Mick Gledhill said eight days ago on The Full 80 that in his opinion London’s season was about to kick-start. No one can pretend that he has Pontifical infallibility but Bongser thinks he may be right. For anyone who doesn’t know the series, here’s a link to that episode:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JJlRpunoJQLet’s have a look at The Vikings. Back during chillier days, Widnes sat atop the pile on February 21st after winning their first four games. In doing so they scored 149 points for a difference of +101. One point was the margin at Fax, interestingly the other three wins came against Broncos, Worky & “Ewesbury”!
Then came Round 4 of The Challenge Cup and a visit to LSV to face a Leigh team that was yet to be bolstered by Inu & Ferguson. The wheels came off at that point and Widnes lost by 34 points.
By May 15th (83 days after Feb 21), they had played and lost a further six games on the bounce conceding 242 points in the process and seeing their points difference reduced to MINUS 27!
On that day they got their only win in what will be 186 days come KO on Sunday (that was against Whitehaven on plastic). In those 186 days you have scooped all five of your points (including that great draw at Barrow) and gone agonisingly close away at York. Meanwhile Widnes have played 12 (including the cup game) won 1, lost 11, scored 166, conceded 405!! The only reason they are still up in ninth place is the frailty of Thunder & Haven.
Victor, hope you are well. Your travel frustrations are shared. Week off and was planning to take la jeunesse Mme de Bongseur to Llandudno. Alas not to be. Nor will Bongser risk trying to get to Sheffield on Friday (mainly through fear of not getting back). Bongser has a stainless driving licence somewhere in a drawer but hasn’t driven since the ‘90s as he enjoys beer too much.
Victor wrote:
....I hope we play better than we did at the start of the season. A win would be nice, but under John Kear they will probably be too good for us.
Nobody knows where they’re at in the first few games of a new season, especially after a large turnover of players. It was your first game, Leigh were well beaten in their second and haven’t looked back. In your fifth game you were beaten by only two points by a decent York team that you have since run equally close.
Who’s afraid of the “big” John Kear?
Ler’s recap his last 186 days. As coach of The Bulls he oversaw a home win (by 1) versus Batley, an end to their Challenge Cup “run” at home to Leigh, away wins at Workington & London (the latter by 2), then three home defeats (Barrow, Fax & Fev) before on April 26th he and Bradford parted ways “by mutual con…sent” packing! Since then he has had one game in charge of the Welsh Foreign Legion and that was comfortably won by France. Now he takes the rudder on a Norse longboat.
Why should London tremble? You know what you are going to see after a week of Kear coaching - five drives and a kick, five drives and a kick (repeat to fade). Bradford had/have better players than Kear’s present squad and the former’s results (and performances) have perked up since late April.
Just think Victor, if you had two wins on the bounce under your belts as you return to Plough Lane, Orangeman would be “going ape” at the marketing opportunities to a Wimbledon populace starved of live sport. Yes, yes there’s the All England Club but tennis is a game not a sport. As Alex Higgins once said to Bongser in a Manchester pub,
“Pro tennis players are athletes in their prime, just like top snooker, pool, darts & cribbage players.” Cliff Thorburn once chinned The Hurricane - there’s nowhere near enough rufty-tufty in tennis to make it a spectator sport but it’s all the BBC can afford.
Victor, Bongser & Oleta Adams agree on this, the latter two “Don’t care how you get there, just get there if you can.”
Widnes are there for the taking. TAKE THEM!
