| Be social out there — Preview on 20:14 - Mar 5 with 4813 views | daveB |
christ the shit you have to deal with with these nasty pieces of work on twitter, you deserve better mate.
I feel a bit for Dykes, a young bloke in a new country where he can't leave the house, make new friends or do anything, just training and home every day, it's not the easiest way to make a big step up in his career. He's not playing well and there is no hiding place really but I'm not sure how telling someone they are crap is going to make things better |  | |  |
| Be social out there — Preview on 21:45 - Mar 5 with 4636 views | Myke |
Commented on the dangers of trolling on the 'Social Media' thread but clearly had no clue what I was talking about. Shocked that you have to deal with that depth of on-line hatred and vicious character assassination Clive.It is bitterly ironic that while we have gone so PC on a plethora of topics, unadulterated slanderous behaviour goes unchecked and un-policed.
The only way to counter-balance that level of downright evil is to remind yourself of the
vast amount of respect and admiration you have on this site and I am sure in the wider community.
Never met you and if we ever do at some point in the future, I'm sure we would butt heads on some QPR ideology or other. But disrespect all you have achieved and believe in - never [Post edited 5 Mar 2021 22:02]
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| Be social out there — Preview on 23:05 - Mar 5 with 4477 views | Konk |
Imagine being that much of a sad, pathetic cun t that you spend your free time digging-out someone who hosts/puts together one of the best club sites in the country. Imagine being that much of a jealous, sad, pitiful cu nt that you stalked the bloke who clearly loves your club to a stupid degree. Imagine being that much of a pathetic cu nt that you would sit in a boozer and post live updates on that person's behaviour in the pub with his mates. Imagine just how shi t, empty , pathetic, and pitiful that behaviour would be, and wake-up tomorrow, and try and put your fu c king life back together. It's impossible to be that much of a twisted bitter c un t and lead a happy life. Wake-up, switch-on, and stop being an absolute demon cock. Choose joy. Choose happiness. Choose not being a bully.
Edit: I have been on the pop for a while, but anonymous bullying online has to be the most pathetic, cringeworthy, tragic behaviour. Shame on those cun ts. [Post edited 5 Mar 2021 23:08]
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| Fulham FC: It's the taking part that counts |
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| Be social out there — Preview on 23:19 - Mar 5 with 4446 views | BrianMcCarthy |
| Be social out there — Preview on 23:05 - Mar 5 by Konk |
Imagine being that much of a sad, pathetic cun t that you spend your free time digging-out someone who hosts/puts together one of the best club sites in the country. Imagine being that much of a jealous, sad, pitiful cu nt that you stalked the bloke who clearly loves your club to a stupid degree. Imagine being that much of a pathetic cu nt that you would sit in a boozer and post live updates on that person's behaviour in the pub with his mates. Imagine just how shi t, empty , pathetic, and pitiful that behaviour would be, and wake-up tomorrow, and try and put your fu c king life back together. It's impossible to be that much of a twisted bitter c un t and lead a happy life. Wake-up, switch-on, and stop being an absolute demon cock. Choose joy. Choose happiness. Choose not being a bully.
Edit: I have been on the pop for a while, but anonymous bullying online has to be the most pathetic, cringeworthy, tragic behaviour. Shame on those cun ts. [Post edited 5 Mar 2021 23:08]
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"and lead a happy life"
And there, I think, you've nailed it.
Clearly people who engage in this behaviour lack a happy life, lack confidence, self-esteem and/or love. We can only hope that for their sake it's temporary.
Either way, they need to be avoided or ignored while behaving like that. Once we know that we have a duty to inform and advise our friends, our colleagues and our loved ones to do the same, while reminding ourselves all the time that social media is not an accurate reflection on humankind in general.
Clive needs social media to make a living. The players don't.
Neither deserve the hatred. |  |
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| Be social out there — Preview on 23:46 - Mar 5 with 4400 views | Konk |
| Be social out there — Preview on 23:19 - Mar 5 by BrianMcCarthy |
"and lead a happy life"
And there, I think, you've nailed it.
Clearly people who engage in this behaviour lack a happy life, lack confidence, self-esteem and/or love. We can only hope that for their sake it's temporary.
