What are your thoughts him being an ex player at your club, and quiet a good player at his peak, do you think it is right him getting another chance after what he has done. Post your thoughts below. http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/18164015
Luke McCormick was a very good goalkeeper keeping at times Romain Larrieu out of the team for long periods. Putting himself in the firing line between the sticks will bring him a lot of hassle from away fans and also home fans if things go wrong for him. He doesn't need reminding what a tragedy he caused on that fateful day four years ago.......but doing a high profile job on the football pitch in front of thousands of fans will give him plenty of hassle......he will need the thick skin of a Rhino not to be continually reminded of what he did by those fans behind him. Being in the limelight will of course be a reminder to the parents of those two young boys.....that Luke McCormick is a free man and that their sons lives were cut short by one moment of madness for ever.
Most of the Argyle football chat sites have done this one previously and it's fair to say that the overwhelming concensus is that Mr McCormick should retire somewhere quietly and not set foot on a football field again. It just goes to show how morally redundant football is. I know he has to earn a living but to go back to earning thousands a week potentially is rubbing the noses of the family well and truely in it. I knew he was due for release but had no idea he was already on day release and with Swindon for a while. They kept that pretty quiet as well.
if he was an electrician would he be stopped going to work. he has served his time, you may feel the time was short but that was not his choice, under the law he served his time. dont like it complain to the government not him. I am very anti drink driving but very pro level playing fields.
cyprussyd, nobody who has commented on these chat sites has said he hasn't done his time and therefore paid his dues legally. I agree he has and the question of whether it was long enough or not is a completely different argument. The objection is him being able to earn thousands and being in the public eye. Imagine the families feelings if for example he was in a team winning a playoff final and seen running about cheering and celebrating. It just doesn't seem right to me either and he is bound to get stick by the bucket full from away supporters if not from some Swindon fans. They however might cheer and shout for him if he saved a penalty for example. The away ones won't.
Absolutely Mrs lalala. If it was my kids I would never ever ever ever forgive him whether it was a stupid mistake or not. He was a great keeper in my view, not flash off the field and had everything going for him. I think he would have made it to the top. But, he killed 2 kids by making a choice he must have known he should not have even been considering. It wasn't a malicious killing that's true and of course he never set out to kill anyone. That however counts for nothing with me. He did it nobody else and to come out of jail and jet off to Italy for a jolly pre-season is somehow obscene.
It was totally out of character sensible, you are right he never came across as flash or cocky BUT the picture I see of those boys in my head will never leave me because they were so similar in looks and age difference as my two were at that age. It could have been my boys, your boys or anyone else's for that matter. I can only imagine what the parents are still going through and probably always will. To lose just one child is a pain no parent should ever have to suffer but 2 sons and in circumstances that were totally preventable must be unbearable to live with. Are we also forgetting the horrific injuries suffered by Mr Peak? I'm all for letting Luke McCormick get on with his life, I just don't want to have to see him myself - on the football pitch or on tv.
I wonder what sort of reception he will get from Swindon fans, I doubt that it will be overall positive, I think he will have to work really hard to win them over.
Football fans are a fickle lot. All he has to do is make a couple of telling saves and get them a couple of results and they will be cheering him off the field. My brother died at the age of 13 with a brain tumor Mrs lalala and given when that was there was little in the way of treatment he could have. There were 2 of us so I was left the only child. My mother never got over it despite living another 50 years. That wasn't preventable but you are right this was.
I'm sorry to hear about that sensible. I remember a young lad aged just 17 who had attended my school died in his sleep from a brain tumour no one knew he had. His parents used to put a message in the Herald every year and were still doing it up until I left Plymouth in 1980. Going back to McCormick, when this first happened and we knew an Argyle player was involved I wondered which player it could be, not for one minute did I suspect it was him and I kinda felt sorry for him in a way although I know it was a terrible thing he did but as time has gone on I have hardened toward him, probably partly because he has served such a short time for causing such carnage, parly because I can still picture those boys in that infamous photograph shown so many times on tv and also partly because I don't want to have to see him back (almost) from where he left off.
