well seein as u asked for my opinion here goes , i think u signed a good player in lawless and whats gone b4 shouldnt even be an issue u signed him to play football not to win popularity contests ,as for what happened with fc i have witnessed there antics and can only assume he took humbrage at some of there loony tunes ,fair play to him if ya cant take it dont give it ,there ya go hope that helps :laugh:
The lad is entitled to his opinions however perverse they are. Gary Neville says he hates scousers, he’s still playing. If he thinks Munich is the best thing ever, is that a reason to ban him from football?? Of course not, get a grip!!
And to compare him with Joey Barton et al, for crying out loud!!
Typical PC nanny state garbage. Like Boey says, if you can’t take it back don’t give it out and United fans under whatever banner are the worst of the lot.
How many fans give horrendous abuse out to players every week to people like Sol Campbell, Steven Gerrard etc? These fans by and large get away with saying things that you should never say to another human being and hide within the crowd. Yet one player has a pop back and it’s him who should be banned. The hypocrisy of that is astounding. And you can say what you like about it being their job but no amount of money and fame makes it ok!!
Greenie, are you for real or just having a laugh?
You said twice that people were calling for Lawless to be banned from football - I don’t recall reading that.
You said Lawless is entitled to his opinions however perverse. Well yes, have an opinion but there is a degree of acceptance in society and I would have thought a Facebook group called “Munich 58 was the best thing ever” is unacceptable other than for a bedroom-stricken sicko teenager who hides behind a pseudonym on an internet forum - not a mature father of 4 wanting to further his footballing career in the North-west of England.
No “hypocrisy” there, eh?
What John Lawless did was wrong. He has accepted the consequences of his actions and should be able to move on. The actions of some FCUM fans were equally as unacceptable. Are songs and taunts about Hillsborough & Heysel not equally as bad as taunts about Munich?
Totally agree with rabbit when he said “Whilst provocation is not an excuse, fans have to look at the own behaviour before lambasting Lawless”
It seens that it depends on whether u are a Utd or Liverpool fan ( or just a Utd hater ) as to what your opinion is on this matter.
The boy was stupid for what he did and for being a member of such a group but at the end of the day everybody in life deserves a second chance so lets just hope for our clubs sake he takes it.
Eddie I don’t think anyone is offering defense for his actions and claiming they were acceptable - they were not!
But, we need to put some perspective on this! The FA took no further action and neither did the police, had either party felt the need to do so then they would have done. The fact they didn’t means that the player has been given the opportunity to learn from the mistake and hopefully he will have thought a little bit about his actions.
21 people losing their lives in an air crash is no laughing matter irrespective of football rivalry, and neither are the Hillsborough and Heysel disasters. Football rivalry often crosses acceptable lines and for the supporters of opposing clubs to make these events subject of chants is distasteful - but John Lawless is not the sole individual guilty of starting this phenomenon!
These events took place 20 plus years before he was born. Accepting an invitation to join the Facebook group was naive for a footballer (not that anyone should join a group of this subject). There is a facebook group titled “Arsene Wenger is a Paedophile” which is probably filled with United and Liverpool members. This is equally as distasteful as the Munich group and indeed a personal attack on a living individual. I ‘hate’ Arsenal but I wouldn’t join group like this!
What John did was silly and that’s about the height of it!
You may think he deserved more punishment, and that is fine, but the FA and police didn’t think so and therefore they have closed the subject. He deserves to be given a second chance. Lee Hughes fled a car crash in which he killed someone and went to prison for doing so, he is now back playing for Oldham. This is a much greater crime and he has to live with this mistake forever, he can do nothing to reverse his actions. As far as the legal system is concerned he has served his time for the crime (and you can strongly debate whether this was sufficient)?
Were Oldham right to sign him, it must have been a difficult decision? The answer has to be yes, he served his time and is free to resume his career. Oldham decided to give him a chance.
Were Witton right to sign Lawless. Same answer, yes! The FA and police decided to take no further action. Our manager knows the player from his days at Colwyn Bay and believes he can obviously manage him and that he will not repeat the incident.
