Quote: Ferocious Aardvark "Can I just point out that without the points deduction, we would have finished the season 3 points behind Leeds, who are the SL Champions? Yet I have read plenty of their "fans" - invariably the "McDermott Is A Rubbish Coach" brigade - who still say they are crap, although they tend to have had to evolve from "he can't coach" to "he may be able to sort of coach but I really hate the style of rugby we are playing, I don't enjoy the games any more" etc.
Personally I think that glory years are rare, and whether any team achieves them is in the lap of the gods. So, for example, Leeds have now won the SL title 2 years on the trot - and it is a massive achievement. Yet I can't call those seasons Leeds glory years really, as they haven't really stood out as the seasons have gone on, not in the way that Saints or Bradford used to in their pomp.
So personally, I would like to see us continue to evolve and build gradually, and hope agaisnt hope that the combination of progressive youngsters that we have, the quality of the established players, and maybe one or two shrewd signings, somehow end up being the magic mix that is so unpredictable but that you definitely need in order to even think about "glory years".
If it happens, it happens. For now I just want a competitive and learning/improving side, preferrably with a nucleus of our own best youngsters, playing with the "spirit of 2012". That will do for me, and let's see where we can go from there.'"
The voice of common sense, and I couldn't agree more. It's easy to get into the 'we're a big club near the top and it will last forever', sort of attitude, but generally it doesn't last "forever", or even close to it, and many clubs will get their turn in the sun, if they wait around for it. There are many decisions taken by the bods in charge; some turn out for the best and some, well, don't, but you can never tell what [iwill[/i work and what [iwon't[/i, until it's too late.
Let's get a team based around the young players and a few older veterans then give them their head - we've little to lose and much to gain, but let's keep immediate expectations to a minimum, eh?.