Methven Hornet

We haven't had a system of franchising in British/European rugby league. Who knows, we might have fared better if we'd introduced such a system.

There have been times in the past where the game has tried to expand its horizons but has lost nerve when things got challenging. Scrambling to get back to the comfort zone when faced with the difficulties of making rugby league a mainstream sport is traditional.

Politicians, especially government ministers, do want to be associated with sporting success, as we saw with the Olympics last year and, recently, with the tennis. That is just part of the game they are in, and they would certainly suffer criticism if they stayed away from major events. Sports with any kind of intelligent leadership court those politicians as the relationship can be mutually beneficial. Again, just a recognition of how the world works. Rugby league, despite its traditional associations with the northern English working class, is not some social, political or moral crusade where we only deal with people we find acceptable and on our terms. The RL authorities must work with the overall good of the game in mind in every thing they do. If that means working with, and enlisting the support of, people like David Cameron, Tony Blair, et al, the so be it.

Wallie? As in Wallie Lewis Is Coming? That takes me back a bit!!! Good argument, all the same.

To sell out a sporting event in Rochdale will certainly be historic. I'm struggling to think when it was last done.

The foreword doesn't attract me, I'm afraid.

The twelve clubs to compete in the inaugural Scottish Lowland League in 2013/14 were announced today. The twelve, all from the East of Scotland and South of Scotland leagues, are:- Spartans FC, Threave Rovers FC, Preston Athletic FC, Gretna (2008) FC, Whitehill Welfare FC, Dalbeattie Star FC, East Kilbride FC, Selkirk FC, Gala Fairydean Rovers FC, Edinburgh City FC, University of Stirling FC, Vale of Leithen FC. Four more places will be available for season 2014/15, when the champions will play off against the winners of the Highland League. The winners of that earn the right to take on the bottom club of the Scottish Professional Football League. http://www.scottishfa.co.uk/scottish_fa_news.cfm?page=1961&newsCategoryID=3&newsID=12052

Fantastic news! Does anyone in the know care to explain what this means?

It is indeed brilliant stuff. I always enjoyed going to City as a Rochdale fan; used to go in the main stand with the home supporters and enjoyed the chat/banter. As a club they shouldn't be in League 2, and I'm glad they got the opportunity to overturn the disappointment of the League Cup final.

That is disappointing. I would at least have expected to see a team from each of the four home nations. Can you imagine what impact a combined PSNI/Garda Síochána na hÉireann could have made?

Regional conferences, as in north and south?

Some of us had snow yesterday!

And then the problem could be that the standard of the elite competition falls significantly, possibly affecting future TV contracts.

Have these been announced as part of the proposals?

That is quite an intriguing proposal, and could possibly go some way to solving the problem of having full-time clubs from the top 12 playing the part-time clubs from the bottom 12. You'd probably have to tweak the points carried forward in some way to make it more of a realistic handicap, but it would probably make for a more exciting competition. The only problem, again, would be that if the part-time finished in the top 4 they would still only have weeks to put a full-time squad together. And they would be more likely to finish in the 'middle play-off' the next season.

Got mixed feelings about Barnsley. After what he did for Rochdale, I'm really pleased that Dave Flitcroft is making a fight of it in his first job in charge. On the other hand, relegation might get him the sack and could lead to the dream-team partnership with Keith Hill being re-established at Rochdale. As Keith seems to have made a good start on his own anyway, on balance I'll go for Barnsley staying up and 'Flicker' getting his first bit of 'success'.

[media=] [/media]Just had an uncontrollable urge to play some New Seekers songs. I'm sure it's nothing to do with the two female singers!

TAAB2 - all afternoon.

Played that in the car yesterday for the first time in years. As good as it ever was

Snow on the hills and mountains just north of here.

Interesting idea, but why not combine it with an idea we discussed a while ago on here? Allow Super League clubs to enter their U20s but on the proviso that they play at a venue outside of their home town, eg at a neighbouring town's RU club or non-league soccer club, and give them a name reflecting that local identity. It would be a quick way of plugging some of the gaps in the heartlands, perhaps act as a focus for RL development in virgin territory and add numbers to the Championship leagues.

And there will be those who have been regulars in the past but, for whatever reason, no longer attend. They will have helped the club to be where they are today, they will retain an affection for the club, so why shouldn't they be there?

Not heartless at all. My mother died last year and my dad in 1999, at ages 78 and 76 respectively. Although obviously upsetting, I found it relatively straight forward to come to terms with their passing. They were not old in today's terms, but neither did they die 'before their time' - in sporting terms I think of them both achieving hard-fought draws! There is no such comfort in premature death and the loss of the young, whether that loss is through a road traffic accident, depression (as seems to be the case here) or some other illness. I cried uncontrollably at the death of my young nephew years ago, was deeply disturbed when my teenage son's mate died at the wheel of his car just a few weeks ago, and, similarly, can see nothing but tragedy in Terry's sad demise.

I can appreciate where you're coming from - it did make me sit up and take notice... As for the appointment I hope it helps towards turning the Lions around.

Because the game - its players, fans and followers - is bigger than club loyalties. Part of the game at professional level is calling the opposition all the names under the sun, but when basic humanity is needed RL people have in abundance.