Room 101: Lee Blackett – Rotherham winger

1. 50mph roadworks on  a Motorway
Travelling across the Pennines on the M62, as I do fairly frequently because my family lives in Lancashire, you get to see some sights – the house that sits slap bang in the middle of the motorway being one of them.
But the worst sight of all for me is the countless signs saying ‘50 mph speed restrictions apply’. They go on for miles and miles – about 30 at the height of the roadworks currently being done (or not done, as the case may be).
Here’s a suggestion: Why not restrict the roadworks to a smaller section, finish it and then move on.
What made it worse last season was the fact that Scott Barrow did the M62 commute every day, and boy did we hear about it! If you think I’m having a whinge and a moan about a 50 minute journey becoming 1 hour and 20 minutes you should have heard him!    At Leeds we were fed a daily diet of M62 despair.
Since agreeing to re-join Rotherham, my first professional club, I’ve swapped the M62 for the M1, which hasn’t been too bad – so far! And in a few weeks the situation should be even better because I’ll be moving down to Rotherham area to live.
TRP verdict:  You’re in. It’s definitely a Pennine in the A***
2. Lorry drivers
I drive a BMW X1 but what’s the point in having a decent motor if it rarely gets a good run out?
Without giving the impression I’m constantly on the verge of road rage or always driving around at breakneck speed, which I am not, despite what my missus might say, it does my head in when you have to break abruptly in the outside lane of a motorway or a dual carriageway because one lorry driver decides to overtake another – a manoeuvre that takes at least 10 minutes and forces you to reduce your speed in a flash from 70mph (well, that’s all I am owning up to anyway) down to 45.
Normally that is followed by grandma/Sunday driver  deciding it is her turn to go in the outside lane, resulting in more red lights being lit up than the seedier parts of Amsterdam.
TRP verdict:  Give me a break (or should that be ‘brake’) from your traffic related moans. You’re out.
3. RFU funding for the Championship
The level of funding given to Championship clubs by the RFU is ridiculous. At the moment they get little over £300,000 each per year – a joke when you compare it to the Premiership.
The divide in playing standards between the Premiership and the Championship teams will just get bigger and bigger if the financial gap doesn’t get closer.
I also believe that Championship clubs, through dual-registration and the like, are taking over from the academies in developing young, English qualified players. Yet RFU funded academies get around £250,000 per year – not much less than a full-time, adult professional squad is supposed to operate on.
The Championship needs more funding not only to make a more competitive league, but to improve the quality of play and give future international players a foundation where they can begin their professional career.
TRP verdict:  You’re in. The Championship is definitely not the poor relation in terms of spectator appeal. Its standing as a vibrant league with lots of young talent on show should be acknowledged through better funding.