It all seems negative right now. Alot of fans have been in uproar since the Warrington game and on the back of the Eastmond saga. What's happening now at a great club like Saints is just the natural order of things and your club is in transition. You've had the uneviable task of having to replace the likes of Cunningham, Sculthorpe, Long, Gilmour, Daniel Anderson and looking back further Lyon and Paul Anderson. Even players like Vinnie Anderson and Willie Talau did a quality job for the side. You now face the prsopect of having to replace the likes of Wellens, Graham and of course Eastmond. What side wouldn't struggle? Throw into the mix leaving the sanctuary of the old ground for a move to Widnes and it all makes for a tough time.

You've just had far too many superstars to replace and with the salary cap, how are you going to do that quickly? So, you may well not be the side you once were or even a major threat for a while...but you'll be back. Look where Wigan were only a few years ago after their era of dominance.

I look at my own club who have improved possibly more dramatically than any club in the competition over recent years and wonder if we'll ever have a better chance of silverware than the cup final of two years ago. Saints will be fine in a few years, once you have signed some quality replacements and settled into your new home.

Very accurate comments these.

But try persuading these lot?

Personally I agree that this may be a situation where Saints will unavoidably
drop off a little. However, they'll always attract stars, and I'm quite sure their youth production line will continue. Add to that the stadium etc and I'd just feel quite relaxed if I was a Saints supporter.

The same issues will confront us over next couple of years as Briers, Morley, Solomona etc hang up their boots. We've had a nice two years with a bit of silverware but I'm well aware of our impending 'transitional period'; a period which nearly relegated Wigan 5 or so years ago.

Exactly and to be fair to the likes of Wire, Leeds and the Giants these are all clubs which have bided their time whilst Wigan, Saints and Bradford have dominated. Leeds are probably on the slide a bit now after a few very good years and Wigan have risen once again.

Nothing can last forever. I think Saints are very similar to Arsenal in that on their day there is nobody better to watch but how do you replace the Henry's, Bergkamp's, Pires and Vieira's of this world....think Sculthorpe, Cunningham, Long, Martyn, Lyon and so on.

Anyway, all in all it's good for the game to have different teams winning silverware and I'm not saying Saints won't win anything....it's just not as much of a fore gone conclusion as it once was.

I know what you mean, I'm a relatively new member to this board, and logging onto here everyday is starting to give me the feeling of impending doom...

Man, sometimes things have to be put into perspective. A club like Saints, Wigan or Leeds go a season without a trophy and it's an outrage and the board should be ousted.....Lol God help us fans of the 'lesser' clubs who hardly make a semi final nevermind picking up a bit of silver!

Anyway, the losses make the wins all the sweeter as I'm sure the Wire fans will testify! As the previous poster stated Saints won't have an issue attracting star names to the club. You just set the standards so damn high!

What I meant was, I was feeling pretty relaxed about our team until I started logging on here to read all the scare mongering :p

Yea...I was kinda agreeing with you in that when things get a bit tough alot of fans overreact. To be fair it's a case of being spoilt, after taking success for granted. I can only imagine how Wigan fans must have reacted when their era of domination came to an abrupt end.

i think a large number of Saints fans recognise that we've been very lucky with the players we had at the same time and that it would always be difficult when they inevitably left. we've apparantly been in transition for several years now but by luck or good judgement we've been able to stay at the top. the difficulty this year will be how we cope with playing at widnes and the issues that brings along with how the quickly the new boys fit in and how we go with injuries.



the doom and gloom merchants always come out in force at this time of year and unfortunately people notice these types of posts more than they do the positive ones. some of us however recognise that the game isn't won in the opening weeks but over the course of the season and more so in the playoffs something that even 'in transition' should be obtainable thanks to the ridiculous nature of the top 8 system.

Go back to your own Board! We don't want positivity in here.

DOOMED! WE'RE ALL DOOMED!

I've seen it all before through the 70's 80's and early 90's. I know what it's like to not win or challenge regularly. Same will happen again soon, only I don't think teams will dominate like Saints, Bratfut and Leeds have done anymore. I really think we'll see different teams winning competitions on a more regular basis and then fans can get used to not thinking their team should win every time they step on the pitch and get back to enjoying the misery as well as the glory.....

Oh well I feel great already ... whilst freezing my nads off in Widnes watching toothless displays. Change needs to be managed and for some players has been but the quality has been in decline for some time now although it's difficult if not impossible to really replace players like Scully,Cunningham and Long