Watching your team fall apart

Chesterfield are facing relegation and a Chairman turning down bids for the club and nesh players who won't battle

Gary Caldwell says he doesn’t want to hear any negativity from fans after a 4-0 home drubbing, but for many it was difficult to find any positives on Saturday, he said he can’t accept the performance and neither can we fans and that’s fair comment. The criticism for his own team when interviewed was harsh, once we gifted Oxford the first goal the manager said that the team “Self destructed…no resilience and no character, no desire, no willingness to fight and stand up for yourself “ are fairly damning words.

The manager refused to comment on why Dan Jones was subbed in the first half, which could be taken to mean that he defender wasn’t following instructions properly.

For the first 20 minutes it looked as though Chesterfield had turned a corner and were building on the admirable point gained at Millwall, but watching the goals replayed on Saturday night must have been a horror epic for many..

If Gary doesn’t want negative comments he’d better not go on facebook where a selection of comments read “We can’t play with 3 at the back” “Shocking display;”  “I’m done for this year and no renewal of my season ticket;”  and “Is this for real?” were some of the printable ones.

https://twitter.com/brown29_/status/833043960536920067

Even more galling was that after the defeat against Bury, on loan midfielder Reece Brown went on twitter to publish a picture of his bruised head where he’d been kicked with the comment “Reasons why I don’t head the ball.” Which didn’t meet with a favourable reaction from the paying public. When will players realise that anything you publish on line just won’t get deleted, and even if it was meant to be taken with a sense of humour, it wont be?

Reaction from fans were predictable

"I've had bigger scratches on my cock"

"Good luck in your career outside football"

"Grow a pair of bollocks then"

personally I hope we never select him again for the rest of his loan period with the club

Off the field Chesterfield FC is in interesting times, many of us were flabbergasted to read a posting on Monday from a Chesterfield fan based in Stockholm who said that he was linked to a consortium who wanted to buy Chesterfield FC for a reported sum of £10 million. The poster said that the business people would have paid in £3m initially and then paid in other monies in terms of sponsorship over time which would have added up to £10m. Dave Allen was reported to have rejected the bid out of hand. The club then revealed that enquiries had taken place in January.

I'd suspect that Dave Allen would be looking for an outright deal rather than something in installments. His valuation of £15m was not met, but with the team about to go to League 2, it's less and less likely that anyone would buy the club.

This lead many fans to question why it wasn’t made public at the time, although people must temper their enthusiasm over “bids” which may or may not be as attractive as they are reported. We all remember the initial enthusiasm that greeted one Darren Brown; and no one would want a repeat of that situation. 

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Normal Service Resumed

For 80 minutes it looked as though Gary Caldwell could get his fist win as Chesterfield Manager v Bury, then it all went wrong late in the game, again.

According to most fans, that, appears to be game over. Chesterfield 7 points from safety, with a terrible goal difference having just had a disastrous series of results in a 4 match “relegation mini league” One hard won point against Gillingham but losses against Oldham, Northampton, and now Bury, leave the Spireites requiring snookers.

In all those matches there were periods where we were on top and could have got a better result , but we have to face facts and realise that the team isn’t good enough and hasn’t played consistently well for 90 minutes in any match this season. In reality we need 8 wins from 14 games to be safe and since our longest winning streak all season has been 2 league victories on the trot, most of us can’t see that happening.

It was a game of 2 halves against Bury, they didn’t produce much first half and we got the goal. But, what a second half. Dependant on your viewpoint we either sat back and invited pressure or simply weren’t good enough. The return of Ebanks-Blake raised a few eyebrows, but Ched Evans out injured, Gary Caldwell had few other options and to be fair, the out of favour striker played well and set up the goal. Kristian Dennis who scored, says the players haven’t given up hope, but looking on message boards there are few fans who think we will stay up.

We’ve had 2 managers this season and amazingly we were actually top of the league on Tuesday the 16^th August. However no league wins between 17^th September and 22^nd November really saw a dramatic fall from grace, which the club has never recovered from.