Either way, they need to be avoided or ignored while behaving like that. Once we know that we have a duty to inform and advise our friends, our colleagues and our loved ones to do the same, while reminding ourselves all the time that social media is not an accurate reflection on humankind in general.
Clive needs social media to make a living. The players don't.
Neither deserve the hatred. |
Too right, Brian. Turn the other cheek, recognise how damaged these people are and hope that one day, they'll find some happiness in their lives. In the meantime, Clive, don't let the odd nutcase wear you down. You do a great service for your club. There will always be jealous cu nts, sad about how their lives are going; ignore them.
EDIT: Oh, dear, I must have been p issed when I wrote this - of course you can't ignore someone who's taken a dislike of you to such a demented degree. And I wouldn't turn the other cheek if it was me being bullied/stalked by some weirdo either - I would want to batter the cu nt. But I do feel genuinely sad for the person doing this - they must lead a really sorry, empty life. Imagine stalking a bloke who runs a football website and setting out to ruin his life - it's beyond odd. [Post edited 6 Mar 2021 7:40]
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| Fulham FC: It's the taking part that counts |
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| Be social out there — Preview on 01:04 - Mar 6 with 4341 views | CLAREMAN1995 |
I normally read your previews and match reports over dinner Clive but tonight I appear to have lost my appetite and have a pain in my stomach after reading that .
I thought it was all fun and games just living life and going along with the roller coaster ride which is QPR.
This is far more sinister and dangerous and I am both ashamed and angry you are being targeted .
Please do what you can legally to make it stop and know your writing has brightened many dark days not just 2020 but every year since you took the wheel.
Stay strong |  | | |
| Be social out there — Preview on 02:54 - Mar 6 with 4272 views | B_Wad |
Agree with all these sentiments. I am fortunate I don't need social media and have any accounts and can just pick and choose the Twitter feeds that interest me (including LFW Twitter).
The article mentioned trying to understand Warburton. Understood there are lots of mixed opinions out there. However I see him as a manager who is vigilant in defending his players. What happened to Scowen and Lumley sickened me and now it's Dykes. This article reinforced my admiration for Warburton's character and why the team plays for him. |  | | |
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| Be social out there — Preview on 04:37 - Mar 6 with 4231 views | qprd |
Clive, again, so well written. What an incredible writer you are
It’s hard to believe there are people out there hiding being these invisible accounts, whose sole mission every day is to harass a bunch of strangers...
Separately, the “perennially 28 yr old Sandro”  | | | |
| Be social out there — Preview on 07:17 - Mar 6 with 4151 views | nix |
Excellent article Clive. When Mary Beard gets rape threats for writing about history while not looking like a supermodel, when a charity-raising, 100 year old war veteran gets trolled, there's not much hope for footballers or journalists. But FFS as Konk says, what sad lives must they have to not find something more productive to do with their time. And that's from someone who occasionally binge watches First Dates, and even watched a couple of episodes of Wayne Lineker in Celebrity Go Dating, so I know how to waste my life. But following you round to the pub or the ground takes it to a new level and has to be someone who's fallen from the creepy tree and hit all the creepy branches on the way down.
I agree that people have to be allowed to get things off their chest. Although I'm not sure I can go along with targeting young players, even at the ground. Old timers like Lynch, who've been round the block a few times and don't look like they've been to the gym as much as I have, are probably fair game though. However, Twitter is a different story because you can't escape it. And DM-ing or tagging players just to insult them is so far out of line. And sadly it's not just young spotty teens, it's seemingly grown men that do this (and possibly women too, although I've seen them outed less).
That's something I really admire our manager for. We might not agree with his being thin skinned at times, but I love the fact he supports his players, at least in public. I'm convinced that's why they've pulled together, even when we've had that terrible run. And looking at one of my favourite ever players Eze not smiling any more makes me sad, and says a lot about how our manager encourages people to enjoy their football. |  | | |
| Be social out there — Preview on 08:34 - Mar 6 with 4048 views | switchingcode |
I read Clive’s article and it left me feeling both angry and sad.I took the decision last month to mainly browse rather than engage on forums including my own clubs.The bloke who runs our forum was sent a parcel of horse shit in a box to his home along with a threatening letter and followed by abusive phone calls.He gets disgusting abuse on Twitter by these faceless cowards all the time.
