Not about dismissing credit to Wakey. They have it, 100%.
The inner concern is about the continuing disrespect of the importance of a quality pack, more specifically, prop forwards.

i was saying this the other day... This saints team is nothing special at all... But the fact that all they really have to do is turn up and play pretty well to win everything, is a terrible inditement on the rest of the league.... I mean look at calatan.. a team of has beens and bullys are their only real challengers.

As you say, warrington, leeds and wigan have been mismanaged to quite an extrordinary level.

Its strange that we have continued this policy of signing 'superstar' backs, while almost totally neglecting the fact that its a TEAM... now look at us... absolutely no pack and a load of overpayed, underperfoming,aging, bang average SL players.

It's going to take Powell years to sort this mess out... if he gets the chance to last that long.

The conspiracy theorists in me thinks he may have purposely made it worse to make him look like his heroic turnaround is better.

What puzzles me at the Wire is we have business men running the club who have been in place for quite a few years. Now ,in my eyes, business men exist to make money & yet we are seeing a club the fortunes of which have dwindled steadily over the last 10 years. You would expect these people to be all over what is happening & why gate receipts are falling because the product they are peddling is not good enough.

Yes, that is why they have appointed the coach that pretty much everyone wanted. It's why they splashed the cash on two marquee half backs. They are desperate for success, I'm sure, and on many measures I'm sure the club is successful.

What's odd though is that for all his long involvement and investment with the club, Mr Moran (or the board in general) has never managed to invest strongly in the one thing that would almost certainly guarantee success, and that is a well managed academy.

Imagine if all the salary money wasted on the numerous underacheivers of the last 20 years had instead been spent on building a top quality youth system, I'd be pretty sure we wouldn't be in the state we are in now?

Twice in a day.
Can’t give you an argument of any degree.

If you don’t think the club has invested heavily in the youth structure then you need to have a good re-think. We’ve 3 potentially superb youth prospects at the moment and only 1 is getting a chance (out of position) due to suspension. All 3 should be in the 17 from now on. You can accuse the club of many things but not investing in the youth programme is very wide of the mark.

Then they haven't done a very good job then.

With our undoubted financial strength, we should have scouts at every junior RL pitch in the North of England. We should have been poaching some of these young talents, who always seem to end up at St Helens, Wigan or Leeds.

What's obvious is that with our minimal return from our youth system over the last 20 years, our efforts in setting up a successful academy set up as been half-d at best.

You can invest as much as you like, but if you don't do it properly or seriously, then it's as big a waste of money as giving Jason Clark a new contract.

You’re right Ratty, been great under Balloo, I assumed he was talking about another period before Anderson that would have cemented a pathway of players 5 to 10 years ago.

I think the emergence of Thewlis/Longstaff/Wrench is a very promising sign of improvement in our youth system, but let's be fair, those 3 guys aren't established SL players to any special level yet, especially in comparison to similar aged players at Saints or Leeds.. Yes, hopefully they will be great players for us, but they could easily turn into Dec Patton or Harvey Livett.

But yes, I was mainly pointing to the earlier Cullen/TS period, when a successful academy built alongside a strong first team squad , could have set us up for a much brighter future than we have seen unfold.

Can add Holmes to the list, tbh I don’t think he ever really wanted to leave Cas.

I don’t know if he just physically CAN’T do it, or mentally WON’T do it, but either way he’s offering next to nowt.

That won't stop king being an abysmal centre though will it?

He's world class.

A bit like our coach then.

Yes but what’s criminal these kids are not being given chances, so far Thewlis, Wrench, Longstaff and now Dean when they have been given a game they have not let us down. But soon as a “senior” player is available again they come straight back in, Wrench had done nothing to lose his place this week. But hey ho we don’t run the club but our eyes are not painted on, just let them play.

I agree entirely. I didn’t like Powells post match comments about shoe-horning Widdop and Ratchford back in. Powell doesn’t seem to know he has a free pass this season and should just continue with youth regardless of their mistakes….but he certainly should be punishing senior players continued errors/laziness….philbin, Holmes, Widdop. Also when Minikin is fit he can come in for Charnley. What is the point of all those great hands to create an overlap if it dies within 10 yards. We need THREATS and Wrench is certainly one of them.

Charnley, King, Philbin, Holmes especially I’d be embarrassed if I was just an amateur player doing maybe a training session or two during the week with whatever we’ve got and then turning up to play.

These are players who are training day in day out with exceptional equipment and coaches. What an embarrassment they are.

I think he's lost his free pass rights for this year already.

Certainly the patience/goodwill has gone from the fans

9th and 7th

I think trotting out the Easter excuse (when Wigan had to play over Easter too) and saying the same thing post match is not a good strategy.

Unless he said more in the press conference, I don't think he made much of Easter. In the SKY interview, it was almost said in passing. His comments are far less excuse-laden than when he was at Cas.

https://www.warringtonguardian.co.uk/sp ... l-comment/ [i“Easter’s been particularly tough – the boys have worked hard to stabilise us but we got a look at where we need to go to and at this moment in time, we aren’t able to go at that level.[/i

https://www.warringtonguardian.co.uk/sp ... l-comment/ [i“Easter’s been particularly tough – the boys have worked hard to stabilise us but we got a look at where we need to go to and at this moment in time, we aren’t able to go at that level.[/i

Where did we sign Magoulias from? Another master stroke. Bloke looks like he irons his shirt with a wok.