MLT betting on saints game

[Junior Mullet]

One more hero dethroned. Very sad.

 

 

LOL, why did you 'thrown' him in the first place?

 

For his football talent and the way he entertained and kept us up for years or for his morals?

 

If you 'throwned' him for his morals I would seriously question your judgement - MLT is far from whiter than white. If you 'throwned' him for his skill I'm not sure what's changed.

 

Seriously poor judgement on your behalf and others on here it would seem.

 

 

For me this episode does not detract from the man's talent and if anything it adds to my perseption of MLT as a bit of an unintelligent, cheeky and endearing chap.

[Legod Third Coming]

but he is hardly likely to be betting on kicking a ball out

 

hahahahahahahaha

 

That is the most ironic thing I have ever heard

[Legod Third Coming]

mate..just saying I was dissapointed that at the start of a game for (im guessing) a couple of matches...his sole aim was to give the ball away as quick as possible...regardless if we did that by accident in the past...it was his mindset at a time when every point was so precious..

 

it will never detract form what I think of him as a player...just a bit let down by this...

 

Then I suggest you don't dig too deeply into anyone's character or past.

 

I bet you've never done a single thing illegal, ilegitimate or slightly shady in your whole life...

 

Which would be why your such a barrel of fecking laughs.

[offix]

melodramatic

adjective

showing much stronger emotions than are necessary or usual for a situation.

 

That's bull! This is a guy who is a hero and role model to many younger fans. He earned this with his footballing abilities.

Now this roll model is proven to be nothing but a common cheat. Severe disappointment is proper.

Edited 3 September, 2009 by offix

[Gigersaint]

Having watched MLT throughout his career at SFC and the sincere loyalty he has always had towards the club and the time he has always had for the fans he will still always be the same MLT to me.

It’s these things that make me believe his honestly about the betting is also sincere, that he made a mistake once and learned from it knowing it was the wrong thing to do and didn’t repeat it, a bet that was with undertaken from a player with proven loyalty to SFC with an SFC team mate.

However, I do now wonder about other players around that time who may have been placing these type of bets that were nothing but journeymen for their clubs with no loyalty, who may also have been placing bets with a mate on the same side or worse, on an opposing side which would have a significantly higher outcome on the game being played and what it was bet on.

Someone with the loyalty of MLT tried this once, how many others players without giving a toss where they played, have done it countless times at other clubs throughout the football league?

 

It’s the ones we don’t know about that concern me… the ones who deny that they’ve done it, the ones who don’t own up to it at all, and maybe the ones who are still doing it now.

Edited 3 September, 2009 by Gigersaint

[chrisobee]

That's bull! This is a guy who is a hero and roll model to may younger fans. He earned this with his footballing abilities.

Now this roll model is proven to be nothing but a common cheat. Severe disappointment is proper.

 

A ROLL model ?? I know he's always been a tad overweight but that's a bit extreme!

[Saint_Si]

No big deal. He kicked the ball out for a throw in the first minute to win a few pound. Thing is, I'm certain many, many players have thrown bets in the past for worse and got away with it. Dunno why he admitted to it, really have no idea. But I'm surprised at a lot of you peoples reactions to this. ****ing hell, the man is a club legend and a simple thing like this could never tarnish the great name.

 

Just think back at how many times this man has saved this club... on his own!

[LGTL]

I am actually in complete and utter shock at the complete OTT reactions from some on here. Jeez, who actually gives a sh*t, honestly??

[benjii]

I couldn't really give a **** about this.

 

I would be surprised if there were many top-flight matches at the time that weren't subject to a spread betting scam.

 

That doesn't excuse it but frankly it's a minor thing.

 

As for people moaning about giving the ball away, the punt off the wing is still used today and there's something to be said for gaining a territorial advantage early on. Personally, I **** myself every time Saints have a throw-in near our own goal line.

 

This was a play that could have actually helped the team - it's completely different from letting a goal in or missing a sitter on purpose.

[chrisobee]

I couldn't really give a **** about this.

 

I would be surprised if there were many top-flight matches at the time that weren't subject to a spread betting scam.

