Footballer's Mental Health Thread

[maqroll]

Witnessing the endless tsunami of abuse and ridicule that Harry Maguire continues to endure makes me really feel for the guy. Some people say that because he makes more in a week than most people make in a year, he should just grin and bear it. 

No player in the pre-social media age received this level of steady, brutal treatment other than African players in Serie A or other leagues where racist abuse was commonplace. 

Yes, his gaffes are endless and funny and because he's Man Utd, there's extra glee involved in the ongoing spectacle. 

But the personal attacks and shaming are a level beyond just having a laugh.

As we've seen with Dele Alli, Sancho and Richarlison, some players are particularly vulnerable psychologically. And we cannot forget Gary Speed.

I worry for Harry and I think a move to a new club and maybe a new league would benefit him mentally and on the pitch.

Online abuse is an intractable problem though and it will bite him again at the first blunder.

You have to wonder if the guy is ever tempted to just hang up his boots.

 

 

[MrBlack]

Whilst he should never be playing for the national team when he's not playing for his club, he absolutely should not be getting personal abuse for mistakes. Its the same for any player. Look at what Saka faced after his penalty miss. 

The online world's a largely horrible place, and if Southgate is shocked at the abuse he's getting he probably should wake up.  You can't pick someone that has zero grounds for being picked, and then be surprised when he gets abuse for making a gaffe due to being woefully out of match fitness and not in the zone. It was utterly predictable.

Southgate has a slight share of the blame in the abuse he's now getting, but the sad fact is that's only because of the aforementioned horrible online world.

Its out there, and there's no escaping it until laws change (or get more robustly enforced).

Mental health awareness means that players these days may get it diagnosed, but it has probably been the same forever. Plenty of former footballers wasted their lives to alcohol and gambling and a spiral of events that could be rooted in mental health.

As for the amount they earn argument, its well proven that wealth isn't a preventer of poor mental health, and whilst it may give them more means of escaping the rot, it doesn't mean any of those routes will work.

[Hank Scorpio]

They are still human. 

Why does tye disgraceful amount of money they earn mean they should be expected to take this level of abuse.

[AvfcRigo82]

23 minutes ago, maqroll said:

Witnessing the endless tsunami of abuse and ridicule that Harry Maguire continues to endure makes me really feel for the guy.

I was thinking about this earlier actually. As football fans, many of us can be guilty of taking the piss on occasions and he himself has committed some howlers over the years, granted.

At the end of the day though, he might be a professional footballer prone to a series of gaffs and howlers, he might make a decent crust in his profession, but he is still a human like the rest of us and I actually feel for him a bit.

My personal opinion, I think the guy needs to be cut some slack and fans/social media keyboard warriors should lay off him.

I fear something serious could happen from the continious shit he gets and I do feel for the guys mental health and state of mind because of it all.

It makes me wonder, at what point does enough become enough before things could take a nasty turn?

[maqroll]

55 minutes ago, AvfcRigo82 said:

I was thinking about this earlier actually. As football fans, many of us can be guilty of taking the piss on occasions and he himself has committed some howlers over the years, granted.

At the end of the day though, he might be a professional footballer prone to a series of gaffs and howlers, he might make a decent crust in his profession, but he is still a human like the rest of us and I actually feel for him a bit.

My personal opinion, I think the guy needs to be cut some slack and fans/social media keyboard warriors should lay off him.

I fear something serious could happen from the continious shit he gets and I do feel for the guys mental health and state of mind because of it all.

It makes me wonder, at what point does enough become enough before things could take a nasty turn?

He's a young guy and grew up online and he'll want to be connected to social media like everyone else his age, but if he hasn't done so yet, he might consider logging off his social media accounts, or just deleting them. If you make your world smaller that way, you can narrow down the abuse you receive to a tolerable degree. He'd only have to deal with away fans or angry United fans at matches, and the rest of his time he could just do the things my generation did at that age. Obviously much easier said than done of course. 

Ben White says he doesn't watch football, and because of that, he probably isn't fully plugged in to the online footy world and the mountain of manure that shapes much of it. The Premier League is an absolute crucible, and I think if I were a player, I might also try to completely check out of that world when not at training or on match day.

[chrisvilla4]

I feel for him and wonder if he'll move in January. Southgate should never have put him out there against Scotland, I wonder if he did it as a show of faith which backfired, he should of read the room. 

Social media is a cess pit of faceless abuse, people typing what they want without any thought. Players would do well to avoid but the online world is such a massive part of our culture now, they'd be in the minority. Added to that, footballers have a lot of free time on their own and have to spend it doing something. 

[luckyeddie]

Maguire is just playing to the best of his abilities in the team picked. He is not a great player and is definitely not match fit. Southgate should take 95% of the criticism for being spineless and exposing HG to this ridicule, all because he wants to prove what a strong manager he is (because he knows he is the FAs puppet with no right being there). Saying that, HG should either move clubs or withdraw from the England set up till he is playing regular football.

At some point, a high profile player will commit suicide due to social media abuse, until then the authorities will keep their heads in the sand.

[bobzy]

Football fans are largely rocket polishers.

You go to the ground and you’ll get loads of them shouting abuse at a player for simply missing an attempt at goal, so it’s really no surprise this has gone as far as it has.

Just bantz though innit. 

