| Brandon Williams interview with Ben Foster 16:37 - Apr 2 with 3282 views | TresBonne |
Looks like it will be a very interesting watch, full version out at 4pm tomorrow.
Talks about struggling to get out of bed in the mornings in that short sound bite, and how much it hurts him to watch football now as he misses being in a team, being on the coach etc.
I made a post on here not long ago about how people should consider the human aspect of footballers that got a bit of support which I was glad to see.
Yes - the lad made some very, very thick decisions that he should 100% be accountable for. In general, as a society I feel as though we need to have more empathy for those who are struggling, especially with addiction, mental health etc. In football particularly, I can't think of an industry where people are criticised for their jobs much more on such a scale. It must have been genuinely horrible for him battling an addiction, being away from a team environment and seeing all the comments on social media.
Looking forward to the full podcast and really hoping he sheds some light about what ITFC did for him/continues to do for other players re mental health and being in the spotlight.
Side note, I wouldn't take him back personally, but I do hope he gets back on his feet and finds a club. In the right headspace, there would be a seriously good footballer in there. |  | | |  |
| Brandon Williams interview with Ben Foster on 16:41 - Apr 2 with 3209 views | GeoffSentence |
If he has sorted himself out I'd be more than happy to see him back here. |  |
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| Brandon Williams interview with Ben Foster on 16:42 - Apr 2 with 3194 views | bsw72 |
Trouble is most fans see a player (not a person) with the "dream" lifestyle most fans aspire to who has thrown it all away just being an idiot.
People tend to be horribly unforgiving and judgemental on other's mistakes. [Post edited 2 Apr 16:42]
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| Brandon Williams interview with Ben Foster on 16:44 - Apr 2 with 3162 views | portmanking |
I actually would take him back, personally. It would appear - in that short clip - that this last 12 months has been a humbling experience for him. As he said, he's just a regular lad from a council estate, that probably got too much, too soon.
He still seems to have the drive and hunger to me. If (when) Axel goes, I'd be very happy to take him on a free as a replacement. In fact, he could be useful on both full back positions if Leif goes too. |  | | |
| Brandon Williams interview with Ben Foster on 16:50 - Apr 2 with 3098 views | bsw72 |
| Brandon Williams interview with Ben Foster on 16:44 - Apr 2 by portmanking |
I actually would take him back, personally. It would appear - in that short clip - that this last 12 months has been a humbling experience for him. As he said, he's just a regular lad from a council estate, that probably got too much, too soon.
He still seems to have the drive and hunger to me. If (when) Axel goes, I'd be very happy to take him on a free as a replacement. In fact, he could be useful on both full back positions if Leif goes too. |
I remember discussing how artificial the professional footballing world is, imagine as a 18/19 year old suddenly getting 7 figure annual salary, being told repeatedly how good you are etc
It's no wonder so many young players go off the rails.
I know if I had this type of lifestyle in my late teens / early 20s, I'd probably be dead or in prison from poor decisions . . . I had the potential to be an absolute idiot. Parenthood and marriage possibly saved me. | | | |
| Brandon Williams interview with Ben Foster on 16:56 - Apr 2 with 3018 views | Hugoagogo_Reborn |
| Brandon Williams interview with Ben Foster on 16:50 - Apr 2 by bsw72 |
I remember discussing how artificial the professional footballing world is, imagine as a 18/19 year old suddenly getting 7 figure annual salary, being told repeatedly how good you are etc
It's no wonder so many young players go off the rails.
I know if I had this type of lifestyle in my late teens / early 20s, I'd probably be dead or in prison from poor decisions . . . I had the potential to be an absolute idiot. Parenthood and marriage possibly saved me. |
This. See also the music industry as an artificial, fish bowl of a world that sends lots of people spiralling. I'm all for striving to be excellent, but... Fame? Celebrity? No thanks. |  | | |
| Brandon Williams interview with Ben Foster on 17:17 - Apr 2 with 2885 views | bsw72 |
| Brandon Williams interview with Ben Foster on 16:56 - Apr 2 by Hugoagogo_Reborn |
This. See also the music industry as an artificial, fish bowl of a world that sends lots of people spiralling. I'm all for striving to be excellent, but... Fame? Celebrity? No thanks. |
Yeah, it's taken me decades to realise I simply need to try to be the best person I can be, and to set the right example to those around me, kids, friends and colleagues.
I reckon I do it 80% of the time . . . a number of people have given me second chances on things so I try to pay that forward and be understanding and forgiving, to a point at least. | | | |
| Brandon Williams interview with Ben Foster on 17:18 - Apr 2 with 2874 views | baxterbasics |
Would be quite happy to see McKenna take him under his wing next season, have him train with us at least... see where it leads. The handful of games where he was on form before it all hit the fan, he was something else. |  |
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| Brandon Williams interview with Ben Foster on 17:27 - Apr 2 with 2809 views | Lord_Lucan |
He was great even though he was troubled.
Sign him up! |  |
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| Brandon Williams interview with Ben Foster on 18:07 - Apr 2 with 2632 views | Zx1988 |
| Brandon Williams interview with Ben Foster on 16:41 - Apr 2 by GeoffSentence |
If he has sorted himself out I'd be more than happy to see him back here. |
I'd definitely take him back if he's been able to get himself sorted.
If he's in a good, secure place, I hope he'd have no issue agreeing to a suitably-caveated deal with us. I just worry that an agent might not be quite so sanguine, and would advise him not to sign anything that has a get-out for the club. | |
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| Brandon Williams interview with Ben Foster on 18:13 - Apr 2 with 2580 views | Dubtractor |
| Brandon Williams interview with Ben Foster on 16:44 - Apr 2 by portmanking |
I actually would take him back, personally. It would appear - in that short clip - that this last 12 months has been a humbling experience for him. As he said, he's just a regular lad from a council estate, that probably got too much, too soon.