Our forum mirrors this one in many ways well in being well moderated and like this there seems more traffic when we lose than when we win it’s like the mini bus with the usual nutters on board have arrived something that shouldn’t but irritates me.I am very much old school so there was no social media or wall to wall pundits just Jimmy Hill and friends when I was a teenager and playing Aldershot was the nearest local Derby so these are very much golden years for me but among the new generation there are many entitled morons Like others have said I can’t understand how these people get off on insulting people from the safety of their fake names and multi accounts
and do they share this with their mates.
I can’t wait for this ridiculously scheduled season be over and we can all get vaccinated have a break and get back to watching football as we know it. | | | |
| Be social out there — Preview on 09:13 - Mar 6 with 4013 views | denhamhoop2 |
I am ashamed and angered by this preview. Does show just how many unhinged individuals there are out there in this age of anonymous critique. Just a pity you need Twitter for your financial survival as for me it is an absolute cesspit of humanity with a minority of tweeters who seem to have no moral compass or boundaries.
I used to play an online reality world game and the amount of times I had to remind people on there there are human beings behind those avatars with feelings and emotions.
I fully understand people getting annoyed and frustrated at times by players not quite coming up to their expectations you will see me express my frustration on here this afternoon as Kane smashes a cross into the nearest defender or Wallace doesn't mark Nakhi Wells at the back post.
The thing is I would say these same things to both players faces in the ground if I was allowed to but I wouldn't berate either of them in Freshcos doing their weekly shop
As for your harassment when we are allowed to meet other fans shall have to chat to various individuals and see if we can find just who your stalker is because it is criminal behaviour as it is impacting your every day life and your livelihood negatively,
Keep your chin held high because Clive you are truly one of the people that make me proud to be part of the QPR Family | | | |
| Be social out there — Preview on 09:42 - Mar 6 with 3981 views | Superhoop83 |
I hope your troll is reading the site today and decides to leave you in peace now you've called them out.
It must have been incredibly difficult to write that but no-one deserves that kind of appalling behaviour. |  |
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| Be social out there — Preview on 10:22 - Mar 6 with 3904 views | terryb |
Thank you for the preview Clive.
I can't imagine what Twitter, Facebook etc can do to a person, but Thank God they were not in the universe when I was at school!
Nearing 70, I can still remember every negative comment I received during my school days & left me with zero self confidence for most of my life. And I was gererally well liked as well!
The placing of one brick on top of another leaves you inside a building that will be very hard for you to leave.
Please continue to highlight the effect that people can have on the life of another human. | | | |
| Be social out there — Preview on 10:50 - Mar 6 with 3841 views | JordanFoster |
Firsly, I'm so sorry to hear how that pr*cks abuse made you felt, Clive. I can't stand that bunch of merry men that abuse and jump on anything that anyone of any note might say or do.
I'm sure I won't be alone in thinking that without this site, your match reports, and previews a fair few of us might still be in some dark times. I was lucky enough to be able to write for LFW whilst at Uni and Clive was the only person throughout my whole time of writing that actually paid me. For that I'll always be grateful and for helping when there was really no need or benefit.
I've been umming and ahing about saying anything on this topic of players for a while. I'm actually lucky enough to be one of the PR representatives/brand managers mentioned in the piece, working with players that have won the Champions League and World Cup, to players currently in the Championship. A small part of my role is to monitor and manage players' social feeds, so I've seen firsthand the effect this can have on players.
Having dealt with numerous clubs and their fans, I don't for a minute think that this is just a QPR problem, but I would lean towards the belief it's a lot worse than most.
With some of the older players we work with, it would be simple, we'd manage the accounts working with the players to put out content or messaging that gets across how they feel after a game. A lot of the time, these players would get the first bit of abuse and just ask to have the password changed to something obscure so they couldn't access it. Fine.
You then have younger players, those that are the age of Eze, BOS, Bettache and Willock they have spent their whole life on social media. They use it to message friends, talk to girls, interact with their mates feed or posts and have done for years. They, rightly don't want to give their password over or come off socials because of abuse.
But I can't stress the effect it is having on players.