It’s amazing as a fan, how you can grasp at straws in the face of reality. Before the game on 5 Live I was listening to a football fan on 5 live, who had been to all 92 grounds and when asked where the best pies were, in his opinion he said they were at the Proact stadium. Clearly this was a good omen? When our new German keeper saved the penalty, I thought it had to be our day, surely we’d be able to kick the ball down Sheffield Road for 10 minutes and then fall over like John Sheridan’s Oldham Athletic to seal the points? As it was it ended in a way Thorsten Stuckmann would rather forget.

Away days are now a drinking session interrupted by a football match for many with more talk of which pubs to visit, rather than the hope of any victories, for many of us the only concern is that we don’t finish rock bottom below Coventry.

Relegation blues

They say the truth hurts and it’s hard to disagree with the post match summary from BBC Radio Northampton, who described Chesterfield as one of the worst teams they have played this season.

Two losses against fellow strugglers on successive Saturdays means that the number of teams we could potentially catch diminishes with every negative result.

The BBC pundits identified our goal scoring record, especially away from home, as the main source of Chesterfield’s trouble. Less than a goal a game means the chances of getting the 7 or 8 wins required to stay up are becoming faint hopes

Mathematically, of course, we could get out of the mire but unless the performances on the pitch or the tactics change, it’s hard to see who else we could beat. Gary Caldwell says we handed the points to Northampton, but it’s really little consolation to those of us who spent our disposable income to watch defenders who can’t attack the ball and defend a cross.

The Blues won some praise from the local press for trying to play the game the right way using attacking wing backs to spread out the play against Northampton, but very few dangerous balls were sent in from the flanks and much of our possession was in our own half.

Once we scored, by the simple tactic of a midfielder running straight at the home defence, Northampton got the jitters, credit to the fans, for singing ironically “We’re gonna win 4-3”

A decent following, for a team in trouble.

Conversely Oldham won again and are now out of the bottom 4 our old manager John Sheridan has got them scrapping and winning ugly.

Off the field many are actually praising the quiet-ish revolution that has taken place under Ashley Carson. The announcement that financially the club is living a hand to mouth existence, but will not go bust, isn’t one that many wanted to hear but it’s a message that had to be said. It appears that since the Development Centre shambles, Ashley Carson has fully taken over the running of the club.

It’s a fairly logical appointment, since he’s a businessman, and perhaps he’s got a little more capability in these matters than others who have had been entrusted with various aspects of the marketing and finances of the operation. 

Ashley seems quite happy to communicate with the fans, which in itself is quite revolutionary. This week the club has a said goodbye to Richard Nichols in the commercial department as the club need to change the way things are working. 

Many fans have looked at the balance sheet and expressed concern at the wages being paid to staff at the club and have pinpointed this as a cost saving area.

On lighter note a fan requested Cheese and Onion pies at the Proact and his request has been granted.

Having suffered at the hands of stadium catering selling some form of meat in pies at grounds in up and down the country perhaps the vegetarian option is the way forward

Well the Game against Oldham didn’t quite finish as well as I’d hoped, losing a relegation six pointer, 0-1, against 10 men doesn’t exactly fill the fans with the joys of spring.

Making my way to the stadium I was reminded of JB Priestley’s comment that “I have always been delighted at the prospect of a new day, a fresh try, one more start, with perhaps a bit of magic waiting somewhere”

It started looking like a new dawn, Ashley Carson on facebook hoping for a day of attacking football, 5 new players in over the transfer window and Gboly Ariyibi departing.

The fee for Ariyibi is reported to be in the region of £300,000, at the start of the season Chesterfield rejected a bid from Brentford that was slightly higher but Gboly’s form had dipped and he’d actually played himself out of a bigger move. The mercurial wide man is always a source of frustration to fans and mangers alike, if you can turn the full back inside out, why is it so difficult to deliver a decent cross?

Sadiq El Fitouri, is one of our new signings, he is the lad who appeared on the Class of 92 documentary about Salford City FC. He looked a threat every time he went forward in the first half and it looked as though we were certain to score, if only Dan Jones, back after a long term injury, hadn’t missed his kick.

Post match Jones commented that Gary Caldwell told the lads, it would be harder against 10 men and so it proved, once again, as in the Wimbledon match we could not really test the keeper, because the final ball wasn’t there against a packed defence. Caldwell says we need to take the handbrake off when attacking and the strikers have to hold the ball up more and be more aggressive.