 

That doesn't excuse it but frankly it's a minor thing.

 

As for people moaning about giving the ball away, the punt off the wing is still used today and there's something to be said for gaining a territorial advantage early on. Personally, I **** myself every time Saints have a throw-in near our own goal line.

 

This was a play that could have actually helped the team - it's completely different from letting a goal in or missing a sitter on purpose.

 

As I said earlier very few sinners here it seems, hypocrites. I suspect the same people who over react to this get worked up by something like speed cameras and object to being fined for driving a few miles over the speed limit or other offences which seem to be deemed acceptable when speeding for example is much more serious than this IMO. I hope this thread dies overnight or gets locked, it's run its course TBH, no doubt about that.

[bpsaint]

Betting on a few throw ins on a meaningless end of season game when we were already safe,boo ****ing hoo.Some of the reactions of the people on here are pathetic,like your lives are whiter than white,although most of you just like a reason to moan anyway. Not as if he gave away a penalty to throw the game is it. Matty will always be a legend in my eyes,bit stupid of him to come out with it,but most people would be happy to rip off the bookies for a few grand.

[ooohTerryHurlock]

It was obviousily a stupid bet in the first place for the bookies to set up - I guess from the pro's and x pro's that i have spoken to most were in on it - who ever won the toss hoofs the ball into touch and the game stats in earnest from the touchline as opposed to the centre circle! Probably all of the senior pro's on the park have a few quid in the pension fund and the bookies, who are such decent and upstanding people - never known to work an angle, get taken for a few quid??? As fans we have n't been let down, the outcome of the match has n't been affected - get over yourselves...... At least the guy is honest enough to stick it in his book. If the chairmen at the time had rewarded the mans unquestionable loyalty with the correct salary perhaps he may not have to have got involved in the first place.... all I can say is the churches and confession boxes of southampton must be packed out with all the do gooders on here.... **** me its not like he said he had a 10k a week coke habit, or turned up for the game smashed out of his nut, he was n't caught sleeping with underaged girls or kerb crawling. This is at worst a very slight mis judgement - more over a light hearted tale for the book and the afterdinner circuit --- MLT - ALWAYS A LEGEND!

[Redbul]

This is outrageous and scandalous!!!!.... http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/s/southampton/8236108.stm

 

He was an attacking midfielder, not a forward!!!!

 

Yeah, he was wrong for doing it, but ffs, get a grip....first throw in? A 'keeper being accused of throwing a game would be far more serious and far more newsworthy....just trying to think of an example....um....

 

Thankfully the powers that be have rightfully tightened up on this and I'm sure MLT would be the first to admit that in retrospect he may have been a bit rash.

[benjii]

Interesting to note that we won the match and MLT scored too - maybe the sense of contrition spurred him on!

 

[chrisobee]

Interesting to note that we won the match and MLT scored too - maybe the sense of contrition spurred him on!

 

 

He probably had a far larger bet on himself scoring and the match result and cleaned up TBH

[Jimmy_D]

he shouldn't have done it, and it could have turned out so much worse for him, but for pete's sake, the bloke made a mistake, learned from it and never repeated it. Fair play to him for admitting to it. Some reactions seem a bit OTT to me.

[CHAPEL END CHARLIE]

What so many of you lot on here utterly fail to realise is that if you tolerate low level corruption in the game then before long it will inevitably spread into far more pernicious forms - all human experience teaches us this .

This road leads to fans starting to question the true motivations behind everything - that penalty the ref turned down - the open goal the striker missed - the match that was abandoned when the lights failed ... pretty soon the lack of trust becomes universal and the continuation of the game itself is called into question . No honest person should view conspiracy to defraud as a trivial matter , what you think of Bookmakers has nothing to do with it .

 

Integrity is everything in sport - you really , really should care about this .

[David Strover]

I remember watching a game live on Sky in which West Ham United started the second half by kicking the ball straight out of play. I'm certainly no genius and it was pretty obvious at the time what it had happened.

 

Every read about Don Revie and what he used to get up to? Every wondered about some of the shock results you've seen over the years.

