Also got to take into consideration the strength of the other teams around those 2/3 years. Bradford were at their peak, Saints and Wigan so strong too. To pull off a championship let alone a couple in that period between Murray leaving and the 2004 success would've been very tough regardless of coach.

Yep, those were three strong teams.

Imo, the 2003 Leeds team would have done the treble in style was it around last season, yet ended with nothing.

Because we don't have the same quality coaching set up, development, or focus on it. Haven't done for last five years.

I mentioned the poor state of Leeds academy on here about 5 years ago, and got slated for it. I asked then was it a scouting or coaching problem?

Onto the #9. Any truth in the RUMOUR that Leeds have approached Wigan for the signature of Micky McIlorum?

Yet in the last 5years we have seen Sutcliffe, Ward, Handley, singleton, coming through, and now Golding, Lilley, Smith and Hallas

Those four your are comparing to Walker, Watkins, Hall, McGuire, Ablett, Sinfield, Burrow, Diskin, JJB - if that isn't an indication that the quality has dropped I don't know what is.

As for the others - Smith - who knows he has hardly played in the last year, Hallas are you serious? The other two the jury is out neither have shown anything remotely close to quality offered by the golden generation at the same age.

Your problem is you are comparing 2015 Handley for instance, against 2010 Ryan Hall rather than the 2007 and 2008 Ryan Hall who was in and out of the team and struggling under the high ball.

Is there a vast difference between 2001/2002 Danny McGuire and Lilley now? Ward to my eye can go much further than either Ablest or JJB.

Yes there is a huge difference - McGuire was the best player of his peer group by a distance he was a different quality to Lilley - the Ward Ablett comparison is a valid one - although Ablett had all the ball skill Ward has - he was your ball playing loose forward a vastly under-rated player IMO

Well the rumour about Hanley going to Leeds came from Wigan ,so if it's come from your end there may be something in it .It could be true Micky seems to be picking up a few injuries so it seems about right

Hope not.

Isn't McIllorum in his benefit year next year?

Danny is a leeds legend but the 19/20 year old McGuire was a very limited player with plenty of development yet to come. I'm not saying Lilley will reach the heights of McGuire but there seems to be a criticism of the Leeds club for not bringing through a set of fully formed replacements for a freakishly good set of players when said set of players didn't even come through fully formed nor all at the same time.

There are some on here who just do not realize how far our Academy has fallen in recent years

You were slated because the Acadamy was & is still signing/spotting talent you only piped up whenever the 19's lost games.
Wrt MM that was 2years ago wasn't it?

Main problem is that we hit on a winning formula at the time, have stayed rigidly stuck to it and haven't evolved.

Other teams have seen what we were doing and adapted and improved on it. We have stood still.