Aggression is one thing that Oldham don’t lack, Anthony Gerrard got himself sent off for a headbutt in the tunnel going into half time, he was “at it“ with Ian Evatt for the whole of the first half. Ok they time wasted, but that’s to be expected, anyone would do that if you’re a man down for half the match.

Credit to the Oldham fans, they expected to take a beating but got behind their team for the whole second half, more than can be said for our end. One Oldham supporter wasn’t even wearing a shirt, poverty is a terrible thing, perhaps their club could have gone to Poundland and bought him a new wardrobe? Seriously though, I’m getting sick of supporters running on the pitch at the Proact and maybe it’s time to put up a small barrier to stop it happening in future? 

The 2 teams put up a good show of passing football in the first half, neither of them looked like relegation fodder on this display , however if you've spent he first half of the season being awful, you have a mountain to climb. 

Chesterfield have improved since away losses at Rochdale and Port Vale had us described as "relegation certainties" by other fans.

Oldham leapfrogged us in the table, it looks like they might have a another "Shezzurection" on their hands. we must get points from all our next 4 games, as they are against other teams in the bottom half. 

It's going to go to the wire and I don't fancy our last couple of fixtures

in the press box

Which football brand do you support?

I don’t support them…. I support a big team….

How often do you hear that?

I support Chesterfield FC, strangely enough, because that’s where I’m from, I don’t live there anymore but still follow the team.

We’ve been doing badly, the Chairman’s resigned amongst much speculation that he will take all his money with him, or perhaps it’s just a ruse to get rid of some of the directors.

Manager Danny Wilson was sacked after taking us from top to bottom of the division and then recovering a bit.

The great team that we had 2 years ago that got to the playoffs has all been sold and it’s a full on relegation battle this season.

Chesterfield is a proper football town everyone loves the game, but trying to drag people to the match is hard.

When you grow up there, a lot of the local school kids like me would go to the match. Danny Wilson was our hero in the great team we had under Arthur Cox, now Danny’s managed us and it hasn’t worked out.

I am usually asked “What team do you support” when I say “Chesterfield” I’m usually met by a cry of “They’re shit, who are they? I support (insert name of Premiership side) Anyway what division are they in?” It’s tedious but you get used to it.

Other kids “supported” Man United or Liverpool, they never went to football, or maybe once a season, if they were playing one of the Sheffield teams. In the schoolyard you pick a big team to support so you don’t look like a loser. Some kids supported Derby County, but only went if their dad took them.

I go to the pub, bump into couple of friends who are talking about who will win in the Man United v Liverpool match the next day, one of them supports either team. They’ll be watching it on telly. I ask them if they are going to the match today, they shake their heads, they’re not wasting their time, they support  big teams. 

They ask me who Chesterfield are playing I tell them it’s Coventry City, they assume it’s a cup game and ask “How come Coventry are in’t same division as Town?” after all Coventry are a big team aren’t they? Coventry are a financial basket case, that’s how.

Half time in a relegation 6 pointer at the Proact Stadium

Sky Sports is on TV, it owns football, but it now has rivals who also wish to do so, Sky Sports must up their branding to win the hearts and wallets of the consumer.

Manchester United are going to play Liverpool the next day in something called the "Nissan Super Sunday", Manchester City will also play Everton in a blue coloured version of this event. Their part of the event is not as magnificent as the red part of the soar away Nissan Super Sunday, their branding is not as dominant in Outer Mongolia or Timbuktu or Chesterfield.

The Japanese Car Event is the biggest day of large, huge epic-ness that’s ever existed. I am asked who I wish would win the event I tell my friends that I am “not bothered.”   I am met with incredulity, admitting that you are “not bothered” about this fixture is the equivalent of saying you're somehow mentally defective and spend your afternoons trainspotting whilst filling in a stamp collection.

Both friends assume I am “taking the piss” they are scared that I may secretly support their hated TV rivals, I am accused of being a “Plastic Scouser” and a “Secret United fan”.

Sky TV have Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher telling us about their epic clashes. Neville is honest enough to admit that Man United used to try to "influence the referee", especially in this fixture, his rationale is that other teams used to do it, so they also had to.

