I see this signing as a bit of both of Gregs and Hudds posts. It does show our current situation that we are bringing back a former player who had finished playing league. At the same time beggars can't be choosers we have no one from Leeds this week most of the players from last week should be dropped and players at other clubs available on loan seem to be going everywhere other than to us. So throw him in at centre i say and he will either sink or swim.

Barber should make the cut for Sunday's team. But it will be a close shave.

Hard to be constructive at the moment as struggling to suggest a way out of this hole that financially could be curtains .

At least they scored some points!

And to quote the great Ross Strudwick "We won the 2nd half"

I'm guessing it was as bad as the scoreline suggests? I saw the team selection and looks like we have now resorted to player players in random positions. The playoffs may have been a bit of a push this season but we are clearly in a relegation dog fight. What amazes me is that some people are still defending the the club and the whole situation. I often asked questions of the previous board but did not go as far as some did wanting them out but I now question their decision in letting people take over who it seems apparent have no clue how to run a rugby club or the finances to get us out of this mess.

I'm loathe to criticise the BOD as it must be a god awful (and thankless) task running a rugby club on small crowds and trying to compete with the likes of Wakey, plus throwing the very costly running of the Shay into the mix it makes a very difficult situation almost impossible.

As shown with Toronto, Leigh, Fev and now Wakey it requires a massive injection of outside funds. And you wouldn't blame a money man not getting involved, after Tony Gartland was driven out by a bunch of ungrateful idiots (a long time ago I know but I remember it well and it was very unpleasant).

So I really don't know where we go from here.

Thought about the game before posting.
Last week we were poor but Sheffield played at a different level.
This week we were poor but Swinton were an average team. The difference was error count as ever and Patton. They out fought and out worked us too though we were so poor at times that wasn`t difficult.

Selection was unusual to say the least. Douglas in the squad for ten minutes game time? There to make up the numbers?
Barber did what Barber does and looked fitter than i had feared. But to move our most dangerous half to fullback , strange when Widdop has experience at fullback too , I am amazed.

I won`r enter the debate re the whole squad as the writing was on the wall two or three years ago for some of them.

Finn was given a rough hand and then to be without two first choice,props your first choice hooker and centre . He was handed a poison chalice and must feel that he drank from it during the cup run.

I wont be going to Fev , haven`t done so since i was pointed to a corner of a stand and told to stay there as if I had done something wrong. Sort out your own Fev. They do not get more of my money.

Yesterday was the first time in just over 30 years of supporting Fax that i have seen fans leave at half time. These are fans that i have seen in the south stand right back to when it was first opened but hey ho Finn says he is proud of our efforts so what do they know. Swinton are no mugs and playing with confidence but what is unacceptable that they out worked us too.Look at when they put kicks in who was in the picture a number of Swinton chasers and none of ours, or even when we made a few breaks in the second half they was chasing back in numbers were we was just leaving it to the player who made the break to do something. I don't think Douglas even got 10 minutes off the bench before being brought back off yes he gave away a pen but at least he was fired up trying to make a impact.

I have said before that we are in a scrap to avoid relegation this year, and when will the penny drop with the board about this who knows. It seems to me that they and Finn are in denial and the players are clearly not playing for the coach so we are in a fair old mess with no sight of anything changing. Maybe if we get a right good pumping at Fev then they might finally get it but i wouldnt hold my breath.

The players we have are capable of better than what we have seen but all the talent in the world doesn't replace effort and our lack of it yesterday was probably the difference between us and a decent, but limited Swinton side. Playing lads out of position hardly ever works either. I'll reserve my opinion on LF until he's had time with more of our injured players back. Up The Fax!

Just watched the first half of the game, it seems as though players not knowing what is happening most of the time, when they spread the ball out looks quite promising then ends up either dropping the ball or just ending limply. It does not seem as though there are set plays, or a designated kicker, Widdop, Keyes, Jouffrey. Swindon kicked early in several sets and caught Fax having to scramble back one start from their own 10 yard line then going back to the Rhino days of one up rugby and try to break the line, of which clearly they are not big / strong enough, or got the guile to break a tackle, sidestep. It seemed as though the Lions worked Fax out very quickly in the game.
Has Widdop come in and upset the rhythm of the team seeming he wants to decide where to play, not taking away from LJ but he is not centre material, GW is bigger and supposedly a rugby brain which should allow him to read the game from centre . It was mentioned Finn has not got the dressing room, well if so that did not take long! It seems some players want an arm round the shoulder telling them it”s not their fault, well the hells fault is it, when they step over the white line? Bloody good kicking, and telling them to concentrate, play to the whistle, the second try was a gamble by Eden shooting the line, the third was a joke total lack of professionalism, kids in the park stuff.
Not sure if I have the stomach to watch the second half, and I am on you tube!, as Terry Silver alluded to people who have watched Fax for many a year left at half time.
It looked a relative dry track so no excuse there them. Come on Fax get a grip.

Said a few times before that I were not a fan of the Widdop signing, not because I thought he couldn't do a job for us but more because it was very clear that we needed players in other areas. I'm of the belief that the Widdop signing was forced upon Finn and at this point it is easy to point the finger at him but looking at the bigger pitcture these problems started long before Widdop arrived. It must be nearly 3 years not that our pack is bullied in nearly every match. I reckon Nathan Cleary would struggle behind our powder puff pack and losing Calcott, 1 of only 2 or maybe 3 players I would keep in that pack, was a total disaster for us.

I could not have put it better myself.

As i said previously Finn has inherited a team and especially a pack on the wane.

Not sure where you get that Jouffret was playing centre. He was joining the line from Fullback. Unlike others I quite like like him there as he joins at speed and backs up well. There were times when LJ and Widdop were linking up really well and created some openings, but a few of them were on the last tackle so no chance to build on.

I thought JWH set off really well in the centre, and broke the line a few times with the step and strength he has, but then a combination of Swinton shutting this down (Patton may as well have been stood in our line) and our inability to create space on that side then seemed to nullify this. I don't think that was helped by changing the shape of the HB's as Keyes seemed to be struggling playing on the right when he is normally on the left.

I didn't have a problem with moving LJ to fullback and JWH to centre and I called that before the line up was announced. With our lack of quality in the centre, then with the squad we have JWH gives us something more there. LJ is not a bad replacement at full back and playing there gives him more space to run and take on the line which is a big part of his game. I'd have left Keyes on the left though, but as we haven't exactly been on fire in attack, I can possibly see some reasoning behind the changes.

But as much as we can lament our attack, its not helped by our inability to defend (through shape and attitude) and then having to chase games and we seem to panic when we go behind. We are struggling to play the game in the right part of the field, no penetration, slow ruck, poor distribution from the ruck and not being able to build any momentum. When we did seem to get some this week we then subbed the player who was taking us forward.

Also when things are not going right it needs leaders on the field and we are clearly lacking; we were blessed with several being on the pitch at the same time a few years back and now we don't seem to have any. None of our more senior players are natural leaders and in fact some have the worse body language or reactions when its not going our way. Probably not surprising they have brought Ed back in who is a talker on the pitch and one of the group of leaders we had before.

@Gizempo, take your view of LJ being full back, I only have the camera view , and every time it showed him inside of Salty, so please accept my apology on that .
Also agree that there were times when he linked up with GW but too few and too late in the tackle count. I still stand by my view JWB to fullback. LJ back to stand off and GW centre, can’t be any worse. Unless Widdop has lost his appetite for tackling he should have the nouse to play there and is physically bigger and should look more imposing, surely with his years in the game has some knowledge of the dark arts to impose himself.