[from official newsletter] "Unrelenting media speculation comes with the territory for teams perceived to be under performing. It’s a fact of life and there’s very little, if anything, that can be done to prevent it. The pressure on sports journalists for new or exclusive angles is almost as unrelenting as the pressure put on football managers and chairmen. Increasingly, opinions (some informed, some ill informed) somehow become facts. The situation these days is further intensified by the increasing reliance on alternative mediums such as message board postings.
"While not everyone in football welcomes all of this, it has to be accepted that we are now all in a highly intensive, competitive, multimedia age and that this is just another factor that has to be coped with......
"The problem, of course, has been of our own making and similarly, the solution is in our own hands. We have clearly not met expectations so far and need to win more games. It really is, more or less, as simple as that."
The pressure put on the club via this (and no doubt other) messageboards has been ridiculous recently.
The thing is - what can we do, us that run the site? We take a very strong line on those masquerading as genuine Arabs, and weed them out straight away - but that's not the case at the moment - I think it's fair to say that the majority of users of this site, want Chisholm to go, whether that’s right or wrong.
That's not my personal opinion, or any of the admin's as far as I’m aware (i haven't asked them), nor have we encouraged that type of opinion - but if that's what folk are saying, then that's what they're saying - it's a case of don't shoot the messenger, or in this case, don't blame the medium – though to be fair the club have said this above.
It’s my, and I believe all those connected with the website's belief to be/have a positive impact on DUFC - we help a little with fund-raising when we can, we promote, shamelessly sometimes, United media and merchandise and so on, and we all, fans and posters included, want DUFC to prosper both on and off the park. Even if we are being negative, like moaning about a particular item in the shop, or even a manager as is the case recently, it is with all intentions for the good of the club. That doesn't mean it's actually doing any good of course, but it's meant to just the same, and I think that's true of all Arabian users.
There is of course the issue of censorship, and I’d like to point out that as long as I’m involved with this website, no GENUINE ARAB’S opinion will be censored when it comes to DUFC. If you think the grass is too long, the manager's a ********, or whatever, it's your right to say so here, as long as it's not libellous etc. There have been occasions, and I mean 2 or 3 times in four years, when the club have contacted us and asked us to remove potentially damaging items, but these occasions are rare and always justified and, so far, have been carried out by us.