Rubbish. They (Cas) have lost 2 finals to teams with far bigger budgets. They have won semi finals & play off games, or don't they count. The way he has repeatedly taken past-it players & unheard of players & moulded them into a regular top side makes him easily the best British coach of his generation. I don't think there is a single Cas fan who would swap him.

I think GH knew he had a group of players who had shown they could win trophies regardless of who was coaching them. GH has made some bad coaching appointments - Dean Lance, Daryl Powell - why was that because both would have been cheaper than appointing a serious coach. With a team that Leeds had it didn't need a top coach so McDermott was an obvious choice - his record at London was appalling hardly grounds for an appointment at a top club.

Peacock was passed his best when he left Bradford - that simply continued during his career at Leeds over time he contributed less. Would the team have been better served with say a Matt Scott quality prop - who knows?

You're missing the fact that McDermott had already been at Leeds in a coaching capacity which I'm sure influenced the decision to appoint him.

Peacock was nowhere near passed his best in 2006 (you know the year he was GB captain) thats a ridiculous statement. Would the team have been better served with Matt Scott, well Peacock won 6 SL titles, 2 CC titles and 2 WCC titles in his time at Leeds, but I'm sure Matt Scott would have made all the difference.

It's not rubbish, How many Finals has Powell won as a coach?

Best British coach of his generation, come off it.

So to be clear, only finals are big games? No others?

That is what I'm referring to yes, I'll ask again how many Finals has Powell won as a coach?

And if you want to talk about non finals being big games, even last year when Cas were blitzing everyone left right and centre they couldn't get up for a knockout game in the CC (same as this year)

Look I think Powell is a good coach and will become a great one but he needs to show he can get his teams over the line in finals for him to be a great coach IMO, he also need to stop the ref blaming and victim mentality.

I've not claimed Powell is a great coach. I'm not aware of any Cas fans on here saying he is. He probably will have to win a final to be classed as one. I would say that I think he is the best British coach, without a doubt. To be honest, there is hardly any competition. Chester, Wane, MeDermott, McNamara, Betts, Perhaps Cunningham? To say only finals are big games is frankly stupid.

When I say big games I am meaning actual big games with something i.e a trophy or championship at stake, in this context that is what I am classing 'Big Games' as.

Has Powell's teams won some important games - yes Has Powell's teams won any really important games - No, will he in the future - yes, in fact I can see Cas winning the SL title this year.

Can we agree he has won some 'must win' games?

Yes, just not any 'definitely must win or that's it' games.

Why does someone have to win a final to be classed as a great coach? There is far more to it than winning finals. If a club assembles the best set of players, then that team is far more likely to win something than one that has not. What the respective coaches do with those sets of players is far more important than the success rate. And a team with less established/rated players actuall challenging is a bigger success than one winning when expected to. To compare like for like you would swap the coaches round each season with the same resources, that would prove a point clearly.

Powell, as an example should be more measured against the what he achived in developing the great Leeds side that went on to dominate, rather than what he has so far achieved at Cas. Without Powells contribution for example, McDermott would never have been in a position to achieve any success.

There has been many great coaches throughout time that have achieved no trophies. That doesn't mean they are not great coaches. Development of players across the game is another big measurement of a good coach. Advancing those players from the basics they have at junior level to the top of the game. This is another factor that the likes of Powell, amongst many global coaches, have massive ticks in the box for.

Powell did a great job at Leeds in clearing out the dead wood and I acknowledge his part in paving the way for the success of the team that followed.

It's just my opinion that Powell has now been in a position to win a few trophies and failed he needs to get that monkey off his back.

But put him with the same players McDermott had at his disposal and he would have won the same, so I see no monkey on his back. How many Cas coaches over the years have put up the same level of challenge he has achieved? how many former Cas coaches have finihsed top at the end of a league campaign? Then look at how many have turned a team around so quickly from relegation candidates to trophy challengers? that is some achievement.

You are defending McDermott at all costs, but yet he has one massive monkey on his back to shake off. He still hasn't taken a club/side forward. He took London backwards, and he has done it at Leeds. The winning trophy's bit shows exactly why that measurement shouldn't be the be all and end all, because Leeds have continued to win the trophy's despite regressing. But to some fans it is all about the winning trophy's and nothing more. On that there isn't really an argument to be had, as it is black and white. Just some see the bigger picture.

I've stated Powell is a good coach and praised him for his time at Leeds as for him achieving the same as McDermott if he was at Leeds, you cannot possibly know that for any certainty and is just conjecture on your part as you are berating McDermott at all costs, you simply cannot and will not give him any credit at all for his and the teams success.