Quote McClennan="McClennan"Ridiculous suggestions about Potter being sacked. If we say that finishing second and a cup semi-final isn't good enough then that means we require a first place finish and/or a Challenge Cup Final appearance every year. That is setting our expectations too high.
Our ambition and objective needs to be realistic and reaching a final every year is an impossible objective to deliver year-in, year-out. Reaching a final every year should be our objective, however, we also have to assess how close we come to achieving that target. If we were in sixth there may be a strong case but even then our season's success has to be measured in the context of what's gone on e.g. injuries.
I seem to remember Daniel Anderson not reaching a Grand Final or Challenge Cup Final in his first year despite having a side that remained relatively injury free (with the exception of Sculthorpe and Long). He wasn't sacked.
Ridiculous comments on this and t'other board.'"
Is it though mate?
This stuff about second is a non sequitor. After last season, I expected Saints to have something in the tank and to start ok. After all, there are not many other teams in the league with the established names and young talent that Saints have.
However the performances -particularly in the second half of the season – all shared the same common denominator. Lifeless and devoid.
Generations brought up on the inconsistencies and eccentricities of the Murphy and McClennan eras, the rollercoaster years of McRae, the magic of Millward and the professionalism of Anderson all could vouch for the entertainment factor. The ball was always given air and even though the rashness of it all could leave you tearing your hair out, you accepted that Saints had long created a brand of entertaining and enterprising rugby.
Compare it to the show now. It’s like going to a vegetable exhibition on a rainy day in Norfolk. I genuinely believe that as the Anderson factor has wore off, the Saints performances have as well. Potter has had his time to make a mark and bring nerw ideas. Where are they? There was an article back as the start of the season in the Star about how fit Saints were compared to last season. That looks rather silly now
People carp on about this second place, but as stated it was as much a legacy/continuation of Anderson as Potter’s work. And just look at the evidence.
We rattled up a whopping 10 points against the might of Salford, and 12 points at home against Huddersfield reserves. We managed to hand a victory to the poorest Bulls side since 1994 and were equally as atrocious against Wakefield. The semi final result was no real surprise coming on the back of an inept performance in Hull. Yes there was a plucky performance at Leeds, but it was back to square one against Les Catalans (and yes another great attacking performance – 10 points). Oh, I also thought we were highly fortunate against Wigan – yet again we barely struggled to get into double figures.
All the above has come against a backdrop of unrest – people on here mentioning about bust ups on the training pitch (Jammer) and dissatisfaction with conditioning regimes.
Sorry, people who think the play offs will sort it out are deluding themselves because the form is nothing short of awful.
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