 

Sport + big money + gambling = trouble.

 

No one will ever change that. If it was MLT it was dozen or more other footballers all around the country and those that didn't were probably ****ging or drinking their hours away.

 

Nothing changes....

[trousers]

MLT's publisher in book promoting scam shocker....

[Saint Fan CaM]

It’s these things that make me believe his honestly about the betting is also sincere, that he made a mistake once and learned from it knowing it was the wrong thing to do and didn’t repeat it, a bet that was with undertaken from a player with proven loyalty to SFC with an SFC team mate.

 

Sorry but that is absolute nonsense. If MLT had learnt from his mistake and was somehow repentant, why did he chose to glamourise it by openly publicising it in his book? Clearly to spice up the content and sell more books. AND the wrong-doing did not only affect a single SFC team-mate - it potentially affected many other people. The fact it backfired is no defence for cheating in the 1st place.

 

And my understanding of the content of the book would suggest that the text does not include a clear and unequivecal apology or sign of regret from him. If there had of been, I think there may have been a slightly different slant on the issue. As it stands, MLT's name will be dragged through the media mud and a (once) respected ambassador for the club will be seen to have provided another opportunity for Saints to be the subject of ridicule from within the footballing world in general.

 

This matter can hardly be considered good news and I sincerely hope that MLT offers a complete public apology at the soonest.

[benjii]

What so many of you lot on here utterly fail to realise is that if you tolerate low level corruption in the game then before long it will inevitably spread into far more pernicious forms - all human experience teaches us this .

This road leads to fans starting to question the true motivations behind everything - that penalty the ref turned down - the open goal the striker missed - the match that was abandoned when the lights failed ... pretty soon the lack of trust becomes universal and the continuation of the game itself is called into question . No honest person should view conspiracy to defraud as a trivial matter , what you think of Bookmakers has nothing to do with it .

 

Integrity is everything in sport - you really , really should care about this .

 

What you utterly fail to realise is that this happened many years ago and the practice has since been outlawed.

 

Having a laugh at this caper is not condoning low-level corruption. I would like to think that low-level corruption no longer exists. But it did then and everyone was up to it.

 

Different epoch, dude. Epoch.

[Mr Saints]

I don't care. He is God.

[offix]

I don't care. He is God.

 

If God is corrupt like MLT was in this instance, there is a great case for atheism

Edited 4 September, 2009 by offix

[Gigersaint]

Sorry but that is absolute nonsense. If MLT had learnt from his mistake and was somehow repentant, why did he chose to glamourise it by openly publicising it in his book? Clearly to spice up the content and sell more books. AND the wrong-doing did not only affect a single SFC team-mate - it potentially affected many other people. The fact it backfired is no defence for cheating in the 1st place.

 

And my understanding of the content of the book would suggest that the text does not include a clear and unequivecal apology or sign of regret from him. If there had of been, I think there may have been a slightly different slant on the issue. As it stands, MLT's name will be dragged through the media mud and a (once) respected ambassador for the club will be seen to have provided another opportunity for Saints to be the subject of ridicule from within the footballing world in general.

 

This matter can hardly be considered good news and I sincerely hope that MLT offers a complete public apology at the soonest.

 

I didn’t think at any time MLT was glamorising the fact that he was involved in a betting scam in the book, and was more a sheepish admission of naivety as one of his other attempts to make a bit of money where it is followed on from his failures with Celebration Plaza.

MLT explains he was nervous knowing TV cameras were watching, and after the experience he had when it went wrong whether for gain or because of the scrutiny of the TV cameras learned enough in those 70 seconds to never do it again.

Being a fans favourite at a club he loves, MLT probably knew he had far more to lose than gain from the experience. At the time there were probably more high profile players who couldn’t give a toss for clubs and fans that were doing the same thing and maybe every week too.

This incident has hardly made front page news and dragged MLT and SFC’s name through the mud compared to a lot of players for other clubs over the years and others that invariably will in the future too, and as far as I’m concerned MLT still is a respected ambassador for the club and will continue to be, at least we know he is honest about his past mistakes, many aren’t and many have also been accused of far worse.

