Nile Ranger

I don't disagree at all with what you say Rob and I am surprisingly liberal minded, but what would convince me that he is now a mature and responsible adult would be if he regularly donated a large proportion of his excessive premiership wages to compensate those he stole from and to charities for the similarly disadvantaged. There are many many disadvantaged kids who never commit a crime, so now he has been given a second chance in a lucrative profession hopefully he will choose to put his money to good use rather than line the pockets of the bookies. My working title for this fictional post is 'Flying Pigs', but I would love my cynicism to be proved wrong.

Stefano, I would say that he is only just starting along the path of becoming a mature and responsible adult. Whether he appreciates how lucky he is and the fantastic opportunity he has and wants to give something back is another thing. At least he is contributing towards society via tax etc as opposed to taking out.

The issue of how these young man deal with their shed load of money and the temptations that come along is another area of debate.

My own view on second chances are they should always be given as long as the person feels remorse for what they did, pays the price by doing the required punishment and wants to make a fresh start on the right path.

It is then down to that person to take the chance that is on offer and I’m afraid there is a limit I would personally give anyone on more chances because some will never learn and their promises end up only empty ones.

Not sure I buy into the statement that he rose above others of equal ability when the chips were down as the chips were only really down surely by his own making? As Stefano said there are many many disadvantaged kids who never commit a crime and this young man had the opportunity to say NO like anyone else, but he choose to say YES and I wonder if he had not been caught if he would have committed another crime.

As someone expected to end up in jail due to a poor childhood I know full well the real risks of going off the rails and how easy would it have been to blame my circumstances for any crime I committed. But I like everyone else knew right from wrong and was not weak inside and had the strength to say NO and sorry it’s those who find themselves in disadvantaged circumstances and do not go down the road of crime I have more respect for as they are the ones who show the real inner strength.

Don’t get me wrong I’m very happy this young man has the chance to turn is life around and I hope he is able and willing to use some of the money he earns to help other disadvantaged people and I’m sure Merse you would say he should be allowed to get on and try and take this opportunity and not be reminded of his past or keep having it thrown in his face.

I say that only because I know a young man who made a very big mistake and was saved from going to prison because it would have ruined his young life when we was working hard to try and make something of himself when for him learning was something much harder than most other people. He felt remorse and with only very limited earnings paid back every single penny he stole and as far as I know to date has never done anything like it again. Not sure that young man was allowed to try and move on and forget what he did by some and if we are expected to be generous to someone who committed armed robbery and wish him well and keep our fingers crossed he takes the opportunity on offer, then we also need to show the same generosity to other young men who made a mistake and want to move on and take the second chance they have been given.

I think most reasonable people will not hold someone’s past against them if they are genuinely trying to become a better person and become a good member of the community as at the end of the day we all need at times the power of forgiveness and if we can’t find that in our hearts then everyone who ever made a mistake would end up condemned for life and never even get that second chance.

As far as I know we have not fallen out and my new avatar is only to get the message across I'm here to help fellow members and do not expect to be subjected to abuse, think yourself lucky stefano I nearly used the one you found scary

You can have him back latter tonight

Are you aware that I was saying: "that often the inner pain and toughness of these kids is what enables them to rise above others of equal ability when the chips are down" referred to their rising to the top of a very competitive and difficult football environment where only a very small percentage of young aspirants "make it"? If you re-read my post with more care you will also noice that I said "I've seen many youngsters from disadvantaged and poor family backgrounds making good of their lives through football"

I'm talking here about those from poor and disadvantaged backgrounds, I'm not talking about criminal records. I'm talking about the kids who's parent or parents can't afford the monetary outlay to equip their kids, to enrol their kids, to pay their monthly clubs fees, to get them to matches; I'm talking about those with parents who haven't an earthly clue as to their child's potential even because their own lives are so wrapped up in merely surviving that they haven't either the time nor the will to focus on their child's football talent...................believe me, I see and help many of them. Hardly any of them have ever come into conflict with the law.

The only mention I made of Nile's criminal past (he partook of a knife related mugging at a cash point with a gang of others) was at the beginning of the post in response to those who would have young players who have offended not be allowed the chance to protect and share their talent for football whilst in prison.

Neither you nor I "know" if his "chips" were down purely through his own doing. I am not party to his family background nor are you. What I do know is that (as I illustrated a couple of weeks ago) in that tough environment of Broadwater Farm there are many kids of exceptional talent who have come through against the odds thanks to the inspired mentoring of Clasford Stirling to rise to the top of the football struggle, and many more who haven't; who have gone on to become very useful and inspiring coaches and mentors in their own right and thus are helping others.

So yes, he certainly has risen above others of equal ability; as have just about all other professional sportsmen, and into the bargain he has achieved that from a pretty horrific period in his life that threatened to undermine all that talent and determination ~ even if it was by his own doing. I don't think anyone around him has pretended that he never committed that crime, and I don't think for a minute that he pretends he didn't commit it either.