Quote: BrisbaneRhino "...Those that get upset with the whole TMFMISL (or whatever) thing ought to have a read through the Bailey thread on the Leeds board. They have clearly missed the joke, and in fact their anti-Bailey hysteria is the very thing which keeps it going.
As for all this dirty/cowardly stuff, most of it gets shown up for the vapourware it is when pressed, apart from examples that every self-respecting prop in RL would have done at least as often as Bailey over a 10-year period.
Bailey's ACTUAL record is what G1 is talking about on this thread. Not factually incorrect memories of Bailey's supposed thuggery.
A classic is the Radford-Bailey incident (almost as bizarrely mis-remembered as the time the current Leeds coach apparently floored the whole Leeds pack, which the video clearly shows also never happened). I watched the video of it expecting to see Radford receieve a dreadful deliberate elbow to the mouth and pummel Bailey toe-to-toe in a manly fashion. Because that's what Hull fans said happened. In fact Bailey barely touched Radford, who responds with a rain of blows on a prone player. Radford's attack was as cowardly as they come (and also suggest he's a rubbish boxer given he also barely connected). Go check out the video now, have a look, and pretend you don't know it's Bailey involved. If it wasn't Bailey, everybody would be wondering WTF Radford was thinking.
Even worse, why was Radford applauded for that? If Bailey is hated solely because of his actions, why wasn't there a ten page thread arguing for Radford to be shot? Why wasn't there a running 20-page thread about Barrie McDermott whilst he was still playing. He was FAR dirtier than Bailey.
That's what G1 has alluded to. He's simply asked why people dislike Bailey particularly, when there are other dirty players around the league - including at Leeds.'"
I find Bailey irritating, his attitude and the manner in which he conducts himself is the reason for that. I agree that he isn't a dirty player, he's certainly an agressive player and I'd probably say the way in which he plays the game can, at times, be unsporting. Saying that, would I think this if he played for Bradford or would I simply be like the Leeds followers who laugh at the opposition fans for allowing themselves to be wound up by Bailey? Pretty certain it would be the latter.
This is clearly part of his "value" as a member of the Leeds pack as he has the ability to get under the skin of the opponents and rile them, whereby they lose their heads and not him.
I think you've played down the Bailey/Radford thing a little there though, the needlessly over-aggressive wriggling about on the floor by Bailey where he looks to at least make some contact with Radford's head with the ball carrying arm was a bit OTT, but agreed that Radford is a numpty for his reaction.