Although he says he offers no opinion, the mere fact that it was selected as the front page story says that in the editor's opinion that is the most important story in Wakefield this week.

Although he is careful with his words, as he clearly knows the rules on reporting on-going cases, the use of a picture of the player in a Wakefield shirt alongside a picture of the victim and her injuries says more than a thousand words.

What opinion will be formed by people seeing that front page on the news-stand?

Damage done. A step too far with the timing and other negative stories in the past. Prepare to take the consequences.

Cancel that - in light of the above, it's revoked.

Great post, but that highlighted sentence is little short of outstanding.

I'm going to shamelessly steal that superb piece of prose for future use. I'll share the by-line with you though.

Inviting the editors down would be a good idea.

It's time to build bridges not burn them further.

The best thing would be to sack the Editor and replace the staff, the paper needs a new fresh start I say...

I vote "owiepob" as next editor...

They should get nothing from us. They bombed the bridge, why should the club waste time it can develop partnerships with other media when time and time again the Express denigrates and denigrates.

Just received a response to the email I sent to the Express:

Neil

The timing of this story flies in the face of the positive journey the club is hopefully about to embark on, but while I take on board the debate about whether the story should be on the front page, I must stress that it was the club's decision to make this signing, and prior to the conclusion of an ongoing police investigation.

Whether this was the correct decision for a family club to make is up for individuals to determine.

I would like to think that as a newspaper we do support and represent the community, and we have been positive about many of the exciting schemes in the pipeline for the city - even when it would have been easier to be critical (again people will have their own individual views)

However, it's fair to say that I have fully absorbed the strength of feeling on this specific matter.

Yours sincerely

Mark Bradley

He's so full of 5h1t his eyes have turned brown.

Just a thought: there is no way he is going to climb down and apologise - the loss of face would be too great, and the precedent set too significant, for him to have been able to do that.

His final line, and the middle of the first paragraph, is IMO de facto acknowledgement that he screwed up this time and he knows it. In code. As it would only ever be.

Bear in mind too that I suspect most of the emails etc he received will have pinned him in a corner, and not allowed him a back door for an honourable retreat. When you pin anyone or anything in a corner with no back door, there is only one way out they can come - straight at you.

I think, if it was me, I would recognise that he does have an argument regarding the story, that he's told you in code he knows it was a mistake to run with it on the front page, and that he's heard the strength of feeling loud and clear. It's likely the best you could expect to get - I think his wording is quite astute, tbh - so I'd move on.

Only my (neutral, but as outraged as you guys were) opinion, mind.


ps. Several seasons ago, Bulls signed (until the Border Agency put paid to it) Greg bird when he had been charged with glassing his girlfriend. Our local paper did not make any big deal about the pending court case (unlike yours) - it was Hetherington, from within the game, who chose to make vitriolic attack on the club over it, for reasons most of us always assumed were to do with the big issue that was between Leeds and Bradford as much as anything else.

And we signed Leo Latu and as far as I can remember, not a dicky bird!
They have chosen to wallpaper over a good week in our recent history with this crap, and then try and back track after a bit of hostility.
Send em to Coventry! There are more avenues to explore in the 24hr media world than a weekly rag such as the Wakefield Express.
Once they know that they will deal with us differently.
In no way, does what they have reported, reflect the recent happenings at Wakefield Trinity, but for about .05%.

There really needs to be a change of editorial direction, stop the express becoming a local tabloid, give the community support that is what a local rag should be about. Wakey express should promoting eveything wakefield to the people of wakefield.

and to the editor... more is said about your personal agenda in the way you present your newspaper than the words you reporters use... clearly you are chasing a career on one of the red tops.

stop it and stop it now give the people of wakefield a local paper they can be proud of!!

Should be called the Wakefield negative express they cant wait to print anything that has a go at anything good in the City.

Its turned into a terrible publication