Brave comments from Joe Bryan

[FulhamKC]

https://www.espn.com/soccer/fulham/story/4379421/premier-leagues-joe-bryan-opens-up-on-anxietyfear-and-football-he-wants-to-help

It's tough for anyone to say publicly that they are having mental health difficulties, especially those in the public eye. Kudos to Joe for speaking up and good luck to him!

[Craven Mad]

Brave of him to speak so openly.

Big fan of Joe. Hope he's doing okay and hope to see more of him next season.

[SP]

Watched the Joe Marler documentary on SKY around dealing with his mental health issues, well worth a watch.

[ChesterTheTabby]

Joe Bryan is a proper gentleman and a phenomenal person  - how he gets back out on the pitch soon.

[The Rational Fan]

I hope he plays one game at left wing and another in central midfield this season. He is potential a left side utility player (like Bobby Reid does on the right) which is something we need next season.

[Asotosyios]

I am not Bryan's biggest fan, but think that he has been terribly underused this year and could have helped as a LWB/LM in a few games.

[RaySmith]

Very brave to  be public about this - there's  still a lot of stigma attached to  such problems, especially in men maybe, and pro  sportsmen even more so.
Different if you're in an arty profession, musician or actor for example.

Joe definitely helps other men - and there there are so many sufferers, a lot never telling anyone, or only when it becomes impossible to hide it, and hearing someone like  Joe come out and speak about so openly his own struggles, really helps other men,  far more than any public health ads on the radio, or other interventions.

[hongkongfulham]

top guy. Genuinely funny in interviews and rated him as a footballer if we are on top of teams. Hope he gets a shout next year, wand of a left foot

[_Putney_]

Good man, Joe!

[KingofCheese]

One of my issues with football is the abuse players get from the fans, especially fans who support the team that they play for. Banter etc is fine but the constant getting on the back of players, social media abuse (and I don't touch social media as it seems to me to be an open sewer) etc is unrelenting. I went with a mate to a Chelsea away game at Watford and the bloke behind me spent the entire match shouting abuse at Willian for his performance even though it was obvious that that was what he was being asked to play like. I have said this before on here, I doubt one of us performs better at any task after someone stands abusing them about how rubbish they are - even that clown behind me at that game. So I hope that we as fans don't continue to add to players poor mental health by telling them how useless they are for 90 minutes each week.

[S.F.Sorrow]

Very brave and a great help for others. I've always liked Joe Bryan. He comes across as a very intelligent person and his interviews are always funny. I also think he is a phenomenal footballer when he's at his best.

It takes an incredibly strong person to play football at this level when suffering from anxiety and going public like this deserves a lot of respect. It's also an important lesson and an inspiration for anyone else struggling with mental health issues. The WORST thing anyone with mental health issues can do is to isolate and try to hide it.

I hope we will see a lot more of Joe Bryan in the starting 11 next season. He has been one of my favourite Fulham players over the last couple of years and his goal at Wembley will be remembered by every Fulham supporter for the rest of their lives!

Of course, this is also a reminder to us supporters that footballers are people too and we need to think about our behaviour, especially in social media.

Good luck Joe!  :54:

[fcfulham55]

I thought the media hated men, and testosterone.

[Twig]

I thought the media hated men, and testosterone.

What?

[Twig]

This is the second interview JB has given on this issue and he always comes over as dignified and thoughtful. I really like the guy and would love to see him win a starting place back next season.
In the latter part of last season I thought he began to show better defensive capabilities to add to his obvious attacking presence. Not to knock Robinson but I do feel SP has overlooked Joe to easily and too often this season.

[Bronaldinho]

Joe is actually one of the footballers I enjoy following on Social Media too.

He's not the one to post flash cars and what not.

Nights in, playing video games, reading books and even his post captions are funny and seem 'normal'. He's not touting an image of something he isn't.

He's a smart lad, and someone I actually hope that gets back in the team.

I imagine he's actually one of the more fun ones to chill with in the squad. Feet on the ground.

[rebel]

Joe Bryan can be highly influential as we know, he needs to get 'consistency' nailed down.

[Jims Dentist]

Very brave to  be public about this - there's  still a lot of stigma attached to  such problems, especially in men maybe, and pro  sportsmen even more so.
Different if you're in an arty profession, musician or actor for example.

Joe definitely helps other men - and there there are so many sufferers, a lot never telling anyone, or only when it becomes impossible to hide it, and hearing someone like  Joe come out and speak about so openly his own struggles, really helps other men,  far more than any public health ads on the radio, or other interventions.

Very well said Joe and so very true.