Skrill Sponsorship manager Alan Alger insists he has no favourites in the Conference...
FOLLOWING the debate over Scott Neilson's play-off red card, the good people at the Grimsby Telegraph have allowed me this platform to clear things up.
I have to say I wasn't happy with the report on my Twitter posts last Tuesday or the way they were presented.
People had been asking me to view the incident on a clip via the social media channel as I wasn't able to watch the game live at the weekend (I was at Arsenal).
Accusations on the incident ranged from it being a fix, to play acting and the softer end of the scale just plain bad refereeing.
I viewed a slow-motion clip of Scott Nielsen's tackle over and over again and came to the conclusion that in 'real time' I could see 'where the referee was coming from' so the red card was 'not that harsh'.
I also stated that, in my opinion, 'contact was made with the Gateshead player' – however minimal. My two tweets were the punditry equivalent of 'I've seen them given'.
I'm not a qualified referee and the split of responses that I've had from people who are qualified fall about 75 to 25 per cent in the 'not a red' camp.
They of course have had the benefit of the replay.
In broader terms the responses to the incident on Twitter suggest that no more than 15 per cent of people agree with the referee's original decision.
This is a simple process that happens with every major incident in football matches every single weekend.
We can all subjectively debate whether referees are right or wrong. In some ways it extends the appeal of the game.
What doesn't extend my love of football is the abuse that I've received for stating what is essentially my opinion. It does not mean I hate Grimsby Town. It couldn't mean that.
I accept that fans hurt after defeat and even as an Arsenal fan I can sympathise on a level of disappointment. It's all relative.
I have a lot of time for all of the clubs in the three Conference divisions and contrary to some wild opinions I have no favourites or indeed clubs that I hate.
The pleasurable side of the role is to interact with like-minded fans and I will not stop doing that.
It's a big summer for the club and one that I'm glad Paul Hurst has the opportunity to see through.
I've described the team as inconsistent in the last few weeks, but that stems from bad luck throughout the squad.
Injuries haven't helped this season and I firmly believe a settled squad with a few additions and minor tweaks can challenge next year.
Wishing you all a good summer and best of luck for 2014/15.
