Lessons learned...

solelace84

Active Member
Thread starter #1
As next season approaches... Let's just take a moment to remember how the negativity on the internet directed towards players affected the team last season...

Lets also take a moment to remember how stupid everyone felt after shooting the team/individuals down, only for them to go on and win the league/playoffs.

And finally, a moment to remember how disapproving the club and owners were of what was said on this forum.

Thanks for reading :)
 

Pleximan

Active Member
#2
As next season approaches... Let's just take a moment to remember how the negativity on the internet directed towards players affected the team last season...

Lets also take a moment to remember how stupid everyone felt after shooting the team/individuals down, only for them to go on and win the league/playoffs.

And finally, a moment to remember how disapproving the club and owners were of what was said on this forum.

Thanks for reading :)
What a very good post!

I myself have pretty much stayed away from this board due to all that negativity last season and now I just have an occasional glance.
This is the best post I have read in a long time and it is true that the negative posts did effect the players and management.
It really is high time that people learned to control themselves and keep their negative thoughts to themselves.
Hopefully this board will get a bit nicer and friendlier with people thinking hard before they hit 'post', we can but hope.

We have the best team in the league, and even though this message board is only a small section of the massive Devils fanbase it would be fitting if it could reflect a better image than the one portrayed last year to anyone reading it.

Positive thinking!
 

jimmy snels

Well-Known Member
#4
as an independent forum its here to express views both positive and negative. some stuff last year on twitter got way too personal for my liking and occasionally on here but on the same end there is nothing more frustrating after back to back terrible performances a happy clapper de-railing a topic with no actual opinion other that your wrong and everything is perfect. A forum is interesting with varying opinions.
 

Mooney#16

Well-Known Member
#5
I think and again after some fallout I took for phrasing it this way last year people are sometimes guilty of not being educated enough in hockey terms and also over estimate their hockey education. Their can be so many factors go into a player not having a good game be them personal, professional and tactical and some of the negativity last season was based on nothing more than I know what I'm seeing and let me tell you player X is crap. That is just a baseless negative comment. If people can be negative and quantify it then yes sometimes it's worth saying but also start by questioning your knowledge level and if you equipped enough to make the comment.
I get that people can resent the happy clappy but it's an unfortunate fact that a club surrounded by positivity and a good bond between fans and players is more likely to do better. If last season proved anything it's that the owners, Lordo and players know what they are doing and will address issues. I think this earns them a little slack when the results may be a struggle in the inevitable dip in form all teams seem to suffer through the journey of a full season.
 

RedDevil17

Well-Known Member
#6
Sometimes you’re going to have debates on a forum be it positive or negative. At the point in time when people were showing ‘negativity’ as Solelace84 put it, it was certainly justified because at that point in time we were like 6th or 7th in the league, certain players were underperforming and we were losing games 8-4, 7-1 and 5-3. There were multiple issues in Defence before Strachan came in. We will miss him badly. I most certainly didn’t feel ‘stupid’ at that point when shooting down certain players because I along with other posters on here felt it was justified.

Obviously I’m happy we won 3 trophies as I’m sure everyone else is but there are 2 or 3 players who I probably wouldn’t have had back if I’m honest (I’m not naming names on here because negativity isn’t allowed apparently!) There were a few issues as well in my opinion which I addressed on here throughout last season (Batchy’s lack of physicality, Whether Mo was good enough, team toughness etc.) I for one am not a fan of this whole team toughness thing but this team looks awesome and so much better than last years. Improvements have been made for sure on the guys from last year. I have my opinion as do others. One thing I hate is that the inferno gets blamed for negativity yet it’s practically the same on twitter, you need only look what happened to Reddick. He deleted his account because of people being abusive on Twitter! Also, Sliput who do you think you are calling all the people who criticise constructively ‘keyboard warriors?’
 
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solelace84

Active Member
Thread starter #7
I'm not being as extreme as you think I am... Everyone is entitled to their opinion, of course, and sometimes we play badly and lose, and guys have bad games.

But it went too far last season, probably because expectations were high!
 

osh

Well-Known Member
#8
Some people - just like me - have been watching hockey before the Devils came along and despite not having played the game, have had enough time watching NHL, AHL, Olympic and British and European hockey to make pretty accurate opinions on individual players, teams, tactics etc. When a team or a player is not performing ( and I don’t just mean one or two games ) I will express my opinion accordingly and always give reasons for my opinions. On the other hand, when we are doing well I have no hesitation in praising an individual player / team performance etc. That is part of what this forum is about. As Reddick’s name has already been mentioned, I will enlarge on that particular topic. Let’s face it, until Strachan arrived, he looked like a duck out of water and deserved to be called for many poor performances. He never once lacked effort or endeavour and continued to get better as the season progressed, and proved that he could perform at a much higher level than his early season performances. I was one of many who were calling for an experienced tough stay at home D man to be signed, the owners also thought the same and he hence Strachan was the perfect fit for the team. Those opinions were not negative, they were fact, some posters just don’t know the difference between the two. I’m certainly looking forward to him continuing in the same form as he ended last season and he will be an asset to the team.
 

jenks33

Well-Known Member
#9
I find the criticism of our “lack of team toughness” harsh but to be honest a lot of the other negativity is what I’d expect to see on a fans forum. If people were on here slagging off Joey Martin and Tyson Strachan every week it would be ridiculous but not all 22/23 players on a roster are going to be loved by the fans. Let’s look at the players who received most criticism last season. Paris, Reddick, Crowder all had up and down seasons so any fan base in the world would be divided over those players. Hotham was a maverick and you only have to listen to Lordo’s interview the other week to see he was just as frustrated with Hotham at times. I don’t think many of the other players received much criticism. Bownsy in the challenge cup final, batchy’s lack of physicality at times, questions about Morissette’s fitness. All fair enough in my opinion.

