He's been out the first team for 3 weeks and he's finished, jes!!!!!!!

In that case, surely Foster is finished too?

Along with

Andrew Dixon
Scott Hale
Nathan Ashe
Carl Forster
Danny Jones
Joe Greenwood
Anthony Walker
Jordan Hand


If Wellens had not been banned Makinson would also be added to that list and Magennis must have been on it for a fair few weeks at the start of the year. Basically your either playing or sacked.

All I was saying is gaskell as been regular for last two season played every weekwhen fit on the verge of the England squad to not getting anywhere near the first team at saints now

I just think it's a bit of a step to not playing to being thrown out. We will have a reshuffle during the year, at the moment our form is good and the halfbacks are playing well. If it was Royce then yes you could expect a move around for no good reason. But the new team are only changing for players who are unavailable. Gaskell plays neither FB or Centre, so he ain't going to get a shot until Lomax or Lance are injured or need a rest. He may make the Castleford game with such a quick turn around.

Wellens will be back for that one and Makinson will be out.

Gaskell should only be worried if we where still having poor form and he was not picked, or if Lance or Lomax where injured and someone else was brought in.

Gaskells issue is that unlike Lomax, Lance, Wheeler he is more of a one position player at present, with a bit more bulk he could slot into loose forward, but until that time. He is the 3rd choice halfback and there only room for 2 in each game and back on the bench has been binned. (rightfully so).

He may not be happy and in a way I'm glad, any player happy to sit out the team and take the money is not worth having, but without having other positions to his bow, he will have to bide his time. I have no idea if he has the temperament to do that, you may know better. But he was accelerated into the first team a good 2 to 3 years ahead of schedule. Had Eastmond re-signed a contract, would Gaskell even have got a first team game last year????

I think he's got good temperament and is a good lad but he's had a taste of the big time and was getting picked infront of pryce around play off time last year so I'd imagine he pretty gutted!

Yep. I would imagine he's not the only one.

Your probably right but when your team has turned over the world champions and the champions elect in the last two games, it's hard to go knocking on the door.

I see it as all very positive rather than negative. We all know there are players who are due to retire. At some point they will need to be replaced. We have SL ready players ready to come in. Rather than having to test players once the old hands are gone.

They might have done that anyway. We will never know.

But is he willing to wait for that I heard someone say at the wire game that the chairman had offered him a new deal

Well that's down to Gaskell but he only just got a new deal in his pocket last year. There is another Saints player who was pushed out or jumped ship some years ago. That would be Lee Briers. Whether pushed or jumped, you cannot deny his pure talent and neither can you deny that without the intervention of Tony Smith, Lee Breirs could have ended up his playing days at Wire frustrated at not achieving the heights that his talents could have taken him too at other clubs.

If Gaskell wants a move for being out for 3 games, well that's his choice, but I would doubt it firstly and if it was the case he needs to think carefully as a move in haste may leave him frustrated for years to come.

Roby bided his time as a reserve for many years and it was an apprentiship served well. Same for Wilkin.