I agree. I think he will be gone at the end of this season. MM will have some ideas of players to bring in so somebody will have to be sacrificed for this to happen. Id say him and Feka are the two likeliest to get the bullet at the moment but theres still time for them to turn it around.

Agreed, he's been sluggish since returning from injury. Hopefully starting on Friday he can rediscover the form that had him right up there amoungst our best performers at the start of the year.

I wasn't at the Sheffield game so don't know how Phepls ended up in a one on one v a fast player like Barnett on two occaisons but I'd hazard a guess it's the first time this has happened to whoever has been playing full back this season.

Our defensive pattern has been so good I can't really remember any time we have had to rely on the full back to pull off a Radlinski type cover tackle.

That's both a positive and a negative. It's positive because when the team concentrates (and it doesn't seem like it did at Sheffield) our defence is so good we don't find ourselves in this position often. It's a negative that when we did the full back missed the tackles.

I take the point he was seeing stars for one of them but I have had my reservations about his defence for some time. So benefit of the doubt for Phepls on the Sheffield game but I wonder if other coaches will start to see him as a weak link defensively and what MM will do when Roberts returns?

Dave

Everyone should not forget he has been out for a few games and it takes time to get back to match fitness

Exactly. Before he was injured there was nothing but praise for the lad, his attitude and commitment!!

I'd say he deserves a bit of that in return for now.

1 game does not = form.

For my money it's not match fitness, it's defensive full back play. He didn't have to be faster than Barnett, just had to come in and close him down rather than being indecisive. I really don't think that Phelps has the defensive capabilities of a full back, can anyone honestly remember the last time he made a one on one tackle? Richards to full back for me with Phelps and Tomkins pairing at half back if Leuluai's still out, if he returns then Phelps should probably be dropped, even if under the guise of getting him match fit.

p.s just realised I've slated him a fair bit, I do of course really rate his attacking play and you can tell he's got a good attitude and I think he could make it as a stand off for sure if given a run there.

I was not at the game yesterday but is it not possible that Phelps lack of Match fitness led him to him being indecisive?

When i am Knacked i tend to make stupid mistakes before i feel tired.

Take a look at the video highlights Grimmy. There isn't a full back in SL who would have caught Barnett. Slater might have got close. Reminds me of the 'take the outside' try between Offiah and Tate!

Every fullback in the world has been made to look silly in some games at some stage. There is no fullback on the planet that you can be sure won't have something similar happen.

We used to sneak Richie into our Uni side from time to time as our ringer and although he never had the best skills the lad is a natural athlete and a real flyer, could easily have turned his hand to sprinting so there is no disgrace in being left floundering 1 on 1, i would back him to make any fullback look silly in that situation.

he was not far off the pace of barnett in all fairness

He gives up the second time.

He's not quick enough and he doesn't have the sense to position himself correctly so Barnett can't take him on the outside. Never the next Wigan fullback as some proclaim on here. He's a good lad, but not good enough. Certainly not worth a quota spot when we have Amos Roberts available.

But Amos is at his best on the wing.

Same goes for Pat.

Frankly, I don't want wingers at FB.

That makes Phelps the best FB at the club.

And as for quota spots and whatever, we already have one open. How many imports do you want at the end of the season?

But Amos is perfectly comfortable at 1 and always has been, hence his form in that position.

Roberts has been far and away head and shoulders above anyone else at the club playing at 1 which is what makes him the best fullback at the club by some distance, the performances speak for themselves in my opinion.

Phelps needs to find the form of the first few rounds of SL if he is to earn a new deal in my opinion.