As a non Leeds fan but regular reader of league express I've been somewhat non plussed with the nature of his columns lately, especially the Kevin Brown issue a few weeks ago. His column now seems to be criticize then point and go "see see" kicking people when they're down.


It reminds me of that episode of Alan partridge where he's being interviewed about his book Bouncing Back, which seems to mainly consist of anecdotes cruelly laughing at the misfortunes of celebrities that he doesn't like.



"Needless to say, I had the last laugh"

Yup, that kettle didn't throw itself.

I have no paticular side to take in this, I think both sides of the argument are making decent points. It's all down to opinion at the end of the day. Personally I've always liked Schoey, a lot of the stuff he says in the media goes over my head tbh.

P.S. af - Professor in charge of watching Countdown every day? Haha

Perhaps not the most reliable of witness statements to gain a conviction with then?

As it happens/happened there was an incident involving Schofield that at the time (rather than 17 years after the event) was described as the possible turning point in the match when Leeds were trailing 2 - 6.

I don't think anyone (including the player involved) thought it would have changed the ultimate result as Wigan dominated the match from that point onwards anyway as Leeds put in arguably their worst performance in months but it was a contentious decision, IIRC made by our old adversary Russell Smith.

Schofield's CV as a world class RL player is a matter of public record. I would suggest, that the only player currently playing in SuperLeague who may also achieve some comparability is Tomkins. And that will be only after he's tested himself in the NRL.

Certainly, no one in our current squad comes within a country mile of the Garry Schofield of 20 years ago.

More's the pity

here's one to brew over.

Was schofield lucky he played 20 years ago and not in the modern game? would he have been anywhere near as effective (and/or stand out) against the modern straight defensive line filled with extremely fit athletes.

I've not done all 7 pages from this thread due to the time of night and a few beers imbibed but here's my two'penneth on Schoey. Whether he's just been honest or trying to be controversial to justify his column in League Express is open to debate. I personally think he has an opinion and is honest in what he says. Where he is different and therefore more vulnerable than other pundits is in his total honesty. Every other pundit in the press or on TV talks the biggest load of dishonest bollards just to stay in a job. "What do you think to Leeds current position then ?" (Eddie Hemmings), "Well they've too many good players to be in this position for long" (Phil Clarke, Paul Cullen, John Wells, Shaun Mcrae, Stevo,etc,etc). Yeah right, 11 games to go and we'll be lucky to make the top 6. Schofield is honest and people don't like it, is that really a crime ? Dishonesty is unfortunately a human trait, most pundits are bare faced liars. None of them say what they really think in case they rock the boat and upset somebody.

Whether Schofield's opionons are determinedly ramped up for the purposes of his pundit career or not is open to debate. Whichever, to me his black or white views of the world are just not credible and should not count as reasoned or insightful analysis of any form. People can say he proved himself at the top level therefore his opinions carry weight - but I disagree. Life is full of nuance and he doesn't IMO have the intelligence to provide much insight. His "I'm right, you're wrong" view of the world proved, in the end, to be a disaster for his playing career and, no doubt, was hardly helpful when he tried to become a coach.

It may, however, be useful box office for League Express; but then that tells you all you need to know about how far that publication's standards have fallen since its progressive and thoughtful early days.

he sees himself as a straightalking oracle of the people but broadcast media want nothing to do with him because in a live environment he struggles to get his simplistic views across, let alone provide any form of justification or debate

its just another post career aspect of the game that he isn't upto, along with coaching and administrating ... which is why he comes across as he does

(of course there is room for a colour commentator in the sky line up ... they employ the biggest buffoon of the lot, but one who is capable of 3 live broadcasts per week if required)

Watching that episode now, painfully well-observed. Finchy is of course a Leeds fan, natch.

What's the latest with this ? any news ?

Saw Schoey at Cas on Sunday and he was having a laugh at Peacock's expense.

If that is the case then I agree with all the people calling Schoey a bitter person

I'm reminded of Brian McDermott's comments that some players are more interested in their mobile phones and new tattoos than improving their performance. Maybe that shouldn't have been directed at just the younger element of the squad.