I am happy that the club has taken massive steps in the right direction regarding the general behaviour and professionalism of players, but I do wonder if this ban is a step too far.

In an ideal world players would only drink in moderation when in public, and never leading up to a game, but because of the bad attitudes of certain players and general poor management something has had to change.

I am all for the club introducing rules regarding players behaviour, but is banning them from one particular establishment 24/7 too much?

It's also a restriction of trade on Weir Bar, not sure what recourse they have though to do anything about it?

Sounds like the club are making a stand and possibly going OTT in order to get the message across.

It’s the ‘look at me’ venue they choose to inhabit that riles me, probably more so then the drink. Maybe if they’d put as much effort into putting things right on the pitch as they did into looking good on a night out, we might have faired a little better. Enjoy themselves by all means, just not at the expense of what they’re paid good money to do.

I think it would be better if the club were to identify a time limit after each game, say 24 to 48 hrs, that it would be acceptable for players to go out and have a drink. Obviously there should be expectations of how they should behave during that time.

Any player found to be drinking outside of the allocated window or breaking the behavioural code should be disciplined accordingly. But to ban them full stop from a certain bar is a little ott imo and could it not be seen as infringing on their human rights?

Wonder if they'll be banning a certain bar in Leeds as well

I do actually think banning the whole lot of them from one particular venue is the wrong thing to do.
I've never been in the place,but it hardly comes across as a dive.As is mentioned in other posts a more sensible approach would be a no drink rule so many hours /days before a fixture.
If its true that some couldn't go to New Year there after they'd previously booked,well I can understand the players being less than chuffed.After all weren't they on a 2 to 3 week break.

The club are right to do this after last season. With anything like this it's usually a minority who spoil it for the majority. It sounds to me like this particular venue was gaining some notoriety with respect to players' antics there. I'm sure it wasn't the entire squad misbehaving on a regular basis. Hopefully some of the culprits have moved on and those that don't want to act responsibly should be next in the queue to do so.

Professional players should be able to make the right decisions about when they drink, how much they drink, and how they conduct themselves. A blanket ban on booze or even a 48 hour curfew before a match shouldn't be needed because the players should be able to make that choice themselves. Obviously we have had/still have players who are incapable of making those decisions hence the ban. As the make up of the squad evolves over the next 2 years I hope we continue to prioritise hiring players with professional attitudes. Bans like this would then become meaningless.

I would hope this is more a ban on drinking before games, during pre-season etc...
It is funny though that the Weir bar was unavailable for comment when it was a certain part owner who contacted the Mail anyway. Strange also that he's a Rovers fan!

UPMARKET MY AR$E

its in Hessle FFS

No problem with this at all, but surely a better approach would be to speak to the players and set out a "drinking policy" rather than ban them from just one place.

The reports of a drinking culture were all over this forum last season so everyone knows its an issue. The club need to be tough if the players can't take some responsibility themselves

This is definately a step in the right direction by the club, I welcome it.

Hopefully we have got rid of the drinkers and this is another step in the right direction by the club and board...if players are complaining,then they can go as well.......would be intresting to know what the rule is regards drinking before a match...when my cousin was at Leigh...it was 48 before a match.

Should be at least that here. No issue with having a drink after the match either, but the lack of professionalism from some is atrocious.