Thetownend.com

Just to say, please give this lad a chance.

It was different at the end of last season when were battling relegation and the fans were all up tight. But there is no excuse for having a real go at him at the moment.

Yes he wears flash boots, and yes he looks a bit cocky. But he's still just a young lad. If the fans keep slagging him off when he loses the ball then we wont see the best out of him.

Franchise cunts sat their full backs and wide midfielders very deep yesterday because our wingers destroyed them on tuesday. Macklin was fantastic, he ran miles for the side, got back and still went past defenders with the ball.

I think he is good enough. Really looking forward to having a board who wont sell a young player to the first bidder, and seeing him come on.

Obviously O'Brien needs a confidence boost as well, but he is that age where he can only look to himself. If he doesnt do it with us then he really is on the way down. But I think they are both exciting players. Try and get behind them! Would be nice if we could avoid players and fans falling out as badly as what happened last season.

...to me having watched him tuesday and yesterday he's nervous at home and looks like he expects the fans to get on his back if anything doesnt work for him.

playing away from home less pressure and better performance.

He reminds me of Christian Roberts, especially in pre-season, where he would go past a defender with his pace, then lose it so easily by getting touched and falling to the ground.

i agree spencer, he did nothing worse than o'brien and no one's come on her moaning about his getting behind the defence and then controlling it onto his own knee.

i think he'll come good if we don't pook him

I agree. Give the lad a chance. He was very frustrating yesterday but he's on a steep learning curve being chucked into the team like this. There's no use getting on his back as it won't help anybody.

Were people really moaning directly at him, or did some of the things he tried that didn't come off cause a lot of frustration?  I believe he has a big future but still needs time.  Let us not forget he was playing youth football last season, he still has a lot to learn and will come good in the next couple of years.  A bit cocky - yes, but so was a certain Man Ure player who has just been sold for £80mill!  I just hope supporters don't get on to him as they did Pooky.

"FUCK OFF MACKLIN" was shouted by several people in the Town End yesterday - the type who would complain at every pass that went slightly backwards, and at every player who loses the ball when being given no options. Unfortunately, these people help to keep our club afloat.

Why all the comparisons to Pook?

This lad is twice as good as Pook. Andy Caton would be a better comparison.

Andy Caton hasnt been watched by Frank Arnesen for 2 years!

I'm glad for Macklin's sake that he hasn't yet been tempted into joining the graveyard which is Chelsea's youth academy.

caton wasn't hated by the fans was he? regardless of a decent game or not pook was. player type i'd say caton was similar

I hope you told them to shut up, like those who tried a chant when Ginger head was injured!

It must be a minority in the Townend, didn't hear anything aimed at Macklin directly in the DRS.

I went to the Swansea v Mboro yesterday..they had a player called Leon Britton playing who was getting an award for playing 300 games and got a standing ovation ...30 mins later plenty were giving him the same kind of verbals that Macklin will get...a good pro just gets on with it,i like him and hope he does well...if you got any spare dosh put it on Middlesbrough,they were brilliant though only 700 boro fans were there which is dissapointing...as for Swansea,they may struggle..good to watch but no striker.

The only abuse I heard was Fred toward Puncheon, in fact the whole of the DRS probsbly heard that!

Who cares? They hoover up all sorts of tat as well as the good players.

i saw him stood up doing wanker signs at him when he came to get the ball at the touchline, i sit at the back at the other end of the drs.

I sit at the back of the DRS too. What letter block are you in (SWINDON)?

There are some seriously sad wankers who follow STFC! We have a young player who has only just turned 18, was the star of the youth team last year and is starting his first season as a full time adult pro. He's had big clubs looking at him for the last 2 years and is still attracting a lot of attention, but certain people seem intent on making sure his confidence is ruined before he's even a month into the new season. If you want STFC to get anywhere this season stop knocking our most talented players and give Macklin and the other youngsters some support. If you can't support the team properly fuck off to Oxford, Cheltenham or some other shit hole club whre you probably belong!!!!

 To a rational individual, slagging off your home grown youth players when they're only minutes let alone games into their 1st team careers makes no sense. Unfortunately not all who attend are rational individuals....the foaming mouthed loon has always been part of the picture, sometimes they're almost sane away from the game.

 The only way to silence the boo boys is through performance....Macklin isn't the first to get it and wont be the last.

Can you believe that some Town fans used to knock Don Rogers..he couldnt head a ball and was lazy by all acounts.

Tis true....he didn't tackle much or kick people, qualities widely admired by those brought up on Sammy Burton and Garth Hudson.

