bengull wrote:I met Martin on a number of occasions whilst he was our manager and you really would struggle to meet a nicer and more open man, extremely generous with his time.
I thought he did an excellent job in his time here with meagre resources and felt he was extremely poorly treated in the way his contract was terminated. I think a lot of criticism with his style of football was also unfair, he got the very best out of a limited squad, some of those wins will last long in the memory. I was one of those who wanted him to resume his post as manager following his return from illness.
His interview makes interesting reading, and he is quite right to point to his CV being impressive at this level. I sincerely hope he gets another managerial job, his passion and thirst for the game can not be questioned and it would make an excellent example to those struggling with mental issues themselves that, with a bit of help, things can turnaround .
I am delighted that Martin is in a better place in his life, and that he can talk freely about it. You never know how many people his words might touch and help/inspire in some way.
There is a still a stigma attached to depression that just shouldn't be so. The more people who can talk openly about their struggles and recuperation the better- it might enlighten the ignorant and maybe put an end to the stereotypical and cretinous insults and opinions voiced when the word 'depression' is disclosed.
Hopefully this will put a stop to some of the ill-informed and downright offensive rumours that have circulated, I never subscribed to them and I am glad I didn't.
I wish Martin all the very best, in his projects he is currently busy with, and hopefully back in management in the future.
Nice article Andy.C and a good read, in all walks of life whether it be, business, politics or sport when something happens and it's largely kept under wraps, then people will fill in the gaps, it's natural and understandable and you just can blame people for doing it, it's something that does my head, didn't have go into intimate detail or tell the blokes life story , but think ML has been the victim of some bad advice here. Just a short statement reviling some detail could and would have stopped rumours, which I admit to being guilty of falling for, and many Torquay fans would have held a much different opinion of the ML.
To be fair I don't think that it would have made any difference. As everyone knows now ML went sick and was almost immediately admitted for treatment. It was released he was suffering from a stress related illness and at that time he was receiving treatment to find out exactly what was wrong. The fact that he was ill should have been enough really and at that stage there was nothing more to say until the facts were known. People will by nature believe what they want and judge others however misinformed.
Scott - you do post some absolute tosh. You are so far removed from the world of what is Torquay United that you don't know what you are talking about half the time.
Ling was suffering from depression - well he certainly depressed me watching his football team. Whilst its all gone wrong since his sacking -well not exactly true - it had all gone wrong when he was here.
If he had not been relieved of his duties we would have been in the conference by now (mind you we will be there in may anyway).
Your last "gem" was to ridicule Knill for his lack of contacts and pontificate on how Hargreaves had managed to make such a great coup as signing a Manchester United loanee and Labadie.
Well Labadie arrived before Hargreaves did and by Hargreaves own admission it now seems that Rudge isn't up to league 2 football as he is not here "to save us from relegation" but seems akin to some sort of yts tea boy.
Nice one.
brucie wrote:Scott - you do post some absolute tosh. You are so far removed from the world of what is Torquay United that you don't know what you are talking about half the time.
Ling was suffering from depression - well he certainly depressed me watching his football team. Whilst its all gone wrong since his sacking -well not exactly true - it had all gone wrong when he was here.
If he had not been relieved of his duties we would have been in the conference by now (mind you we will be there in may anyway).
Your last "gem" was to ridicule Knill for his lack of contacts and pontificate on how Hargreaves had managed to make such a great coup as signing a Manchester United loanee and Labadie.
Well Labadie arrived before Hargreaves did and by Hargreaves own admission it now seems that Rudge isn't up to league 2 football as he is not here "to save us from relegation" but seems akin to some sort of yts tea boy.
Nice one.
jonnyfive wrote:Where's ferrarilover with his oh-so-funny wine glass icon?
Possibly suffering from his own bout of depression that his hapless idol 'Nath' has reached his natural level.
Lol
Class is a totally unknown element to you, isn't it?
For all the gags and all the odd few more serious comments relating to ML's condition, it is surely a universally accepted position that we are sorry that he has depression but are glad that he is recovering and at a stage where he is able to deal with his affliction publicly.
We have in the past, as is the nature of groups of young[ish] men, taken the piss. To be honest, when the time comes, some of us will probably go back to taking the piss, but for now, we all (surely) wish Martin the very best of luck and a speedy recovery both from illness and to his rightful position in the managers office of a professional football club.
