Edited.

We always have matched their performance in junior development.

So you're saying they put the money in but didn't get quality resources in either scouting (poor quality recruitment) and/or coaching (insufficient resources) for that investment?

There are a number of clubs who have produced a long line of local talent - they tend to be towns where RL is king - Cas, Fev, Wigan, Hull. I'm not sure that is naturally the case at Leeds & Saints, they have had to work at it. Certainly when they were struggling in the 80s & 90s there was nowhere near the home grown talent there is now. I'm not sure Bradford made the most of their success since SL, it will definitley be more difficult attracting talent when there are currently more successful clubs within 15 miles.

It was a scouting problem.

Prior to SL we didn't. We did 96-2003 but after that we haven't.

It did take long but once the players became first teamers the rise was rapid. They weren't really week in week out regulars until 2003 and by 2004 they were champions.

With the crop you are trying to bring through, you'll know pretty quick if they're good enough.

Was it only a scouting problem. I had the feeling that under Nobby he went and bought his team whilst the juniors were trained up and then let go. I'm sure that people will point to the one or two that made it through the ranks at Bradford but it would be interesting to see how many Leeds and Saints had promoted over a similar period. It always seemed that any succesful juniors we had were despite the system not because of it.

That's been as good as said by the club, both at the Fans' Forum and in individual conversations. I think its safe to say now that I was told by a then-Community Development Manager that Nobby would not let the players go round the schools or do other community development (i.e. the players of the future) work, and that Macca was precisely the opposite.

I understand that Millwart identified a similar youth/academy development problem at Stains around 2001, and promptly took the sort of steps the current Bulls administration took from 2005. That gives them four years start on us, so its maybe not surprising that they (and Leeds) are much further down the track than us?

But at least we ARE on the track, and a way down it now. It would seem that under the previous regime - if all we are given to understand is correct - we would probably still be in the tramshed.

Yes scouting was a major problem. The club waisted some serious money and time on lads who were never going to make it. It's no surprise that the head scout was one of the first to be replaced.

Nobles biggest problem was not playing the good juniors we had players like Nicky Saxton, Paul Clarke, Ross Greenwood and Richard Dobson got so issued off the left the game all together.

Rubbish.

Care to expand on that? Given that I did say "if all we are given to understand is correct", which invited intelligent comment and rebuttal of what now seems to be the club party line from anyone who is qualified to do so.

I thought better of you than that