Maybe a good question for the next (handpicked) fans forum?

The ex Cas players failing to perform has been at the heart of the reason Powell has struggled this year. He really needed those guys to set the tone. The fact they are not playing up to their Cas level undermines Powell in the eyes of everybody.

Sadly I think they are just past their best.

Reminds me of when Dalglish went to Newcastle United and brought in Barnes and Rush.

The pack is beaten from pillar to post every week. Holmes is a big part in that problem.

Holmes has been one of my favourite 2nd rowers for years. He's aggressive packs a punch in attack and defense, will tackle all day long and has good ball handling skills.........so why has he brought none of that with him here?
Like someone said, i wonder if he's regretted the move and playing on the opposite side of the pitch than normal has affected him?
Nicholson should play instead of him next week, put Holmes on the bench to rotate with J.Clark at 13, that's by far the best performance i've seen from him for us playing like that.
On another note does anyone know why Nicholson was dropped for KR, was it one of those easing him in slowly because of his age stupid decisions??

On his current form we could be Holmeless by the end of the year.

Powell is too stubborn, to release Holmes, he gave him a 3 year contract.

I assume you are alluding to the fact that if we get relegated, then Holmes` contract is invalid, but if Powell was allowed to stay, he would give Holmes a new contract anyway.

Btw, Currie is just as poor, and he isn`t playing on the wrong side of the field.

I was hoping Currie would have been one of the first out - he's been coasting for the last few years. He epitomises everything that is wrong at the club.

The matt sturm deal, might have to get renamed, the oli holmes deal

Matt Sturm gets brought up a lot but he hardly (if at all?) played a game in the first team so he can't be blamed for our struggles in 2002. I doubt he was on big bucks as he'd been signed from playing semi pro at Workington.

Spot on this, it's almost a Shakespearean tragedy that the guys he brought over to instill his new ethics are the ones seemingly letting him down.

I don't know what's happened to Matautia, he's become a greedy selfish player. It's not as if he's Atkins who scored a boat load either.

Just the length of contract, 3 years for a bit part player, made no sense.

The Sturminator. What a great squad we had back then

Tom O`Reilly was playing for Woolston Rovers when we gave him a Super League contract for that season.

Shocking stats if true. Embarrassing even.
Hard to rule out he came to Lancashire for the holiday and didn’t plan on so few sheep here? His fitness doesn’t seem half it was while at Cas.

I was more hopeful over the signing of Holmes than Matautia turns out I got that the wrong way round, but i certainly didn’t anticipate the extent of the drop off in form from both. Minikin I just didn’t get but can hardly blame him for what has happened this season.