Todd Stashwick put it best on the cruise:
In a TNG ep, if some old admiral came on the Enterprise and told Picard he wanted to pull the ship off course for clearly ulterior motives, and then Riker went behind Picard's back and did what the Admiral had asked anyway, we'd all be super pissed at nameless Admiral and also at Riker. But because it's Picard vs. New Guy Shaw, the fans think Shaw is an asshole for seeing through Picard's lame lies. But honestly, he's quickly become one of my fave captains ever.