Jury is out concerning Macklin as far as I'm concerned, would not slag off any town player ever and cannot condone those wankers who have, but is he the real deal. Needs to show a lot more to me. I Know he has had only a couple of games, but if you are not confident when you are young, then you never will be, Should be walking 7ft tall to be selected.

Go for it son, you have the chance to make a name. Lets not linger on the age thing, if you are good enough show it, you should be old enough as soon as you selected to wear the shirt.

The senior team is a big step up. It's why Morrison is good some games and not so good in others because understandably such a young player has not matured enough to be that consistent. There is a learning curve and experience to gain with every game played.

I didn't think Macklin was that bad, he wasn't effective but he was at least trying to put his mark on the game rather than watch it go by just to be a part of it. He took a few risks by trying to take players on but at least they weren't out of our own penalty area.

The more time he gets on the pitch the better I think he'll get.

he was cheating



cant abide that

Once he gets that first goal you will see him really kick on in my opinion. He works hard enough which is a good start.

Great post Spence

However I did say to both Luc and Hertha that his first touch was off yesterday.

Having said that I did not witness anybody getting on his back

I hate to say anything negative, but as it's about our fans and not Macklin I think it's allowed. Macklin will be destroyed by our fans, it's what "we" do. It makes me angry and sick, because he's only young and it's what happened to Pook imo. It just ruins their potential.

No doubt the fans involved in giving no time to young players, then feel happy when years later they can say, "see he's always been shit," when fans should be aware it's them, not him. Cunts.

Disagree, if they are good enough they'll make it fans or no fans. If you can't cope with abit of abuse form the people who are pretty much much paying your wages then you aint gonna have much of a career.

i really despair at some of our fans someitmes.i dunno why, but we have a pretty big moron contingent.
some people cant wait to knock players,and the youngsters are no different in getting slaughtered by cretins.
pook got loads of shit which was bangout of order.now mackiln seems to be getting a bit,and morrison too is getting wrote off already.

it's hard enough already to cut it as a pro,without cunts from your home crowd giving you pelters.

Fans didn't ruin pook he did that himself strutting around town acting like a cunt.Our fans get a bit of a raw deal from sections aswell if i'm honest.

We are just as supportive as we are negative and it's no different to any other teams support. Look at players like Ifil.Vincent.J Smith even Peacock they were not great but our fans got behind them the majority of the time.It's when you have players like Jpm,Mcnamee and Timlin who have shown at times they can be very good players then turn in sunday league performances that fans get fucking annoyed.

Also before some pedantic little cunt says it i know Mcgovern has played well recently.

spot on

ive never seen him strut anywhere and Id wager the same is true for 99% of our fanbase.so thats bollocks if you ask me.

Got a lot of bad press though didn't he when he got done for Drink driving and being there when Nicholas was also done for drink driving.

Yeah but the majority of our fans do not play the "don't you know who I am, I am Fatbury's mate !" card

Pooky gets alot of abuse on here for being a big time cunt, which he isnt, i think a few people on here went to school with him who are slightly jealous, hes a good lad

Luckily i didn't ask you.I congratulated him on a result in the apartments once and his polite reply was do you think i give a fuck what you think,nice. That's my reason for not liking him others who dont like him due to being shit are within their rights also;-)

Maybe im a big time cunt aswell then and thinks its normal, oh well

and I have witnessed "Pooky" being a grade A cunt up town plenty of times.

Jealous my arse !

Take his cock out of your mouth for fuck sake

pro footballer out having a quiet drink with friends=pissed up player acting the big-un lording it up.the fucking show off!

Fred and DRS you are both WAY to old to be going to the same places as Pooky,no wonder he was horrid to you he probably thought you were creepy old men.

I agree to a certain extent. But young players career's are very much in the balance when they first break into the first team. Other players have played under other managers, been watched and rated by lots of fans and scouts.

If a player falls on his backside, and the fans give him that lift to say 'go and have another go, son' that came make a massive difference. For a young player one bit of skill resulting in a goal can help establish themselves in the game.

And at 18 they are still growing as people as well as players. They might not be able to take the stick from the crowd, but are able to by the age of 21.

The reason I say it was that Macklin was loving it at McDons on tuesday. His tail was up. He was really milking the applause from the away fans when he had enticed the defenders into fouls on him.

Just be that bit more supportive towards the players at home, and the young lads in particular. It does make a difference. Slagging them off makes fans feel better, but it often doesnt help much.

I once said "alright Chris" to Chris Kamara outside the County Ground during his ban for punching that Melrose bloke, he looked at me like I was probably a bit retarded.I dont hold that against him though.

