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Martin Ling interviewed on Sky Sports; and a report in the Herald Express:

http://www1.skysports.com/watch/video/s ... depression
http://www.torquayheraldexpress.co.uk/l ... story.html

Nobody who hasn't suffered from depression will truly understand the nature of this affliction. Perhaps those who rushed to ill-considered judgement on alcoholism and to denigrate the man himself will now pause to reflect. Wish him all the best for the future.

Ditto that.

For the record I was in the camp that we needed to replace Martin with Alan Knill. I thought it was the best way forward for the club at the time.

On reflection this might have been a misjudgement. We will never know with a 'what if' but perhaps we might be in a far better position as a club if we had of held faith with him.

Wish him all the best and hope he finds himself back in professional football management in the near future.

Gullscorer wrote:Martin Ling interviewed on Sky Sports; and a report in the Herald Express:

http://www1.skysports.com/watch/video/s ... depression
http://www.torquayheraldexpress.co.uk/l ... story.html

Nobody who hasn't suffered from depression will truly understand the nature of this affliction. Perhaps those who rushed to ill-considered judgement on alcoholism and to denigrate the man himself will now pause to reflect. Wish him all the best for the future.

I agree with all of this. It's an awful illness that affects more people than the individual.

I too would like to wish Martin all the best for the future.

I've never suffered from depression, but have been affected by it due to people around me who have suffered (and continue to do so) - hence the reason why I may have been a bit more sympathetic towards Martins cause last year.

That said, I also thought he was a good football manager who was sacked for all the wrong reasons (imo) and, also imo, should still be our manager.

However, its all ifs and buts, and we are where we are - good luck Martin, wherever you end up. Here's hoping you get back into management soon.

Some very nice comments posted, perhaps this now explains some of the mystery around his departure. Hopefully people will understand a little more as to why there was some shroud of secrecy/uncertainty around events when they happened. Martin has taken the brave decision to put this out there and hopefully people will be a little less judgmental. I will ensure he gets to see the comments posted.

think 1 in 4 people suffer from mental illness at some point in their lives and its not something you'd wish on anyone,
however alcohol played its part, making his job untenable

think 1 in 4 people suffer from mental illness at some point in their lives and its not something you'd wish on anyone,
however alcohol played its part, which added to the poor football etc made his job untenable

Yes-hopefully if opportunities do come up for Martin,decisions will be based on his experience and abilities,rather than his period of mental illness/depression. Unfortunately discrimination against those with this type of illness is rife in society generally,and football has shown itself to be particularly intolerant in this respect.

Agreed. And if, if, alcohol was involved during this saga, it could certainly be said that it was for medicinal purposes, since it has a pronounced anaesthetic effect upon both physical and mental pain, and who's to say that you or anybody else in that situation would not have done the same pending formal medical treatment; I venture to suggest very few.

As for the 'poor football', Martin took us to the play-offs in his first season, brought in some excellent players given the club's circumstances at the time, and the footballing performances during his final months here were certainly no worse than those during Alan Knill's time here. But that's football; there are always ups and downs for many reasons and it's never a precise science.

Too many so-called supporters are too quick to rush to judgement, both on the football and upon the people involved, without considering the circumstances and the factors involved. Hopefully even those people who did so will now appreciate the situation Martin was in, and wish him all the best for the future.

PlainmoorRoar wrote:think 1 in 4 people suffer from mental illness at some point in their lives and its not something you'd wish on anyone,
however alcohol played its part, making his job untenable

How on earth do we know that for certain?

If it did, it may have been caused by Martin being depressed in the first place. Depression is an awful illness that affects people in different ways. Drinking may have been the release from the illness that Martin needed.

I thought he done a sterling job as our manager, with limited resources and brought in some excellent players - Bobby Olejnik springs to mind.

Who knows, but if Martin hadn't become ill, he could still be our boss now.

First post in a while, but since the Herald Express has cut and pasted my interview with Martin from the Sky Sports website original I thought I might put in my two penneth on this thread. Maybe I should have put a bye-line on to claim some royalties from Dave Thomas!

I'm not saying anything about Martin's relationship (current or past) with the club because that is down to him to say, but I will say I wish him all success in the future because I have rarely met a man so passionate about football in my life.

I had all kinds of questions ready to ask him yesterday, but needed only three in the end because he was so open about his illness and the way he has been working to overcome it, educate about it and try to stop the knowledge-less, scurrilous rumour-mongering that goes on, not just on forums, but when people see him walking around or watching matches. That was meant to be the whole point of the article. People putting 2+2 together and making 5 about someone who would (IMHO) do a better job than at least 50% of the current managers in League Two.

Those still spreading muck about Martin need to have a serious look at themselves.

I hope that Martin gets a job soon. There are some jobs where depression is more manageable for sufferers in that they can continue to work with support, but football management is not one of those jobs. High profile , on your own and judged purely by results rather than the effort that you put in. I was one of those who felt that it was time for Martin to go at the end of last season, but I look back now with regret at this as I was too quick to judge. I feel sure that he would still be our boss if he had not become ill, he was a far better manager for us than Alan Knill.

AndyC wrote:First post in a while, but since the Herald Express has cut and pasted my interview with Martin from the Sky Sports website original I thought I might put in my two penneth on this thread. Maybe I should have put a bye-line on to claim some royalties from Dave Thomas!

I'm not saying anything about Martin's relationship (current or past) with the club because that is down to him to say, but I will say I wish him all success in the future because I have rarely met a man so passionate about football in my life.

I had all kinds of questions ready to ask him yesterday, but needed only three in the end because he was so open about his illness and the way he has been working to overcome it, educate about it and try to stop the knowledge-less, scurrilous rumour-mongering that goes on, not just on forums, but when people see him walking around or watching matches. That was meant to be the whole point of the article. People putting 2+2 together and making 5 about someone who would (IMHO) do a better job than at least 50% of the current managers in League Two.

Those still spreading muck about Martin need to have a serious look at themselves.

Martin Ling interview
Postby PlainmoorRoar » Today, 15:43

think 1 in 4 people suffer from mental illness at some point in their lives and its not something you'd wish on anyone,
however alcohol played its part, which added to the poor football etc made his job untenable

Give it a rest..........

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.