He was mixing and speaking with all the fans - Barrow and Fax - after the match. All seemed very amicable.

It's easy to have a go on here though isn't it. Obviously nobody had the b@lls to take anything up with him personally.

I thought the Fax fans I met were a good bunch. No mention of Des etc etc. Gave Barrow a bit of credit. In fact the comment was that they wished they had someone (anyone) with some cash.

Seems you forum posters are all getting yourselves in a little tiz over something no-one else gives a stuff about.

Well i didnt see Des flicking the finger towards the Halifax fans, noticed him applauding us Barrow fans. You lot have had it in for him since he had the cheek to say he wanted certain words ramming back down Matt Callands gob. Des doesnt hide the fact that he doesnt do losing very well and made it pretty clear last season that if Barrow didnt get promoted Dave Clark would be sacked, he wasnt and is now showing what a good coach he is with some backing. Barrow wouldnt be where they are this season without this backing, and to say he has no passion for the game shows what little you know about the man. At the end of the day certain people dont like the fact that Barrow are doing well this season because they are new to the league and are upsetting some of the more established teams at this level, well get used to it!!

A one off game doesn't make you the best team (after all we have beaten you 3 times this year so far), just the winners of a prize. The best teams win the league in any other sport. The grand final should be like it used to be, an end of season celebration of the best selection of teams at the top.

If you lost 50% of your games all year and lifted the grand final it would be laughable to call yourselves the BEST team. However Widnes could do that this year. I won't write off the hopes of any team in a knock out competition as anyone can win a one off game of knock out.

However that is how the league is setup now, so Halifax will need to play well until after the grand final and do the double, so it limits the number of teams that can apply for franchise from this league.

we are not saying you have not done well to be were you are you have done a great job to be where you are.

you are upseting some of the good sides in the league. but we are top now get used to that gone fishing with that last statement will catch some raiders shortly.

i think matt calland had a point saying we were the best in league we are at the minute i know that doesnt count for the end of the season but our record so far apart from against sheffield has been very good.

I think on paper you have the best squad in the league, more strength in depth than anyone else for sure, but your strongest 17 is nowhere near a country mile better than ours, as the 2 league games have shown this season. I get the funny feeling we will meet again this year ( hope so, been cracking games!), we are due a win against you at some point! Yesterdays game would have looked great on tele as a final, i bet you will agree with that?

it would have been a great game for sky but they decided that dewsbury and keighley would be a better game

lets hope we do meet in the final of the northern rail cup if we both get there should be another great game.

your squad is pretty good and we might not be that far ahead of you in the squad but i think that we do have th best team in the league by a fraction and only a fraction based on the game between you this season.

Just to bring this back to topic, I can confirm he did flick the bird at the South Stand crowd. It was a little bit tragic really. He just looked like some fat bloke in a bad suit, acting like a teenager with a couple of Strongbows in him.

I was among the Barrow supporters yesterday and thought it was a cracking game. You have beaten us 3 out of 3 so you must be the best (at the moment). For me this is the best Barrow side we have had since the early 80s and I've been supporting since the 50s.

Unfortunately this sport needs somebody to bank role any Club and Des Johnston may not be popular with everybody but he has brought us a good side which we have yearned for for years.

We gave Wigan an almighty scare in the CC and our gates are increasing steadily. I think if yesterdays game had been at Craven Park we would have topped 3000.

I just hope we can play you twice more in the NRC and GF. Both games will be televised and will show Sky that there is life outside SL.

his comments after the match in the players bar were good,he thanked both sets of fans for there support and said halifax are a good side and when he came off the stage i thanked him for his comments on halifax and yes i did have the balls to ask him about the matt calland affair which he replied its all good banter and good for the game of rugby league

I was speaking to Des outside the bar after the game and I actually found him a plaesent man who as a love for the game, I did not see him sticking a finger up at the fax fans. The Barrow fans where a fantastic bunch and a credit to their club and Rugby League allthough im not so sure your right about getting more than 3000 had the game been up at Barrow and what you have to remember is we have 3 Super League clubs near us so its harder for us to attract fans but we are getting there. Even bigger gate for next weeks game.

i heard him - he was more than complimentary to both sets of fans and both sets of players after the match

top bloke des

Maybe there is a rational explaination. I can only presume, not seeing the incident myself, that James Bunyan was at the game and Big Des mistook him for Pat Weisner and thought he would give him the finger.

Funny that, cos I walked out of the ground chatting to him and he was getting in his car...