The more you told the ref he was wrong, by crowding him and screaming abuse, eventually he’d give you a decision.

He’s probably right.

It then became apparent that half of the traditional 22 man pushing event is a game of “keep the other team away from the ref so we can "influence" him ourselves.”

At least Neville is honest, I don’t find him or Jamie Carragher like-able but in a game where winning is all, that really doesn’t matter. They’ve got so much money they could purchase a personality each if they wanted to.

If you want un-likeable see our ex-manager John Sheridan, he guided us to the League two title and a Wembley win in the former Johnstone’s Paint Trophy. Recently he was managing Notts County, in a referee's report he abused officials “My kids are not going to get any F******* Christmas Presents because of you” and told the 4^th official “You’re a C***, I’m going to knock you out you C***”, he was sent to the stands and got a 5 match touchline ban.

Sheridan was subsequently sacked by Notts County who now sit second bottom of the entire league, he clearly wasn’t much good at influencing football officials.

I’d like to see John Sheridan as a panellist on SKY TV, purely so he could call Gary Neville a c*** and threaten to knock him out.

We took 54 fans away to Rochdale in the Checkatrade Trophy, it's not the most popular competition.

John Sheridan has a new job at Oldham, for the third time, Oldham are worse than Chesterfield and in even worse financial trouble. Both teams are in League One, in case you need to ask.

Gary Neville could buy either team, he and his mates bought non-league Salford City; they want to redevelop their ground much to the consternation of locals. Anything being built in Salford would be an improvement.

Gary also wants to knock down a street in Manchester and build another hotel, wisely he decided not to build a hotel in Salford.

To the match, I had almost given up in despair the last tine I saw one of Danny Wilson’s team play, we lost away at Port Vale. Port Vale is not a place, but we lost to it. The players looked hesitant and seemed unsure of the tactics, it was a relegation 6 pointer, Port Vale scored with a lucky deflection we only had one shot in the whole game.

Port Vale Away

Ex hero Danny Wilson is gone. Reserve manager and ex player Richie Humphreys is in temporary charge. His first game did not go well we lost 4-0 away at Luton in the cup for the league one and two teams, the one that John Sheridan managed us to victory in a few years back, it’s now called the EFL Checkatrade trophy. Compared to that, Nissan sounds great.

Checkatrade is a directory of trusted traders.

It’s a relegation 6 pointer.

Our team suddenly looks like it knows what it’s doing, we are playing a diamond shape formation and moving well but the final ball usually goes astray. Coventry can break quickly and create 2 good first half chances but luckily fluff their lines.

There’s not much in it and too much at stake. Our best chance is a first half shot by Ched Evans, yes him, he’s probably not a nice person but he’s our best player. Chesterfield were the team that resurrected his career.

In the second half Chesterfield up the tempo, there’s not much in the game, Coventry have a “goal” disallowed for offside, Marcus Tudgay, remember him? is flagged. After the game Cov’s desperate new manager Russell Slade says it was a legit goal. Picture a man clutching at a bag with no straws left in it.

We still can’t fashion a good chance, then Humphreys changes the tactics to 4-2-3-1,. After 75 minutes Midfielder Jay O’ Shea dribbles the ball across the Cov defence which holds a solid line, he lays it off to Dan Gardner who smashes in a 25 yarder. We have 2 more good chances late on, but can’t convert another.

Palpable relief lifts the gloom at the Proact, (yes that’s our sponsor) Stadium for the home faithful, the 1,000 or so Coventry fans drift away. They’ve seen it all before.

Outside the ground I hear 2 Cops on their radios mentioning that Coventry supporters are mounting a protest.

There’s a few away fans in anoraks behind a banner demanding their owners leave the club, I feel sorry for the fans, they have no hope.

Coventry City are owned by SiSu a London based hedge fund. Some suggest ISIS would show more pity to the team they own.

The outside of the Ricoh arena, where Cov play, proudly boasts it is the home of egg ball chasers Wasps who also rent the stadium.

Coventry City’s decline is well documented, there seems no end in sight, the ground does not belong to the club. They spent time ground sharing with Northampton Town. There have been all sorts of protests, fans have suggested a buy out but SISU don’t want to sell.

