I have criticized him in the past. And I am very happy you have made me eat my words and make me look like a fool. You have led us to victory against all the odds. We looked dead and buried with 20 minutes to go. But you picked the right players to do the job tonight. You have worked on our problem areas-although there is still some more work to be done. I apologize to you. Well done and accept the praise you and your team will get and ignore the fools like me

bringing holroyd back, what a masterstroke!

Holroyd surely could do another year?

Well .... to say I feel extremely smug and exceptionally happy must be an understatement

This website used to be an excellent place to visit, with admittedly few, but high quality posts. But some of the vile ignorant stupid crap which I've had the misfortune to read, most notably by the thread starter and fools like greg florimos boots and chris smith, this past year or 2 .... well, it makes your stomach turn, I tell yer.

So ... as I say ... I will let today's result do the talking. I rest my case. I was right. And I will .... like the great Wrenchy, Holroyd and Larder have done from "The Greatest Game" ... retire from this board for good.

Sir Matt Calland .... I KNEW all along you are a great coach and I have always backed you. Superb mate, and superb effort by the players.

So, one last time, my friends, I bid you all farewell,

Yours very smugly
Tony Fax

Tony Fax ......... 5870 not out Retired Hurt

Only joking TF

I knew he was a Top coach even when Fax fans wanted him out.A top Widnes lad Calland.

i just want to congratulate mc and the other coaches for a number of reasons. The mid season capture of Holroyd , getting Barlow on board and getting Mikali back to his super league form - all major reasons why we were sucessful. I also thought he got the team spot on for the Sheffield game ; partnering holly and black , moving Bannister to the bench and then deploying him when needed, bringing inCherryholme who although doesnt make many breaks , defensively he was spot on, getting Makali busting tackles and somehow getting Beswick back on the pitch. Then onto yesterday when he could have made changes bringing in Said or Ostick , he only bought in Luke for the unlucky Paul White , but he kept the same balance to the side - keeping the halfs in place , rotating the hookers and props to keep them fresh etc. He also got his players to play with their heads , the completion rate was 80% in the first half . Tactically spot on . Well done.

My quote from after the Sheffield game:
"Credit to the players, great performance after difficult opening 20 mins. Will reserve judgment on Calland until after the GF to see if having had the best squad in the league at his disposal for the past 2 seasons he has finally won something. Having defeated a poor Sheffield side who finished 6th in the league at home, I'll wait until he's actually achieved something before praising him."

It is only fair I come back on and confirm my humble pie tasted good with my beer last night.

Well done Fax and well done Matt - team selection was spot on and the camaraderie and team spirit that has been created helped us believe we could win it. If we could defend as well as Featherstone (for the first 60 mins) we would have had 3-4 cups in the cabinet by now though so don't rest on your laurels, sort out the defence and make us unbeatable next season. Last night was the best sporting moment of my life given I was 11 when we won the Challenge Cup and the match was all a bit of a blur (and I couldn't drink to celebrate!). The feeling when the drop goal went over was of sheer joy and tears were shed. Thanks again for a most memorable night.

Having only just watched some segments of sunday's sky broadcast back last night, one thing made me take extra notice. While the players were having their break after 80mins and preparing for golden point, Matt approached Robert Hicks and unless I imagined it, it looks like Hicks replies "any score", so Matt then went staraight to Holly & Blacky who just happened to be side by side in the man-love-huddle of players.
If that is the case, lsson learned from Cas CC game two years ago, if it isn't the case, ignore me........

In all seriousness, towards the end of the 80mins, the two coaching team's body languages appear to know how the result was going to turn out, quality viewing.

If you watch the footage again you may notice about 5 seconds before Banister's try both Matt and Martin Gonzalez point at the gap Stephen's about to go through!

We were sat in front of Matt and the 2 Martins and before Hicks blew for full time Matt started to scream about takeing the one it was indeed a lesson learned from Castleford.

I would think the players were way ahead of him at that point. Hardly needed telling to 'take the one' as if they hadn't thought of it, I would think an 11-year-old playing for school would opt to attempt a drop goal in those circumstances. Probably more of a hopeful plea said out loud whilst getting excitable rather than barking an order thru the walkie talke to get the message onto the pitch. The commitment, pace and power shown in the final couple of drives to set up the drop goal position was amazing given that they must have been out on their feet nearly.