He still seems to have the drive and hunger to me. If (when) Axel goes, I'd be very happy to take him on a free as a replacement. In fact, he could be useful on both full back positions if Leif goes too. |
Not sure I'd have him back, but equally not going to condemn him for making stupid decisions as a young lad with too much money and free time.
I suspect every poster on here did some utterly f#ckwitted things when they were younger. |  |
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| Brandon Williams interview with Ben Foster on 18:23 - Apr 2 with 2507 views | Guthrum |
I was a bit concerned that some of his tackling was very on the limit, running the risk of a red card. Sure, it was exciting and got the fans on their feet, but being down to 10 men is not ideal. Hopefully a more considered approach to life might even out a bit of that recklessness. |  |
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| Brandon Williams interview with Ben Foster on 18:44 - Apr 2 with 2375 views | awayfan |
I loved watching Brandon play for us. Such a talent when fit & well. I hope he can find a good way forward. | | | |
| Brandon Williams interview with Ben Foster on 19:45 - Apr 2 with 2140 views | wkj |
| Brandon Williams interview with Ben Foster on 16:42 - Apr 2 by bsw72 |
Trouble is most fans see a player (not a person) with the "dream" lifestyle most fans aspire to who has thrown it all away just being an idiot.
People tend to be horribly unforgiving and judgemental on other's mistakes. [Post edited 2 Apr 16:42]
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I have a lot of empathy for people and agree in principle - however, we have to consider the ties we make in football. We are emotionally connected to our club and the people who control the fate of that club are going to be under scrutiny.
I believe it is important to distinguish between player and person and abuse should never be targeted at the person. I believe that the player is not immune from stern critique but we have to make sure it is not something that becomes abusive. |  |
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| Brandon Williams interview with Ben Foster on 20:36 - Apr 2 with 1900 views | Swansea_Blue |
| Brandon Williams interview with Ben Foster on 16:42 - Apr 2 by bsw72 |
Trouble is most fans see a player (not a person) with the "dream" lifestyle most fans aspire to who has thrown it all away just being an idiot.
People tend to be horribly unforgiving and judgemental on other's mistakes. [Post edited 2 Apr 16:42]
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I suspect people are also less forgiving when they don’t know the facts. We’ve heard previously that ‘his head wasn’t in the right place’ for example. That’s very different from ‘unable to get out of bed’, which sounds more like depression. The later would undoubtedly get more sympathy.
They certainly are only human though. If nothing else people should remember that. They still get sick and have to deal with the rest of life, just like the rest of us. The difference is that they’re more likely to have to still go to work when a lot of us would be off sick. |  |
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| Brandon Williams interview with Ben Foster on 20:41 - Apr 2 with 1840 views | Hugoagogo_Reborn |
| Brandon Williams interview with Ben Foster on 20:36 - Apr 2 by Swansea_Blue |
I suspect people are also less forgiving when they don’t know the facts. We’ve heard previously that ‘his head wasn’t in the right place’ for example. That’s very different from ‘unable to get out of bed’, which sounds more like depression. The later would undoubtedly get more sympathy.
They certainly are only human though. If nothing else people should remember that. They still get sick and have to deal with the rest of life, just like the rest of us. The difference is that they’re more likely to have to still go to work when a lot of us would be off sick. |
Indeed. I can't imagine how I would get through my working life, dealing with depression, if I was in the public eye. It's bad enough as a 'nobody', so to speak. I'm all for second and third chances etc when mental health issues are involved.
If someone has a broken leg, you'd give them plenty of chances to walk up a hill if they kept failing, and would probably lend a hand to help them do it. | | | |
| Brandon Williams interview with Ben Foster on 20:45 - Apr 2 with 1786 views | SuffolkPunchFC |
If he’s sorted himself out, I’d have him back in a heartbeat. He showed solid defensive nouse - and a bit of Psycho (Richard Naylor) about him. Great driving runs from the back too.
Also - if it works out, and he proves his problems are behind him, on a free he could be a massive investment.
What isn’t there to like - as long as he’s learnt his lesson. | | | |
| Brandon Williams interview with Ben Foster on 20:52 - Apr 2 with 1732 views | Zx1988 |
| Brandon Williams interview with Ben Foster on 20:45 - Apr 2 by SuffolkPunchFC |
If he’s sorted himself out, I’d have him back in a heartbeat. He showed solid defensive nouse - and a bit of Psycho (Richard Naylor) about him. Great driving runs from the back too.
Also - if it works out, and he proves his problems are behind him, on a free he could be a massive investment.
What isn’t there to like - as long as he’s learnt his lesson. |
The old romantic in me wonders whether, if we show faith in him and he's mended his ways, we could end up with a very decent player who's happy to stay with us for the rest of his career.
Then I remember that modern football is awful. | |
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| Brandon Williams interview with Ben Foster on 23:16 - Apr 3 with 1238 views | rkc123 |
I was a little surprised that in the interview he said that when he started to have some issues again off the pitch towards the end of 2023 we sent him back to Manchester to sort himself out, and come back when he was ready. I know we only had him on loan, and I am sure there is more to the situation, but it seems from the outside that sending him back into the environment he was struggling in before (sounds like issues with friends and family in the area) was never going to help things, and he says how things did get worse when he returned to Manchester. I am not being critical of the decision as for the playing group it seems it was the right call, our unity as a team was absolutely key for getting promoted and eliminating a possible distraction was probably the right decision, but for Brandon himself I don't feel like that can have helped his situation. | | | |
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