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Andy, I'm told by someone 'in the know' that the delegates at that club that will be given written instructions next year and they will read them just before the vote to refresh their memory!
On Ulster rugby I'm told most senior league players are now professionals and having paid a fiver to watch Ards versus Instonians a few months ago I felt it was a charity donation. The gate money certainly didn't pay the bills. At least that's one thing they have in common with cricket.

I agree with both Mr. Anonymous & Ivan McCombe on this one. Ulster club rugby has come to grief on the altar of "Club Ulster" where there is now a meaningless Senior League & an even more meaningless Senior Cup. Allied to this is an even more meaningless Town's Cup (and before anybody says otherwise I would refer them to the Ballymoney - Rainey semi-final last season where the referee blew up 15 minutes into the 2nd half when the "Toon" were 70= points up). I disagree with the statement that there are not enough Premier teams. There were 10 last season albeit of "mixed" abilities with 3 at the top and the rest were also-rans. One could ask "does success folow the money?" as in the Premier League in English soccer. The results reflect that the answer is "no". My only worry is that, as in rugby, the more junior sides will be left behind. P.S. - Mr. Ed. - as I posted earlier (and I wasn't at the AGM) I heard a wee whisper that not all "voters" followed the party line. But maybe I heard wrong!!

Ref anon..
I think there is a muddying of the waters the roadshows of which you speak where in regards to the changes in junior cricket, your post then goes on to discuss senior cricket and eight team leagues,
The changes to junior cricket if passed where passed with large majorities and comments where expressed at how well they had been communicated and presented. So i think there is a need to clarify your concerns perhaps to the hierarchy within your club and encourage them to vote accordingly at the agm role on next years ( i think we should sell tickets)

Ref the " Roadshows ". I would have thought that given the fact that over 80% of the clubs entitled to attend did so doesn't smack of Apathy to me.
Also those representing the individual clubs were in the main leading officials or team captains and healthy debate took place.
The meetings were all chaired in such a way that all views were not only heard but discussed at length.

Well said Mr. Anonymous. You have your views and you are entitled to air them, even under the cloak of anonymity. I accept why some people don't want to be named, but on a point of information we have only censored personal and offensive emails and they have been few and far between this year. The next AGM won't change anything as the delegates will go there with mandated voting instructions from their clubs so any campaign for change has to be done before you get there. Good luck because Mr. Apathy is a tough nut to crack. Personally I don't think eight team leagues will do much for the national cause so I wasn't totally bought on that argument, but I do think we are fooling ourselves if we believe we have ten teams of premier standard. As for the North-West comment give us a break! They are limping further and further behind and with only half of their clubs present at the AGM you can see Mr. Apathy has no bounds!

RE - THE TAIL SHOULDN'T WAG THE DOG

Firstly -I apologise for my Anonymity and to all those who get particularly worked up by such postings - It is a basic Human right to adopt such a stance...!

Secondly - I do hope this gets published, as censorship seems alive and well on this forum at times...!

Clarence,
I like many others respect your view, however the "sucess" of the "Roadshows" was more Due to apathy of attendance, than understanding or representitive debate.
There is no doubt a failing exists within our sport and that the "silent apathetic majority" failed to realise just what was happening - being proposed and ultimately being passed.

Anonymous or otherwise, I, like the vast majority or my 1st XI team mates am utterly bewildered by this decision.
Furthermore, we knew little or nothing of the proposals until the final hour...
Probably due to our admitted fore mentioned Apathy - Can you blame guys however, who just want to "play the Game" instead of getting embroioled in "politics".

As has been stated many, many times before - this structure is solely for the benefit of meaningless competition, the national team - and is at at the expense of the vast overall cricketing fraternity/majority.
I have no objections to the senior and national establishment tweeking till the cows come home - but why oh why did they have to meddle with the rest of us...?

Ask youselves, why did the NW bin this nonsense - not too hard to workout i'd have thought.

Clarence, I respect you trying to offer a sense of sobriety on this subject, however there is nothing sober about it.

Roll on next years AGM

any word of what league dundrum 2nds are in and the teams that are in their
league.thanks

snow is now at about 8 inches up here so I have little to do other than to listen to Flossie going stir crazy 'cos she can't get out in the motor or to contemplate on matters of great import. Perhaps I'm being pedantic but surely only one team can "win" the Ashes, viz. Australia. As England currently "hold" the Ashes they would "retain" them. Might need Timmy Browne, Jonathan Hool or Michael Foster to adjuducate on that one!!!

Great to see the Aussies "making a game of it" at present. Worried about the England series win prediction after watching their frail batting on a "flat bouncy one".
Morgan in Collingwood out? Odds?

Andy-you could do well and turn on the highlights of the cricket- just for something to do!!!
Roll on melbourne on Boxing day.
Gonna buy the papers again in the morning!!!

has anyone noticed the use of substitutes in the current Test series? I see players going off without apparent injury sustained during the game and being replaced without intervention by the umpires. How is this permitted within the Laws of the game?

Russeller, as far as i know jareth has made it on the first rung of the ladder, i think its like a probation list for the european panel.

You must be looking a few favourable lbw decisions next season lol.

Seriously though, i have to agree Jareth is one of the better umpires around, who makes decisions and is able to give you a reason why he made the decision and also communicates well with the players.

Jareth that must be a pint you owe me in vaudeville on saturday night!!!

Andy,
Maybe you are mixing up the Woodvale dinner up with the Annual Harvest Thanksgiving Service at the Shankill Road Presbyterian Church the previous month where Cecil and Michael read the Lessons, and George and yourself collected the offering?
Merry Christmas!

Congrats to all the mentioned umpires for their recent elevations. As was mentioned previously, without umpires there would be no game at all and these guys are excellent umpires.

Is Jareth McCready not moving up the ranks? I think he is an excellent umpire within the NCU, makes good decisions but also is very interactive with the players on the field, always a good trait to have as an umpire.

have to take issue with the Ed's comments in the "feature" about the Woodvale dinners. The one I attended this year was a paragon of decorum - not the "ribald" occasion that you describe. Michael McAteer gave a detailed insight into the ethos of Ulster rugby, Cecil Robinson read a few of his favourite sonnets & George Wilson ended the proceedings with a round of community hymn-singing. A most up-lifting event and I'm sure that those attending derived great moral benefit from being there!!