Dear all the point I was trying to make in my post about Peter Smith’s reporting of Fridays match and the fans deserving better was not so much that we do deserve better - we have had it pretty good. If I was a fan of the London team with ground changes, changes of name, losing all our better players over the years I might feel that I deserved better (although I would be quite happy at the moment) – the point is that his report suggests a growing level of frustration and exasperation with things. The fact that its like ground hog day hints of better things then seemingly no carry through and progress. Local sports reporters don’t tend to go out on a limb – invite criticism and pressure from readers that could jeopardise sales. I think the points he makes reflect a growing general loss of belief in things getting better.

GH has not said much about the current situation .

I too agree with all ...including your point regards Garbutt. Personally I can't understand the criticism he is getting from some quarters. Falloon and Galloway..yes, but Garbutt has earned his stripes IMO.

As for Achurch...WTF??? We all thought Kirke was stealing a wage....this guy has unquestioningly usurped his fellow gym owner in that respect. They must both have some tasty incriminating photos

Well after a period of going forwards Leeds, like your car, are now going backwards just as you expect your car to be able to do

. and when they get most of the injured players back will once more go forward again. Your car will struggle to go if it is not firing on all cylinders and neither will Leeds with half the engine missing a couple of flat tyres.

I do not understand why in a salary capped sport some supporters expect permanent ongoing success and have so little patience when there are obvious reasons when this cannot be. With the ending of our long period of success with our golden generation generation retiring or past their best the transition period was always going to be difficult. If you add to that a really serious injury crisis with up to 10 first choices unavailable each week for the first half season plus having their training facilities totally destroyed then I would say you have a unique set of circumstances that deserve some tolerance.

Most of those critics having so much negative stuff to say this season did not call for a replacement for Sinfield and were happy to go with youth based on a few good games. So these self proclaimed experts hardly have much to boast about themselves especially those that have been wrong in their assessment of young Lilley, Golding and I would say Mullally too.

The loss of Sinfield and JP has exposed a serious the lack of leadership in the squad and also perhaps a lack of quality too with some players who looked to have class when playing in a successful winning side and having someone think for them but in reality lack the skills required to step up when the chips are down.

IMO we have to recruit a game manager to direct the team around the park and to take the pressure off Lilley and allow him to develop. We also need a decent hooker and pack leader and IMO a bigger squad with more pace. I would be looking to offload some players irrespective of reputation.

Whils that would've been better I don't think you can realistically manage that. What do you do, ask Peacock to retire in 2014 to avoid a clash? Ask Sinfield to play on in 2016? Think we'd all agree they earned the right to bow out when they wanted and not be forced to go a year earlier or stay a year longer than they wanted.

Personally think Sinfield felt his body wasn't up for another full season of RL so would be tough to convince him to stay for 2016 and I don't think he wanted to stand in the way of young players like Sutcliffe getting the chance (regardless of whether people think he's the answer at HB or not)

Agree with this,but I am worried the lack of a quality half back partner may stunt Lilley's progress.
An absolute minimum requirement for next season is a decent half back,hooker and possibly a prop depending on Galloways bedding in.

Recruitment will also require players to leave. Falloon might be like-for-like in terms of pay, but I wouldn't be surprised if he was signed on the cheap, as he had no other real options for this year. I'd imagine that the plan was for Ferres to get a pay rise using some of Achurch's salary. However that might not be the wisest spend.

Quite seriously some of our play has been appalling. Defensively we are simply not tackling as a unit at all. There were a couple of Hudds breaks where the player was tackled and half our team just ambled back into the line - early in the first half. That's not down to not controlling the ruck or being knackered, its down to lack of urgency. Other times a simple pass inside let Hudds run through a massive gap. That's down to lazy inside defenders not closing gaps, not some super attacking play.

Its those sorts of examples which keep recurring which make me think the team is now definitely not responding to BM. Some players may be, but a lot are going through the motions IMO.

I agree with some of this - I dont expect to win things all the time but i do expect those players selected to play to their potential - that is not happening.

On the training facilities - they happened in December the club have months to address this - Carneige sorted themselves by end of January so the fact the RL side haven't should be questioned?

Injuries the side is missing 4/5 at the most - a winger, a centre, McGuire and Ward any others would not be an upgrade to what the team currently has.

On Lilley/Golding far too early to say they have made it on the back of a one reasonable game in Goldings case and a few in Lilley's. Elite sport is a cruel, you have to have some special attributes to make it as a top player - time will tell if these two have the same qualities as a Sinfield, Peacock, McGuire or JJB

You can continue to offer of the reasons for the demise of the team this year but one should be noted - there is no way a club with Leeds' resources should be bottom of SL and turning out performances like are.

Rubbish!! Carnegie didn't get sorted by January. They train at West Park, but that was only sorted recently. They don't even have a regular gym.

We are missing Briscoe, Moon, Hall, McGuire, Ablett and Ward. Plus Cuthbertson is just on his way back. I make that 7. Then add Delaney and Falloon to that list.

We are bottom of the league for a couple of reasons. Injuries and no leadership.

This is pretty much one hundred percent how I feel. I think the buck stops with McDermott and he needs to step down. I manage a large team at work and if they fail to perform I'm the one who is ultimately responsible. I love what he has done( with some BIG help. ) to our club but I think we need to change. I'm not a glory seeker, I've seen lean times but when performance, desire and general appetite has gone we have to change.

Lack of desire, lack of effort? What games are you people watching? There are monumental efforts going on right across our team. Maybe not directed in the right way I'll grant but lack of effort is just a child-like reaction to the current situation.
The players are knackered, that's why they're missing tackles or not pushing up or not making it back in defence.

Why are they knackered? They had a hugely disrupted pre-season and half of them are injured.
No doubt someone will come along and say "that's no reason for such poor performances". Well, yes it sodding well is. And they're much more plausible reasons for what we're seeing than either the players don't care anymore, they're rubbish or the coach is rubbish. Which, again, are child-like responses and not thought out to any degree.