[offix]

This incident has hardly made front page news and dragged MLT and SFC’s name through the mud compared to a lot of players for other clubs over the years and others that invariably will in the future too, and as far as I’m concerned MLT still is a respected ambassador for the club and will continue to be, at least we know he is honest about his past mistakes, many aren’t and many have also been accused of far worse.

 

I see, so that's like saying "I broke the rules and showed that I had really bad moral judgment, but others do it many more times (and worse), so when I do it I should be excused"?

What a great way to look at things. That kind of apologist thinking is what's ruining football.

[Gigersaint]

I see, so that's like saying "I broke the rules and showed that I had really bad moral judgment, but others do it many more times (and worse), so when I do it I should be excused"?

What a great way to look at things. That kind of apologist thinking is what's ruining football.

 

He never made any remark asking to be excused from it. And just because I respect that he was honest about it doesn't mean I agree with what he done.

But after all the great things he has done for this club I'm also not going to start slating one of the best players I watched for years at this club either and my opinion of him hasn't changed.

[offix]

He never made any remark asking to be excused from it. And just because I respect that he was honest about it doesn't mean I agree with what he done.

But after all the great things he has done for this club I'm also not going to start slating one of the best players I watched for years at this club either and my opinion of him hasn't changed.

 

So you're an apologist. You certainly have the right to that opinion. I on the other hand see a giant flaw in his character that definitely taints my opinion of him.

[Window Cleaner]

I don't see what's quite so shocking, just another punter trying to take advantage of a situation which shouldn't exist anyway. Betting is stupid,anyone who makes a few bob out of it is just normal.

[waggy]

MLT is human after all and makes an error of judgment, Shock Horror!

Have none of you self righteous people never taken a 'few' sheets of printing paper or a pen or two from work, copied a cd, downloaded from the internet? Guess what if you have you are human too, welcome to the Human Race. Amen

[trousers]

You certainly have the right to that opinion

 

Hmmmm....people being allowed their own opinion on here? Bit of a slippery slope if you ask me. That could well lead to debates and arguments and that's not really something we want on here to be honest...probaby best to stick with only allowing views that agree with you. That way we end up with perfect harmony. Which is nice.

 

;-)

[trousers]

MLT is human after all and makes an error of judgment, Shock Horror!

Have none of you self righteous people never taken a 'few' sheets of printing paper or a pen or two from work, copied a cd, downloaded from the internet? Guess what if you have you are human too, welcome to the Human Race. Amen

 

And we all know that "low level" crime, such as stealing a sheet of paper from the office, leads to armed robbery. Eventually.

[Truesaint]

MLT is human after all and makes an error of judgment, Shock Horror!

Have none of you self righteous people never taken a 'few' sheets of printing paper or a pen or two from work, copied a cd, downloaded from the internet? Guess what if you have you are human too, welcome to the Human Race. Amen

 

Completly agree. Regardless of how moral we all think we are, we all at times break laws, ethics or whatever. The list is endless, anyone ever travelled over 70 on a motorway, had an affair? etc. You can go on forever. We just sometimes see these things as acceptable or a calculated risk. At the end of the day his misdemeanor caused no harm. No money was made.

The fact is it proves that my hero is human, great that makes him just like me, and that is why he is such a great hero!

'Let he who is without sin cast the first stone'

[trousers]

If God is corrupt like MLT was in this instance, there is a great case for atheism

 

Totally agree. You'd have thought when God was inventing humans he'd have made them without any imperfections. Little did he realise that this fatal flaw would lead to one of his creations kicking a round bag of air off a grass field for money.

[trousers]

I've decided I'm going to tell my 9 year old son all about this 'episode' tonight so he can see what a good role model MLT is. It will serve as a great example of how someone can be lead into temptation and then realise that it is wrong and not do it again.

 

Thanks for writing about this Matt. You will help a lot of parents to keep their kids on the straight and narrow.

Edited 4 September, 2009 by trousers

[Scummer]

Some of you self righteous people make me laugh.

