Point finger of blame somewhere else for a change

Jan 24 2008 by Our Correspondent, Liverpool Daily Post

STEREOTYPES are hard to shrug off, even when they are long out-of-date.

The city of Liverpool has largely managed it, with the status as European Capital of Culture helping to reinvent the city in the eyes of the rest of the country. Even Sky Sports’ preview of the Wigan-Everton game last Sunday was based around it with a montage of the city’s sights and a narrative that could have been penned by Phil Redmond and his team.

But once the pre-recorded packages had finished, the commentators reverted to stereotype. Not about Liverpool, but about another much-lambasted institution: rugby league.

The poor condition of the JJB Stadium pitch – itself news to those who remember football existing before the Premier League – was blamed on the presence of rugby league side Wigan Warriors.

With all the rolling around in mud that the players do and the whippets running about on the pitch, it’s to be expected.

But a rugby ball was last passed or kicked in anger back in September and even when the season does get under way next month, the Warriors have only two home games scheduled before Easter. Hardly a threat to the Latics’ hopes of staying in the Premier League.

If the pitch is in a state then the blame must lie elsewhere and the only other option is the footballers.

So I look forward to Warriors coach Brian Noble pointing the finger at his round-ball counterparts if his side’s free-flowing rugby is disrupted by poor conditions underfoot.

Either that, or Steve Bruce accepting that persevering with Titus Bramble will be a constant thorn in his side.