[villa4europe]

Social media, specifically twitter is a cesspool for this shit, look at the grief el ghazi got off our "fans" 

I'd dread to think of how many "get the **** out of my club" messages a footballer gets every Saturday night and that's before you throw in things like racism

But stepping away from the abuse side of it, mental health is absolutely huge in football, it's underrated, somehow as an industry they've managed to largely replace mental well being and confidence with the concept and the word "form" even then you look at teams like Chelsea or Everton or man utd and you can't say the players play at 100% every week, that's the mental side of football that isn't talked about

[Zatman]

The guy is poor at his job and thats what he has been called out for. Alan Shearer is not calling him insulting names in the media. Maguire also was happy to have a pop at the fans/media when he scored against San Marino so again can't really have it both ways.  Media were a lot harsher to Mings last season because some clearing in the woods said he didnt look him in the eye never mind abuse he gets online

Yes social media has idiots but others have got a lot more horrible treatment and abuse in recent times. Zaha and Sterling spring to mind

Edited September 15, 2023 by Zatman

[villa89]

Abuse on the internet is rampant for lots of different professions. Plenty of keyboard warriors hide behind anonymity and vent their anger in various directions. I'm not sure what the solution is but I imagine it's not easy to deal with if you're on the recieving end. 

[Oaks]

Honestly i think its why the top sportsmen deserve the money they earn. I cant comprehend what his mental health is. He's either very strong or more likely really affecting his career. But it makes me feel a bit backwards but its part of football. I cant say i haven't had a go at opperition players. 

But its not his fault he's still getting picked.

[bobzy]

7 hours ago, Zatman said:

The guy is poor at his job and thats what he has been called out for. Alan Shearer is not calling him insulting names in the media. Maguire also was happy to have a pop at the fans/media when he scored against San Marino so again can't really have it both ways.  Media were a lot harsher to Mings last season because some clearing in the woods said he didnt look him in the eye never mind abuse he gets online

Yes social media has idiots but others have got a lot more horrible treatment and abuse in recent times. Zaha and Sterling spring to mind

That people think this is genuinely pathetic  

[sharkyvilla]

Moyes and West Ham would have been a really good fit for him I think.  It does sound like him not wanting to give up any money was the main factor in it not getting done, so on one hand yes, having lots of money doesn't prevent people from mental health problems but also it seems difficult to give up a chunk for long term benefit.  The agent must have had a say in that and I'm pretty sure most of them just advise players to just aim for the most cash in whatever circumstances.  Utd of course don't help by putting themselves in this situation either by how stupidly they throw money about.

[chrisvilla4]

As has been said, lots of players have suffered abuse over the years for various reasons. Unfortunately now there is no hiding place 'in the good old days' abuse was largely left on the terraces or if you saw a player out and about and still harboured that anger. Now it's 24-7 thanks to the Internet and social media. 

Its ok saying, oh its just banter but where is it going to end up. Considering that suicide is the biggest cause of death for men under 45 we clearly have a problem and need to figure out ways to support, surely by the law of averages, there may come to a point where it impacts the football community.

[foreveryoung]

I must be made different, but I have never understood why people would take a blind bit of notice what is posted on social media sites by random people. If it's friends and family take note, but to get stressed by a no one posting you are shit on social media seems a little soft.  Maybe the way forward is to teach people to understand these posts mean nothing, or further still, if you cannot manage, take a break. There are many sports people, football players who don't even use social media, but others who depend on the finance and attention from it, unfortunately the shit is never gonna stop, so if you desperately need it, your just gonna have to live with the crap it brings, more serious posts do get taken very seriously by the authorities now, so your pretty safe from the threats, even though 99.99% of them are probably some 14  year old kid thinking he's gangsta.

[Davkaus]

I agree it's probably a bad idea to directly engage with social media as a footballer. Not worth the hassle.

Just brushing off the abuse if you do see it is probably easier said than done though. I couldn't care less what people on the internet call me, they don't know who I am and their words mean very little. But when you're a public figure and you've got thousands of people who do know a bit about you going out of their way to call your a word removed... Got to have pretty thick skin for that not to sting a bit.

[luckyeddie]

1 hour ago, foreveryoung said:

I must be made different, but I have never understood why people would take a blind bit of notice what is posted on social media sites by random people. If it's friends and family take note, but to get stressed by a no one posting you are shit on social media seems a little soft.  Maybe the way forward is to teach people to understand these posts mean nothing, or further still, if you cannot manage, take a break. There are many sports people, football players who don't even use social media, but others who depend on the finance and attention from it, unfortunately the shit is never gonna stop, so if you desperately need it, your just gonna have to live with the crap it brings, more serious posts do get taken very seriously by the authorities now, so your pretty safe from the threats, even though 99.99% of them are probably some 14  year old kid thinking he's gangsta.

The problem is, if a person is positively affected by praise from people they do not know, they will be affected negatively as well, by criticism. The key is to be indifferent to both from strangers. If he refused the West Ham move due to money, then he is inviting trouble. It's not like he will be financially struggling.

[foreveryoung]

7 minutes ago, luckyeddie said:

The problem is, if a person is positively affected by praise from people they do not know, they will be affected negatively as well, by criticism. The key is to be indifferent to both from strangers. If he refused the West Ham move due to money, then he is inviting trouble. It's not like he will be financially struggling.

I doubt many really take notice of the praise on social media. I mean would the likes ok Maguire show his family a few ramdons on X saying he had a great game.