The result sends Coventry rock bottom, as I walk away form the ground 3 coach loads of Coventry fans with miserable faces go past. Rather them than me. I go back to the pub, there’s much talk of who our new manager will be.

I’m asked who will win on Sunday Man Yoo or Liva’pewl?

Easy answer; “Nissan.”

A Storm In A Cloakroom

A Storm In A Cloakroom

Comedy, it’s the last bastion of free speech isn’t it?

Well you might have thought so, if you go to stand up shows, you’ll hear all sorts of jokes and opinions from comedians from politically opinionated routines, gags about celebrities, and downright sick humour all the way to the outright childish gags and silly puns.

Should comedians be concerned about the subject of their jokes? Every gag has a target after all. Are comics defaming their subject, or can they defend themselves by saying “I was only joking”

Just this week in comedy clubs I’ve seen comics talk about their ex-partners in a derogatory way, accuse politicians of lying, accuse celebrities of doing all manner of naughty things, say that their ex school teacher was up to all sorts of inappropriate stuff, suggest that the builder who came to fix their kitchen was a cowboy… and much more.

All of the routines involved naming the person involved.

There seems to be a fine line between making a joke and defaming someone.

 

My Flyer for my show

In my case I did my Edinburgh show last year in a venue called “The Staff Room” at the Three Sisters. The venue literally was the staff cloakroom, it held roughly 20-25 people squashed in to the place, some of the staff even had their coats hung up next to where the comics performed. 

Most Edinburgh shows involve some kind of story telling and on the last night of my show I made a joke, which got a big laugh, about someone I used to work with.

A few weeks after my show was over I was surprised to get a letter from a solicitor which said that I had defamed the person I made the joke about and that I should pay £1,000 to the charity of his choice and never make the gag again, and even went on to name upcoming shows at which I should not say the joke.

Naturally I was offended that anyone could pluck a figure of £1,000 out of fresh air, expect me to pay it; and also try and stop me from saying something.

On reflection I have better jokes than the one I said, and it only works in the context of the show, so I was unlikely to say it again anyway.

I phoned up Equity, I had been a member for 20 years. My local representative would be sure to sort it out wouldn't he?. 
His advice was "Oh well you'd better pay up..." WHAT! I was seething was that it? Pay up? For what? I thought Equity was there to help me. Well stuff Equity, I got onto someone who knew what he was tlaking about

I had to seek legal advice from a nice chap who sorted it all out Barjinder Sahota, from Sahota’s solicitors in London. He wrote to the offended party and got them to back off, and suggest that its wrong for them to say whether I can make a joke or not.

Ultimately the offended person would have to pay his solicitor to get £1,000 from me regarding a joke heard by 20 people in a cloakroom-not worth the cost or the hassle.

Had this gone a step further usually solicitors suggest that it is worth following the patch of mediation where the parties agree a solution and don’t go to court. Going to court and speaking about matters in public can actually further damage someone’s reputation

So I put a few questions to Mr Sahota to see if he could help comedians out.

What is Defamation?

Defamation in a nutshell is where you overstep the mark in hurting someone's reputation without proper reasons allowed by law such as truth or where you have a duty or interest to talk about it.

What is the difference between libel and slander?

Libel is a communication in permanent form ie writing; slander is if the communication is transitory ie verbal communications (unless they are spoken on tv or radio when they become permanent and so the slander becomes a libel too).

If you tell a joke about someone and they think it is defamatory what can they do?

Well, they could 'sue the pants off you' if it happens to be defamatory and you don't have a good defence... but joking aside a joke should be kept a 'joke' and no-one, if you tell it as a joke, should take it seriously but if you are going to tread on a named person's toes by making any factual allegations about their character, then, it may be best to get it checked out by lawyer'.

What is the worst that could happen to a comedian if they tell a joke on stage, and the subject of the joke thinks it is defamatory?

If the comedian is rich then he may lose a  month's work of money (so no big deal), if he is poor, then perhaps he should retire and go on the dole... but seriously, is successful defamation could mean the tens of thousands of pounds in damages, and, if you have a house, you may lose that... so consequences can seriously damage the you wallet and your home.

What is likely to happen?

