I noticed Rio Ferdinand seemed to enjoy the Saints v Wigan match, tweeted in praise of Tomkins and Lima and actually said he wanted to go to a Pies match to see them in action.
So that is Rooney, Giggs, Ferdinand and Roy Keane exposed as big rugby league fans!! Anyone see a pattern emerging there?
Add to that Stuart Pearce and we could be looking at quite a footballing fanbase!

I remember seeing Bobby Charlton at Naughton Park many years ago. Can't recall who he was with though (maybe Denis Law?).

Aye, saw that - as ever with people who have more money than sense though, I bet they don't have to pay to get in

nicky barmby is a bigh hull fc fan

Bruce Grobelaar, Joey Barton, Ian Wright, Jason Cundy, to name a few

Carvell looked quite handy with his feet when he kicked scott moore in the head last night

Loads of United lads used to go to CP back in the day; Giggs, Scholes, Keane, etc. I know some of them still go to the DW. Believe Rooney is a Leeds fan for some strange reason!

@rioferdy5 "@samtomkins1 ok, nice 1 + keep it up man because Wigan are my team since Edwards, Offiah + Frano Botika days!"

This is a sad reflection of how small time RL is, our supporters are actually getting excited that one of these amazing god like footballers has caught half of one of our matches on Sky Sports. Wooo.

Edited for accuracy.

Manchester United alone are vastly, massively bigger than the whole of British RL put together, probably by a factor of thousands. That quite a few of their lads (past and present) love our game and go to matches is something we should be proud of.

i wonder how many of the london based players of nal, chelsea, spurs etc have even heard of the london broncos!!

Thanks for concurring with my post.

read to me more like he was conquering your post

Like it or not, many footballers in this country have a bigger media profile than our entire sport so it doesn't do us any harm if they're seen to be talking it up.

Another to add to the list is Jason Lowe who's been a regular in the first team at Blackburn this season and an outside bet for the GB squad at the Olympics and is a lifelong Leigh fan and still attends games as much as possible when they don't clash with his footballing commitments.

What, by posting how soccer is absolutely miles ahead of RL?



We are small time, its sad, but true.

Soccer is absolutely miles ahead of every sport, on a global scale.

RL is indeed small time [iin comparison[/i, you're absolutely right. That's one of those...what do they call 'em...indisputable facts, so you gloating over those who understand that is a reflection of your shallow personality than anything else.

Rio Ferdinand can, in one Tweet, reach more people than probably watched both Sky games today.

My "shallow personality". Ha. Another internet psychologist, I'm impressed



Truth hurts, I apologise!

yes agree that soccer is way ahead of RL but that wasn't his point. he was being positive about the publicity such tweets can get (remember how many followers the likes of rooney and rio have worldwide, you know - away from the heartlands). the very fact that soccer is huge and thier players are praising our game in front of a worldwide audience is something we should be proud of, and not ridicule

Agree with your point above re the tweeting, it doesn't matter one way or the other but could possibly have some very small positives from it.

Whilst RL is small fry from the total turnover comparative to some sports I think you vastly undervalued the sport. Man Utd are a big deal worldwide, their turnover annually of £334M to year end 2011 I reckon equates to 4-5 times that of all the SL clubs, certainly not factors of thousands.

Pretty sure I remember seeing Roque Santa Cruz attending an RL game once with a few other Blackburn players. My memory could be wrong, but I remember thinking it was odd seeing a Paraguayan at an RL game, I wonder if they've even heard of our code in Paraguay, let alone play it.

Was to a Warrington game, as old conditioner used to work at Blackburn.
or something like that

I know all the Leeds footballers went to the 2005 GF. Dunno if it was a freebie or they chose to go as a group. But I think they had to go with some of their expressions and attitudes.

What verifiable benefits have the occasional visits of footballers bestowed on the game (other than bathing us in their heavenly aura and turning the DWS water into beer)?

He's also just had a massive new contract and half a weeks wages would end our struggles.

Seeing as we are editing for accuracy.

I don't think its 'so' massive just yet he's only just starting out, but give it time Jonny and you never know.