At the time Taylor at least was without sponsorship and there was a debate about whether it would be better to sponsor a young homegrown player. It was therefore an active choice to sponsor Cockayne ahead of Taylor.

Sponsor who you like. But Bertie can't shout the odds that Rovers fans collectively have some holier than thou attitude towards player thuggery when you're directly bankrolling Mr CCTV.

Incorrect again.
It was pretty conclusive that Ben Cockyane would be sponsored by the Fans Forum once again.
The only time it was suggested that perhaps a junior member of the squad would be a better option was when the fund wasnt at the amount required but then once Xmas was over people came up with the cash.
Taylor, Beaumont etc were cheaper to sponsor then a seasoned pro like Ben thats all.
I suggest you and Bertie take it to PM if you must.
Ben was dealt with by the courts and if you take the stance of dragging it up then Rovers fans im sure will mention Manu and Raynor etc.
But id rather it was kept off the forum as it gets tedious.

Totally agree. Any discussion on raynor should be on the crusaders board

How strange. On the 30th September you started a thread called Forum Player Sponsorship 2010 with
"This created diverse views last season. Id be interested to hear peoples views with regards 2010 season." and invited views on whether the forum should keep sponsoring and if so whether it should be Ben Cockayne. 10 respondents said Cockayne, 8 backed a younger homegrown player and 9 didn't mind. That's hardly overwhelming. The last post on this, with many supporting the idea of a younger player, was 7th October, two and a half months before the Christmas

Anyhow.
The thread is who starts V Salford

Lets get back on track

But you started to raise the money on 5th October after the thread debating who to sponsor was ended with a scarcely "overwhelming" 10-8 majority. You could therefore suppose that sponsorship for Taylor would have drawn the same financial support.


But the debating thread you started was begun on 30th September, almost 6 months after Cockayne was sentenced on 2nd April.

Good for you.

All Super League teams deserve the same amount of respect

Depends, really - i thought Ratu was great in his 1st game, wasnt impressive at all at Fev, and had a decent game on thurs but not a stand out.

Charlie looked like he gave away to many pens on thurs (although i may be wrong)
Cooke has been flying in with superman tackles so hope he keeps this going.

So in essence you codemn all firms / individuals who sponsor any player convicted of violence.?

Depends if we are talking a handbags situation in which 2 people punch each other....OR a person gets their mate to hold some-one down so he can kick him numerous times and then go back for more, you see their are people who have disputes and it can end up in a fight or there are out right cheap shot thugs..

Who have now been dealt with under UK law and are free to get on with their lives.

You are right, however it will always cause a reaction/debate when it is raised, and I think it is silly when people defend players like Cockayne & Raynor.

You were trying to tar me with brush of some comments of some idiots wishing injuries on players (having brought it up on several occasions already), implying that collectively FC fans supported violence. Rovers fans choose collectively to sponsor Ben Cockayne. I'm not condemning it. Just pointing out the irony of you jumping up and down about some stupid comments as if it shows all FC fans in a violence-sponsoring light, when your own fans are providing direct sponsorship to Cockayne (and took the decision to do so at a point in time when players like Taylor did not have sponsors).

A collective of Rovers fans, which is slightly different, especially if you are complaining about tarring a whole group with the same brush. This is done in support of his role as a rugby player, not as an endorsement of his criminal violence anyway. Another collective sponsors Shaun Briscoe and Richard Beaumont.

Up to a point one man's biff is another man's thuggery - tends to depend whether it is his team dishing it out or taking it. Being fans makes hypocrites of us all.