Within the last month I've had a player leave a club and say it felt like an army of abuse was at his front door through his Instagram DMs and he couldn't escape it. I've had a player get sent the most personal, researched, vile abuse about his family, because he made a mistake leading to a goal. I've had a player that was the record signing for a champions league club, not hit the ground running and have 4 'ghost' accounts bombarding everything he posts with 100 comments of "f*** off and die". I've seen a player get abuse and told what a "useless c***" he is after a game, for him then to search his name with a load of different phrases including "should die". Because as Clive alludes to, the seed is sown.
One of our clients is Arsenal's Hector Bellerin, it led to the point of him getting a Nokia 3310 a few years ago because he simply thought it was too evasive and too detrimental on his mental health to be able to check constantly what some thinks about you, or what "top trump" styled abuse "AubaMadness â„¢" can come up with today.
I know the general consensus is, you're paid a lot, get on with it. But especially during lockdown, when players might be in new areas and can't explore or you're sitting at home with nothing to do and no girlfriend, it's a rabbit hole.
It's also leading to a huge uptake in mental health services being used at clubs. Players sending SOS to other players saying they just can't cope with the abuse they're getting, refusing to do charity initiatives because if you're helping deaf children, why aren't you helping blind children? Being petrified of doing anything fun or something that gets their personality across because they think the comments will be racist or just horrific.
One young Premier League player told me: "I always thought this would be the dream, but now I'm here, I'm not sure it is."
Just this last week a conversation came up regarding a QPR player with his agent, one I think many of us would suggest has been a leading player this year. When asked about socials and his limited use, he said: "I've been warned how heavy it can get here and I can't really be doing with it...".
There's very few QPR players that are active now and it's no a coincidence.
You get two-bob w******s like AFTV and their viral clips leading the charge, acting as some type of beacon of inspiration for these anonymous accounts to go to war on players. The mock outrage because Reiss Nelson hasn't played like Ronaldo. It's disgusting.
I've got no problem and no defence if you want to say a player is crap on Twitter after a game, none at all. Fill your boots. One of life's greatest gifts is being able to moan and criticise the squad after an awayday on the train home so what's the difference? It's when you tag them in it. When they are on the coach home and their scrolling through a conversation of two people going to town on them because they didn't finish a chance whilst getting a notification of every reply.
How you combat it I don't know, I've seen the ID line mentioned at times, but in less developed countries that isn't an option. As Clive says in the piece the platforms have the AI to monitor copyright so that's a start. Can we source and block IP address to stop this constant opening of new accounts? Those morons that show their actual face when racially abusing a player should be hit far harder by the law, too.
I think in the not too distant future we could be in the unfortunate position of a player doing something irreversible, so I think it's on everyone to call it out in our fan base when given the chance. | | | |
| Be social out there — Preview on 10:59 - Mar 6 with 3820 views | Toast_R |
Sorry to hear you have to deal with this kind of crap Clive. There are some real sad pathetic bastards in this world. Sometimes I think the world would become an instantly better place if the owners of Twitter just switched it off |  | | |
| Be social out there — Preview on 11:13 - Mar 6 with 3752 views | ted_hendrix |
| Be social out there — Preview on 10:50 - Mar 6 by JordanFoster |
Firsly, I'm so sorry to hear how that pr*cks abuse made you felt, Clive. I can't stand that bunch of merry men that abuse and jump on anything that anyone of any note might say or do.
I'm sure I won't be alone in thinking that without this site, your match reports, and previews a fair few of us might still be in some dark times. I was lucky enough to be able to write for LFW whilst at Uni and Clive was the only person throughout my whole time of writing that actually paid me. For that I'll always be grateful and for helping when there was really no need or benefit.
I've been umming and ahing about saying anything on this topic of players for a while. I'm actually lucky enough to be one of the PR representatives/brand managers mentioned in the piece, working with players that have won the Champions League and World Cup, to players currently in the Championship. A small part of my role is to monitor and manage players' social feeds, so I've seen firsthand the effect this can have on players.
Having dealt with numerous clubs and their fans, I don't for a minute think that this is just a QPR problem, but I would lean towards the belief it's a lot worse than most.
With some of the older players we work with, it would be simple, we'd manage the accounts working with the players to put out content or messaging that gets across how they feel after a game. A lot of the time, these players would get the first bit of abuse and just ask to have the password changed to something obscure so they couldn't access it. Fine.
