Ryan Bailey

[zart]

Just a thought. The signing of Ryan Bailey had a really negative impact on the Forum and just wondered if it had the same effect on the players, who must have known before the game on Sunday, and it may well explain the performance. Just hope it turns out to be a master stroke by DP.

I would hope that extra competition for a place in the first team would motivate the players!

[Bengal]

I never ever fail to understand this attitude of sports fans of kicking up because their team has signed someone from a close and much disliked rival team. Or because he has been perceived as some sort of pantomime villain. Or horror of all horrors in their minds, he has been a pantomime villain with the deadly rival team. 'Eeek, this is disgraceful someone needs to be shot for this'.

This attitude has always baffled me and to be honest I find it a bit pathetic. I remember Man Utd fans kicking up a stink over Eric Cantona's signing and the rest they say is history, and there are hundreds more similar examples. Now I am not for one minute saying RB is equivalent to Cantona, but if the man can help improve us significantly in any way, quite frankly who cares that he was a niggly aggressive forward with the Rhinos. If he proves to be a good signing I care not which team he has come from, or that he was a wind up merchant. He's been a good forward and if he can replicate that with us, good. I remember us resigning an ex favourite, a few years ago, who had served a 2 year suspension for taking drugs and I don't remember anyone moaning about that.

My concern about him is what is his present mental mindset, and physical condition is like. He only managed one game in his time at HKR and that was in a drubbing by Wakefield of all teams. That's the issue that gets my alarm bells ringing, not who he played for etc. However I am sure our conditioning, coaching and backroom staff have done their work / tests on him and are confident of his physical state and well being.

So the simple equation is only time will tell whether he will prove a good solid signing that strengthens us, or that he is somewhat washed up. If he proves the former, then I am not bothered where he came from or what he was. (unless of course it had been something really serious)

[Flat Capper]

At last, some common sense...

[tigerfeat]

I never ever fail to understand this attitude of sports fans of kicking up because their team has signed someone from a close and much disliked rival team. Or because he has been perceived as some sort of pantomime villain. Or horror of all horrors in their minds, he has been a pantomime villain with the deadly rival team. 'Eeek, this is disgraceful someone needs to be shot for this'.

This attitude has always baffled me and to be honest I find it a bit pathetic. I remember Man Utd fans kicking up a stink over Eric Cantona's signing and the rest they say is history, and there are hundreds more similar examples. Now I am not for one minute saying RB is equivalent to Cantona, but if the man can help improve us significantly in any way, quite frankly who cares that he was a niggly aggressive forward with the Rhinos. If he proves to be a good signing I care not which team he has come from, or that he was a wind up merchant. He's been a good forward and if he can replicate that with us, good. I remember us resigning an ex favourite, a few years ago, who had served a 2 year suspension for taking drugs and I don't remember anyone moaning about that.

My concern about him is what is his present mental mindset, and physical condition is like. He only managed one game in his time at HKR and that was in a drubbing by Wakefield of all teams. That's the issue that gets my alarm bells ringing, not who he played for etc. However I am sure our conditioning, coaching and backroom staff have done their work / tests on him and are confident of his physical state and well being.

So the simple equation is only time will tell whether he will prove a good solid signing that strengthens us, or that he is somewhat washed up. If he proves the former, then I am not bothered where he came from or what he was. (unless of course it had been something really serious)

what you mean like gbh?

[Bengal]

I never ever fail to understand this attitude of sports fans of kicking up because their team has signed someone from a close and much disliked rival team. Or because he has been perceived as some sort of pantomime villain. Or horror of all horrors in their minds, he has been a pantomime villain with the deadly rival team. 'Eeek, this is disgraceful someone needs to be shot for this'.

This attitude has always baffled me and to be honest I find it a bit pathetic. I remember Man Utd fans kicking up a stink over Eric Cantona's signing and the rest they say is history, and there are hundreds more similar examples. Now I am not for one minute saying RB is equivalent to Cantona, but if the man can help improve us significantly in any way, quite frankly who cares that he was a niggly aggressive forward with the Rhinos. If he proves to be a good signing I care not which team he has come from, or that he was a wind up merchant. He's been a good forward and if he can replicate that with us, good. I remember us resigning an ex favourite, a few years ago, who had served a 2 year suspension for taking drugs and I don't remember anyone moaning about that.

