I wouldn't be terribly bothered if it is an NRL coach and they only stayed for two years.

Holbrook turned Saints round pretty sharpish and Wigan are still benefitting from Michael Maguires influence years on.

The right coach will be able to put in place the step / keys we need to be successful, Weve become to accustomed to giving leeway to "projects" that are never finished and excuses rolled out. With Blease now overseeing the playing side Im confident that he'll be able to handle the nitty gritty and setting the tone both ethos and recruitment to leave the coach to concentrate on just that, coaching.

Yes if Arthur has Perth lined up for 2027, he's the kind of guy who will probably need to keep his hand in meantime.

Leeds is a good opportunity or a poisoned chalice whichever way you look at it - but what we do have is a lot of junior talent coming through, which I think would greatly appeal to Arthur. Rowley also.

Thing with Blease leading this is that he might make the appointment and consider different candidates than GH would, but if it comes down to paying Arthur £400k per year to get him, will GH and the board back that?

I don't know but I reckon Arthur would cost around double whatever they were paying Smith, and we've also taken on Blease's salary. We also need cash to go after a couple of really good overseas players IMO, and use the Marquee allowance. If we're serious about winning again we're going to have to stop trying to do it on a shoestring.

I get the feeling it will not be Rowley, but we will have to wait and see.

Investment has to match the ambition. Did you see SKYs estimation of what clubs are currently spending on players? We're the best part of 500k behind Cats, Wire, and the Pies.

Bit of a leftfield crazy idea but what about Arthur until end of season then Rowley in for next season?
Would that even work? Would he even bother?

If BA wants the job long term why would he move over just for a few months as a stand in.

I don't think that's crazy at all - or even Demetriou on a similar basis. Blease did talk about potentially an interim.

If Rowley is signed up for 2025, they will still be in dialogue about players etc. beforehand so it could be a smooth transition. I don't actually think it's fair to poach a head coach mid season like this, call me old fashioned but Rowley seems a good bloke and I doubt he'd want to leave Salford in the lurch.

Yeah and it shows doesn't it? This is kindof my point though: without anything else changing, where is this extra £1m per year on wages coming from? £500k on improved players in key positions, Blease, and increased spending on the head coach too...

AMT might provide some of the answer but I think Leeds generally is run more like an operating business than a rich man's plaything.

But if hes got that other job lined up next year, he might just want a few months over here, get paid a wedge and complete some scouting for the expansion team to boot.

Im not saying thats happening but it could....

So cynical for one so young...

Mate, I MOD on here... Bound to have an effect.

l didn't know the coaches salary counted on the cap. thought it was just the playing squad

It doesn’t.

that's what I thought but I'm no expert on it