 

This ridiculous little incident is enough to taint the mans greatness in your eyes. Makes me wonder how you ever lifted him onto that pedestal, bearing in mind the numerous times he got sent off in his career and cost us games. Didn't he get sent off in an FA Cup Quarter final match at Norwich for a petulant kick at Robert Fleck? We could have easily gone all the way that year, it was the year Pompey got to the semis. There were a number of other occasions.

 

He's just a person, people make mistakes. If you ask me, the fools are the people who elevate him to godlike status and place him on a pedestal. There's only one way people can go from there.

[CHAPEL END CHARLIE]

Completly agree. Regardless of how moral we all think we are, we all at times break laws, ethics or whatever. The list is endless, anyone ever travelled over 70 on a motorway, had an affair? etc. You can go on forever. We just sometimes see these things as acceptable or a calculated risk. At the end of the day his misdemeanor caused no harm. No money was made.

The fact is it proves that my hero is human, great that makes him just like me, and that is why he is such a great hero!

'Let he who is without sin cast the first stone'

 

 

This kind of argument (Moral Relativism) in its extreme form would of course mean that no moral judgments of any kind are ever valid or acceptable . In this world where nothing can be called wrong then everything must be right then eh ? - I put it to you Sir that that is nonsense .

 

Yes every adult human being has 'sinned' and human weakness is universal but does that mean that anything goes now ? If you really think that then I suggest you excuse yourself from Jury service should you ever get the call .

 

For those on here glibly throwing around phrases such as 'hypercritical' or 'self righteous' please point out the posts where someone has actually claimed to be a morally outstanding individual free of all human vice , you'll have to look pretty hard though .

[Kevtherev]

Hope MLT sales lots of books as I wonder if sky will keep him on in light of this addmission to taking part in a betting scam?

 

It amazes me that people with what appears to be a good little number seem to shoot themselves in the foot?

[INFLUENCED.COM]

Regardless of how moral we all think we are, we all at times break laws, ethics or whatever. The list is endless, anyone ever travelled over 70 on a motorway, had an affair? etc.

 

How do you financially gain out of those you list ? from my experience both turn out to be quite costly.

 

I do not believe you can put this in that category and this should never have 'come out' imo, as Chapel End Charlie posted when, which often happens watching Saints, a player messes up under circumstances which we can not understand like having a one on one and fluffing it etc... before we would think what a fool he should have put that away, now, your conscience will be pr1cked thinking is he 'at it'

[Gemmel]

How do you financially gain out of those you list ? from my experience both turn out to be quite costly.

 

I do not believe you can put this in that category and this should never have 'come out' imo, as Chapel End Charlie posted when, which often happens watching Saints, a player messes up under circumstances which we can not understand like having a one on one and fluffing it etc... before we would think what a fool he should have put that away, now, your conscience will be pr1cked thinking is he 'at it'

 

 

What was done broke no FA betting regulations, so he was fine on that count.

 

And as for defrauding the bookies; Imagine you were in a pub sat next to a table of jockeys who are talking about their race tomorrow and agree which jockey will win it. You leave the pub knowing which horse and rider are going to win a race, what would you do?

[INFLUENCED.COM]

Imagine you were in a pub sat next to a table of jockeys who are talking about their race tomorrow and agree which jockey will win it. You leave the pub knowing which horse and rider are going to win a race, what would you do?

 

I would of thanked Fallon once more and arranged to meet him at the normal place for him to receive his envelope.

God forbid Football should ever turn like that industry

[LostBoys]

Not very bright to do it and even more stupid to own up to it years after the event. Not good

[Gemmel]

God forbid Football should ever turn like that industry

 

And the appropriate rules have now been put in place to prevent that happening or more importantly allow it to happen legally. Players can of course still do the same things but it would now cost them their career. What MLT did and when he did, wouldn't have.

