You're an idiot

Has Sinfield's appointment been made official at international level yet? I'm led to believe that McNamara has his approval to do the interviews and wear the suit during the World Cup.

So what happened to this well coached team when we were embarrassed by no hopers Hudds and Wire in the 2006 CC & Playoffs.....or for the rest of 2006 for that matter? What happened when we were on the receiving end of letting the first team from outside the top 2 win the GF in '05? He led us to only 1 CC Final and lost and out of all 6 since '99 that was the one we were strongest favourites. Or when after finishing 1st we then wobbled at home to Bradford in the playoffs? Where was this entertaining score from anywhere team in the '05 GF when we could only muster 6 points in 80 mins?

All this as well with Saints having a very poor 2004 (as soon as they got their act together they leapfrogged us quite easily as the best team in the country), Bradford slipping away for the final 2 years of his reign and Wigan not threatening missing out on playoffs in '05 & '06.

But hell as long as we strolled through teams a bit more convincingly during the regular season and had the luxury of big signings from both SL and NRL then I guess all was well

No if I was going to draw comparisons I'd do this.

- Time it took to win 2 GF's and 1 WCC...
Smith = 4 years.....McDermott = 2 years
- Number of finals played in
Smith = 5 in 4 years....McDermott = 6 in 2 and a half years
- Biggest gap between winning something
Smith = 31 months.....McDermott = 9 months
- Number of Challenge Cups reached
Smith = 1 in 4 years....McDermott = 2 in 3 years
- Number of GF's lost
Smith = 1.....McDermott = 0
- Playoff Record
Smith = P9 W5 L4.....McDermott P8 W8 L0

Just going to post but the printer beat me too it with superb stats aswell.i aint going to say mac is better than smith as coach,maybe he isnt but to label him a fool is a disgrace and anyone who posts such drivel cant be a real leeds fan imo.

Good points Printer.
We might not agree or understand all of McDemott's methods, but you can't argue with the results.

Likewise, I'm not actually trying to say one is better than the other but some seem to view Smith as a God who did nothing wrong whilst McDermott is thought of as something you've stepped in. Unlike those with short memories I also recall how glad many where when it was announced around the middle of the 2007 that Smith was moving on.

After a great start Smith hadn't pressed on since mid '05 and only his last 3 matches saved him from a reputation as someone who promised much success but didn't deliver enough.

.......yes, BUT do you enjoy watching the fayre that is dished up these days? How many tries eg have Leeds's wingers scored this season compared to previous recent seasons?
How many tries eg has Burrow scored compared to previous?

Of course a GF victory and most - if not all - is forgotten again: however I also see nothing else but another decline in season ticket sales. Not sure that would be in GH's best interests.

Of course you can argue with his desperate point, if you were capable of opening you eyes and not just seeing black & white.

Had McDermott been the coach instead of Smith, this era of success would never have happened. Smith developed those players what have delivered success in spite of McDermott been at the helm. By comparison players are regressing under McDermott which proves the point.

That point made is the equivalent of using an arcade bandit where someone has been putting money in all day without hitting the jackpot. Then first shot you win. Does that make you a better player of one harm bandits? Or just lucky to be in right place at right time?

When McDermott manages to be successfull with his own team, then you can dribble with admiration.

Had McDe.......could have, would have, should have. Ifs, buts and maybes. Irrevant conjecture, which proves nothing unless you don't understand the meaning of "prove"
Results are black and white. They are binary. Win or lose. Under McDermott, we've won the big price two times out of two attempts.

He said you cannot argue with the results. Of course, you can argue with them if you want to resort to illogical gibberish and supposition. Which leads to....

Which era of success? Smith won two GFs in years, Bluey won 2 in 3 years. McDermott has won 2 in 2 years. Which players did Smith develop? He inherited Sinfield, McGuire, Burrow, JJB etc etc. Many of last years GF squad didn't play 1st team rugby under Smith.


You argue with the statistics of trophies given by the Printer and use this as an argument. At the risk of being accused of bullying by the more sensitive souls (of which I know you're not one) that is old fashioned frontier gibberish.
You can use that argument against Smith (powell's team) or Mclennan (Smith and Powells team). It's a non argument.

Don't pretend you weren't bludging and cloud watching well before McDermott's tenure.

6 (Achurch, Delaney, Hardaker, Moon, Moore & Vickery) of the first team squad of 25 have been signed after Smith left the club. 4 of these signed during McDermott's tenure.
Another 9 players (Clarkson, Hood, Jones-Bishop, Keinhorst, McShane, Singleton, Sutcliffe, Ward & Watkins) made their debuts having come through the academy after Smith left the club. 5 of these have made their debuts under McDermott.
10 of the current squad (Ablett, Bailey, Burrow, Hall, JJB, Kirke, Leuluai, McGuire, Peacock & Sinfield) of 25 played under Smith. Of those, 3 (Kirke, Leuluai & Peacock) were signed by Smith and 2 (Ablett & Hall) made their debuts under Smith. Although I would credit him at least partially with the development of JJB.

The current team is at best 40% Smith. Which of those players have regressed under McDermott? Which of those players have regressed simply because they're 5/6 years older than they used to be?
Which players have improved? I'd suggest at least Ryan Hall has. But then you wrote off Ryan Hall.