Quote: bewareshadows "It's a tough one to argue, I think most of us appreciate Rush has steadied the ship and I don't think anyone will argue we have gone backwards.
So in a way we are discussing a minor issue in terms of the team, but a big issue in terms of the player.
I don't think anyone is arguing that Gaskell is World class, but they are arguing that he is a better half than Lance.'"
Agree with most of this. The fact that the team are winning, Wigan aside, and have climbed the table is protecting Rush and Hohaiah from an avalanche of criticism over team selection. If we were to go on a shaky run, things would get much more uncomfortable very quickly IMO.
The big issue for me isn't what Gaskell would bring to the team now (although it would almost certainly be more than Lance does) but what message it sends to Gaskell that he's not considered good enough to replace an entirely ineffective 6. Come contract renewal time, club loyalty may not be top of his list.
Saints have a good record in releasing players, and are rarely bit on the backside by them, but I feel if Gaskell was to move on he'd very much be the exception to that rule.