Well if you get good early legal advice then the likelihood is that if you have a good defence then you should not be too worried - but if you don't, even then providing you get good early legal advice, a lawyer can guide you through the legal minefield, and most likely you will soon be back on stage... and actually end up having the last joke.

Is it worse for the comedian if a joke is said in a small club, or a large theatre or on TV?

The size and 'target' audience is an important factor when it comes to how serious the libel is viewed, especially on the issue of size of damages... the bigger the audience the bigger the damages but if they are your immediate peers or people who are important to your career or life, then even a small audience (say 20 people) can attract damages of over £20,000.  Also if the libel is repeated by others who heard it from you then you could be held liable for the spread or repetition of the libel.  So what started off with 20 people could end up heard by thousands, for which you may be held liable if a causal link can be established.  Generally though the smaller the audience the safer you are.  If you say it on TV or in a large theatre then you can not use size in mitigation if someone sues.

So do you have any guidelines for comedians in what is a “grey area” of free speech v personal reputation

(some comedians are very political and want to make a point)

This is a very nuanced and complex question and it's difficult to generalize. However it should be safe to attack policies but not the personal integrity of the politician.  But in reality many politicians like being 'joked about' , so long as it does not go to their intergrity or honesty, as it gives them publicity... but the clever comedians are not so direct, they can their cracks in at the expense of the politicians who don't even realise it.  A subtle joke is worth ten blunt ones...  The debate of free speech and the right to personal reputation belongs in the lecture theatre not the comic hall.. .so lets keep the two apart, I say 'joke away and be damned'.  But seriously if you are going to attack a prominent politician's integrity or honesty, even as a joke, its best to get some legal advice first'

A comedy audience not being offended

If some one is in the public eye such as a celebrity or a politician, are they fair game for any comments?

See above... but I would add that they are not 'fair game' since if sued you have to prove the words were comment as opposed to any factual allegations. Also the comments have to have some basis on facts which are true.  But for the comedian the better defence would be that no one would take the matter seriously, as the whole context was a joke, and or just vulgar abuse which again no reasonable listener would take seriously.

Is a celebrity's reputation easier to mock?

Or are they more likely to sue than a member of the public?

Does  the problem really lie where you name someone?

Everybody who is anybody has a reputation to protect but those in the public eye generally have more to lose and so are more likely to sue for that reason as well as having the money to do so.   Even if you don't name the person... you can still get into a lot of trouble if it can be proved that a sufficient number of people knew who you were referring to. So anonymity of the target subject will not necessarily protect you.

Some examples

If I say on stage “I think the Daily Mail is racist” could they sue?

Most likely not... as the Mail would probably just ignore you - this would also come in the category of vulgar abuse and something that no one is likely to take too seriously, or your honest comment - though in a different setting being called a 'racist' could land you in court.

If I say “I think journalist X who writes in the Daily Mail is racist” could they sue?

Yes, this could be a risky allegation unless you could defend with some examples of how and why you believed this.

If someone says on stage “Jeremy Clarkson is racist” could he sue?

Yes he could sue but then again you would have the defence of it being only a joke or vulgar abuse.  Anyway would Clarkson sue?

If Jeremy Clarkson insults an entire nation in a TV broadcast could the entire nation of say, Mexico sue him or the BBC?

No, this would be too broad a group.   Only individuals or an identifable (ie by name) group of individuals can sue - so Clarkson can slag off a nation with impunity.

Trials

Whilst a trial is ongoing all we can hear from the press is a fair accurate and contemporaneous report of court proceedings.

If a newspaper were to print stories about the background of the trial whilst it is going on would they be in contempt of court? as a juror could read their article.

Most likely not, the paper is free to print a report of the court's proceedings - the juror on the other hand could be in trouble as they are not suppose to do research or read media reports on their case whilst it is ongoing.

But would a comedian be in contempt of court if they made a joke or gave away any background material to the trial whilst onstage in a comedy club? For example Fred Talbot the TV weatherman is now on trial, I live in Manchester, he stands accused of sexual acts with young boys in the Manchester area. There are jokes “doing the rounds” about him in Manchester at the moment, can we speak about this trial on stage?

