Hopping Mad

Going to every ground in the league and hearing somebody shout: "Programmes, get your programme."

According to Twitter, Leigh Miners Rangers are issuing a programme (£3, included with admission) for Saturday's Challenge Cup tie against fellow NCL side Milford Marlins. I can't find any other club flagging up, on Twitter, a programme for this weekend's first round games.

The Torquay Athletic RU ground is right on the seafront. It's a much nicer location than Plainmoor, where Torquay United FC set up home (to be near the town's working class residents) after quitting what became the RU ground.

Neil Kelly described players coming from local rugby union as being "match fit" when the rugby league season starts. Yes - match fit for playing the low level rugby union (Cornish Pirates excepted) that goes on in Cornwall! Will they be, in any way, match fit for third tier rugby league?

York aren't bothering with a programme for tomorrow's pre-season friendly against Midlands Hurricanes. First issue of the 2022 season - the club's first programme since 2020 - will be for the Featherstone Championship opener on January 31.

Certainly remember the gasholder. On the odd occasions Borough were on the telly, it was clearly visible. I know a bloke, a retired GP who lives up in Edinburgh, with a keen interest in gasholders!

Thirty-five years ago today (4/1/87), Blackpool Borough played their last first team game at Borough Park. By chance, I happened to be there. At the time (in the bar under the stand, after the match, certainly), there was no indication it was to be Borough's farewell to the ground. From the stand seats, I watched Borough lose 5-8 to Second Division rivals Whitehaven. Oddly, the second half was scoreless. 410 present. Anybody got any particular memories of Borough Park? Borough saw out the 1986-87 season at the Bloomfield Road football ground. The club were forced to leave purpose-built Borough Park, opened in 1963, because they could not afford £65,000 of safety work ordered by Lancashire County Council. A retail/leisure park now occupies the site.

I went to watch the football at Moor Lane a few weeks ago. There’s loads of free, street parking, a 10-minute walk from the ground, off the main road coming down from Prestwich and the M60.

Love the 'puke release' facility (right) for those who find this unpalatable.

Sadly, the Potters went belly up (for good) two or three years ago. Stadium site sold for industrial units.

If, for example, Wakefield AFC, step 11 (in their sport) tenants at Post Office Road, can produce glossy programmes (£2) for their games, attended by a couple of hundred, how come step two Featherstone Rovers, on crowds at least ten times that size, cannot? Not particularly criticising FRRLFC, whose programmes used to be very good. Simply a striking example.

Rugby union (rugby generally, I'm afraid) is an irrelevance in Liverpool. In the Liverpool area, there's only Waterloo of any stature. And, of course, they don't play in Liverpool. The handful of Wirral clubs, none of them in the upper levels, aren't Liverpool either. Liverpool Collegiate (Aigburth) and West Derby-based Sefton (where Liverpool Buccaneers ARLFC used to play) are tiny operations.

There used to be a team in both Grimsby and Scunthorpe. I guess Immingham now cover the greater Grimsby area. Certainly, you'd think there was potential for a rugby league club in Scunthorpe. Reminds of when, a decade or so ago, I sold a house in the Scunthorpe area. The first estate agent to call round was involved with Scunthorpe RUFC. He told me Halifax RLFC were interested in him during his (union) playing days. Nice bloke - but I placed my business elsewhere, with a lass who sold the house to the first viewer.

As a result of the above, several other cottage industries have sprung up, offering (with permission, of course) to create printed versions of digital programmes. Clubs (football, generally) actually charging for a digital programme generally send out a high res PDF, so it's easy enough.

Cornwall is so big on rugby union, its leading club side (second tier Cornish Pirates/Penzance & Newlyn) struggle to get 2,000 through the gate. I remember, when I worked in Exeter in the late 1990s, going to watch Redruth play Plymouth Albion. Just 400 (a suspiciously round official attendance figure) turned out to watch. Mind, the Cornish do support in good numbers the county team. Indeed, Cornwall is the only county where spectators still get remotely excited about rugby union's county championship.

Hoping rugby league will follow the football trend - and start ditching digital programmes in favour of reverting to print. Manchester City, for example, have gone back to hard copy programmes this season. Last week, tier six Maidstone United announced, after taking account of fan feedback, they are dumping digital and returning to print. A number of 'cottage industry' firms, specialising in providing printed programmes for non-league football clubs, report they are having to turn away potential customers - because they're now so busy.

York City Knights tell me they're returning to a printed programme for 2022: "We didn't do them in 2021 to minimise cash handling and contact in line with Covid-19 precautions, but we are happy to be bringing them back next season." [perhaps a mod could pin this thread, in place of the 2021 version?]

Quite a list! At Whitehaven, I neglected to mention Billy Fisher. In terms of games played and positions covered, he is arguably Haven's best signing from rugby union.

The Elland secondary school (a former grammar school) I attended (1976-83) didn't play much 'rugby' - it was mostly football. But the 'rugby' it did play was union. The 'rugby' games teacher was Brian Campsall, who played union at Morley and later became a leading referee (he was the guy who chalked off three Wigan 'tries' in the cross code game with Bath at Twickers). Campsall - to be frank, he'd be labelled a bully nowadays - hadn't got a clue about coaching. Useless. Quite a lot of lads who wanted to play 'rugby' did so, in their own time, at Elland ARLFC. I'm pleased to note my old secondary school now plays rugby league - and only rugby league.

Interesting (given the amount of amateur rugby league talent there was about) how many players Whitehaven and Workington Town signed from local - or fairly local - rugby union about that time (70s/80s). The likes of David Beck, Graham Cameron, Steve Howse, Mark Ryan, Jeff Simpson. Did Town centre John Beattie come from RU? Back in the 50s/60s, Haven had a few players (including full international Brian Shillinglaw) they picked up from Scottish Borders RU. Not sure the same applies now, to either west Cumbria club.

Given the pitiful size of Fax's crowds (down to a hard core of about 1,200 now?), I would be bothered about them. Squatters, I believe, is the term you're looking for.

A lot of (FC) Halifax Town fans used to support Fax at Thrum Hall. Maybe ask yourself why they don't any longer.

Ellgren comes up with another shocker. Although not quite as awful as the two York shirts.

Yes, I'm afraid I agree. Neither does anything for me. Hard to decide which is the least worst. Doesn't Ellgren have a reputation for 'dog's breakfast' shirt designs? If so, it's been cemented with these shirts.

It does, indeed, depend how one defines "thrives". I've watched quite a few of the Edinburgh RU teams. Biggest crowd - by a country mile - was at Heriot's, and that was less than 700. At Watsonians, the gathering barely reached 150. Didn't the Edinburgh pro team cease playing at Murrayfield because their tiny crowds - circa 5,000 - looked so embarrassing?