairman John Bowler and Charles Hughes from the FA turning his back on that female journalist simply beggered belief.
And Bennel telling a reporter that the 14 year old boy in Florida was " bigger than he was " made my skin crawl.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 28, 2021 13:47:45 GMT
Watched all 3 now and it did make for harrowing viewing. Andy Woodward and Paul Stewart in particular looked broken men and its now obvious why Steve Walters never fulfilled his potential, then of course the ultimate tragedy with Billy Seymour. The arrogance and flippant response of Crewe chairman John Bowler and Charles Hughes from the FA turning his back on that female journalist simply beggered belief. And Bennel telling a reporter that the 14 year old boy in Florida was " bigger than he was " made my skin crawl. Did Walters get an injury or something back in the day when at the top of his game? Bowler is an arrogant creep.
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Post by Malcolm Clarke on Mar 28, 2021 15:47:30 GMT
What makes this worse is it wasn't really a secret No one can be truly shocked especially re Crewe, stories/rumours going around for decades now. I read yesterday that Crewe still had photos of Bennell around the club in 2017! I wonder if anything with Gradi is still up? He has been suspended by the FA since 2016 as a person who could could cause or pose a risk to children
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Post by milky on Mar 28, 2021 16:03:22 GMT
Watched all 3 now and it did make for harrowing viewing. Andy Woodward and Paul Stewart in particular looked broken men and its now obvious why Steve Walters never fulfilled his potential, then of course the ultimate tragedy with Billy Seymour. The arrogance and flippant response of Crewe chairman John Bowler and Charles Hughes from the FA turning his back on that female journalist simply beggered belief. And Bennel telling a reporter that the 14 year old boy in Florida was " bigger than he was " made my skin crawl. Did Walters get an injury or something back in the day when at the top of his game? Bowler is an arrogant creep. I genuinely cant remember, or even recall where he went after leaving Crewe,other than he was tipped for big things.
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Post by Malcolm Clarke on Mar 28, 2021 16:08:46 GMT
Put my youngest to bed hours ago and was thinking of all this as he was saying good night and saying he loved me etc. My lad is so happy and innocent he could be easily led if was put in that position. I can’t even begin to imagine what these poor blokes went through. Having there childhoods completely robbed of them just to please some sick bastards desires. There’s nothing worse than this. I saw a clip of Andy Woodward’s interview. I turned it off in disgust at what went on and can’t bring myself to watch more of it It's a bloody hard watch and I experienced a whole gamut of emotions watching the three episodes.Anger,Frustration,Sadness but ultimately a great sense of Admiration for the lads who had the balls to speak out about the abuse they suffered. I would have been too embarrassed to contemplate it,and theses guys are bloody heroes in my eyes. I have just finished watching all 3 programmes. The hardest watch I've had for a very long time. But I felt I needed to see it through, not least because as a member of the FA Council I have received the reports on what has been, and is still being, done to try to prevent this stuff ever happening again, but none of that gives you any sort of understanding of exactly what it meant for the kids, now men, involved, in the way that these programmes did. Like you I had a range of emotions, including disbelief, and was often in tears. I share your view of the guys who had the courage to speak out. They have achieved a great deal of good. Credit also to the Victoria Derbyshire show and the makers of these programmes for tackling the subject. I think the right systems are now in place but no-one should ever be complacent about it - at either professional football club or grassroots level.
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Post by misterj on Mar 29, 2021 22:00:08 GMT
Malcolm, surely the big red flag was the kids being invited to stay overnight at coaches’ homes ..... what the ....? And what for? What could possibly be achieved by such a dumb (dangerous) activity? Please tell me this has been absolutely squashed as a coaching strategy and also, I feel, these academies should have all open-attendance coaching sessions and matches, certainly for parents, so everyone has access to what is going on.
