willie poching gone now

Hull assistant?

Good call.

Smith will want his own assistant with him.

appointed stanley gene this morning

Isn't Stanley drawing his pension ? He's been around for donkey's years.

The massive pack thing is a myth that seems to get peddled every year for some reason.
Our forwards last year weren't all that big tbh and some of the smallest men were actually the most effective.

i know, it gets thrown around on here a lot as a stick to beat our forwards with, Cator was excellent when he's been on the field for you.

Of course it not just about size. Warren Stevens et al prove that.

But we have been lacking go forward in our pack, that's just a fact.

e.g) Mulhearn - average gain 6.82, Jason Clark - 5.64, Matt Davis - 6.64 to name a few

Jason Clark the wire legend? Lovely bloke though….

Unpopular opinion I know, but Powell gets the whole season for me, unless we're under genuine relegation threat with eight games to go and desperate for a bounce or whatever.

The club have backed him, and if we want to think long term then we have to go with that and see where it leads. Another season like this one and yes, change has to happen then, but six games, Easter, whatever, then no. Too early.

Before anyone starts, yes, I'm a season ticket holder and watched the whole of 2022 through tortured eyes, but you don't give him the backing we have to build his own squad and then sack him a month in after a few defeats. That gets you nowhere.

Goodness me. Brace yourself.

a month in……to season 2.

He will have a very different squad in season two to season one, and he's been given the backing to bring in the players he wants and ship out those he doesn't want. That warrants more than a month to see what transpires.

May I be the first to welcome you and your positivity to this forum. (Even if I did initially misread your name as Bristol Preacher).

I think I've already stated on here (probably this thread) that, unless next season is on a par with this year, Powell will not be fired.. I suspect that, despite rumours of an alcohol-influenced Fitzpatrick saying otherwise, Powell will get plenty of slack next season, and as long as we are showing some improvement, then a top 6 finish will be seen as acceptable.

I think season 3 is going to be the acid test for this whole project - little point in handing Powell a 3 year deal, along with the clear out/rebuild task he was obviously handed, if you are going to then bottle it and sack him a month into season 2.

Throw in that all the new arrivals next season have 2 year deals and it's obvious that next season is seen as the settling in and building year, followed by the real trophy quest in 2024.

It's not without its risks, but it's a strategy that makes sense, albeit it requires lots of patience on the fan's part.