Why Hearn must be backed

really like Peter Ebdon, I think he's a nice guy and a fine player, but he's deluding himself. Rodney Walker may have made a profit, but at what gain for the players? Less ranking events, less prize money, less publicity, less sponsorship. And a game on it's knees quite frankly

Hearn may be asking for 51%, but he has said himself he will hand back power to the players in the unlikely event of him not pushing through with his promises.

Walker spoke about 15 ranking events, that was utter rubbish. The most the game has ever had was 9 I believe, and suddenly he was going to conveniently add 9 rankers days before the election having only managed 6 until now?

Ebdon and Murphy are two that will reject it, but crucially Hearn is being backed by the four most influential players in the game: Steve Davis, Stephen Hendry, Ronnie O'Sullivan & John Higgins.

His plans need to go through. If they don't, snooker is in serious trouble. I have to admit, Hearn himself doesn't appeal to me as a person, but his energy and drive is infectious. Not to mention, he has never failed with any of his previous involvement with other games. You look at Darts: 10 years ago the game was in a similar spot to our own. However, it's now become a vibrant game with a MASSIVE following, and was the sporting revival of the noughties.

Having looked at Hearn's plans, I'm reasonably happy and optimistic. Yes, we have some shorter events, and I'm no fan of best-of-5's and the like. I prefer good marathon snooker. But not everyone is as patient as we are. Positively, the three majors haven't been touched, so he respects the purist. The tour he has outlined isn't perfect, but it's a fine start, and a great stepping stone. For the first time since I started following this wonderful game, I feel a genuine buzz and an upturn in fortunes. I've always loved the sport, but it's decline has worried me in recent years.

Better times lie ahead. I appreciate not everyone is a fan of Hearn, but he's the man in charge, and needs to be backed now. All I've seen is decline over the last ten years, but we have reached a turning point. If Hearn isn't going to be supported, I'll continue to watch this game, but will worry for it's future. In fact, I don't think it will have one unless he is supported.

I know myself, I'm a 17-year-old, and all my classmates like snooker. They may only have a passing interest, like with most games, but I don't know one who actively dislikes it. The market is there. Hearn knows the game is not suited for lager-lout fans, he ain't thick. But he can get a good young fanbase (without this, there's no future), while holding on to the purists, and we will have some exciting times to look forward to. And a long, healthy future.

thetubberlad wrote:
but his energy and drive is infectious. Not to mention, he has never failed with any of his previous involvement with other games. You look at Darts: 10 years ago the game was in a similar spot to our own. However, it's now become a vibrant game with a MASSIVE following, and was the sporting revival of the noughties.

in very much agreement, hearn is the man

Remember this: Ebdon and Murphy can be viewed as one and the same. Both with visions of being at the top of the WSA tree.

I'm thinking back with fondness to my "Ebdon Disgrace" article on 606........ heady days indeed.

I think it racked up 100+ 1 star comments, no mean feat.