Gollum wittering on about rugby league, having a lot off about Union, discussing Sam Burgess returning to rugby league, football chairman Pete Smurthwaite, as usual more interested in discussing RL than football, Gollum asking rugby fans to call in, mention of Salford Vity's FA Cup game, mention of Scunthorpe and then, finally, a fleeting mention of City. Then back to discussion of FCs transfer targets and more sneering from Gollum about journalists being unfair to Burgess ( I suggest he reads some of the papers who have criticised his treatment) and them being snobs who don't understand league. More discussion on Scunthorpe. Now back onto Burgess again. What an excuse for a local sports programme.
Unfortunately I can't resist the temptation to tune in and see if it has improved from abysmal to merely hopeless.
I despair of these cxxxx, they should be debating why Bruce didn't get MOTM, our near full strength squad being our strongest ever and our biggest home game since relegation.
My only conclusion is that he's extremely ****ing cheap, there cannot possibly be any other reason that any broadcaster would employ him, either that or he has something major over one of his bosses.
The 'back to Burgess bit' was me Castro. Whilst I am a fan of football I also follow rugby union, and I felt quite cheesed off about the smug nonsense he was spouting, and very disappointed that Burgess had quit. Though he's right about the vast majority of serious RU journos and I read them all. Unfortunately, as usual he was doing a radio version of them, and trying out his clumsy clunky 'click bait' wireless act. Onto my point, actually a croaky voiced Brucie and Phil Brown were also on tonight and whilst I was waiting to speak I asked if anyone had called up to discuss city and the game... evidently not. Whilst I completely agree with you about him banging on about RL (though editorially speaking over the week it actually balances out), the point is, if fans rang in with a point about city they would get on. If they, or you asked about getting certain guests in from the world of football, they would be onto it. You can't blame them totally for this. I know Pete Smurthwaite well and he chairs a football club and supports Hull FC etc etc, he has no bias either way. He can talk turkey on football or rugby all night. I remember working on programmes like this years ago and it's hard to get folks to call in - unless something controversial takes place - and then avoid putting the idiots through (there is no signal delay on Humberside, as there is with TalkSport. If I was Humberside, I would take the programme off and wait and see how long people moaned that they don't cover sport. I'll tell you this, knowing the state of play with the BBC at the minute, once it has gone it won't ever come back. When I lived in Lincoln, there was NO sports programme at all on an evening. When I covered shifts as a freelance at BBC Lincolnshire, I suggested doing what Humberside did and I was told '... yup...tried it...but there's not enough passion or range of popular sports in Lincolnshire to sustain it'. Yet Lincolnshire is a predominantly and fiercely football county. Look, I am wittering on now and actually not disagreeing with you, but here's an idea: why doesn't someone from this forum put themselves up to go on there for a fans debate/discussion? You for instance?? A sort of things we think type of idea. Hogarth would certainly be up for that.
The very fact they get so few calls from the largest supported club in the region should have alarm bells ringing. There is no defence, it is just ****.
Actually what I should have said was that this sort of show is now a rarity in local radio anywhere, simply for all the reasons stated (and many times) on this forum. As I said, this is true of non rugby areas. It has outlived its usefulness as a format. So I would just bin it or do an online podcast.
Did anyone actually complain? I'm talking local & national! If no one tunes in or those that do don't do anything then what do yo expect?
Enjoyed your contribution . I emailed in to inform Gollum that 2 journalists on the Telegraph, a couple I had read in the Guardian and World Cup Winner Will Greenwood had all been highly critical of the way Burgess had been treated, especially playing him in a different position. Never get them read out by Gollum as he seems to have made the connection between my email and the person who rang in and had a go at him some time ago. Same with Matt Dean when I corrected him on something and he petulantly replied he couldn't be expected to know these things and I replied if myself and others knew these things (it wasn't City connected) than surely someone whose was employed to write about these things should have some knowledge of them. Pete Smurthwaite does a lot for my local football team but is too easily deflected by Gwillam and others to discussing FC even when it is their close season. Was disappointed with Pete S when I rang in once and complained about their coverage of the Hull schools side which had become the first one to reach the final at two different age groups. No mention in the HDM. In Bristol where the other school came from they they had a pull out before the game, organised buses to take people to Leicester to support them and had a full report with photos . Someone, I think it was James Smales, sneered that perhaps they didn't have much of importance to,write about in Bristol to fill up the paper. Pete S chuckled and agreed with him. Not much better from James Hoggarth last week.They were discussing the possibility of North Ferriby getting to the first round. Just think, said JH, little North Ferriby could be in the pot with Sheffield United, a team which only 14 or 15 years ago was playing at Wembley in a cup semi-final againstWednesday. Hello, James, did something escape your notice about the Blades recent semi-final exploits? Easy to see how it passed him by. Totally inept, amateur stuff.
I know. It also altered before to enforce for some reason. The best was when I didn't check and pubsec was posted as pubescent.
Surely this Burgess business is simply the fact that he isn't good enough to play Rugby Union, so he is going back to play Rugby League which is, to be frank piss easy compared to Union?
Not at all, he was progressing very nicely at Bath RFC in the position he should have played from the start, namely flanker. The whole England debacle playing him at centre fooked things up. I believe he would have made a great #6 and eventually #8 for England and the Lions. Well he can enjoy playing international rugby between three countries now. He should have just said **** you to the likes of Stephen Jones/Hayward and Hewitt et al (i.e. basically snivelling prep school boys masquerading as rugby journalists) Those leaches wanted him to fail, kept the pressure on with constant articles so far from the truth, it was fantasy land, and now he's headed off back to Oz, they will have a field day now. However, if anyone thinks this is great for league, well, it really isn't. It looks once again like RL's best can't cut it, and that is so far from the truth but there you go. Anyway, I'll move on - it's a footy forum!