He's served his time, everyone deserves a second chance ! Funny how nothing was said in the papers that the boys didn't have their seatbelts on ! Does that not surely shift the blame somewhat !!??!!!
If McCormick is taken on full time..........what fixtures would he first look up when the new list appears. I expect Argyle would be high on the list......and any games near to where Mr & Mrs Peak live would also be noted. I don't know how good Swindon's No 1 keeper is.......he might not get regular first team games anyway and will McCormick be the same player that he used to be....only time will tell him and us. Sensible.....I'm sorry to hear about the loss of your brother.......as an only child myself I cannot image how you and your family coped with such an awful tragedy.
What happened was an absolute tragedy for all concerned, particularly for the victims' families, for whom I'm sure the renewed publicity is painful. However, whether you like it or not, what happened was a road accident brought about by McCormick's totally irresponsible behaviour when suffering difficulties in his personal life. It was not a deliberate attempt to hurt anyone. He's done his time and now has the right to resume his career as best he can. PAFC took some stick when the tragedy occurred, even though he was not on club business and he was dismissed as soon as the facts became clear. I'm not sure what else he club was supposed to have done. Swindon & McCormick will take worse stick over this, possibly intolerable abuse. Some of the worst of this will come from the rougher end of the football supporting spectrum who probably think nothing of going out on a Friday or Saturday night and driving while drunk. I'm very glad there was apparently no thought of him coming back to Argyle even though we need a 3rd keeper. That would have been intolerable.
We probably need a second goalkeeper at present notDistant.....Ollie Chenoweth needs to go on loan again to build up his experience in less demanding circumstances. I like what I've read about the young Christian Walton (luckily no connection to the other one)......looks big and strong......one for the future,if we can hang on to him.
Swindon have already released a keeper, not sure if he was number 1 or the back up, can't remember but I think he will probably be signed with a view to being number 1.
It was a long time ago plym but never far away for my mother. I know he has done his time, I know it wasn't a murder, and yes even that the boys were not belted in but it was still McCormick's choice to get behind the wheel and if he had only had a different thought process then none of it would have happened so it is wholely and solely down to him. There is mixed reactions on a Swindon chat site to this. Half say no way should they sign him and the other half are of the opinion he has served his dues and has a right to get on with his life. The majority think he will get stick from everywhere.
A court would [I believe] reduce any damages payable if you were injured in a crash when not wearing a seatbelt. It is after all a legal requirement that all car occupants wear appropriate restraints. It doesn't absolve McCormick either way but, exactly as the courts would see it, it is a contributory factor if the children weren't restrained as they should have been.
That's just a tad cold notdistant although I know what you are saying is right. You do not absolve him I also acknowledge but sometimes things are not that cut and dried. The parents will not only have to live with the outcome of his actions but their own. The difference here is that if the accident had happened by some unforseen thing happening like a blown tyre for example then of course the seat belt issue is paramount to the outcome. He however chose to drive whilst not fit and it is solely those actions that led to the outcome. It was not an accident in that sense as he knew the law and the rules and folly of his actions but chose to ignore them all. It was a concious decision on his part to drive. I don't think that he is a bad man particularly he just did a bad thing stupidly. I note Swindon FC are getting a bit of stick over this and poor publicity. What on earth did they expect for christ sake. If he is signed on and plays then the stick is going to get a whole lot worse whether he has paid his legal dues or not.
It's not cold Sensible, I was trying to make the point without overtly having a go at the parents. The law is there for a very good reason, which is to protect car occupants whatever the reason for the crash. It's rather like cyclists and motorcyclists. A good proportion of them use the roads like idiots. Part of me says that it's up to them and if they come to harm, it was their choice and so they had it coming. On the other hand, I don't want it to be me that has to live with killing one even if it wasn't my fault. What McCormick did was very wrong, albeit that I believe he had personal problems at the time. I do think that he deserves a little sympathy for something which he didn't intend to do, for which he's served his time and which has no doubt ruined his life, just like the parents deserve great sympathy for their loss. What galls me most is that some of the football fans who give him the roughest treatment will be out drinking & driving themselves tonight.......