My concern about him is what is his present mental mindset, and physical condition is like. He only managed one game in his time at HKR and that was in a drubbing by Wakefield of all teams. That's the issue that gets my alarm bells ringing, not who he played for etc. However I am sure our conditioning, coaching and backroom staff have done their work / tests on him and are confident of his physical state and well being.

So the simple equation is only time will tell whether he will prove a good solid signing that strengthens us, or that he is somewhat washed up. If he proves the former, then I am not bothered where he came from or what he was. (unless of course it had been something really serious)

what you mean like gbh?

Well Leeds didn't find it serious enough to cancel his contract. Unlike Danny Ward who they did find serious enough to sack and whom we immediately signed afterwards. That's another issue. Also GBH covers a variety of actions, from premeditadely and calculatedly beating someone up you don't like, to blacking someones eyes in a spontaneous fight. In RB's case he was found guilty of brawling in a street, you know, something that thousands of young fit men do, every other week around the world, particularly in industrial areas. It happened about 12 years ago when he was young and it is something many RL players have got involved in, particularly in their early careers, some much more better than he.

If you were to debar all RL players for such actions, you would be debarring some of the worlds greats. Probably our greatest ever player Mal Reilly would never have played for us again after around 22 years of age, nor would another all time great Steve Norton. There was our infamous brat pack from around 25 years ago. In SL today there is Leon Pryce and Todd Carney, in fact if you were to list everyone that has been involved in such shenanigans it would be countless and read like a who's who of RL. I could think of hundreds including many of our own. You would be left with a team of goody two shoes, who would give you no problems off the field, but wouldn't win you too many on it. The fact is that many fit testesterone fuelled RL players will always find themselves in such scrapes early in their careers, (particularly if someone is trying to take a pot shot at them) and also many other indiscretions. The trick is to learn from it and don't become a repeat offender.

Ellery Hanley did a two year stretch, but clubs were queing up to sign him, and I can't recall Man Utd even considering sacking Eric Cantona after what was a blatant piece of violence. What I said was 'something really serious' and I meant things like rape, sexual offences, organised crime, etc. I don't for one minute condone by any means what he did as a youngster making his way, but in the context of things and in life it hardly constitutes as 'really serious'.

Anyhow as said his off field demeanour is definitely not the issue, it's what he's going to be able to do on it, that is the issue here and that I'm interested in. Can he still put really good shifts in, stay relatively disciplined and contribute to the teams cause. Has he still got good fitness levels or is he on his last legs. Only time will now tell.

[Adelaide Tigurrrr!]

what you mean like gbh?

Game, set and match to Bengal! :clap:

Tigerfeat, if you don't like Bailey then fair enough. But to put up a post like you did without thinking about players who have been in similar scrapes is laughable.

[tigerfeat]

i will be shouting louder than anybody when he bursts through a couple of tackles and plonks ball down under sticks thats true...

[duke street 10]

I am starting to think its a smart bit of business bringing him in after my intial shock.

Maybe a close knit club like ours will make him want to prove himself. I did see him & Mark Calderwood stood in the Railway end at a game about 12 years ago ...maybe we were his "2nd side"?

[lurcher]

thats around the time i had my pocket picked while standing in the railway end.

[Tigerade]

Disappointed he isn't playing this week - Catalans next week will be a lot tougher.

[tigerfeat]

thats around the time i had my pocket picked while standing in the railway end.

[duke street 10]

Disappointed he isn't playing this week - Catalans next week will be a lot tougher.

It would be apt that...Bailey & Catalans resident wind up merchant Elima entering the pitch at the same time after 20 mins.

[alcasfan]

Is he still injured ??

[HuddsTigers]

Is he still injured ??

Was mentioned at the Meet the Players evening last night that he's got some personal family issues.

[El Nino]

He's played his last game for the club.

[old cas lass]

He's played his last game for the club.

[WF10]

He was out in Headingley last night. Having a bit of a 'heated discussion' with a couple of shady looking characters.

[alcasfan]

He's played his last game for the club.

Thought so !!

[Juscas]

He's played his last game for the club.

I really really really hope this is true

[The Firm]

Should have never signed him in the first place. A real 'i hate to say i told you so' moment.