Have a scroll back. It's all opinion so you make up your own mind.

Based on your signature I feel safe in saying “you wouldn’t understand”.

All indication is he's trolling but I wouldn't bite.

Probably around 1983 to 1988. We came 3rd, 11th, 4th plus Premiership champions, 3rd and 6th. In the last three seasons we had things like Wigan going through the year only losing twice - to us home and away, and we had the famous WW3 game.

After 1988 things tailed off: between 1988 and 1993 we then finished 11th, 8th (with the Lancashire Cup and making Wembley), 9th (with the Regal Trophy), 4th and 8th before the Jonathan Davies season. I started in 1989, so I missed the better times, but I know what Wires71 says about those being enjoyable days at Wilderspool. I really loved RL back then. The memories feel better than the league positions suggest.

One reason for this could be the general selective memory bias when you think back to being a kid/teenager where you remember the highlights (like the excitement of Christmas morning and getting your presents) and forget a lot of the realities (like being forced to sit through boring family Christmas events getting told off by adults) and probably a lot of the forum members who like this era were kids or teenagers at the time. There were days where there were great atmospheres in the derbies and also more cup competitions back then so more semi finals and finals. One of my favourite early memories was that Lancashire Cup semi final when we beat Widnes who had just won the WCC against Canberra. A lot of the rest of the time, Wilderspool had poor crowds with not much away support and we had an annoying tendency to lose against weaker sides at home, which persisted right through the rest of Wilderspool's life. Some people talk about the Wilderspool fortress, the zoo, I never saw that, it must have been pre-1989.

Another reason that era gets remembered more fondly than the results imply was that we had a lot of P&B legends/cult heroes around at that time who the crowd identified with. Unfortunately, we also probably carried a lot of other players who weren't that good, or certainly weren't up to the standard of the teams at the top, which is why we were in the shadow of the likes of Wigan, Widnes, Leeds and Saints. That 88/89 season I mentioned on the first page, where we finished one place above relegation, had a team including Lyon, Blake, Drummond, Woods, Boyd, Roach, Roberts and Mike Gregory, which probably tells you the rest weren't great.

There was no internet back then and so people seemed less angry, or at least were less likely to be influenced to the constant views of the grumpy crowd/negatives. I can think of some players who would have had a hard time from this forum: Rocky Turner, Chris O'Sullivan, Paul Darbyshire, Forster. There was less demanding of success and this thing of "if we finish second we are bottlers/its a failed season". I think if the forum had been around, there would have been a lot more pressure on Brian Johnson.

80-nil and the other big one about a fortnight after was pressure enough.

I meant he'd have had seasons of pressure before. Also didn't Johnson go straight after the 80-0? I think Clive Griffiths was in charge for the one that came just after.

Also can you imagine how long the thread would be on here, about Bateman's departure, given that we wanted to halve his salary or whatever?

I wonder what rumours you would have brought us if the forum had been round then, duckie? Will Carling signed, sealed and delivered but the deal fell through at the last minute.

What makes you think that was a rumour...
I for one saw a vehicle with his name on it around town (ok it was only his surname and it looked like a beer delivery van but what could have been more fitting a carriage for an RU player in those days, or indeed for quite a few RL players).

Parked along lovers lane with a pair a crystal shoes akimbo at the rear window!

There WAS a rumour that one of the RL clubs were siffing round Carling (Leeds??), but old William was made "comfortable" by the RFU, if you know what I mean

Complete codswallop I know for a fact that RU has always been above board and totally amateur.

I'm sorry for that.
A cheque for £300 has been left in your trainers

Post dated gift before this conversation had even taken place.

No problem although my usual fee is only £275 in a brown envelope of course plus all the dandelion and burdock I can carry in a green wellington

I read something Carling said about this, he did get approached by league clubs but he thought 'going north' would just mean having everyone in league smashing him to prove a point. Which is probably a fair point - he would have been seen as the ultimate representation of the RU establishment (even though he ended up annoying the RU establishment).

Also regardless of whether or not RU was paying its players, remember that back then, other than Wigan most of the RL teams were semi-pro anyway, it's not like they were paying life changing sums of money. Turning pro was more attractive for Welsh working class lads than university-educated middle Englanders, who had side careers away from rugby anyway, and for whom England RU call ups were a good way of raising their profile and giving them networking advantages for their future careers in consultancy / media etc. Imagine the events they would get invited to and the hobknobbing they could do with rich clients. Why would you give that up to play league and have Des Drummond tackle you with his head and get abuse by a load of northerners.

Roach wasn't great, he was e.