Quote ="SaintsFan"
To repeat myself: time doesn't stand still. You were talking of an opinion I gave a couple of months ago. Many people were saying the same thing at the time and probably on that thread. Obviously, you didn't mention that bit as you were just having a go, and in a very childish way, as is par for the course.'"
You, Mugwump and St pete were the dissenting voices. Mugwump or St Pete aren't now saying that Wilkin has gone from a position where he was not helping the young players in his club side (which is part of the argument I had with you) to suddenly being a great candidate for England captain because of said qualities. I'd have the grace to admit that I was wrong originally because how anyone can see whether he now talks to players in a positive way or not is beyond me. I'm sure you realise that Wilkin missed at least 3 or 4 matches in this time as well, and when he came back he had a couple of quiet games. It makes your claims even more bizarre.
Oh, and DON'T accuse me of childish comments when YOU are the one who claimed that I was ill for daring to criticise your embarrassing u turn. This is a public forum and I pulled you up because when I debated with you on the original thread, I didn't agree with you. I wanted to know why you had changed your mind. You claimed I was ill, asked if I had a job (?) and spat your dummy.
Quote ="SaintsFan"Ratchford impressed me. He looked like the only player who was really up for it in the England team. While he still has to sort out his defensive positioning a bit - something that will no doubt come with experience - I thought he looked good at fullback.
Pity we have two strong fullbacks and no halves! I remember when Smith was the national coach and he played Tomkins and Eastmond together in the Four Nations final at Leeds. I thought that at last we had found the halfback pairing for England. They were both still raw but they looked so good.
The fact that neither of them is playing at halfback for England shouldn't mean that we end up playing Sinfield and Chase there though. McBanana should choose the best English halfbacks, with a reserve, and stick with them for a while. Brough may be off form at the moment but that doesn't mean that given the opportunity to play with the team again he won't play much better than he did on Wednesday. Even Robes looked half the player he usually is so I think something more was off kilter on Wednesday than simply a question of playing staff.
The coach maybe? The limited preparation time? Being shoe-horned between two Superleague matches? Inexperience in playing together as a team?'"
By the way, I agree with everything you have written here.
I won't hold my breath though.