Tbf fair Jpc you agreeing with that attitude has no baring on why i think you are a cunt. Yeovil you know i am young at heart.

DRS you are so jealous of JPC its embarrasing,I think you have a little crush going on.

I used to but i learnt as a mere supporter i will never be good enough for him.

I can see where you're coming from, but it's fair to say a young lad is a bit different from a seasoned pro who's felt abuse before. It's not like coping with constant criticism is part of the criteria for being a good pro for christs sake. Everyone reacts differently to pressure, pain, abuse, criticism, etc.. Why should a player be able to cope with these because they're a footballer? Some are quiet, some out going...

I think we can all name many, many players who've been around the block and need to be treated with kid gloves, perhaps they need nurturing because as young pros they weren't given enough praise or too much abuse?

Sure it will make many stronger, but there are without doubt those who simply struggle to cope with it and are damaged as a result.

I digress, Pook is probably not the greatest example, but if he was praised every game he could have been a different player. Who knows? Also, cunt or not, it doesn't mean he's a shit footballer and warrants abuse, although admittedly if he's been a cunt...

I do have to wonder though. What came first though us abusing him, or him abusing us.

I think Pook not being good enough came first.

Haha I was going to post that but got distracted.

Shit. Posting same thing as DV.

Must wash self.

The fans getting on Pooks back wouldn't have helped his progress. In the end he just wasn't good enough at this level after being given plenty of opportunities to prove himself.

I saw pook in the spot once, and he gave me a high five.

He's not a bad lad

Fred west gave hitchhikers a lift home and a roof well a patio over their heads does that make him nice

Ace comparing Pook with Fred West! Love it!  :D

If we are going to slate him on a personal level ... Pook was an idot - he bullied my friend and is a nasty vile square head!!!

These are the same people who moan about Fitton for not spending 50 million in the transfer window, or moaning about DW becuase he obviously has been sitting with his feet up and not actively trying to sign strikers. Unfortunately once you are moaning deluded cunt you always will be they will never change in fact you can almost see some people who get a smug satisfaction out of picking on certain players and waiting for every mistake to shout abuse at them.

There's a big difference between voicing an opinion outside of the crowd environment though. If you're not shouting direct abuse it's not the same thing.

I think it's entirely possible to be a selective moaner...I'm not very happy that we haven't got any strikers in close season, so it's hardly a surprise we haven't scored and are in the drop zone already....however I wouldn't moan about not spending silly money, or slaughter individual players...although Booby Howe came close.

Exactly.

IMO Macklin's shown more promise in his first couple of games than Pook did in his 100+ appearances.

first game i saw [pook he scored a 25 yard screamer

The screamer being Fatbury I suppose ?

I'm prepared to give him a chance - but he needs to be a good player to wear those boots !

Would that have been Alan Reeeeves last game v Wycombe in the LC, I remember thinking that we might be crap but at least this kid looks like he can shoot from range, a quality sadly lacking from our players for many years. I was wrong.

crawley away in a friendly i reckon. he scored twice i think.

TBF to Pook he did also score a screamer against Boston a couple of years ago but his shooting was all too rare and wayway.

He was pretty mediocre in most aspects of his play, alot of effort though doesn't really make up for his obvious lack of quality and he hardly ever went looking for the ball, i personally preferred Chris Allen although his lack of strength altimately made his game suffer. Saying that in league 2 Pook is just what is needed, bags of effort and willingness to scrap it out

obvious lack of talent?

Lack of quality i stated, you can argue that he is talented because he made it as a pro. However, I believe he did obviously lack quality hence why he didn't feature in Danny's plans and was realised. He was here through sheer loyalty last season earning an extra season on his contract.

I thought he was only here last season because some stuipd twat put a clause in his contract entitling him to another year if he played over 2 games?

Yeah they call it a loyalty clause. Blind loyalty on our part!

I hope Macklin succeeds where so many other youngsters at Town have failed.

I've been one to criticise him so far but i hope he can prove me wrong and have a good game tomorrow night if he starts.

Sorry I thought you were talking about Macklin originally - my bad.

can macklin play 46 games a season though? when should he be left out because i cant see him playing every game. i dont think he will start against southampton.

hes definatly got talent but he needs confidence and i cudnt see any of that against mk on saturday. he did play well against mk on tuesday and i reckon that might of been because it was away and there wasnt much pressure on him from the fans.

Oh yeah, Pooky even taking over Macklins thread!

I think our team is better suited to playing away regardless of the Gills game, against a goodish team away from home the onus isn't on us to attack like it is at home, we havn't got much means of attack so playing on the counter away from home with the likes of Macklin, Kev and mcnamee we could do well