Why the antagonism towards Masters? I am obviously missing the point. I find Masters to be an above average journalist and commentator. Surely the anti Masters feelings here cannot be attributed towards his comments about Manly. He is a journalist and is expected to have a view, you don’t have to agree with his comments but they hardly makes him public enemy number one.
This very internet site owes its name to Masters. He christened Manly “The Silvertails†and his battling Magpies “The Fibro’s†We loved it, as a Northern Beaches resident we knew we were superior to those battlers in the Western Suburbs that sprawled further than any self respecting Northern Beaches boy would ever dare venture. Masters just brought the worlds attention to it.
We knew of these “Fibro’s†we just called them Westies though. They spewed off the Manly Ferry every Sunday in their flannelette shirts (even in summer) and the chicks that they dragged along simply lacked the class of our Northern Beaches girls. The only time I ever ventured to these “Western Suburbs†was the occasional trip to Canberra. As we passed through suburbs like Wentworthville and Liverpool I was astounded by the poor quality of the housing and the shapeless blocks of 4 storey flats. It was only then that I truly understood the difference between living on the beaches and the ugly sprawl of this \"fibro country\"
It amazes that the supposed “intelligent†Manly Supporters site can be critical of journalist simply because of a perceived bias against Manly. In fairness there is some support of Masters in this thread, I admit that I not the sharpest tool in the shed, but the criticisms of Masters, and at times other journalists, on this and others forums for no other reason other than their article did not support Manly simply pisses me off.