You would be on dangerous territory to comment on ongoing trials - and could be in contempt if a Judge thought you were trying to influence the trial for or against the accused. I'd advise to wait till the trial is over.

What do you think of these jokes? they were broadcast on TV or the internet

Are they defamatory? Could they result in legal action?

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZb_POyXd1Q

Jimmy Carr

“They say there’s safety in numbers, yeah, tell that to 6 million Jews”

Bad taste maybe but not legally actionable in my view...

Frankie Boyle

(impersonating the Queen ) “I’m so old my pussy is haunted”

The BBC had many complaints about this joke, in an enquiry they found that it WAS offensive but took no further action as it was on a tv show after 10pm

Again very poor taste... and obviously offensive..but the Queen would not sue.

Frankie Boyle

on “TV shows you would never see”

“Later Vanessa Feltz will be joining me on the settee and I’ll be bouncing through the F**** ceiling

Bad taste, vulgar abuse etc... but in any event I doubt if she has any intention of suing - I think?

Frankie Boyle

on “TV Shows you would never see” “….And now over to Kate Humble who is going to kick the face off a badger”

In the bad taste, vulgar abuse defence category.

Frankie Boyle

“Things you would never hear on the radio”

“…What a hilarious singing dog…Susan Boyle is”

See above... maybe bad taste, but clearly is vulgar abuse and not to be taken seriously.

Frankie Boyle

“If I wanted to see people opening empty boxes I’d spend Christmas morning at Kerry Katona’s house

Probably could get away with it as vulgar abuse, so not to be taken seriously.

A Comedy Club

A Song about Boris Johnson

If someone sings a song called “Boris Johnson is a C-word” could Boris sue?

I doubt if Boris would sue, but this is vulgar abuse and in any event no mainstream station would allow it.

How can “Mock the week” have a “Too Hot for TV” DVD on sale? If the material is offensive then why do they sell it?

Mainstream channels have duties of taste and decency and other obligations to fulfil under the licence terms from Ofcom and other regulators - a DVD which is sold independently may be able to exclude itself from these obligations.. but I have my doubts about this being independent.  I suspect the real reason for giving it this "Too hot for TV" label is to boost its sales.    It would be subject to the same laws of the land even if outside the ambit of Ofcom and other regulators.

Peter Kay case

 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1320371/10000-damages-for-fire-officer-who-was-put-out-by-Channel-4.html

CHANNEL 4 paid £10,000 compensation to a fire safety officer who said a hapless character in Peter Kay’s comedy series was based on him. (Daily Telegraph)

 What’s your take on this case? Hasn’t the Fire Safety Officer actually further damaged his reputation by taking this case to court?

I rather not comment on this one... on my own legal advice. However I just say that anyone who sues, risks spreading the libel (albeit its done with the intention of getting vindication) far further than not taking any action at all - however some libels will spread a lot more unless you take action to stop them.

Katie Price

 http://www.theguardian.com/media/2010/dec/10/katie-price-frankie-boyle-joke

Katie Price threatened legal action against Frankie Boyle after he made a joke about her disabled son

Clearly very bad taste whatever you think about Katie Price - I don't know the outcome of the threatened action.

Comedian and Comedy Audience

Mother in Law

In America, a comedian was sued by her mother in law for telling too many jokes about her

 http://www.today.com/id/32567262/ns/today-today_news/t/no-joke-comic-sued-over-mother-in-law-gibes/#.VM1P69KsWSo

Could this happen in the UK?

This one is really funny (saw the clip)...  I'd be happy to defend any comedian feeling set on by their mother-in-law.... joke.   I say.. joke away. 

High profile comedy club advertising

SO to sum up do you have any guidelines for comedians?

Well just stay away from personal attacks - and if you have money.. get legal advice on your gags.. if you have any concerns

Many comics tend to walk a fine line along this path, have a few drinks before you go onstage and let your big mouth run away with you and things could turn nasty, perhaps best not to name the person in the “True story” told onstage. Or if you are going to name the person in the routine you’d best make sure that it is true

If you have a problem, and no one else can help, and you can find Mr Sahota, it’s not too difficult really,

…his office is on the Strand in London. http://www.libel-law.co.uk
#barjindersahota Sahota Solicitors (@LibelSolicitor).on twitter