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Post by Malcolm Clarke on Mar 30, 2021 8:21:17 GMT
Malcolm, surely the big red flag was the kids being invited to stay overnight at coaches’ homes ..... what the ....? And what for? What could possibly be achieved by such a dumb (dangerous) activity? Please tell me this has been absolutely squashed as a coaching strategy and also, I feel, these academies should have all open-attendance coaching sessions and matches, certainly for parents, so everyone has access to what is going on. Well, exactly - viewed from today's perspective it is extraordinary that coaches were allowed to invite kids to stay over and that no-body, including their parents questioned it or did anything about it. What came over to me was that this was due to two things. First, the threat of paedophilia had nothing like the profile it has today. It just didn't occur to those in charge or the parents that such things could happen. Second, such was the desire, desperation even, of the kids and their parents that they should make it as professional footballers that they didn't want to do anything, anything at all, which might annoy or upset the coach. There was one lad who declined the invitation, and he was just dropped. I am quite sure that no coach at any level could get away with such invitations today, but that doesn't mean we should ever be complacent that the threat has completely gone away. I'm sure it hasn't which is why robust safeguarding procedures must be maintained. I don't know the answer to your specific question about open sessions but all clubs and county FAs are inspected and monitored on their safeguarding procedures.
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Post by flea79 on Mar 30, 2021 8:27:15 GMT
Malcolm, surely the big red flag was the kids being invited to stay overnight at coaches’ homes ..... what the ....? And what for? What could possibly be achieved by such a dumb (dangerous) activity? Please tell me this has been absolutely squashed as a coaching strategy and also, I feel, these academies should have all open-attendance coaching sessions and matches, certainly for parents, so everyone has access to what is going on. Well, exactly - viewed from today's perspective it is extraordinary that coaches were allowed to invite kids to stay over and that no-body, including their parents questioned it or did anything about it. What came over to me was that this was due to two things. First, the threat of paedophilia had nothing like the profile it has today. It just didn't occur to those in charge or the parents that such things could happen. Second, such was the desire, desperation even, of the kids and their parents that they should make it as professional footballers that they didn't want to do anything, anything at all, which might annoy or upset the coach. There was one lad who declined the invitation, and he was just dropped. I am quite sure that no coach at any level could get away with such invitations today, but that doesn't mean we should ever be complacent that the threat has completely gone away. I'm sure it hasn't which is why robust safeguarding procedures must be maintained. I don't know the answer to your specific question about open sessions but all clubs and county FAs are inspected and monitored on their safeguarding procedures. As an important person who perhaps hears more of what goes on than the rest of us is this the tip of the iceberg or is this as bad as it gets?
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Post by Malcolm Clarke on Mar 30, 2021 9:41:00 GMT
Well, exactly - viewed from today's perspective it is extraordinary that coaches were allowed to invite kids to stay over and that no-body, including their parents questioned it or did anything about it. What came over to me was that this was due to two things. First, the threat of paedophilia had nothing like the profile it has today. It just didn't occur to those in charge or the parents that such things could happen. Second, such was the desire, desperation even, of the kids and their parents that they should make it as professional footballers that they didn't want to do anything, anything at all, which might annoy or upset the coach. There was one lad who declined the invitation, and he was just dropped. I am quite sure that no coach at any level could get away with such invitations today, but that doesn't mean we should ever be complacent that the threat has completely gone away. I'm sure it hasn't which is why robust safeguarding procedures must be maintained. I don't know the answer to your specific question about open sessions but all clubs and county FAs are inspected and monitored on their safeguarding procedures. As an important person who perhaps hears more of what goes on than the rest of us is this the tip of the iceberg or is this as bad as it gets? Not sure about the important person bit, flea , but I certainly hope, and do believe, that this was far worse than as bad as it could get today. I think the procedures and awareness are on a totally different level to what they were then, but we must never get complacent about that and, to use the appropriate sporting phrase, always keep our eye on the ball. But there could well have been more that went on then which still hasn't come out, and may never do so.
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Post by JoeinOz on May 1, 2021 5:05:03 GMT
Finally been able to watch it. It's sickening. The cover ups are particularly disturbing.
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