I don't think the 'supposedly' is justified anymore. You're right that we're all different, but not to the degree that alcohol is going to be beneficial or even cost neutral for a sportsman. Bill Werbeniuk arguably being an exception that proves the rule.

The problem is that you've got a work environment made up of young men with time, certainly, and money, maybe, on their hands, in a culture where drinking is accepted and even admired by many, but they'd do their jobs better if they stayed off the booze.

Baffling to say the least.

And facebook

It is an odd one, that. I think it's part of our culture to dismiss it as 'having a few drinks' or 'relaxing after the game', when what they should be doing is ensuring that their bodies recover as quickly as possible so that they are in top shape for the next match. Does anyone think that our olympic athletes will be drinking alcohol on a regular basis, even now with the games several months away?

Closer to home, I doubt whether the likes of Kevin Sinfield will be either

didn't hull fc sack michael smith for falling out of waterfront aka sugar mill night b4 a cup game

As he received a suspended sentence earlier this year, if he is found guilty would this come into play ?

Potentially, but without knowing the facts, it's impossible to say.

I believed he played against Cas away the next day and was subbed within minutes of him going on.

I think when a player joins a new club they should be allowed a 2nd chance depending on how serious the first offence is. From what I understand this was a minor offence so see no issue with giving him one last chance.

Why has the Seymour thing been glossed over? He had finished with NZW and was not in training with us so a bit of a grey area. Had this happened once he was over here and training then he would have been treated differently.

Yeah and the fact a 'after party' was held there is pretty poor in itself.

Personally think there should a club wide curfew for all players in the town centre full stop in all honesty. It may seem extreme but its the only way to stop situations like this, of which there are a hell of a lot more which dont get reported.

Weir bar it is then

I dont know if my way of thinking is different, but you get 12-13 years if your lucky playing this game at the top level, if it were me who had managed to be lucky enough to play for Hull, then i would give alcohol up for the season, have a couple of weeks at the end where you can have it, and then tea-total again for pre-season. For a short career you need to ensure your body is capable of doing what it needs to, or you dont have a career and money coming in

Well i never knew Hull had so many god fearing tea total people out there,all those hundreds of people staggering around at the end of every Saturday night must all have the flu maybe?? so many opinions based on what???
no one knows apart from the club so how about we dont lynch the guy till the club have done their internal stuff??
The guy alledgedly got drunk , so what , if its serious hes gone, if not he will learn from it

anyone who knows anyone with a drink problem knows its a very serious condition only those close to it will understand however on this ocassion he just had a skinful i am led to belive....

I'd have hoped he would have learnt something from his experiance of being locked up for 4 months, appears not.

I thought Adam Pearson said it was nothing serious and made light of it at the "Audience With" event? It was a drink driving conviction, not being 5 days late with renewing his tax disc. In my view, we seem to over-index in alcohol-related incidents, and this is somewhat predictable given the profile of our signings. I find it very disappointing that the club I love and support continues to practically facilitate its name being tarnished by signing players with reputations like Tansey, Seymour, Gleeson, Aspinwall etc.

I was on Witham last Saturday night and it was heaving with people having a Christmas mickey up. I saw no trouble and that despite every pub being rammed to capacity, drinks flying and people getting knocked around like nine pins in the crush. Strange that some of those must have had really strong opinions on RL players going out on the town and getting wrecked. Trouble only happens when one "well" meaning "fan" decides to make an inane comment on here, facebook or twitter then the dogs of hell are unleashed.

Its Christmas and people do make silly mistakes and get wrecked, ending in them making a dicky dido of themselves. How many of us have in all honesty gone out to the Christmas works do and done something we have later regreted ?

The club will deal with and thats the end of it..........

MERRY XMAS

I can honestly say I've never been arrested for being drunk and disorderly (or anything else, for that matter). When this occurs so soon after being released from prison, it shows that the culprit has learned bugger all from his past transgressions.

Exactly. If being in prison didn't wake him up, being suspended by Hull FC is hardly likely to.

You don't get charged and bailed to Court for having a "skinfull"

I do agree about reserving judgement, though.

Then why post irrelevant twaddle about having a drink problem then?

A time when the game was different. In what way. I see a team that plays games on a rugby pitch. Players that are idolised by kids and are role models for those kids. Knocker, Crooks, etc were my heroes. I used to sit in top club or the supporters club with my parents and see these players after a game drinking and I wanted to be just like them.
They were professionals who also had ft day jobs. They played more games and to that end really shouldn't have been drinking. The two I mention were also the top of their profession being internationals. So yes its a different era but the responsibilities were exactly the same.

As for Fry well I used him as an example of how society has forgiven someone who has made a mistake in the past. He was young he went to jail / borstal whatever it was and we forgive and conveniently in some cases forget. The same can be said of many other people in society. Pop stars with drug convictions, no doubt some of your work colleagues etc. Yet because all the people who have been mentioned on this thread are rugby players some won't forgive. Why is that. I take it they are all very happy in their ivory towers.

I would also suggest that whatever your profession getting ratted and working the next day will always affect your performance. It certainly does for me, and is why I don't drink excessively on a school night.

The sad thing for sports stars in teams is that social events are all part of the team bonding. Its also part of every day life for anyone who works in a team. Martin may well need to ask himself if he should be part of that kind of bonding event. If he decides he shouldn't his mates should appreciate it and not outcast him as can sometimes be the case.

As for others claiming he wasn't the only one who was ratted. Well he was the only one who it would seem upset a copper and I would imagine got plenty of warnings to move on and take himself out of harms way. If the Sun's report is correct (I have no reason to doubt it) then I suspect he over stepped the mark once too often and the end result would be inevitable. In most cases i am sure it would end with an £80 fine and no more said about it. Due to his previous drink related offence he has to face a court.

His previous suspended sentence was spent when he went down so will not be part of any future sentence.

Any way Merry Christmas. I am off work now till the 3rd so off to get ratted.

The reference to Stephen Fry was a bit mis-judged. Comparing apples with pairs, comparing someone who went off the rails, who then got his butt in gear and shaped up. To someone who seams to have a never ending supply of problems.

As I said earlier all sides have em, and every time they do something stupid plenty is said about them. Someone said that with it being a new club then he deserves a second chance depending upon the infringement. This maybe true however the alternative view point is just as valid, that given his previous, with this being a new club you would think he would want to keep his nose cleaner than his team mates. (how many other players are suspended)?

Also given recent years where Hull FC have flattered to deceive, you could say that this event is a sign that FC supporters now wait for each year to say that things have not changed. It maybe a false sign, but given the new coach and board, everyone maybe waiting with renewed optimism, but from experience are waiting for the disappointment to hit.

It used to be a similar thing with Wire each year. Every year was going to be the year of the wolf, but every year something would pop up and dash that new year optimism. Until one year it held.

Martin has managed to inject those familiar doubts before the new year, which is some record in itself regardless of the incident.

The responsibilities weren't exactly the same, at all. The game has moved on immeasurably since the Crooks/Norton era. Players these days are (relatively) well paid, full time, professional athletes. This, in my book, brings with it the responsibility to look after yourself as well as possible. Going out and getting so drunk that you end up in the cells doesn't fall into that category.



We're not talking about someone who got into bother as a youth and has gone on to have a successful career and law-abiding private life since. We're talking about a bloke who has just been in prison, who has a history of problems at other clubs and who, only a few weeks into his new contract, has been arrested for being drunk and disorderly. Your comparison with Fry is not only irrelevant, it's also ridiculous.