Club statement regarding Barry Bennell's conviction

[caseball]

City's response is to be applauded. Absolutely the right thing to investigate and say nothing.

 

[Dribble]

Good article by martin Samuel, detailing the investigation here
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/sp...-Citys-Barry-Bennell-inquiry-cost-1m-far.html

That's a brilliant article. As it states, we will have to allow due process to run its course, & evaluate all the evidence when it is uncovered.

By the sound of it, these investigations are not going to stop at individual clubs, but at the very game of Football itself.

Everyone involved in the abuse & the cover up needs to be brought to justice.

 

[Dribble]

It is clear to me that most of the men who have talked about what he did describe a man who had the keys to making them a successful footballer at City. He was given status by the club one way or another even if they didn't employ him.

Whilst none of us really now what evidence city had, they knew that his kudos came from his role as starmaker, they were aware of allegations and it also seems improbable that the club didn't know he was acting at the very least inappropriately, for instance having boys sleeping over at his house.

For whatever cultural reason, the club moved him on and brushed it under the carpet.

Irrespective of the legal position , human decency says the club has some responsibility to now be open and apologetic and put things right.

I am uncomfortable with some posters' focus on pr (not anyone I've quoted, by the way) and seeing a conspiracy against city. It's a shocking catalogue of abuse of young boys , many of whom dreamt of playing for city and they were let down, and that is far more important than whether city can argue he wasn't technically employed by the club.

A point no-one has mentioned is Bennell's source of alternative income. It's said he had a nice house, wore designer gear, drove a flash car, had a Puma & other exotic animals....

I can't find where it says he came from money or had a job, & I can't see running a kids' football team as being that lucrative either.

We know it was illegal for clubs to have youth teams, so it's reasonable to assume Bennell was unofficially on City's payroll, but it would have been accounted for as scouting expenses.

This was probably the way clubs got around the FA rules so they could ring fence the best local youth talent. Bennell must have been getting a fantastic wage from somewhere to fund his lifestyle, club kits & the several football trips abroad & foreign holidays he took on a seemingly regular basis, so it's not unreasonable to assume this came unofficially from City.

 

[Dribble]

The usual press hatchet job on City, it all started at another premier club with bennell, yet that club has never been brought into it (Yet, but its going to be now), I grew up with the **** so I know the facts and am sick to death of city getting undeserved attention, this was a result of a major problem at that other club, and the powers that be knew all about it and did nothing.

Soon find out, I intend to contact one of the reporters who implied wrongdoings by city ( who turned him down for any official employment, his sole connection to the club being he coached for Whitehills, that being the youth feeder club, and you can thank Steve Fleet who did his job of keeping ****s away from kids), lets see if they can still print the truth.

Oh, an for those simple enough to even think of this as any kind of mitigation for bennell, I would be first in line to cut his heart out.

Which other club did it start at? Why would the media not mention the other club?

 

[slicky202]

This is a wider point, but relatively on topic. What gets me is how many seem to think that it's era related - like there was just loads in the 70s with the beeb etc and it was a thing then and it's obviously not now. Like it was just a culture. Is it fuck. Paedophiles are absolutely everywhere in every form of life sadly. And they always will be whether we like it or not. I think there's more people with these urges than we realise, but most, thank god, have the decency not to act on them. The only difference is that the 70s etc was such a long time ago that those around to cover it up aren't really there anymore so it all comes out, hence why people just think that that was an era when there was loads of them.

I guarantee that in 20 years down the line there will be stuff out about people around today sadly and people will just think 'god the 70s and the 2000s were bad, but now is probably fine'. I don't think we know how to deal with it. It's just pushed underground and left unregulated as it's horrific and terrifying, but it isn't gonna go away. People don't *choose* to be this way. Their heads are messed up. So many awful things could be prevented in a society where these people could speak to a counsellor in confidence and get help before anything happened, but of course that could never happen as they'd be lynched as our culture would leak their identities and they'd be killed for admitting something that they cant help but think. I am not in anyway defending them, at all. It's horrific and one of the scariest things we can think of. And some are just fucked up monsters, Bennell for example, but all the revelations point towards a pretty shocking underground culture that we've barely scratched the surface of I reckon. A huge societal change needs to happen. Preventive and not reactive. It won't though, cos we've not got the fucking balls as a species to confront things like this.

Hopefully we’re a bit quicker to lynch the rich people who commit crimes these days where in those days if you had money it seems you were completely untouchable. I don’t agree we will be looking back and judging these days as bad for child abuse, I think by accepting these people exist and looking out for it has pushed them online like many other things.

 

[Rascal]

For those who consider my post to be hysterical all I can say is this is a lot closer to home for some than others.

I could post a hell of a lot more here but I wont as I would be seen as hysterical.

That's how cover ups work.

 

[maurizio]

Good article by martin Samuel, detailing the investigation here
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/sp...-Citys-Barry-Bennell-inquiry-cost-1m-far.html

Present day City are dealing with this correctly. Brilliant article by Samuel, a must read. I remember things being so different in those days. At an all boys school we regarded a few teachers as "dodgy" , rumours about them, nicknames implying it. Maybe true, maybe not. Still were allowed alone with lads, do activities with them of school .No one in authority bothered.

 

[Citizen in Pakistan]

I think the seriousness shown by city to uncover bennel dark history and measures taken so far have to be applauded. Best on and of the field.

 

[blueloon]

Our owners are doing the right thing, I have faith they will get as close as they can to the truth. Lessons will be learnt and hopefully those who were involved in some part will be brought to account. All this in a very small part should help the victims and their families that have been directly effected by Bennell and any other individuals whose conduct that has been brought into question. If we get our house in order than maybe other clubs and the Football Association will look to be a bit more proactive on this issue. It is almost certain this was happening elsewhere, it is time all areas of society start opening up and look to right the wrongs of the past and not allow these type of things to happen again.

 

[1961_vintage]

I think the seriousness shown by city to uncover bennel dark history and measures taken so far have to be applauded. Best on and of the field.

I agree. And great work by Daniel Taylor at the Guardian.