Trojan

Michael Palin was guest editor of "Today" on Monday. He's a Sheffielder and he floated the idea of a merger between United and Wednesday with some fans of both clubs. He'd have got a better reaction if he'd sworn in church. They don't want it. And neither do the fans of Fev, Cas, Wakey, Hull KR, Hull FC, Bradford, Huddersfield or Halifax. That's what I mean about rational business logic not applying in sport. The whole Rugby League breakaway doesn't make sense any more. There's no reason for Rugby League to exist any more, Union is professional and better financed, so let's have the ultimate merger, one between the codes. I'm sure that'll go down a storm on here!

Competitive professional sport is not, and never has been a market. In business you need to weaken your competitors, in professional sport you are dependent upon them as they are on you. That's why many businessmen when they come to running sports clubs fail. They see it as a business like any other and it isn't. You only have to look at the mess Ken Bates has made of Leeds U to see that. There are too many uncertainties, mishaps,and upsets in sport that do not occur in ordinary businesses. As for the market for Super League, it may be very strong in Wigan and Warrington, but in many other places in the UK they've never heard of it. Murdoch may provide the cash for Super League, but that's all he provides. Compared to the exposure he gives soccer, Union, cricket, boxing and F1 we get nothing. From the point of view of expanding the game Murdoch has been a disaster. His sports news programmes on Sky gave no coverage at all to the recent RL World Cup as far as I could see. Until recently his sycophants described the Challenge Cup as a "distraction." I don't know how it could be done, but the sooner we divorce our game from his malign influence, the better we'll get on.

They effectively did this, outbidding Cas for Michael Dobson, and thus exceeding the salary cap, Cas were relegated.

I know I was at the game and I believe Widnes scored last.

The team talk with David (?) Hulme was on RL Raw and it was Fev v Widnes

I have Oldham v Fev from Feb. 1988, at the lost lamented Watersheddings. It has something you never see today, a heel against the head. Also some superb breaks from Hugh Wadell. I used to have Fev v 'Fax from 1991, Regal Trophy. One of the best games ever on Scrumdown.

I bought a bottle of "Paddy" in Auchan in Coquelles, you don't see it very often in England. it's quite nice. I went to New York recently and planned to buy an obscure American Bourbon but it slipped my mind,

I followed a bus in Leeds today with a poster on the back that read "let's forget about the past and be United" it also had the LUFC logo on it. Presumably someone somewhere feels they need to apologise!

I was going to say should we start a "whiskey" thread as well as "whisky" I prefer Irish - I prefer Bushmills - I have a bottle of Black Bush which I drink very sparingly, and a bottle of Bushmills 10 year old single malt which I only drink on special occasions - the last time was 13-06-13 when my new grandaughter was born. I went to Cuba a few years ago and got the taste for Havana Club Siete Annos rum - but it's an absolute fortune in the UK.

Seaon'll be over by then.

You have to wonder how much the Challenge Cup has taken out of them. Fev weren't the same team last season after playing Wigan. I must admit I was shocked by the result, I thought Eagles were unstoppable.

Go to your station and ask. I wanted to travel from Leeds to Salisbury the other week. I looked on Trainline - £65 ew. Went to City Station, Leeds - £113 for the entire journey -£17 saving.

We're curry fanatics at our house and Mulaco - near Mount Pleasant is a good source of ingredients. However,I was informed on Saturday by an Asian lady on the checkout at our local Morrisons that Morrisons at Thornbury is the place to go for competitvely prices Asian food specialities.

This or this

But we were runners up to Australia, Pakistan, India, West Indies over and over again until P& R was introduced. Ok we dominated in the past but in the current era we didn't until P&R. The reason we don't win anything internationally at soccer is because the Premiership is dominated by foreigners - our clubs can win stuff but not our international team. As far as RL goes, as I have said before, in the late eigthies and early nineties we were getting there, our top players were playing in Oz and bringing back the ethos of Aussie sport to our club and international sides. We were one disputed referee's call at Old Trafford in 1990 from beating Australia in a series. But regardless of all that it cannot be right that clubs take it as read they are going to lose specific games and clearly don't try. Every game should count, if we had P&R every game would count. At the moment, especially for the lower clubs at the end of the season most games don't count. This is not only bad for the lower clubs, it's bad for the top clubs too.

Cricket introduced two divisions with automatic promotion and relegation and the England team hasn't really looked back since.

I support P&R and will support regardless of its effects on my club. Since we lost our coach there is a genuine possibilty that we won't be in the reckoning this season. I support automatic P&R (with caveats over ground etc) because I believe it's good for the game. I was in a bar in Bridlington when Hull City got promoted - it was mayhem. We've seen all the publicity Bradford City generated last weekend with their trip to Wembley. At one point it was not clear whether Huddersfield Town, Wednesday or Barnsley would be relegated - as it turned out none of them were but there was interest right up to the last kick of the season. That's what I want for our game. i want every game from day one to the last day of the season to count in all our comps. None of this targetting games, beating the local rival and then getting beaten by 80 odd points in the next game because it doesn't matter. That can't be right. The only way we'll every beat the Aussies consistently on a fairly regular basis is for our top players to experience pressure week in week out. That's why I think this time we have a chance in the World Cup, because so many of our key players - James Graham, the Burgesses, and Gareth Ellis plus Widdop, have experience of the this sort of comp. and they'll pass it on to their British based team-mates, like Hanley, Schofield, Edwards, Offiah, Kevin Ward and Lee Crooks did.

It was repeated tonight. Perhaps the Beeb read this forum?

What really bugs me is the attention paid to soccer on non- sport TV. "Pointless" - a programme I watch at tea time with my wife invariably has at least one questiion connected with "footbow" and there are always a couple who say they like "footbow" Very rarely are there any questions on other sports. Obviously "footbow" questions invariably put women contestants at a disadvantage and result in their being eliminated. As my wife says there are never any questions about knitting!

I read Paul Wilson, not one of my favourite people (see previous posts re Millenium Weekend) in yesterday's Guardian, damning RL with faint praise. Now that Wigan have won the FA Cup we'll never hear the last of "soccer taking over from RL in Wigan." Speaking as someone who worked in Wigan for 15 years, soccer has always been bigger than RL, it's just that many Wiganers support Bolton, or Blackburn, or one of the Liverpool or Manchester clubs. If Wigan Athletic's crowds are higher than the RL club's crowds, could it be that a lot of them are away supporters from Liverpool etc. Stoke is not a million miles away either.

First Thatcher dies. Then Fergie retires. Somewhere there's a Scouser with a lamp and one wish left!

I remember the horse meat butcher in Leeds - near the market. I've seen horse meat butchers in France - there's usually a brass horse's head over the door. I ordered steak hache cheval in a restaurant in Brive thinking it was horse - but it was just a burger with an egg on top! If you don't like Tesco's burgers try their meatballs, I hear they're the dogs b ollocks!

Trust a Wiganer to like "Over the Rainbow" - after all it is where you go to weigh a pie!

Melanie's version of "Ruby Tuesday" is far superior the Stones' version Kirsty's version of "Days" is better than the Kink's version too.

Uptown Top Rankin' - Althea & Donna