Leyther_Matt

He’d have never set foot on the pitch if he played these days

Well aware the new rules dictate automatic red cards, lengthy bans and the like, but I’d be throwing haymakers as well if a player had landed on me in the same manner as Dezaria did. Similarly, if a player is on the end of a punch then it’s ridiculous that a player is expected to run to the referee to register their complaint rather than throwing one back.* I know “nobody likes to see it” (even they do really) but a scrap to blow off some steam and 10 minutes in the bin can do wonders for a referee regaining control of a game. *I’m reliably informed that this was the exact advice provided by Paul Cullen in a video call to each SL team when explaining the recent rule changes in pre season. I’m sure the irony wasn’t lost on the players who are old enough to have seen Cullen play.

Sin bin for Ellis and a red for Dezaria would have been far more appropriate for me. No doubt Cullen will be ignoring the energy price rises and warming up the electric chair as we speak.

That’s probably the shortest duration for a TV game in quite a while. There was another 10 minutes on that in the Leeds game on Thursday.

I’d suggest the popularity is very much due to the terracing and the atmosphere that comes with it.

Sounds like Saints are going to smash it out of the park tbf

I don’t think the capacity would be vastly different with a larger lower tier of terracing only rather than the current two tiers. The magic C word probably nails it here though.

Premier also show the Scottish League Cup as well as the Scottish Cup (and indeed actually sponsor the League Cup). They have exclusivity for the League Cup and get first dibs on the (there is no) Old Firm games in the Scottish Cup, with the BBC show the next best two games; one on BBC One and one on BBC Scotland which is a little more tucked away (and is exactly what Hearts deserve…) I was already a Premier Sports subscriber because of their Scottish coverage, albeit largely because of the League Cup exclusivity as Hibs were shown a few times on Premier whereas it’s always Rangers/Celtic on there in the big cup and Hibs on council telly in the last two rounds

It does seem to raise the question as to why they put a seating area in the South Stand when there generally seemed to be ample spare seats in the North and East Stands.

High tackle bingo. I’ve completely given up trying to understand when it constitutes a penalty now, never mind the conveyor belt of yellow cards.

Most entertaining game I’ve seen all season

Only online though rather than the (under-rated) credibility of appearing in the Sky/Virgin programme planner. I think there's only very limited potential in the Our League platform when people realise that it runs a good 90 seconds behind live play which makes it a nightmare if you've got mates at the game or the radio on in the background. The TV broadcast on Premier is as live as humanly possible.

Or the ability to broadcast it live to a TV audience

That's a lot of eyes. Even more so when you consider how many of those viewers will have been Widnes fans.

I think you’re barking up the wrong tree if you think Salford have had a lack of financial support from their local council.

We got the train from Newton Le Willows but spotted the sticker on a bus stop while on the number 9 bus to the ground. In our defence, Leythers are irony impaired. We did at least mix it up and have a pint in the bowling alley pre match and the mini golf area post match. Certainly a creative (and seemingly popular) use of spare space in the stadium.

Latics playing on Saturday against Sunderland so yes looks that way. Surprised Wigan didn’t ask for an away fixture that weekend. Presumably Sunday would have been awkward with Latics at home again on Tuesday.

Indeed. Garry Schofield’ son bought the rights to the name and logo. They are doing quite a few of the kits in the Championship this year.

Trains are on strike on Sunday so my mrs and I are getting the train on Saturday instead and back on Monday. I live in Leigh yet can drive quicker to Newton-le-Willows station than the other side of town (albeit I’ll be driving straight from the Bolton game).

And anyone saying otherwise should be handed an immediate lifetime ban. 12,500 announced at Wigan. Pretty reasonable in this weather, particular given how many home fans travel from further afield. Not the weather for an Ellgren shellsuit.

Clubs agreed between themselves last season that it was to be paused while crowds were restricted, and then somehow nobody restarted the conversation. It’s a similar story in the Championship, albeit our two away games so far (Featherstone and York) have - commendably - been free entry for all kids, while Bradford likewise do free entry for home games so presumably don’t have any junior season ticket holders. First dozen rows are empty looking on telly!

Same ground, yes. Makes Mount Pleasant look like it was laid with a spirit level.

They’ve not got a choice now

With the recent rule changes, I feel sorry for the next generation who will never hear the words “this game needs a scrap”.