You then have younger players, those that are the age of Eze, BOS, Bettache and Willock they have spent their whole life on social media. They use it to message friends, talk to girls, interact with their mates feed or posts and have done for years. They, rightly don't want to give their password over or come off socials because of abuse.
But I can't stress the effect it is having on players.
Within the last month I've had a player leave a club and say it felt like an army of abuse was at his front door through his Instagram DMs and he couldn't escape it. I've had a player get sent the most personal, researched, vile abuse about his family, because he made a mistake leading to a goal. I've had a player that was the record signing for a champions league club, not hit the ground running and have 4 'ghost' accounts bombarding everything he posts with 100 comments of "f*** off and die". I've seen a player get abuse and told what a "useless c***" he is after a game, for him then to search his name with a load of different phrases including "should die". Because as Clive alludes to, the seed is sown.
One of our clients is Arsenal's Hector Bellerin, it led to the point of him getting a Nokia 3310 a few years ago because he simply thought it was too evasive and too detrimental on his mental health to be able to check constantly what some thinks about you, or what "top trump" styled abuse "AubaMadness â„¢" can come up with today.
I know the general consensus is, you're paid a lot, get on with it. But especially during lockdown, when players might be in new areas and can't explore or you're sitting at home with nothing to do and no girlfriend, it's a rabbit hole.
It's also leading to a huge uptake in mental health services being used at clubs. Players sending SOS to other players saying they just can't cope with the abuse they're getting, refusing to do charity initiatives because if you're helping deaf children, why aren't you helping blind children? Being petrified of doing anything fun or something that gets their personality across because they think the comments will be racist or just horrific.
One young Premier League player told me: "I always thought this would be the dream, but now I'm here, I'm not sure it is."
Just this last week a conversation came up regarding a QPR player with his agent, one I think many of us would suggest has been a leading player this year. When asked about socials and his limited use, he said: "I've been warned how heavy it can get here and I can't really be doing with it...".
There's very few QPR players that are active now and it's no a coincidence.
You get two-bob w******s like AFTV and their viral clips leading the charge, acting as some type of beacon of inspiration for these anonymous accounts to go to war on players. The mock outrage because Reiss Nelson hasn't played like Ronaldo. It's disgusting.
I've got no problem and no defence if you want to say a player is crap on Twitter after a game, none at all. Fill your boots. One of life's greatest gifts is being able to moan and criticise the squad after an awayday on the train home so what's the difference? It's when you tag them in it. When they are on the coach home and their scrolling through a conversation of two people going to town on them because they didn't finish a chance whilst getting a notification of every reply.
How you combat it I don't know, I've seen the ID line mentioned at times, but in less developed countries that isn't an option. As Clive says in the piece the platforms have the AI to monitor copyright so that's a start. Can we source and block IP address to stop this constant opening of new accounts? Those morons that show their actual face when racially abusing a player should be hit far harder by the law, too.
I think in the not too distant future we could be in the unfortunate position of a player doing something irreversible, so I think it's on everyone to call it out in our fan base when given the chance. |
Thank you for this post, I'm gonna have to re-read it but it has certainly made me sit up and take notice and maybe have a rethink about how I view social media and the affect it has on our players. |  |
| My Father had a profound influence on me, he was a lunatic. |
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| Be social out there — Preview on 11:17 - Mar 6 with 3724 views | SydneyRs |
| Be social out there — Preview on 23:05 - Mar 5 by Konk |
Imagine being that much of a sad, pathetic cun t that you spend your free time digging-out someone who hosts/puts together one of the best club sites in the country. Imagine being that much of a jealous, sad, pitiful cu nt that you stalked the bloke who clearly loves your club to a stupid degree. Imagine being that much of a pathetic cu nt that you would sit in a boozer and post live updates on that person's behaviour in the pub with his mates. Imagine just how shi t, empty , pathetic, and pitiful that behaviour would be, and wake-up tomorrow, and try and put your fu c king life back together. It's impossible to be that much of a twisted bitter c un t and lead a happy life. Wake-up, switch-on, and stop being an absolute demon cock. Choose joy. Choose happiness. Choose not being a bully.
