The Annexed Goodwillie Thread

[KingBeastie]

8 minutes ago, 1320Lichtie said:

I have taken a fair bit of time reading this over - feel like it was something I should do after voicing an opinion on the matter uninformed. 

For the benefit of doubt I have thought he was in the wrong from the very start but I was not sure on how bad it was - I would like to take that back.  

I think that this sounds like a pretty sinister and horrendous ordeal and makes for very uncomfortable reading. 

I would also like to apologise to everyone for the misunderstanding on my part. 

 

Fair play.
It takes a big person to admit they were wrong and then apologise, and it takes an intelligent person to find out more and then change their mind (and then be open about it too).

[bullywee2010]

2 hours ago, KingBeastie said:

You raise a good point here - had Goodwillie paid the victim the £100k he was ordered by the judge to pay, it would have been seen by many as him taking a measure of responsibility for what he did and also showing a modicum of remorse, which has very much not been the case.
It's hypothetical of course, but I think it's possible that should that have happened, then he would have been able to continue playing the game - perhaps not at Championship level or above and I certainly would never want him at my club but I think feelings would perhaps not be as strong as they currently are on this case.

That's all hypothetical as I say, but it certainly seems like avoiding paying the compensation has been a massive mistake. (Not that the p***k would even admit that)

What I took from the interview was he has paid the money. Sold his house for £170k, of which £100k was seized by the court to settle the £100k awarded. Just seems that most of this was then taken by the lawyers of Denise Clair for her own legal fees.

[Jaggy McJagface]

13 minutes ago, eindhovendee said:

I now consider myself old and some of the worst comments on here are from posters not considered old so your generalisation is shit and the messages of support also seem to be from younger people which is very disturbing.

I’m not saying all older people are like that, or that young people are incapable of thinking like that, but I do think on balance those attitudes are slightly more likely to be held by older people than younger ones. From my purely anecdotal perspective, most of the comments I see supporting him on Facebook and the like are from guys north of 50. I don’t mean to be attacking or having a go at old people as a whole.

 

I’ve got no idea of the ages of most of the posters on here tbf.

[KingBeastie]

4 minutes ago, bullywee2010 said:

What I took from the interview was he has paid the money. Sold his house for £170k, of which £100k was seized by the court to settle the £100k awarded. Just seems that most of this was then taken by the lawyers of Denise Clair for her own legal fees.

I was under the impression that he had went bankrupt to avoid paying any of the damages awarded and that the victim had not received a penny from him at all, regardless of any legal fees.
Apologies if I am wrong on that, it could be a misunderstanding on my part.  Cases like this really, really anger me so I haven't read in depth about it all, I'd just get myself even more angry with him and what he did.

[bullywee2010]

1 minute ago, KingBeastie said:

I was under the impression that he had went bankrupt to avoid paying any of the damages awarded and that the victim had not received a penny from him at all, regardless of any legal fees.
Apologies if I am wrong on that, it could be a misunderstanding on my part.  Cases like this really, really anger me so I haven't read in depth about it all, I'd just get myself even more angry with him and what he did.

Yeah I could also be wrong and given an hour long interview cba going back to find the bit it was discussed. But think he said his £100k was seized on sale of house by court but also didn't know if Robertson had paid the £100k. Then HMRC came along over an unpaid tax bill which he then couldn't afford cause the court case and that was when he was made bankrupt.

[TxRover]

3 hours ago, Bairnardo said:

I think you're right. Had he shown remorse and sought to make amends in whatever way... Even actually paying what he was fined would be a start, then I'm sure he would have been left to pursue a career in football at some level, whatever that may have been. 

What is following him around is his own complete lack of remorse and victim mentality. Being a rapist is bad enough, but to spend subsequent years painting yourself as an equal victim of what was really just one big misunderstanding is beyond any sort of forgiveness. He deserves hounded wherever he goes. 

Perhaps @RH33 can answer part this, but what if…

-If Goodwillie had shown remorse, admitted to poor judgement, and sought to make amends?

-Would, given his clear abilities, he have been able to resume a football career and ever reached a decent salary again?

-Or would people have pursued him to try to block his rehabilitation despite clear expressions of regret?

-What if he was committed to the extent of contributing a portion of his salary to related causes?

I just suspect that he was done at any decent level of football regardless because of the horrifically predatory nature of his crime. It was, as many others note, his absolutely mind blowing lack of awareness or remorse that has condemned him to his own little hell beyond that.

[KingBeastie]

1 minute ago, bullywee2010 said:

Yeah I could also be wrong and given an hour long interview cba going back to find the bit it was discussed. But think he said his £100k was seized on sale of house by court but also didn't know if Robertson had paid the £100k. Then HMRC came along over an unpaid tax bill which he then couldn't afford cause the court case and that was when he was made bankrupt.

I certainly wouldn't trust what Goodwillie says and I thought I had read that the victim had never received a penny but you could well be right.  I'm sure someone on here will be able to confirm.

[Fifes Elite Force]

Question for someone who has listened to the podcast. Did he say that any of the witnesses in the civil case or their statements were not true? I assume the host would have read him some of the evidence back so he can give his point of view on it if he disagrees with it(given its all online). From memory folk like the bouncer or taxi driver(maybe bar staff or other people that seen her on the night out)?

[captainkev]

20 minutes ago, 1320Lichtie said:

I have taken a fair bit of time reading this over - feel like it was something I should do after voicing an opinion on the matter uninformed. 

For the benefit of doubt I have thought he was in the wrong from the very start but I was not sure on how bad it was - I would like to take that back.  

