I don’t think it’s fair to say they are as contemptuous as the previous two incumbents, but they risk losing good will, as argued. They can’t ride on the coat tails of saving the club forever without scrutiny.
SOD makes very good points and I hope someone from the club reads it and takes it in the good faith it is intended. Their thinking is very binary; it is either you support everything we do or you’re a problem. Reality is more complex than there being two possible viewpoints. There are those who are overly negative and seem to like being seen as right in their downbeat opinion over being proven wrong and the club or player they criticise succeeding. However, there are those who see things in a more balanced light and will be critical when needed and with evidence. They too will be seen as the enemy by Butler and the board with their mindset. When Matt Blanchard had his questions asked at an AGM last year, the board noticeably groaned and pulled faces. I thought this was telling, unprofessional and pathetic. All questions were valid and what we needed to have answered. They don’t seem to understand that answering them well will build trust and not answering would not get rid of questions, but will build more concern. This is the problem of this mindset. It makes them more likely to make mistakes through lack of self-reflection, creates more concern among fans and generates a feedback loop where they see more sceptical voices and see more enemies, escalating the problem.
