Spot on. Far too much bloody negativity on here, yes we are currently outside the top 4 but will be there by the end of the regular rounds / middles 8s. Of course we are not where we want to be right now but over the duration of the comp results and levels of consistency will improve I have no doubt.

I can sum this season up in one sentence..

We are not as good as we thought we were.

This isn't one of your most dynamic posts rd. what we have shown is that we haven't consistently reached the standards we are capable of ( 2 wins vs best team in comp). Tony will sort this out and I am 100% confident we will be in top 4 at end of season. From there 2 wins away from a grand final title

I'll ask the question then instead.

Does anyone think the squad is at least as good this far into the season as they thought 2 mins before kick off in round 1?

On paper it is not far off what we have had in anytime during smiths reign BUT he isn't getting the most out of them which is where the disappointment stems from. This team will settle down and performances will pick up

That was me, but I don't think you understood my point, and it wasn't personal either.

Perhaps that could be better expressed as "I [ibelieve[/i we are not as good as [iI[/i thought we were".

It saves speaking on behalf, and assuming the opinion, of countless others.

To the donating pig, it is very high.

Squad (on paper) - 7.5 / 10
On paper - top 4
Performance level - 6.5 / 10
Performance / final position 5th - 7th
Peak Performances (v Leeds) 8.5 / 10

So to date. A season of underperformance with a couple of peaks

I expected big things at the beginning of this season, the signing of Sims and Clarke to supplement a decent team that had begun to really develop the young talent at its disposable. I honestly believed we would win a trophy. Now after what I have witnessed I don't see a trophy winning season at all. The performance level has been so poor, even in the games we have won (aside from Leeds x2 and Wakefield). If anything I think we have gone backwards this year.

Only positives, Toby King and Patton, they could be the future. I also think Currie has a big future.

We have gone backwards, and i fear this is not stopping. Too many times have i seen wire make mistakes. wigan seem to have a manager who wants them to run through brick walls and saints. That to me is more than any tactician. Tony smith needs to hair dryer treatment these players... We are a club with huge following and expectations over recent years compared to other clubs. We need to go forward or get left behind, no wonder we get laughed at by other fans.

But...

3 challenge cups, one hubcap and 2 grand fianal appearances speaks for itself.. In tony smith we trust!

WIRE!

Look how close 4th-8th is currently..

The reason we are in the position we are in is because, apart from the 2 Leeds games, the team have not swarmed all over the opposition when defending, cutting down the options. We seem content to stand and stare and wait to see what the opposition will do.
In attack we are rarely struggling to get up and play the ball quickly, something from which Higham and Clarke thrive. And what has happened to our off-loading?
Granted the half backs are hardly shining lights, but they can't operate without their forwards dominating.
Finally, near the opposition line, we seem to have no ideas, no dummy runners, and plump for trying to barge over.
Anyway, get the forwards doing what they are paid for will produce the play and results we need.
And really finally. if Atkins must keep his place, please stop him flying out of the line, leaving gaping holes for his winger to defend.
off for my afternoon nap now.

But surely the fans of Huddersfield Catalan and Castleford will be saying th same thing. They aren't just going to step aside and let us in.

I don't think it's negativity, it's realism. A realistic observation to how average we are.

I'd say, bar three games, we've been way way below 6.5/10. For 70+% of the season. It's not like we've even been a consistent 6.5, we've been just about scraping a 3/10 at best most weeks

People could look at the Leeds wins as "look how good we are, that's what we're capable of, that'll be our level come September"...but I'm thinking more along the lines of them being total anomolies and akin to when average Salford London and Wakefiekd sides beat us when we were at our best three/four years ago. Their fans might have been saying "look what we can do to top of the league Wire, we could easily make the play-offs of we get that level of performance more consistently"; but they didn't and finished outside the 8.

I'm not saying we'll be that low down, but I can't see us being any higher than the bang in mid table spaces of 6th/7th.