tolmie's hairdoo
Well-Known Member
I’m always happy to take on board criticism but this personal attack by Jolly crosses the line to an exceptional degree.
Firstly he pitched it to Tifo (I site who I work for three times a week) claiming it was about a couple of United twitter accounts. Having not read my Tyler piece Tifo published in good faith and this has put them in a very awkward position while causing me a great deal of distress.
Secondly, he clearly insinuates that I am little more than a disrespectful rabble-rouser who is trying to get a 72 year old the sack. Aside from that being utter nonsense (as if Sky are going to release their leading figure on the basis of a critical blog) on the rare occasions when I take aim I always target up (at Sky, BT, Mourinho etc). Here he fires down, an established journalist dumping from a height on a guy who is very much beneath him in the media food-chain. His piece was shared by a lot of writers I really look up to and they all heartily agreed (without knowing it was me or indeed knowing who I am) that I am – in his words – ‘a reprehensible figure’. That’s not a nice feeling.
I have written polemical articles before but I have never – nor would I ever – write something so vicious and personal and damaging yet he has the hypocritical front to accuse me throughout of being this ‘type’. It’s just a supercilious attack from start to finish.
The manner in which he looks down on me with disgust for not being a qualified journalist is unsavoury and astounding, an attack he continued with relish yesterday on twitter – again to potential employees and writers I admire. Truth is I wasn’t able to go to university (where I would have taken journalism because – as my mum delights in telling people – I’ve been obsessed with writing and magazine since I could walk) because my dream was taken from me by bad health. For over a decade I was bed-ridden with a serious disability and when my health improved enough I set up a website and I wrote and wrote and wrote for thousands of hours, getting better at it, until gradually, eventually I started getting paid. I now write for FourFourTwo, Betfair, Unibet, and have written for the Guardian. I’m very proud of reaching this point from where I started and for all of Jolly’s snobby portrayal of me bashing away opinionated hate (he calls me a ‘lunatic’ and a ‘fundamentalist’) in a spare bedroom this is actually my livelihood and 95% of the time I write about Hartlepool, and Petr Cech, and the anniversary of Law, Best and Charlton playing together for the first time. I am self-employed and writing puts food on my family’s table.
Jolly purposefully endangered that yesterday because he took exception to an article about Martin Tyler.
He doesn’t name me at any point (though he has admitted via DM on twitter that it is about me) but the fact that a few people on here and via text to me have recognised that it’s about me makes me believe that I may have legal discourse available to me. This has damaged my professional reputation. It threatened whatever standing I’ve spent five hard years slowly building up. It’s also absolutely floored me.
It should also be noted that if you’ve ever read anything of mine then according to Jolly you are an ‘army of idiots’.
I’ve been advised to stay quiet about this. Let it become tomorrow’s virtual chip wrapping. Because Jolly has friends in the right place. I can see that but I also know you can’t treat people like this.
Mate, you need to ignore this shit. Jolly is ignored by his peers for good reason.
He's a furtive dysfunctional dweeb.