"One reason I'm not too sad to be finishing this column is the sport just doesn’t excite me anymore. The on-field product isn’t anywhere near as entertaining as it should be."

He's right. Good luck to him.

Whilst I wish him well and agree that he was a star turn on the pitch and share some of his concerns about RL as a 'product' there is an inherent problem with being controversial.

Too much of it and you lose the impact of your messaging...."oh it's only so and so sounding off again" and this is before the subversive agents of cancel culture step in.

Fair comment but at what point do you stop speaking your mind and why is it classed as controversial. 2 guys in the pub speaking about sport are not controversial because nobody knows them.

I have never understood why a coach or an ex-player or anyone in the media can not say how they feel without it being classed as controversial. Expect someone will educate me.

Don't expect any one on the Sky / BBC set up to raise their head above the parapet. It's all "amazing" remember.

We will have to rely on falling TV viewers, TV deals, and live attendances.

Opinions are great and I don't think anyone should stop speaking their mind, but I would offer that two guys in a pub aren't controversial, not because "nobody knows them" but because they have a limited audience.

As soon as you have one (an audience) which doesn't seem that difficult in 'this day an age' with more platforms than a night at a 1970's disco, then you might want to consider what you say, a case of 'know your audience'?

Or maybe not, you'll get a critique no matter what, but sometimes if your best known for being controversial for the sake of it 'just' to stir things up, then some of the good stuff will inevitably get lost as people dismiss or ridicule the content based on reputation alone.

Again all good points. But you are Disco Stu