[Tony Lynam]

Dear All

 

Details of a great Charity Golf day are posted on a different page/thread. Having spoken to the co-ordinator of the charity last night, I know he is approx 12 players short of target. If there are any golfers amongst you who would enjoy a bit of friendly banter between saints & pompey over 27 holes, a bit of food, a few drinks etc, then please contact Neil ASAP. Closing date for late entries is mid-day on Monday since everything goes to print on Monday evening in readiness for Wednesday's event. For the golfers amongst you, this really is a good day - the last few years have been crackers. And of course for anyone with any other agenda, you could have a quiet word (within reason!) and ask me and Matt anything that's on your mind........

 

A quick word about the charity itself. In July 2002, a 15 year boy, Richard Bowler, collapsed whilst training with his local football club. He suffered a massive brain haemorrhage, never regained consciousness and died the following day. Rich was a Saints fan, not that that should matter. The emotion which followed Rich's death seen waves on donations made to the Wessex Neuro centre, and after some time, Neil Westbrook (who was Rich's parents friend and next door neighbour of some years), closed his own business down so he could dedicate his life to saving others. The Charity raises money for equipment, projects, research etc and really does improve peoples lives. I can't remember the exact figure, but one of the most recent patients has seen fits/seizures reduce from in excess of 100 a day to just 2. As a parent of a disabled child, I know very well what a difference this must make to these families, and sufferers alike.

 

Right, that's enough of the morbid stuff. This will be a great day, we'd love to see you there so if you can spare the time, fancy a bit of fun, and unwittingly help the charity, please contact Neil

 

All the best, and best of luck with your new signings. I really really hope Saturday marks the start of the season 'proper' with a win.

 

Regards

Tony

[hamster]

Probably been alluded to already but if the instructions at the time were for us to do this anyway, then the revealation is more palatable. If the manager is telling you to do this, then you are simply following instructions anyway. Insider trading at worst.

 

I can't help wondering what the odds were for Mark Crossley to save that penalty?

 

Anyway, John 8:7 (Google it).

[chrisobee]

How do you financially gain out of those you list ? from my experience both turn out to be quite costly.

 

I do not believe you can put this in that category and this should never have 'come out' imo, as Chapel End Charlie posted when, which often happens watching Saints, a player messes up under circumstances which we can not understand like having a one on one and fluffing it etc... before we would think what a fool he should have put that away, now, your conscience will be pr1cked thinking is he 'at it'

 

So it seems you can justify speeding which can and does kill, affairs which can and do wreck lives including those of innocent kids yet this betting scam is apparently worse. What strange values people have, I wouldn't put anything to do with betting in the same category though TBH, the offences you mention are far worse.

[OldNick]

I dont think my criticism about MLT owning up is hypocrisy. I am not whiter than white and dont make out to be.I think nothing of parking on double yellow lines etc.

I got away with parking on a single yellow line initially and then did the same on a double yellow line. It didnt matter that i was causing an obstruction or inconsiderate to others, everyone does it so why worry?Afterall i was only cheating the traffic warden to his fine every time I got away with it.

If he had won the bet would he have published it then?

MLT is still my greatest hero but he is trying to cloud my great memories of him.

[ooohTerryHurlock]

What so many of you lot on here utterly fail to realise is that if you tolerate low level corruption in the game then before long it will inevitably spread into far more pernicious forms - all human experience teaches us this .

This road leads to fans starting to question the true motivations behind everything - that penalty the ref turned down - the open goal the striker missed - the match that was abandoned when the lights failed ... pretty soon the lack of trust becomes universal and the continuation of the game itself is called into question . No honest person should view conspiracy to defraud as a trivial matter , what you think of Bookmakers has nothing to do with it .

 

Integrity is everything in sport - you really , really should care about this .

 

Underhand goings on have and will always occur FACT

[Sour Mash]

Underhand goings on have and will always occur FACT

 

Er, that's not his point. Just becasue it does happened and has happened, doesn't mean it should be tolerated or accepted.

[VectisSaint]

What so many of you lot on here utterly fail to realise is that if you tolerate low level corruption in the game then before long it will inevitably spread into far more pernicious forms - all human experience teaches us this .

