Bloody ridiculous some of the stuff that is being said on the Saints board at present.

I don't think it is really. The Catalans and Huddersfield results can hardly be seen as shocks these days.

We reached the Grand Final last season. Yeah we did, but that largely because the wheels fell off at Wigan plus the fact that we had James Graham. Saints have always been a side that has had the best individual players in the league. Go back through our Super League history and we've always had three or four of the 5 best players in the league. Players like Long, Sculthorpe, Martyn, Cunningham, Newlove, Roby, Graham, Lyon etc. In the days when we were successful it was because of that core of utterly superb players. They have been dropping off as they retired and we're now down to just Roby as a genuine 'top 5' player. So in the past where we were a play off side that had three or four megastars who made the difference, we're now just a playoff side plus James Roby. The board have been focused solely on the stadium, the playing side of things has been well and truly neglected. Mick Potter and Royce Simmons were very average appointments of solid coaches who were supposed to be No.2's rather than head coaches. Player recruitment has been an afterthought and our reliance on the youth system to pump out megastars hasn't worked either, it's produced a team full of 'decent' players.

There is only the red vee on the shirt and the names that gives sides any trouble these days. Teams pay us too much respect, we're very soft in the forwards and have truly average outside backs.

And how to lose Finals. Biggest. Chokers. Ever.

Always sweet to see the plakky Scousers lose.


They are a club on the slide.

We may finish well adrift of Wire on the League Ladder again but your season will end before ours again

Why do we even debate the league? Why do we even bother with season tickets? This is all irrelevant and the true measurement of a side is how far they go in a month-long playoff event. For me, we should start blooding some youngsters in, as these league games clearly mean nothing.

How I would love to watch Warrington LOSE five grand finals in a row. Wow, you are so lucky. You know, not winning ANYTHING for THREE years and for THREE years Warrington filling the trophy cabinet. I know it is hard to think about but it's been a long dry spell for Saints.

I'm sure we'll get better at the playoffs. Come one, we lost by a couple of points, in a close match, against the eventual champions (the ones who dry bummed you your team in the final) Plus we put a cricket score past Huddersfield. This year MAY just be our year.

Good Luck, you're really going to need it this year.

Are we laughing at Saints too early?

On here I remember a fair few of the pre-season predictions from Wire fans were saying Saints to come top, or us to come top and Saints second, because Wigan are going to decline without Maguire.

I would still be apprehensive if we had to play them in the playoffs or a Challenge Cup round.

I'm not. Now Graham has gone they lack leadership even more so than last year.

We are the team the team to beat this season without question and the only team that really can mount a challenge is Wigan.

Too early?

I certainly wouldn't laugh at sts on a bad run cause they always pull a saints. However, they haven't won anything in a long time and don't look like rectifying that this season.

I admit they have some of the hallmarks of Leeds last year and could surprise everyone come the end of the season but Leeds last year had star power; they had the players you turn to in a big game with backs against the wall.

Who are the stalwarts at sts? Gardner? Wellens? Meli? These aren't big game players. I remember Pryce dragging sts around the pitch. I remember Graham dragging sts into a victory. I've never seen Lomax or Gaskell or Makinson or Foster or Meli or Perry or LMS win a a game with skill for sts.

There is Wellens and Tony P who can realistically rally the troops and it shows. They really are looking like their backs against the wall.

Yes, a bad fortnight, but losing to excellent Giants and Cats teams is no disgrace. Far too early to write off any of the 'big' sides, especially Saints aho are still the masters of late come-backs.

I think Leeds may have something to say about that.

Write Saints off at your peril.

In all honesty it has been a bad 3 weeks, the draw at Hull KR for me was more disapointing than losing out to Catalans and Hudds, but although I was gutted with the Cats result probably with the nature of the loss I was very proud yesterday in a game which could have gone either way and we just missed out on all 3 games we failed to win. I think it will be Wire top Wigan 2nd Hudds and cats fighting for 3rd/4th and us and Leeds fighting for 5th/6th. St Helens always have a sticky patch and the games we lost last season included Hudds away Hull KR away anyway. But I'm confident we will put a run together at some point and look like Saints and I am not worried yet. What does get me thinking is the lack of a match winner, with the players we have lost especially Graham it was always going to be a tough ask but I think we will be OK, don't know if we will win anything but certainly think we will be there or there abouts.

Won't take long for Saints to hit some form again with or without Roby, just hope its not against us.