hopefully the veiled threat here is his backing that players need to up their attitude and performance.
If not it backs Mcdermotts licence to use the fringe players /youngsters. if these show they can realise their potential then the senior players will fall down the pecking order and will be fringe players /paid off /let go for next season.

All this theory is based on the assumption that Mcdermott will blood the promising young players towards the end of the season if the senior players don't buck up over the next 2/3 games. This gives McDermott the backing h needs, if he doesn't use the opportunity then I think GH will turn his comments on their head and remove some of the blame fro the players to the coach.

either way there will probably be player casualties at the end of the season and possibly coaching casualties.

it's a good job he wasn't wearing a St helens shirt then.
Does the door come with a guarantee that it will last during the tougher autumn rather than just look good during the pleasanter summer months?

I came into the office today with some pads and made the girls do tackling drills in their underwear. I can't think of a more constructive use of my time.

I have my own reserved spot these days at the Employment Tribunal.

I see what you're saying, but I'm generally judged by my department's performance at the end of a reporting period, not the end of every week or month. I appreciate that is different in some jobs. McDermott ended the last reporting period with a big shiny trophy. So if he had my job, he'd have kept it. I guess he might not have remained in charge in some environments.

And how do you know what his KPIs are?

Hope you didn't pay too much for your door, or you'll have to sell your house and move in as someone's tenant.

I don't - I was just expanding on an analogy. It wasn't a literal comparison.

One question. If GH is actually right and we do need a "major overhaul" for next season, where are we going to find the players at this stage of the current season? All the OoC ones worth having will either be kept by their current club, or go to the highest bidder if they leave their current club, and the overseas network is effectively cut off now due to SC increase and FX rate.

It's been a long time since we spent real money not pocket money in the transfer market.

If the answer GH is planning is to utilise the juniors and recall loan players, then why not do it now? Looks to me like he is actually setting BMD up, not helping him...


On an unrelated note, see that not one of our overseas players has made the cut for the Exiles squad, another ringing endorsement of our current overseas batch.

Uurggh I must have been talking to Keith Swiftcorn too long, all this negativity is getting me down....

GH is playing mindgames with the squad, the only serious way to kick a few up the is to drop them from the team.

If GH is being real, it's a difficult one. It's a real difficult one. This is not a black and white issue.

Let's say this season doesn't improve from it's current state and tails off, we make no major finals, play poorly and go out swiftly from the playoffs.

This would surely prompt the overhaul gh speaks of, but who?

And who would the replacements be?

For the last 8 years we've had so much stability, with rarely more then 1/2 changes to the likely first choice 17 each season and a change of coach every few years.

The next off season, if nothing else potentially promises to be extremly interesting and who knows, a a few big changes may just be what we need to get back in the top 2.

You must have negatively mistaken me for someone else.

I'm confident Leeds will finish high enough on the SL ladder to ensure an easy home game in week 1 of the play-offs. I don't think they'll finish 7th, 8th or outside the 8 completely, nor do I believe they'll get hammered by 50 points in the CC Semi final as fact, end of.

In fact I'm so confident that I may purchase a flat-track half-season ticket as I don't want to miss players like McGuire bossing things the way they know best. In return for my show of faith, loyalty and willingness to stick my hand in my pocket to benefit the club, I expect them to accommodate me by arranging a premium cushioned reclining seat in the North Stand complete with optimal panoramic views and a waiter on hand to collect my food and drink orders.

I hope that the current under performing first teamers are looking more over their shoulders for some of their possible replacements than at other players from outside our squad

Ward and Singleton are ready for first team action each week without a doubt and there's also quite a few more that arn't that far off stepping up given the chance

Then they need to given the chance.

I don't see why they shouldn't be thrown in this week after last weeks shambles.

Stevie Ward would have been in the majority of the starting 17 man squads each week had he not been taking his A levels, the club openly stated to him that he would not be considered for first team duties during his exams

Lets see how many times he makes the squad from here on in?

singleton offers more than any other prop at the club for me

Couldn't agree more Tad as this kid is fearless, he would run through a brick wall,he is chomping at the bit hoping that he gets a shot this season

he should get a shot.
please note GH, this is the coaches fault, not the players. give him a game

Are you sure that a temporary Post Office workers salary will stretch to such things? I'd hate for you to over commit. I'm not thinking of such this year, I'd much rather splash my considerable cash on my own place in Spain, as the weather is much more to my liking there at the business end of the season....

I'm sure the availability of your considerable cash flow is not unrelated to sponging off the largesse of others expense accounts.

Things have moved on a bit for me in recent years. I regularly do presentations in front of company directors down in the big smoke. The free availability of lunch and dinner at some of the posher places down there I can take or leave however. Prefer sauce or gravy rather than 'jus' and prefer 'julienne' to stay well clear of the veg.

Good luck with the Spanish property investment - quite impressive for a jumped-up door-to-door salesman

Give Brad a run now

Said before I wouldn't dump kids in against Wire. They'd be on a hiding to nothing. As it is, I'd pick as close to the 17 as played Wigan as possible, and see what they do, but make as clear as possible that this is the last chance for some of them to be considered automatic selections.

There is still plenty to play for this season if the team gets its act together, but if they can't then I think BM should go all out with younger players from then on - including the cup semi. That would really send a message to the squad.

Even if we do fall off badly this year, there won't be a major restructure of the team based on bringing in a number of signings - its almost impossible to make wholesale changes nowadays due to the salary cap. What would annoy me though, is facing the need to replace players in key positions, signing instead another (slightly above average) winger.

Lets be real here, IF he does end up releasing players at the end of the year it will probably only be the likes of Kirke, Moore, Smith, Hauraki, McShane, those players on the fine line between First Team and U20's. Before anybody starts imagining the likes of a Peacock or McGuire being let go all the regular first teamers will still be here in 2013.

=#FF0040* DHL deliveries.

Printer, I agree with you but thats what saddens me. What good is kicking a few fringe players, most of which havent even played much? How can GH change things by doing this? If GH does have his bluff called and needs to make some big changes you can only do that by getting rid of some of the big names.

For me the ones that should be at risk (apart from the coach of course) are JP, JJB and Clarkson, as well as Kirke and possibly Smith. I also dont see the likes of Sinny, Burrow or Mags going.

I also dont see the likes of Weller, Moore and Griffin going given the current dolt in charge signed them. Getting rid of them would simply confirm what we all know about the coaches player selection.