This road leads to fans starting to question the true motivations behind everything - that penalty the ref turned down - the open goal the striker missed - the match that was abandoned when the lights failed ... pretty soon the lack of trust becomes universal and the continuation of the game itself is called into question . No honest person should view conspiracy to defraud as a trivial matter , what you think of Bookmakers has nothing to do with it .

 

Integrity is everything in sport - you really , really should care about this .

There is a huge difference between caring about the issue, integrity in sport, and villofying MLT for one very minor misdemeanour, which in fact led him to realise that integrity was important, a lesson welll learned.

 

I'm afraid I already question the motives of much in sport, the more that big money comes in and pervades the game we all love, the more correupt it is. But this is nothing new. Players were suspended for life in the 1950s for match fixing allegations, there have been scandals involving Lou Macari and as well know Brucey, and many many others. To read some of the patently silly remarks on here by some holier than thou goody 2 shoes, you would think that the idea of a betting scam had been invented by MLT. Nothing could be further from the truth. This sort of thing was clearly rampant, in the 90s when spread betting became popular and before the authorities clamped down. The thing we have learned from this is that MLT was so naive that having tried this thing once, it scarde the **** out of him when he realised how much he could have lost, and never got involved again. That is the salutary lesson others should be picking up on, and possibly why he mentioned it in his book. Matt wasn't even the instigator of this as far as I can tell, more ikely it was Flash, but almost the whole team were in on it, just a shame someone forgot to tell Shipps.

 

I can't believe some of the nonsense being written on here about MLT, and role models (or even roll models). My hero in the 60s was Micky Channon, he was my role model, hence I turned to drinking when I realised that my heroes of the day were all out on the lash every night (not just Mick, but ossie etc). And if you believe that about me then you would believe anything. Because MLT made one dodgy bet does not make him any less of a role model to youngsters today, it shows he was human, and got involved in the sort of things that 99.9% of people get involved with at some time. The role model point is that he saw the error of his ways very quickly and learned that this was not the sort of thing that should be done, teach your kids to learn from their mistakes and you will have taught them a useful life lesson.

 

If you want to get hung up about corruption in football then pay more attention to the likes of things going on at Chelski, real corruption, not just financial but also corruption of a minor.

[Toadhall Saint]

There is a huge difference between caring about the issue, integrity in sport, and villofying MLT for one very minor misdemeanour, which in fact led him to realise that integrity was important, a lesson welll learned.

 

I'm afraid I already question the motives of much in sport, the more that big money comes in and pervades the game we all love, the more correupt it is. But this is nothing new. Players were suspended for life in the 1950s for match fixing allegations, there have been scandals involving Lou Macari and as well know Brucey, and many many others. To read some of the patently silly remarks on here by some holier than thou goody 2 shoes, you would think that the idea of a betting scam had been invented by MLT. Nothing could be further from the truth. This sort of thing was clearly rampant, in the 90s when spread betting became popular and before the authorities clamped down. The thing we have learned from this is that MLT was so naive that having tried this thing once, it scarde the **** out of him when he realised how much he could have lost, and never got involved again. That is the salutary lesson others should be picking up on, and possibly why he mentioned it in his book. Matt wasn't even the instigator of this as far as I can tell, more ikely it was Flash, but almost the whole team were in on it, just a shame someone forgot to tell Shipps.

 

I can't believe some of the nonsense being written on here about MLT, and role models (or even roll models). My hero in the 60s was Micky Channon, he was my role model, hence I turned to drinking when I realised that my heroes of the day were all out on the lash every night (not just Mick, but ossie etc). And if you believe that about me then you would believe anything. Because MLT made one dodgy bet does not make him any less of a role model to youngsters today, it shows he was human, and got involved in the sort of things that 99.9% of people get involved with at some time. The role model point is that he saw the error of his ways very quickly and learned that this was not the sort of thing that should be done, teach your kids to learn from their mistakes and you will have taught them a useful life lesson.

 

If you want to get hung up about corruption in football then pay more attention to the likes of things going on at Chelski, real corruption, not just financial but also corruption of a minor.

 

 

Spot on - some peoples perspectives leave a lot to desire.