If you met a top ranked player in the street

[trains]

would you feel any interest or point in talking to him if he wasn't in a hurry ? personally i wouldn’t as the tables are too exclusive for me to take the game seriously , just interested in your thoughts , i mean other than enjoying watching the baize and the balls what is appealing about the players ?

[Danger Steve]

Given the opportunity I think most here would definitely stop and chat to a top pro! I think Dave Gilbert would be a good lad to bump into and maybe even a pint or two if he really wasn’t in a rush! Everyone has a story or two they can share, their human beings at the end of the day not snooker robots.

[trains]

Given the opportunity I think most here would definitely stop and chat to a top pro! I think Dave Gilbert would be a good lad to bump into and maybe even a pint or two if he really wasn’t in a rush! Everyone has a story or two they can share, their human beings at the end of the day not snooker robots.

i'm sure gilbert's a nice guy but i think he benefitted from practising as an amateur on pro tables that has elevated him to where he is , if i met him all i'd really want to say is congrats dave for having realistic affordable access to pro tables , kind of defeats any purpose in reality for a conversation in real life because it would sound like i might be diminishing him as a player which i wouldn't really but its just reality .

[snooker_bhoy]

I certainly would. Hendry, Steve Davis, Ronnie, Barry Hearn, the Glasgow players. Would enjoy talking to all of them. Stories, advice. Why not?

[trains]

I certainly would. Hendry, Steve Davis, Ronnie, Barry Hearn, the Glasgow players. Would enjoy talking to all of them. Stories, advice. Why not?

i met hendry once and asked him why does the pro game use a table that most people can't afford to play on , he didn't answer directly but nodded in appreciation when i said its like world snooker only wants people from a certain financial background to make it in the game , someone years ago also told me that his father was minted , so he probably knew from the get go he had a head start on most Scottish lads .

[vjmehra]

i met hendry once and asked him why does the pro game use a table that most people can't afford to play on , he didn't answer directly but nodded in appreciation when i said its like world snooker only wants people from a certain financial background to make it in the game , someone years ago also told me that his father was minted , so he probably knew from the get go he had a head start on most Scottish lads .

Surely all professional sport uses a playing area that amateurs can only dream of?

Compared to a Wimbledon groomed tennis court, Premiership football quality turf or Lords quality cricket square I'd say snooker is far more realistic for amateurs! You can just to go a club and play on Star tables!

[trains]

Surely all professional sport uses a playing area that amateurs can only dream of?

Compared to a Wimbledon groomed tennis court, Premiership football quality turf or Lords quality cricket square I'd say snooker is far more realistic for amateurs! You can just to go a club and play on Star tables!

how many clubs in south east england have star tables ? whats the population of greater london say 9 million , do the math its too exclusive and expensive , isn't this obvious , why do you see a bulk of players from the midlands area like gilbert ford selby wakelin make it ? its because its less exclusive for them in a relatively less densely populated area , quite simple .

[trains]

^^ & woollaston .

[snooker_bhoy]

Surely all professional sport uses a playing area that amateurs can only dream of?

Compared to a Wimbledon groomed tennis court, Premiership football quality turf or Lords quality cricket square I'd say snooker is far more realistic for amateurs! You can just to go a club and play on Star tables!

100%. Snooker is pretty working class compared to most sports. I would imagine polo fans would look down on snooker fans. Probably why the lack of BBC Sports Personality wins despite the commentators saying it’s a travesty that Ronnie never won.
Without naming people, there are certainly many pros who have reached the top with few opportunities apart from a club they could get occasional use of.

Having said that it probably has been getting tougher to find somewhere to play over the last few years. Maybe in 15 years it will be middle class UK vs Chinese players in pro ranks...

Can’t beat a good discussion on the class system

[snooker_bhoy]

In London it’s down to land prices. The same reason pubs have been closing. Landowners getting a rent from a snooker business can say, “screw this, if I sell to that developer, I can retire”

3 years later, 10 nice apartments and no snooker club

[trains]

100%. Snooker is pretty working class compared to most sports. I would imagine polo fans would look down on snooker fans. Probably why the lack of BBC Sports Personality wins despite the commentators saying it’s a travesty that Ronnie never won.
Without naming people, there are certainly many pros who have reached the top with few opportunities apart from a club they could get occasional use of.

Having said that it probably has been getting tougher to find somewhere to play over the last few years. Maybe in 15 years it will be middle class UK vs Chinese players in pro ranks...

Can’t beat a good discussion on the class system

lol since when did a pro snooker player appear from toxteth liverpool or moss side manchester like ever ?

[Starsky]

Most pro’s didn’t start playing out on pro tables, most would have started playing on the average club table until a certain level and then would have started playing on pro table once to either practice with better players or because they got free time/sponsored etc.

That would have definitely been true of the older generation players like O’Sullivan , Williams and Higgins and all players before that . They all grew up and practiced in normal club environments as amateurs .

What has changed is nowadays you have far more competition practice tables , lighting etc in clubs to mimic pro tournaments conditions.

The problem as an amateur trying to make it now compared to older generations is not the lack of pro tables but it’s the lack of snooker clubs . You have far less clubs and this means it’s harder for you to get sponsored /free time.

[trains]

Most pro’s didn’t start playing out on pro tables, most would have started playing on the average club table until a certain level and then would have started playing on pro table once to either practice with better players or because they got free time/sponsored etc.

That would have definitely been true of the older generation players like O’Sullivan , Williams and Higgins and all players before that . They all grew up and practiced in normal club environments as amateurs .

What has changed is nowadays you have far more competition practice tables , lighting etc in clubs to mimic pro tournaments conditions.

The problem as an amateur trying to make it now compared to older generations is not the lack of pro tables but it’s the lack of snooker clubs . You have far less clubs and this means it’s harder for you to get sponsored /free time.

the problem with these older generation players you mention o' sullivan williams and higgins is that they came into the game when the game opened up from the norbreck hotel tournament in 92 , its more than a coincidence that the term ' class of 92 ' is still around , why wouldn't it be because they had the advantage of getting a foothold into the game , i don't think they are many competition practice tables at all that are respectably similar to world snooker tables , thats why a young chinese player at the q school would be more likely to win through than an english player , where's the attraction at all really its just too exclusive .

[snooker_bhoy]

the problem with these older generation players you mention o' sullivan williams and higgins is that they came into the game when the game opened up from the norbreck hotel tournament in 92 , its more than a coincidence that the term ' class of 92 ' is still around , why wouldn't it be because they had the advantage of getting a foothold into the game , i don't think they are many competition practice tables at all that are respectably similar to world snooker tables , thats why a young chinese player at the q school would be more likely to win through than an english player , where's the attraction at all really its just too exclusive .

So what should we do? Enforce cheaper tables for professional tournaments or have government subsidies for snooker?

[Neil Taperell]

Met Tony Drago and Michael Georgiou in the street , I knew Michael and had met Tony once before . He is a great laugh .

Been lucky enough to met and talk to loads of Pro's and not met one I didn't like .........they probably didn't like me though !!!
From Memory the one's that i've talked to : Cliff Thorburn , Tony Meo , Jimmy White , Jimmy Robertson [ really nice guy ] , Alexander Ursenbacher [ another good lad ] , Liang Wenbo , Stuart Bingham [ had a very enlightening chat with him about his ban ] , David Gray , Michael Georgiou , Kurt Maflin , Marco Fu , Allan Taylor , Martin O'Donnell , Steve Davis , Mark Selby , Tony Drago , Willie Thorne ……..I think that's about it !!