Quote Saddened!="Saddened!"I was quietly worried about tonight, seeing the way you ground out a result against Wigan at home, I feared we might be headed for the same. At half time I knew we'd win. You had so much pressure tonight, so many repeat sets in and around our 20 and you could have played till the Summer holidays and not scored from open play. Our defense is pretty solid at the moment, Holbrook has got that side sorted it seems, but still, your attacking play was so predictable, so slow and so easy to defend against. We weren't great tonight, arguably our worst half of the season in the first half. Ben Barba had probably his quietest game of the season but still had the quality when it mattered with the double pump to send Atkins into Dominos looking for the first pass. Luke Thompson and Dom Peyroux probably the best two forwards on the field, both having sensational games.
You probably won't like me saying this, but your whole club reminds me of Saints under Cunningham. The crowd was there, but silent throughout, despondent and resigned to the inevitable. When the Wire have a chance of winning the place can be bouncing, you didn't get into the game at all. Like Cunningham's Saints you are trying to be solid defensively and grind it out by playing percentages. But again like Cunningham's Saints you don't look fit, you are making mistakes in defense, giving needless penalties away and not gelling in attack. Give it another month and then force the club into making changes, make yourselves heard, demand change.
As for individual performances from Warrington tonight I thought Cooper did really well. He stood up to our pack, when the likes of Crosby and Hill in particular were hiding. Benny tried his best, but he's struggling now. Brown, Ratchford and Roberts all very poor. What separates Saints and Wire at the moment and probably in general is the quality of our young players. Luke Thompson was the best player on the pitch today, Matty Lees not looking out of place either and Richardson's development v Dec Patton's another comparison that doesn't make great reading for your development of young prospects. Wire's young players just don't seem to kick on and develop. I had thought Livett would be a top player, but another one who struggled tonight to get into the game, Philbin doing nothing bar running in at third man with his shoulder. The King brothers, who should both be at Batley or Oldham by now, why are they still in your team? Still, not the end of the world. SL is pants and even with that squad you're still in with a shout of the top 4, or you should be.
One thing that worried me tonight was Daryl Clark. I appreciate you don't have a backup hooker, but he clearly got a pretty decent knock to the head. He looked like he was on a three day bender in Blackpool after that, he dropped the ball two out of the next three times he got the ball and looked ill for the rest of the game. Surely he should have at least gone off to be tested?'"
I think its a stretch to say we are in with a shout of top 4 ...but factually at least for the moments its correct as we have won one game less than 4th placed leeds....
but everything else you say is absolutely spot on......
