our board are fools for offering him a long term contract. idiots

This is a ludicrous thread. Whether Potter turns out to be able to deliver us a final appearance this year or not, it's just silly and complete idiocy to reach some of the conclusions in this thread after just one game of the campaign.

Which followed how many similar ones from the last campaign ...?

I prefer to view the offseason as an opportunity for the coach to plan, adjust, prepare, develop, bring through more youngsters etc., players and our gameplan and expect that's what they would do. Therefore I think it's more sensible and rational to use a period of time greater than one game on which to base my assessment. You cannot ignore the fact that we are talking about the first game of the season.

Why some of you have decided to overlook the offseason and reach your conclusion after one game? I'm not interested in hearing you say "I'm basing my assessment on what happened last year and that's enough for me". I want to know why people are forgetting about the offseason and have reached their decision after one game.

For me it's a similar situation as Bradford are in (albeit Potter took us to second last year which is hardly a failing) but if I was a Bulls supporter I'd be giving McNamara more than game to prove himself given he's had some offseason to work with and new players.

They only gave him a 2 year deal, I wouldnt say that was long term.

Exactly. The board obviously see him as a stopgap, and if he exceeds expectations then great. The fact is, if he was sacked, who would we bring in? A top coach like Cullen? Someone with no experience like Sculthorpe?

The fact of the matter is, he has been given an aging squad with the money to make two signings (some would argue one and a half, as I'm guessing that Fozzard is on peanuts). People say we are playing boring one man rugby, but then state that all our backs are rubbish, so what do they expect? He isn't a miracle worker, I'm sure if he could make Gidley five years younger and Gardner a few yards quicker he would.

I have noticed for 3 seasons that our standards are slipping, it was plainly obvious under Anderson. People quickly forget the five game losing streak under his leadership, culminating in an embarrassing loss in the snow away at Castleford, before going undefeated until the Grand Final against Leeds. I think it is wise to reserve judgment for a good couple of months yet.

Indeed. So do we all. That's just the point. They looked on Saturday just as they looked at the end of last season, except their defence was abysmal. I can't remember the last time I saw Saints miss I think it was six tackles all in one move, culminating in Briscoe's try.

To clarify, theybeen[/i an off season.


We [islipped down[/i to second last year because for the best part of the first half of the season we were playing in the same manner as we were playing under Daniel Anderson, so we had accumulated a goodly number of points. That was in spite of Potter's determination to change our lineup virtually every match. However, once Potter's influence began to take hold, our play began to deteriorate. We lost five out of our final eight matches. We lost more matches over one season under Potter than we did during any season under Daniel Anderson.

Judging the way many teams have emerged from their off-season - fresh, determined, clued up - ours clearly has done us no good at all. If we had come out fighting with ball skill and sure hands, creativity and ingenuity then I wouldn't be complaining, even if we had lost. However, with the exception of the try attempt before halftime and the last ten minutes for Kyle Eastmond (who woke up or thought 'sod it' and decided to do the business himself, just as he did at the Grand Final), we showed nothing new on last season at all.

Hopefully, that will all change this weekend. Scuse me if my hope is hardly burning brightly.

Do we think Slick is aware of the criticism he is facing from the internet warriors? I bet he's heard tghe tales in the board room about how Blobby and his crew stormed the directors box after Millward's sacking armed with AK47s???

Will he hang on and ride it out so he can search for another job in Australia while still receiving the coin? Or will he not like it and leave?

I told you, a strategic campaign of potatoes in his exhaust and dog turn on his car door handles will give him the message.

Nothing serious enough to hurt him, or put him out, but just let him know how jarred off we are.

[sizePlease note, any post is in jest and in no way encouraging you to carry out such acts. I prefer the classic bum and burning.[/size

Probably. The Saints website have stopped messages from being shown under the two articles about the Hull match. You know there's a problem when big brother says no!


Yes.

I feel honoured that I am regarded in such high esteem. You are my crew, attack!!!

But he was the first coach to have a trophyless season since 2003 - and in his debut season, thats not the best start.

I'm not a fan of Potter, haven't been for a while, but I don't advocate any talk of his sacking. 1) because he's only been here for little over 12 months - any coach should be given two full seasons before being written off (fairly) as a failure....and 2) if we sack him, i struggle to think of any realistic appointment that would be anything other than a step backwards.

On the subject of preparation for the new season, people forget that the likes of Hull had a pre season that started last October.

The 2009 season never even saw them made it to the playoffs, so from the sides perspective, they finished playing early September. That gives them a hell of a lot of time to rest and recuperate. This also applies to other cellar dwellar sides. Its why IMO we often see the weaker teams start off strong, then fade when the real big guns get upto speed.

Now look at Saints pre season, and also i would say Leeds as well. Their league season finished mid October, so with a months rest, pre season would only start November at the earliest. Now remember that Saints and Leeds both had significant numbers of players in the international set up, which meant they were playing RL till the back end of November. Hence we have the likes of James Graham commenting that his pre season was about one month, due to being given December off to recover.

Saints had Roby, Graham, Eastmond, Wilkin and Moore all playing in the internationals. So that means that quite a bit of our new playmaking nucleus didnt get much time to work on moves etc. Is it therefore any wonder that we are a little slow out of the blocks and looking ring rusty in the creative department.

The same also applies to Leeds by the way, who struggled against Celtic and were noticably battered by a Castleford side that doesnt possess anything like the firepower of Hull.

For me some of the issues at Saints are structural, and Potter has been given the job of building a new team for the decade ahead. He has taken on a tough and thankless task. His job is not to win trophys per se (they are a bonus), its to manage the transition, and to put in place the nucleus of a new era of success.

This is a difficult journey, and there will be some hard knocks to take along the way. However at the end of it, Saints will hopefully have the players with the skills to ensure the sides of the 21st centuries second decade, are as competitive and successful as those in the first decade.

I think its a fair analogy to say that Potters job is in some respects a mirror of Saints new stadium project. The new stadium has taken lots of planning and preparation over a number of years, and only now can we see the potential of whats to come. Along the way, the club, council and other officials have taken a lot of criticism and cynicism about whether the project was even serious. Now with the stadium nearing construction there is a general impatience to get it built. The key of course is not to rush, but to put everything in place, so its built right, and leaves a lasting legacy. "Rome wasnt built in a day" as the old adage goes.