Sentiment should never factor in sport.
Look at City won the league under Mancini but because they were pathetic in Champions league they got rid of him.

Similar to us, just because we won the CC, the GF is the true prize don't rest on our laurels.

I'm still going to stay with my stance of with all the investment we have and with almost everything away from the pitch being 2nd to none, he needs to do one of two things this year.
Win the CC or get us in the GF, if we lose the GF hard to take but that is a standard i can live with.
If none of those objectives are delivered, sorry but for me look elsewhere.

One thing that does concern me is that he couldn't seem to motivate the team enough for Saints last week, especially when that game means so much
to the fans. There are no excuses for losing that game, Saints are terrible, a weeks turnaround and more worryingly the fact that we went 2 tries up early on
and were arrogant enough to take out foot off the pedal - we truly never recovered.

That game should have been a wake up call but it obviously wasn't. I didn't go yesterday but it sounds like we were dyer. In those conditions players need to man up and take the ball in properly. If they're chucking the ball round in those contitions and its obvious it's not working, and they're continuing to do the same thing for the whole match, then the players are going through the motions. That's not good enough and shouldn't be acceptable for a proffesional team at this level.

I don't like to moan and I very very rarely do, but the manner in which they're lost the past 2 games is concerning to me. I feel extremely sorry for the 1000+ Wire fans who made the effort to support the side, only for the players to go through the motions.

I can honestly see us losing the next match at Widnes. We won last time v Widnes but it was far from convincing. First and foremost we need to put the work/effort in to gain those hard yards and earn the right to move the ball around. Players need to accept as well that you can just run in with the ball, or receive ball and pass it on. They need to be playing the conditions and the players in front of them, which means thinking of options before and at the time they receive the ball. Some serious questions need to be asked this week.

Players getting under each others feet, looking around for a pass not seeing anyone and driving in, slow methodical set plays that look so unrehed it was embarrassing.
Then occasionally we got... Hollywood offloads (Atkins), crash balls (in that weather really?)
Long cut out passes being dropped almost every time(Evans/Atkins/Penny)

What were the instructions?

I think the instructions could be "Play what you see cos i haven't a clue !"

Even against Wigan there was a big difference to our attack as soon as Sandow went off & no plan B to switch to.

No Smith out banner here as yet I very very rarely if ever bag a player and have backed Smith over the last two years, but as time goes on Smith seems to be losing his touch he has the best facilities he's had the backing of the chairman but at present he seems to be hesitant, not as in control as in the past yes we are better than ten years ago but the graph is heading down again and I would be concerned about giving him a new contract, I agree with all the not on sentiment posts.

Ive decided we should sack smith and replace them with the posters on this board.

You are Simon Moran, and I claim my £5.

I wish i was:
Top of the league with the second best points scored and the lowest points conceded.
Played 11 Won 8 Lost 3
Scored almost 100 points than the pies

And yet people still call for his head. What do people want? We have an injury to Sandow - that's hardly his fault. The team look a bit disorganized without him - Christ look at Wigan and Saints. We lost a game to Saints - I remember when we never beat them. We lost to Huddersfield - Conditions were not great and fair play to Huddersfield for playing them better than we did.

I suspect Smith to get a new contract and to change the assistant. Maybe Monaghan will be tempted back from France.

Listening to the game on Friday, we didn't seem to have a problem in defence ,especially withstanding 8(?) goal line drop outs against master of his trade Danny Brough. Attack seems to let us down especially close to the line. We still seem to have the Wire trademark problem of wanting to score with every play.

That would be acceptable to a lot of fans but it's the between now and then after the two mediocre years this is the year Smith has to show he's turning it around, he may well do it but having to change horses mid stream re the new training routine doesn't fill me with confidence, I've backed him right up to now and hope he comes good.

He's talking about giving some of the youth a chance at half Morgan Smith and Harvey Livett that could be a start.

How many reserve team and U19s games have you watched this year?

None I'm just repeating Smiths quote have I missed any other available halves from within our teams.

If you had you wouldn't be saying they are at this stage they are capable of taking the step up. Smith didn't even play for the reserves yesterday and if you had seen the game you would have seen Travis Burns who can't get into the Saints first team completely dominate before he limped off the pitch.


Anyone suggesting there are better options than Gidley or Sandow (or Patton if fit) at half-back is naive.

Not arguing or suggesting anything your knowledge of the reserves and U19s is far greater than mine Gidley and Ratchford are struggling with Patton out 6/8 weeks, rather than Currie or Westerman at six Smith was looking at promoting from within, maybe that's the only option he has.