Put a sock in it Butler!

The latest outburst, and an astonishing one it was, came with Eddie Butler's firm view on Sunday's Scrum V programme that there will never be any hope of success while David Watkins remains at Rodney Parade.

Just what planet is Butler on? As a man of Gwent, as a former Pontypool captain who also led Wales, as someone who continues to live in the county, he ought to be one of its greatest champions.

Instead of that all he comes out with is constant criticism, if not downright bile.

He is obviously a very bitter man and he must realise he is doing nothing but harm.

His feud with Watkins is now getting out of hand and all it's doing is showing just how ignorant Butler is.

If he was really close to the scene he would realise that Watkins is, and has been for some years, a figurehead at Rodney Parade, whether it is with Newport or the Dragons.

He is arguably the most famous player ever to have played for Newport and is that rare breed, an ex-player who captained Great Britain in rugby union and league, enjoying a wonderful career in both codes.

Butler was a far more limited player, captain of Wales for sure but with nowhere near the same profile or worldwide fame as Watkins.

None of which is really the point, but it ought to be made nonetheless if only to put the warring rivals into their appropriate slots in the grand scheme of things.

It has to be Watkins by a mile with Butler trailing in his wake.

That apart, Butler does not appear to realise Watkins' role is confined basically to that figurehead position which even someone like Tony Brown respects.

But really Watkins has little or no influence on every day matters with Newport Gwent Dragons, which is the professional and therefore major team playing out of Rodney Parade - a comment in no way meant to denigrate the Newport side as it is today - just stating the facts.

Watkins is not a board member of the Dragons and as such, he has little real say on policy or players.

So for Butler to call for his removal is not even relevant and shows his inability to grasp the real facts.

And while I'm at it, why does Butler never lose an opportunity to criticise the Dragons?

If it wasn't about the money Brown poured in and having a dig at all the foreign imports, it was about the Rodney Parade base and hitting out at ignoring other grounds, now it's a personal issue with David Watkins.

Even in their pomp of last season when a team of no-hopers all but captured the Celtic League title, there was no great evidence of any support from Butler.

Why does he never have a go at the other regions? Where is the slating of Cardiff Blues and their failure to embrace the region and Pontypridd in particular?

Where is his criticism of Llanelli Scarlets after their poor season in the Celtic League?

Instead, all he does is slam the Dragons and the organisation.

If he is not able to understand why there have been so many changes of coach and chief executive at the region, if he can't praise the efforts in appointing an all-Gwent team to run the show and set up the academy then he should put a sock in his mouth before someone else does.

Better still move himself lock, stock and barrel to the Neath or Swansea area where he can really wallow in the region he so admires.

The overall picture with the Dragons is hardly encouraging either. This week it's Butler, last week it was David Moffett, all the time it's a vociferous minority of supporters continually bleating, though some of them do their cause no good when they are caught fighting at the club, as rival groups did after the Newport v Neath game. Some example to set.

But we are where we are. We'd all like things to be different, but Newport Gwent Dragons it is and that's the way it's going to be for the forseeable future. Better to accept it and get on with it.

There is no doubt the team will give a better account of themselves next season, today brings the official announcement of Paul Turner as coach and the future structure of the Dragons and the region, so the foundation for the future has been laid.

Maybe the Dragons ought to turn to Peter Law for some leadership. His politics are not mine - give me David Davies any time - but the sheer courage and bravery he showed in fighting off the big battalions to overturn a massive majority in Blaenau Gwent just weeks after having an operation to remove a brain tumour was truly awe inspiring.

Maybe he can now undertake another massive task - unite the public behind Newport Gwent Dragons.

Nevertheless, I have a strong feeling that if the Dragons become a winning team next season and if big European teams come to Rodney Parade then fans will turn out in sizeable numbers to support them. The rhetoric will prove to be hot air.