Racist bullying at Chelsea

[Ray de Galles]

Gareth Farrelly deserves immense praise for going on the record about the toxic bullying by Kevin MacDonald at Villa after he, remarkably, was allowed to continue coaching at the club despite the PL finding him guilty of bullying a recent youth team player.

[treibeis]

Gareth Farrelly deserves immense praise for going on the record about the toxic bullying by Kevin MacDonald at Villa after he, remarkably, was allowed to continue coaching at the club despite the PL finding him guilty of bullying a recent youth team player.

Reading that reminded me of a coach I had when I was sixteen. Obviously it wasn't on the same scale, as I wasn't a professional and didn't have to put up with it every day. But it was a good regional standard and, as I said, I was a sixteen-year-old playing in men's football.

The coach had played semi-professionally and was winding down as player-manager of the team I was in. I was his partner in the centre of defence.

In every single game I played in, he called me all sorts, whether I'd made a mistake or not. "Useless cunt", "fucking liability", "fucking fairy", you name it, he called me it.

I once got nutmegged by a forward and he shouted - he never expressed himself in anything less than a shout - "Good job your bird's not here, you letting that happen. She'd fucking leave you. Oh, I forgot, you're a fucking poofter anyway."

Another time, I got in an attacking header from a corner. It was a good header, it was on target, the keeper saved it. His reaction? "You're the worst fucking player I've seen in 25 years of playing football."

Yet he put me in the team every week. I just didn't get it.

I jacked it in after less than a season, following an incident shortly before we drove home after an away game (there was a club minibus, which the coach drove). I was the last person to get aboard (somebody has to be the last person), which was greeted by, "Fuck me, slow as a fucking carthorse on the pitch, even slower off it."

I then said, "Fuck you, I'm walking home. Unlike you, at least I CAN walk home." (This was an unkind reference to his knee problems. Not the nicest thing I've ever said, but, yeah, well)

I then took the bus (thankfully, we'd been playing another team in Bristol, rather than in Somerset or Devon) and never played for him again. I didn't play at all for over a year.

This bloke was in his late thirties, he had kids my age, and I was the youngest in the team by at least five years. I really don't know what he got out of it all.

[elguapo4]

A mates family are close friends with the Farrelly family (her brother changed from Liverpool to Villa when Gareth was with them) and it was always a mystery to them that he never got a game.
The only time I was with a big club was when a mate invited me to pre season training with a large non league Dublin side that had several sides.
The first team manager was the same as above, constantly abusing his players, the only thing I can imagine is he thought it was tough love or something, personally I took an instant dislike to the cunt and never went back. No loss cause I wasn't much use but I'd have done the same if I was a player they were looking for.

[Gangster Octopus]

I thought that I recognised the name. Gareth Farrelly played for us on loan a couple of separate occasions. I rated him. Good on him for getting his degree.

[anton pulisov]

Yeah he was good, should have gotten more caps for Ireland.

Just saw photo of him in Guardian. He looks like a completely different human being.

[anton pulisov]

Had forgotten that Kevin MacDonald was Staunton's assistant when the latter was the Ireland manager. Bad cop, incompetent cop.

Bullying might explain why Stephen Ireland made up things about his grannies having died. I remember something doing the rounds about Stephen Ireland being upset at being made fun of for being bald.

[Bored Of Education]

Incredible story all round, that and, I suspect, the bullying element of it isn't just historical nor reserved to the upper echelons of football, as treibeis and elguapo4 allude. My only experience, as I have mentioned before, is in youth coaching and very few would have been mad enough to talk to kids that way -especially with parents at most training and matches - but that overly macho old school attitude still comes through a lot.

[diggedy derek]

I see the police are now investigating something historical at Chelsea. Weren’t those allegations aired ages ago?

[Antepli Ejderha]

I'm sure I posted something about MacDonald when he was manager at Swindon. The amount of abuse he was giving his own players was horrendous and almost always be used the word c**t.

[Janik]

Erm, Lang (and Snake), isn't that a legally dangerous thing to say? The post three above this, I mean?

[Lang Spoon]

Yep, I’ll delete.