not having a pop here G1

which 3/4 would you like to see us make an attempt for?

Michael Shenton please, providing we're going to pay for one.

None. None whatsoever. Its' simply not a contributory factor to what is not working at the moment.

The Saints fans consistently post that our squad has more depth than theirs. I think our First 17 can reach and win a GF. The whole group, including and especially the coach, are not performing.

Signings will not make on jot of difference. Ask Martin Gleeson.

Gleeson will make a difference at Wigan but it might take more than seven days for it to fully manifest itself and a settled three-quarter line will help also.

Leeds are at least one forward down as well as going into the season with no competent right centre unless the Lee Smith gamble had come off and thus far it hasn't.

Without signings been added to the squad they will continue to struggle on the evidence of the season so far. Not just the Easter fixtures the warning signs have been there all year.

Which element of today's performance do you think was caused by the lack of a right centre or a 5th prop?

So, there we have it then ... All down to a couple of interceptions.

Silly me !

We gifted more interceptions on a plate in one game, than we did in the whole of last season.

It is not just one thing, but there are some very concerning points with how things have gone over the past few weeks.

Everyone gave the team time to adjust to getting back in to the swing of things after the World Cup, hence the slow start to the season. Fair enough.

Everyone hoped the team would be building up to the World Club game, but that came and went.

We were going to give Saints a real game, we were told. We didn't.

We were going to take Bradford to the cleaners. We didn't.

We allowed one of the poorest teams in the league to run all over us and make them look good.

- Toopi has never been adequately replaced. The make, do & mend effort of Ablett is finally coming undone. He is merely a stop-gap and not a solution to the centre problem. At times the lad doesn't know if he is supposed to be a centre or 2nd row.

- Ellis has not been adequately replaced. OK, no-one could predict the Eastwood fiasco, but the minute it was turning sour, we should have been back on the plane to Sydney to see what we could find as a replacement. No-one is telling me that there aren't reasonable players in Australia, who could negotiate a release, who wouldn't want to come to the English champions ?

- Tansey / Scruton etc have not been replaced.

- I heared a little rumour today that one of the causes of strife in the camp is Buderus and the size of his wage packet. I've no doubt that on paper he's a class player, I am yet to see it for myself.

- There is no excuse for being an alledged £130K plus under the cap limit, yet have the team struggling to the bare bones and not have key players replaced.

- Why after years of mediocrity, has no-one addressed our lack of a half-decent tactical kicking game ?

- Our youth / academy set up has gone backwards

- We're dropping off tackles like never before

- We've replaced quick, flowing football that was attractive to watch, with dull drive-up-the-middle one up football that was last seen at Headingley during the dark days of the 80s.

- Saints have decent cover in every position on the field. We do not. Why not ?

- Rather than do the hard graft and the basics right, that has got us so far in the last few years, we have reverted to a gameplan that depends principally on luck and our 'star' players conjouring something up from nothing.

- What happend to our superior fitness and the ability to keep going at the end of games, when we'd knocked the stuffing out of the opposition ?

- Why have we stopped off-loading in the tackle (or when we do, it is so telegraphed that Marconi could pick it up) ?

- If team sprit is so wonderful, why does half the team look like it doesn't want to know ?

There's more, but it is not a knee-jerk reaction to ask why we're losing so poorly and why we look rubbish. We've not been great all season, but most fans have held fire until now.

Salford are not a great side, but at least they do the basics of running, tackling and backing up to a decent standard.

Eastwoods Lawyers?

I've been commenting on this all season long and didn't need today's performance to highlight where Leeds are light.

It's all part of the jigsaw and not the only part either.

And something else I've advocated before this season (and been laughed at for saying it) and that's taking a leaf out of Huddersfield's book.

Did you see today's performance?

If so, why do you think a new right centre and a 5th prop forward would've made a difference?

What have Huddersfield been doing that would've altered today's result other than perhaps hiring Nathan Brown who looks a very calm assured tactical coach.

Maybe you have a point. The last time we took a leaf out of Huddersfield book we poached a quality coach from them. Is that what you're driving at?

Maybe it is? Maybe being able to attack and defend down both sides would make us less predictable? Maybe it would allow us to keep teams on the backfoot?

Maybe having a settled and more experienced outside backs would mean our defence would be a little more solid?

Maybe having another couple of bodies in the pack would make more space for our strike players to shine? Maybe a bit of cover would allow us to rest our international players?

We are clearly light in the pack and maybe we could carry ablett at centre last year but it doesn't look the case this year,

All excellent, valid points well made.

To add to that:

- Why do we seem totally unable to build pressure when we do have the ball?

- Where has the urgency gone? The 'never say die' attitude gone? Too often this afternoon we just didn't seem bothered.

- Where has the discipline gone? Silly penalties, holding on to tacklers to get a penalty (just don't go there), complaining to the ref so much. McClennan is mentioning the ref in his after match comments far too much. All this does is take focus away from the team's obvous deficiencies. We should be playing well enough for the ref to not be a factor.

- What are our tactics? I couldn't for the life of me see any this afternoon. Apart from one man carry after one man carry. What a waste.

Salford demonstrated what is needed to beat Leeds at the moment - getting the basics right and showing a bit of enthusiasm.

This doesn't look like a simple form slump. We're underperforming big time and if we somehow manage to come good in October it'll be a miracle.

I'm driving at the fact that opposition coaches* have been chelping at Huddersfield's tackling technique because they do it better. I'm driving at the fact that Huddersfield are structured and inventive going forward. I'm driving at the fact that when they missed out on Todd Carney (Visa turned down) they didn't sit on their hands they immediately lined up a replacement in Fulton. I'm driving at the fact they are on the rise and are showing ambition.

*Terry Matterson, Brian Noble and most spectacularly of all Justin Morgan today. Will we be adding Brian McClennan to the growing list next Saturday?

I'll give you a top 3 ... it can be the coaches/chief exec's action plan for the week

Discipline
I'm guessing we lost the penalty count again today? We were certainly well behind deep in the second half. That's 3 counts won in 10 games then. It needs fixing. The coach can influence that ... quickly ... with technical coaching and a firmer hand to stop the on field frustration and dissent.

Attacking Structure
There isn't one at the moment. 5 drives and a kick or throw it to Burrow and hope he ducks through isn't a plan. Back to basics, more structure, defined plays, quicker play the balls and play the off the cuff stuff off the offloads. The coach can influence most of that in practice.

Recruitment
Strategically, great teams improve their squad every year. This year we haven't, its weaker. The horse may have bolted but if they can find a big signing it would help.

Interestingly there's another concerning clue in the McLennan interview on the official site. The "great motivator" uses the word depression talking about the squads reaction to defeats. Is this the rah-rah approach in full effect? Are the players mimicking his emotional approach?

Indeed .... The club must have known about the Eastwood saga well before it came out in the press.

As I said earlier, the minute it was looking dodgy (and I hardly think we'd be led down the garden path by the British Embassy in Canberra, much as I don't like them for what they've done), we should have been back to Sydney with a cheque book burning a hole in our pockets.

In a lot of ways you're correct. Signing one player now probably won't change the squad dynamic - although a right sided attack might be of some use (Gleeson might not be able to help Wigan but they don't have Keith Senior on the other side of the field). However, someone has to look at what we have coming through the juniors and who will need replacing in the senior squad - in advance. We have a great core of players, all produced by our academy bar Peacock and Senior (both in the latter stages of their careers), who carry this team. It's criminal to waste that golden group of players - all Leeds through and through - with frugal spending, sub-standard squad management and yes, average coaching.