I don't for one minute think Powell will come back to Leeds. I was just commenting that he is by far and away the best coach in Super League. Treated too badly to come back I reckon.

I think Powell would jump at the chance of taking the reigns again at one of the biggest clubs in SL.He would be a fool not to if the chance came and i dont think he's a fool. Especially liekly now Sinfield and JP are moving on allowing him to make it his own team.

Revisionist nonsense.

Firstly, "gone backwards 17 years", means what exactly? From now? Are you saying we're on a par with the 1998 team, beaten in the inaugural Grand Final and 2nd in the league table. Is that so bad?

Or back 17 years from when Powell left, taking us to 1987? You think things are as bad as they were in 1987?

Leaving your hyperbolic statements aside, "minibus" (translation; half a coach) as he was known by some of his players at the time won no trophies and has still won no trophies. He was such a hot property in the game after being replaced by Smith that his only options for several years were pity jobs Hetherington gave him until Featherstone came knocking.

I say this not to bash Powell, who has, undoubtedly, done a great job at both Rovers and Cas but to challenge the fiction you've written about what he "could" have, theoretically, done at Leeds.

Your knowledge is very minimal on the subject, so not really worthy of debating. We wouldn't be where we were without him in the first place, and none of the coaches we have had would be able to mirror his job elsewhere. Simple.

I can't for the life of me see how people can make such definite assumptions about a coaches ability as most of the work they do and the circumstances in which they do it is not seen, and even if it was would fans know what they were looking for?! Do supporters of Tony Smith now think he's a bad coach? After all, not every season with Leeds came up roses, England were dire under him, and Warrington haven't really fulfilled potential.

I know have made my criticisms of Tony Smith in the past but in all seriousness I think we all expected them to make the Top 4 but that's looking very dodgy right now.

They've got 4 games before the split, 2 points vs Wakefield will take them to 20 points but their other games are Saints and Wigan at home and Cas away. If they don't win at least two of them then I think they'll start the Top 8 too far behind to make the top 4 after 30 games.

IF they lose all those three tough games then the middle 8's is a serious possibiliy if those below can win enough.

I am not going to say Smith is not a good coach, because at the end of the day he has a very good record, we know that first hand from the success he had. But I stick by what I said above, that Powell is the best coach in Super League. The job he does in totally transforming teams I personally don't think can be matched by the other coaches in Super League.

Smith is a good technical coach the problem at Warrington is they don't have the backs - especially in the halves since Briers retired - and they never have been able to get the quality either through the academy or by procurement.

They have started to bring some youngsters through Patton, Currie, Evans brothers and Laithwaite so there is the genesis emerging of a new side. If they could get Clark to perform - he particularly doesn't appear to want to play for Smith - then they have the makings of a competitive side.

Warrington have struggled all year with a settled half back combination one of Smith's weaknesses is his stubbornness - Ratchford should be playing in the halves and Russell at FB but for some reason Russell can't get a game - bizarre.

Having Agar as your right hand man cannot help - the man has been a failure wherever he has been. I expect a final throw of the dice after the cup with a changed format that will see Ratchford and Patton in the halves.

Not too much wrong with that assumption.

My knowledge on what subject? how far back 17 years takes us?



That is your opinion. It's no more no less. To present it with such arrogance shows real confidence from a poster with a history such as yours.

There is one person without whom we wouldn't have achieved what we have achieved since Powell was removed as first team coach and it isn't a coach at all. It's the one constant and it's Powell's close friend who decided he wasn't up to the job. He's man whose knowledge on the subject exceeds yours and the only one who counts.

If you could actually give any sensible reasoning to what 2003 has to do with 2015, then I may actually give your response some credit. It doesn't seem you are able to differentiate between a period 12 seasons though.

My view is that GH realised that Powell needed to find his feet at a lower level in the expectation that he would return to Leeds as Head coach when he'd learnt the job. I also think that Powell went along with this, hence his time at the Tykes then at Featherstone - don't forget we picked Hardaker up from them during Powell's time there.
Unfortunately for GH, Cas beat GH to it & offered Powell the job there & when he'd quickly shown his worth gave him an improved long term deal.
I believe that Powell & GH continue to be on good terms & would not discount Powell becoming our head coach in the future.

You've officially lost me now.

Well maybe you were just having a bad day then when you went on your rant at me last Friday. I posted that Powell is the best coach in Super League, then you went on some campaign about previous coaches at Leeds and Powell in 2003.

I didn't mention the words "used to be" or "has been", I said he is (i.e. the present) the best coach in Super League.

There are arguably a few other coaches in SL who would have done well to follow the Powell route when their playing careers ended, rather than just being a handed a high profile head coach job.

A spell in the lower leagues working out how to get best use out of limited resources might have taught Shaun Wane a different approach to the "shout at everything" manner he seems to be developing, for example.