There is little point arguing the subject further, let the lad play his football and hope he has learned something from the situation.
For those of you who bothered to attend Tuesday nights game against Guiseley you will have seen on the teamsheet for them a certain James Cotterill. Below is a snippet about James from a couple of years ago:
"A SOUTH Yorkshire footballer jailed after he broke a rival player’s jaw with a “cowardly” off-the-ball punch has signed for a new club - just two weeks after being tagged and released from prison.
James Cotterill, from Barnsley, will still be wearing the tag when he makes his debut for Ossett Town next weekend.
Cotterill, aged 24, was jailed for four months for punching Sean Rigg in Barrow’s FA Cup First Round tie against Bristol Rovers in November.
The attack was seen on television by millions on Match of the Day.
He was released from Kirkham open prison near Blackpool a fortnight ago after serving just five weeks of his sentence"
On Tuesday night I didn’t see too many objections that James was included on the Team Sheet!
What I am trying to say is that if a player behaves outside the laws of the game they are given a punishment or warning, which they in turn serve. Hopefully the player learns from it and moves on!
John was given a warning I am not saying what he supposedly did was right or wrong but that chapter in his life is now closed and he should be allowed to continue playing football as James for example has been able to.
Excellent postings Rabbit and Drew.
I was lucky enough to be at the 40th Anniversary Munich Memorial match and it was a very moving exerience.
However how many of us can honestly say we don’t have a belief or opinion that someone else won’t take exception to?
Excellent post Drew, I for one didn’t even know this!
I am absolutely outraged by this and shall be spending all afternoon penning a letter to the FA to ask why they have not castigated the player further. It’s a good job FCUM played Guiseley a couple of weeks ago otherwise their highly principled supporters would have no doubt boycotted the game on the grounds of it bringing northern football into disrepute!
Actually scrub the above paragraph, I think I’ll go to WP instead and hope that Lawless puts three crosses into the box for a Mike Moseley hattrick.
:ohmy:
Well done to the man for his 2 goals against Buxton, but couldn’t help having a chuckle at this photo…
The caption “How to ruin a perfectly good arm”!
:laugh:
I think John Lawless answered his critics with saturdays performance, not only did he have a great game, and score two goals, he also came in for some rough treatment from one or two of the buxton donkeys. I couldnt help feel at times they were trying to spark a reaction from him there were trips, kicks, verbal exchanges none of which he reacted to he just got on with playing football and did it well. I am a lifelong united fan, and as others have stated had afew reservations about the lads temperament but having seen him on saturday I think most concerns are unfounded. Great TEAM performance and more of the same please.
Stuart
I have had two emails from the ref, one complimenting all at Witton on our hospitality, and the second praising us on our discipline (except for Pritch’s tackle). He said it was no surprise on how well we are doing in the fair play league under Gary, and that it was a pleasure to referee our side.
We have also had compliments from Runcorn Linnets Football Secretary (several Runcorn fans at our game, as theirs was called off):
[color=#008000]PS - Your game against Buxton was a cracker, it was great seeing Mike Moseley again and to see him score was a bonus. I remember him as an 18 year old at Runcorn. Thoroughly enjoyed the game, it was so nice watching and not working as match day secretary.[/color]
And what an excellent referee he was too.
So in addition to being partially sighted he must be hard of hearing and is clearly obsequious:laugh:
Watching John Lawless play reminds me of that great left winger by the name of PADDY DALY. Fot those of you not old enough Paddy terroised full backs in the Cheshire League in the 60’s. He was so good he would beat the full-back twice. John is a good player but will never reach the ability of little Paddy. Oh the memories !
Paddy Daly, Dave Carrick, Peter Mellor, Ken Barnes, Chris Nichol, halcyon days yes, but if memory serves me right we won nothing!!
WHS.
Seems that those on here back in 2009 who thought that John Lawless was probably a bad 'un, might possibly have had a point…
https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/prolific-county-lines-drug-dealer-22364727
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/drug-dealer-unmasked-ex-footballer-25614858
Played at Witton in the latter half of the 2008-2009 season. 14 appearances, 4 goals.