Edit: I have been on the pop for a while, but anonymous bullying online has to be the most pathetic, cringeworthy, tragic behaviour. Shame on those cun ts. [Post edited 5 Mar 2021 23:08]
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This. x1000 | | | |
| Be social out there — Preview on 11:23 - Mar 6 with 3679 views | Metallica_Hoop |
I got annoyed when someone reported my 3 week old fb post which got me a month 'live ban'.
Not because it got removed but because the anonymous person didn't even engage me on why they found it offensive.
After reading that I'm glad I'm not on Twitter. Small beer by comparison. |  |
| Beer and Beef has made us what we are - The Prince Regent |
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| Be social out there — Preview on 11:35 - Mar 6 with 3594 views | Harbour |
Really sorry to read the terrible abuse you have been subject to Clive there are some sick people out there. Thanks for this site and all the great writing you do. It has been an absolute god send over the last year. | | | |
| Be social out there — Preview on 12:03 - Mar 6 with 3477 views | francisbowles |
Thanks to Clive and Jordan for highlighting and explaining all this. I have heard some of the abuse that Clive has had before and to hear it is still going on in lockdown is appalling.
I know there are radio people who read on this forum, maybe (if you wanted) they could get either of you or both on air to talk about it.
Whatever we think about people, if you can't say something positive, say nothing is a safe practice to avoid abuse. Only offer negative comments if they are fair, sensitive and justified as well as having your own ideas for improvement. We may not always be able to adhere to all of that but it's not a bad direction to aim for. Oh and the old adage of engage the brain before you spout of. [Post edited 6 Mar 2021 12:04]
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| Be social out there — Preview on 12:11 - Mar 6 with 3431 views | enfieldargh |
Clive I'm appalled that you have had to suffer the indignation of receiving such abuse. Please keep your chin up and know the positive affect your running of this site and your superb articles impact on me and the other members/readers of this fantastic forum.
Personally I dont get the need to use twitter or Instagram, I dont really want anybody knowing my basic functions(look at my dinner, Ive got lazanya).
I have a family member who uses twitter which helps his career somehow, however in the arts you tend to get a more refined type of participant. I wonder if this abuse gets aimed at Cricketers or Golfers?
As for these pathetic Twitter users it offends me as a QPR fan that they carry out this vitriolic abuse of players/managers. If I was a player receiving or knowing the effects on teammates receiving this abuse I would look at every QPR fan with some suspicion.
It only takes one rotten apple in a barrel..........
I wonder if Keith Stroud uses Twitter? |  |
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| Be social out there — Preview on 12:13 - Mar 6 with 3401 views | stevec |
Never been on Twitter so maybe not in the ideal position to comment but surely there are other mediums out there that don’t allow such a level of anonymity for the abusers?
Twitter seems like going down the pub and handing over your house keys to a complete stranger, I don’t get why anyone would conceivably leave themselves open to that.
Anyway Clive keep your chin up, with or without Twitter you’ve got an abundance of people on here, a decent job (I think!) and drinking pals by the sounds, so overall the positives outweigh the negative. |  | | |
| Be social out there — Preview on 12:28 - Mar 6 with 3348 views | Noelmc |
Excellent piece Clive.
I remember Dave Thomas doing a piece in AKUTR's a while back, when he was a victim of similar trolling to you. It's dreadful that fantastic supporters like yourself and Dave who feed our voracious appetites for all things QPR, with well balanced, entertaining and informative articles on the club, get this disgusting abuse. I'm sure for both of you it is a labour of love, as the paltry income received in no way reflects the efforts you put in.
It would be a huge loss if either of you were driven to give up because of these spiteful cretins and I hope you realise the vast majority of supporters greatly value the service you provide.
Both you and Dave eloquently explained the impact just one committed troll can have on your state of mind, so it must be terrifying to have this multiplied many times if you are a young player such as Dykes receiving such abuse from numerous trolls. Like you I fear that someday a player will be driven to take their own life due to online abuse. Surely, steps need to be taken by the authorities to eradicate this vile aspect of modern living before a life is lost in this way. |  | | |
| Be social out there — Preview on 13:42 - Mar 6 with 3131 views | daveB |
fascinating post by Jordan, really interesting to read the players point of view | | | |
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