The point is he is admissable to work in France under French law. The RFL is not in a position to start interfering with that (and I've no doubt that it would get it's backside slapped if it ever tried to). There are probably other factors that make Catalans either more or less attractive than UK-based clubs - exchange rates or tax systems for example.

Just a point, but why would they attempt to sign for UK Clubs and then only sign for Catalan when it falls through?

Dodgy ground their mate and I am not going to name a great player who played for Wigan born in Leeds.poor post luv

If Catalan shouldn't be allowed to sign for Catalan because 'it isn't fair', then I fully expect all UK based clubs will terminate their commercial partnerships with alcohol and gambling companies with immediate effect.

You know, to be fair and all that.

err WHAT!?

Did you say [ipositive[/i assesment?

GH at his spin doctor best.

Reality is as it stands theres just nothing to get excited about for the 2015 season. Same coach, same players plodding along. Looking at the last 2 seasons as a whole it's become obvious the golden generation is winding down now, they've reached their zenith. With no big changes in playing or coaching staff it will be more of the same, just worse.

I'm sure both Catalans would be most displeased

Fans buy tickets after a few seasons of success - glory hunters
Fans buy tickets after getting knocked out of the play offs early - single celled organisms
Fans don't buy tickets - game on it's blah blah, no really, by plenty etc.


If you're going to make trolling the internet your life's work then at least have some consistency eh



As a single celled organism who already has his season ticket sorted for next year i'm looking forward to it with the same optimism i've had for the last 30+ years.
Win or lose, most of us go to watch and enjoy the sport that you claim to be a fan of and if there's 10,000 other like minded fans there then all the better.

Thank god for single celled organisms like you........it allows others like me to save their money until the highly likely dross regular games become history and for us to instead to watch the games on sky from the comfort of my floor (I have no armchair at the moment

)

Good for you! And when they're not on Sky at least you can still go on the internet and moan about how bad the team you haven't seen play are...

is

Are is correct.

'They' is the third person plural pronoun. The use of 'They're' in the sentence contextualises the the use of the word 'team' as the plural for a group of individual players rather than a singular entity. Therefor the use of 'are' would be consistent whereas the use of the 'is' (as the third person singular) would be inconsistent

Grammar nazis should at least make sure they are correct.
A grammar nazi should at least make sure he is correct.

Really?! Always happy to be corrected if wrong....it is how we all learn. It puzzles me why people cannot or don't want to learn when they're "correctly" corrected. Many here still use 'of' instead of 'have' ..... [iit's[/i when they mean [iits[/i ... 'compliment' when they mean 'complement' ....etc etc

Success in 2014 has been redefined as winning the Challenge Cup with Super League taking a backseat. Success in 2015 may have to be redefined as winning the Lazenby Cup.

That made me outwardly laugh

Given the regular season bilge that is routinely served up at Headingley, there would hardly be any Rhinos season ticket holders if it weren't for single celled organisms.

Whilst at the cricket today watching the newly crowned champions, I was browsing through this weeks copy of New Statesman magazine and in the small science section there was a report about a young 24 year old Chinese woman and mother who manages to get by with only half a brain - a CAT scan showed she had no cerebellum. Apart from some motor issues relating to balance and slurred speech, she still cognitively functions as an advanced multicellular human being.

Back to the cricket, when transferring from one side of the cricket ground to the other, I usually avoid having to wait until the end of an over by making my way through the North Stand on the rugby side. It was a surreal experience as one was struck by a discernible and premature end-of-season feeling.

I think that's what he's trying to do. But rather than strengthen Leeds, he's trying to weaken a rival club.

You don't have to justify yourself to internet losers. Put them on your blocked list and never quote them. Simple.

Back on topic, I see no grounds for banning Todd Carney. As far as I know he has no unspent convictions, no current playing ban.

His previous employer decided to let him go. He found a new employer. He (I assume) has a visa. His new employer is well aware of the reasons for leaving his last post. It is for them and them alone to decide whether they want to employ him.

Clean slate, fresh start. He didn't exactly harm anyone else with his latest misdemeanour, so I am not sure why he isn't entitled to move on?

Sounds thrilling, I often find myself reading magazines on a Friday night at Headingley.

Someone's got to humour him, the poor lad's so desperate for attention these days it's heartbreaking

The visa issue is an interesting one. IIRC Carney couldn't get a UK visa previously, but if he gets a visa for France he'll be allowed to come and work in the UK for a French employer.

Interesting wrinkle to the visa legislation that. If Leeds wanted to sign someone who couldn't get a UK visa, could they let him live in France, pay him through a French company and just have him come over to the UK 3-4 times a week for training and matches?

Will he be allowed to come here? He's not an EU citizen, he would still have to get an entry visa and although that's not a residential working visa his criminal convictions could still be a factor.

I work for a US company and we employ EU citizens because if we don't there can be visa issues travelling and working around Europe.

I'm sure we've had this before with an overseas player Catalan signed who couldn't get a UK visa, but was allowed to come to the UK and play here because he wasn't working for a UK employer?

Quote ="Andy Gilder"I'm sure we've had this before with an overseas player Catalan signed who couldn't get a UK visa, but was allowed to come to the UK and play here because he wasn't working for a UK employer?'" The difference between the UK clubs & Catalan is that a UK club would need to obtain a visa that allows permanent residency (most likely through the Highly Skilled Migrant Programme). This involves various background checks to filter out undesirables and, if previous experience is anything to go by, Todd Carney would be one. The French system is, by the looks of it, slightly more relaxed so Carney is able to a live and work in France. Because he is not planning on residing permanantly in the UK, Carney would only need a sports visitor visa. These are relatively easy to obtain (even amateur players and triallists can get one) primarily because a condition of the visa is that the holder must leave the UK at the end of each event(s). https://www.gov.uk/sports-visit-visa/overview As long as UKBA believe that there is no risk of Carney attempting to illegally remain in the UK (and given that he has a job in another EU country, that's unlikely), he's admissable on a sports visa.

Quote ="Andy Gilder"I'm sure we've had this before with an overseas player Catalan signed who couldn't get a UK visa, but was allowed to come to the UK and play here because he wasn't working for a UK employer?'" The difference between the UK clubs & Catalan is that a UK club would need to obtain a visa that allows permanent residency (most likely through the Highly Skilled Migrant Programme). This involves various background checks to filter out undesirables and, if previous experience is anything to go by, Todd Carney would be one. The French system is, by the looks of it, slightly more relaxed so Carney is able to a live and work in France. Because he is not planning on residing permanantly in the UK, Carney would only need a sports visitor visa. These are relatively easy to obtain (even amateur players and triallists can get one) primarily because a condition of the visa is that the holder must leave the UK at the end of each event(s). https://www.gov.uk/sports-visit-visa/overview As long as UKBA believe that there is no risk of Carney attempting to illegally remain in the UK (and given that he has a job in another EU country, that's unlikely), he's admissable on a sports visa.