Hi Fat Boy (that sounds so rude!!) - haha, no I'm not connected to the Club, just a regular home-and-away fan like most of you guys. It's fair to say that I do have a lot of faith in the management though!!

G1 - thanks for your reply. I think Mac was right to phase Zak in over last year - I've said it loads in this thread but I don't agree with bringing kids through too quickly and while he had the physical experience from Fev, he would have needed to adjust to a new Club and very different environment, so spending a bit of time in the 20s was right as far as I'm concerned. Obviously I also mention in my initial post how well Ablett's done at centre so with his experience it was a decision McDermott could afford to make. Dont' forget Zak was also injured for 6 weeks at the back end of March.

I think Burrow is a difficult subject but I can't agree that the decision to play him off the bench was regressive. I really believe that if he's playing scrum half, he can create some of the magic we're used to off the bench where he can't when he starts, and again at hooker he can control the game and spot the gaps better. The last three games he's started at scrum half were Warrington away on Friday, Saints away and the CC semi-final against Cas last year - the semi-final was a terrible game, as was Saints away, but on Friday, we got a lot better on 30 minutes and had a really good last 50. It's no coincidence that this was when Lunt was subbed for Ward, and Burrow switched back to hooker.

To be honest its nice to have a positive poster on here. I'm kind of split on the subject though, i think while McDermott needs to be questioned for the performance (opposite to what the OP thinks) i agree with him that the criticism shouldn't go into abuse territory. Healthy and non-too-personal criticism is ok, going onto booing during games, name calling and disrespectful comments i think is unnecessary.

I believe Swiftcorn got a bit of a ban following an argument on the VT with an Aussie about Aussie Rules Football and claiming he knew Australia better than a guy who lives there. Don't know if it applies to here though but his absence is greatly appreciated.

Quote: Gotcha "Come on folks. This is another AP/Keith alias. Don't get sucked in.'" It's not really a case of getting sucked in, as others have commented it's remained a civil discussion. I've always been notoriously poor at identifying the men behind the 'characters' but agree it's likely to be one of the regulars. Either way it's provided an outlet for some frustration. Will it change anyone's view - I doubt it. rhinowinorlose probably still thinks Henry Paul wasn't replaced at the Harlequins and that he was always a leading role model off the field : news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_l ... 038590.stm I'm guessing the Quins were just grateful he wasn't the chauffeur driver behind the wheel of that Mercedes S280.

Quote: Gotcha "Come on folks. This is another AP/Keith alias. Don't get sucked in.'" It's not really a case of getting sucked in, as others have commented it's remained a civil discussion. I've always been notoriously poor at identifying the men behind the 'characters' but agree it's likely to be one of the regulars. Either way it's provided an outlet for some frustration. Will it change anyone's view - I doubt it. rhinowinorlose probably still thinks Henry Paul wasn't replaced at the Harlequins and that he was always a leading role model off the field : news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_l ... 038590.stm I'm guessing the Quins were just grateful he wasn't the chauffeur driver behind the wheel of that Mercedes S280.

Agreed. It's a discussion forum, this is a discussion. Does seem to wind a few people up though - not sure why.

I think in short they players have to take the criticism for the way they play and they shouldn't be exempt from criticism but equally the manager has to take some blame for the standard of play and tactics used in the game.