I think what must be remembered at times is fans criticise because they love the club and it’s releasing frustration not because they want to cause friction. If they didn’t care they wouldn’t bother coming on here.
 
#10
I get the right to defend an independent voice but lets not forget the imortance of balance.
Look what the management, staff, and team have achieved year on year. The recruitment is on point. The ambition is on point. The coach is a natural born leader who knows how to build a championship winng team and collect trophies.
Solace84 is spot on.
I would like to think we learn from the past and if, heavens forbid, we have a December wobble, a bad run as a team or an individual...we retain balance, don't alienate anyone and stay tight as a team. This is a club, ownership and management that have allowed us in... so our support needs to live up to that.
 

matbur

Well-Known Member
#11
Great opening post.

There is nothing at all wrong in reasoned debate and constructive criticism etc, especially on an unofficial forum, and this post isn't aimed at people for simply disagreeing - but the truth is some of the comments being posted here last season were embarrassing to read as a fan and clearly weren't well received by the owners and players, when considering what they've achieved, is alarming.

If those individuals are like this with the current team and owners, how would they react if we weren't challenging on all fronts and being managed by such ambitious owners?? It just creates a a toxic negative atmosphere which if anything will drive people away from the club.

Everything gets carried away in the heat of the moment now again, but if you were one of those people last season, just take a deep breath and consider where we're at as a team, before hitting the reply button.
 

Foxy

Well-Known Member
#12
To be fair i cant see whats wrong with negative criticism as long as it is constructive. A forum is meant for debate or whats the point of a forum. We cant be happy clappy all the time...... nothing is ever perfect all of the time.
I would be far more worried with twitter than this forum as that can be (not all the time) rather more personal and abusive. I think sometimes people read what they want to see not what has actually been written..... twitter can sometimes feel like people are just jumping on the band wagon.
 

august04

Well-Known Member
#13
Perhaps the answer is for the mods to set up a separate ‘Devils No Negativity Allowed’ section so that those who don’t wish to read anything critical can post and read positive only stuff there? That could leave the current Devils forum for those who like to post and read differing views, whether positive or negative. My experience of forums, not just this one, is that if you can’t handle extremes of opinion, then perhaps you shouldn’t be reading it in the first place. I actually think the negativity on the Inferno is pretty tame - Twitter is far more abusive - yet the Inferno forum always seems to be singled out for unfair criticism from those who should know better frankly.
 

James

Administrator
#14
Its certainly frustrating for Chris and myself that if certain people read something they don't like on the forum they take to Twitter and proclaim the forum as a whole is terrible, rather than constructively putting their point across on here, where another differing opinion might have helped. Even the club appear to be partly of this opinion, not allowing us to interview players due to negativity on the forum, as if this is the fault of the forum rather than posters expressing an opinion. Add to this that we then have to defend a posters right to be able to say what they like (within the admittedly thin) rules. We'll have been here for 10 years as of September, and outlasted three less than ideal owners (one of whom wanted complete control of the forum and another who attempted infiltration) and some patchy years on the ice. Winning everything and having owners who are happy to contribute on here hasn't actually made the job of moderating any easier mind. We'll still be here though for people to congratulate the success or constructively deconstruct the shortcoming of failure :)
 

Gospel

Active Member
#15
Its harsh for you guys as the mods to be punished by opinions of a fan base as a whole. For me the lack of player contact via yourselves this year has been one of the downsides. I thought the club said some younger fans would be doing interviews? Only seen one that i recall which is sad.

The Inferno has been a godsend to me over the years & i hope it continues long into the future and i hope the club use a bit of common sense and allow you guys contact with the players again.
 
#16
What I hate is people hiding behind "It's my opinion" when what they have said is ridiculous. The criticism Lord took at the start of last season was quite pathetic. People thinking they know more than a guy who has played to a good standard and punched way above his weight in terms of coaching need to have a long hard look at themselves. There are many reasons why teams lose at sport and sometimes it's not anyone's fault, outplayed, out thought or a poor call can all result in a loss. Their is no need to put more pressure on a player who may be under performing by slagging him off on social media. I've every faith that our coach would have pulled them to one side and had a word anyway. As for people saying last years team were not tough enough (after bringing home three championships) I'd say it's pretty obvious your wrong.
 

jimmy snels

Well-Known Member
#17
not allowed to interview players because of the negativity of the forum?! good grief. Im actually a little annoyed for you guys in that case. Seems more than a tad childish and IMO we have missed any real player introduction to any new player. Used to like them.
 

Mazzoak

Well-Known Member
#18
I honestly fail to see any issue. We won trophies last year, so those few writers who chose to vent their frustration, whether justified or not, had zero impact on results.
 
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