I think that this sounds like a pretty sinister and horrendous ordeal and makes for very uncomfortable reading. 

I would also like to apologise to everyone for the misunderstanding on my part. 

 

Good on you. There are a depressing number of people still making an argument in Goodwillie's defence along the lines of 'Aye, but it's just her word against his' and have no intention of reading the report to see just how wide of the mark that is.

Our justice system failed Denise Clair. Any conspiratorial chat about the potential involvement of Goodwillie's QC at the time and his connections feel more than fair game.

[Highlandmagar]

1 hour ago, Jaggy McJagface said:

It hasn’t, but I get the impression that some of the older generation think of rape as somebody getting dragged into the bushes and have a hard time comprehending that it also includes sex with people who are too intoxicated to consent.

It’s a rotten attitude that I hope is dying out, but sadly you still see a lot of messages of support for Goodwillie in Facebook/YouTube comment sections and the like.

That's one a hell of an assumption of the older generation. I am 63 and have NEVER thought like that. Rather blinkered view from you. 

[Shandon Par]

1 minute ago, Highlandmagar said:

That's one a hell of an assumption of the older generation. I am 63 and have NEVER thought like that. Rather blinkered view from you. 

Give it another year or two!

[Highlandmagar]

4 minutes ago, Shandon Par said:

Give it another year or two!

Your just as bad as him in your assumptions.

[Raithie]

8 minutes ago, Highlandmagar said:

That's one a hell of an assumption of the older generation. I am 63 and have NEVER thought like that. Rather blinkered view from you. 

To be fair he said 'some' not 'all'. 

[Melanius Mullarkey]

18 minutes ago, Highlandmagar said:

I am 63 

Wait.

What?

[Shandon Par]

18 minutes ago, Highlandmagar said:

Your just as bad as him in your assumptions.

As bad as Goodwillie? That’s harsh.

[Inanimate Carbon Rod]

The venn diagram of people who listen to James English Podcasts and share posts about furriners marking gates outside houses with chalk ‘for awareness xx’ is a perfect circle. 

Edited July 20, 2023 by Inanimate Carbon Rod

[ICTChris]

I don't think Goodwillie or Robertson ever paid the money to Denise Clair that the court ordered.  Both declared bankruptcy following the ruling.  I don't know what impact that has on your requirements to pay a civil ruling.  The rumour at the time was that he waited until 2022 to sign for Raith as he was out of bankruptcy proceedings so he could keep more money.

It's also worth saying that Goodwillie and Robertson offered Denise Clair money to drop her legal case before the civil case.

Edited July 20, 2023 by ICTChris

[diamond_for_life]

Anyone thinking about watching this don’t bother. James English is as well fucking off after the intro and leaving Goodwillie to spout his pish. He challenged nothing and just left David to it. My first and last podcast by this man no doubts. 
 

The absolute fucking Idiocy of English to say he would have Denise on to give her side and then said he would happily have her and David sit down together and chat. What an absolute tit. Why would anyone think that is a good thing for Denise to go through. 
 

As for Goodwillie to me he just seemed like a man intent on being the victim in all of this. He was actually very careful and calculated in saying Denise deserved justice and she is rite to feel how she does but never admitted wrong doing and then even dropped wee hints as to he knows why she pursued this and he couldn’t say why but then mentions things like her family, her background and her upbringing. He tried to cloud things without ever actually explaining anything. Doesn’t try to cover any of the evidence that was used in his case and as others have stated he appears to suggest he paid 100k out the sale of his house to the court but before it was awarded to Denise her lawyers fees were taken from that sum. 
 

I could say so much more on how this guy makes me feel so uneasy and he really did strike me as someone who thought they were untouchable and had no consideration of others. He seemed more irked that the rape scuppered his move and he didn’t get to play for Rangers. Words don’t do his scumbaggery justice. 

 

I didn’t read all of the evidence at the time mainly due to not having the ability to retain and understand a lot of it but the bits I did read (simplified in terms I could understand) was sickening and left no doubt to what he did. I thought the podcast would genuinely hold him to account and make him answer questions but naive on my part.
 

I wish Goodwillie all the best with his mental health and I would never want his family dealing with his suicide but I can have no sympathy for the man what so ever. He chose to stay in the public light and the abuse he receives will never be comparable to what Denise has suffered and will continue to suffer every time this man’s name is mentioned. 

[RB-Scotland]

Watching the podcast, and then reading the court papers after, you have to say that English does a poor job, he should have been quoting from key parts of that and giving Goodwillie the chance to respond. Letting him just speak unopposed, including or excluding things as he sees fit, fails to really illuminate anything and just serves to make observers not familiar with the case side with him.

 

FWIW, he and Robertson are guilty in my book, probably in part down to being too dense to realise what they were doing was wrong, and it is striking that even now, 12 years later, young people seem to be far more informed about consent in those circumstances.

[KingBeastie]

26 minutes ago, ICTChris said:

I don't think Goodwillie or Robertson ever paid the money to Denise Clair that the court ordered.  Both declared bankruptcy following the ruling.  I don't know what impact that has on your requirements to pay a civil ruling.  The rumour at the time was that he waited until 2022 to sign for Raith as he was out of bankruptcy proceedings so he could keep more money.

It's also worth saying that Goodwillie and Robertson offered Denise Clair money to drop her legal case before the civil case.

The lady is incredibly brave to waive the anonymity, turn down financial offers, know all the attention this would garner and still forge ahead and attempt to seek some meagre form of justice.
If anyone is still daft enough to think she made this up then they need to look at her actions and conduct, she's been very brave and unlike Goodwillie does not seem to want to court limelight.