The season so far is panning out quite similar to how I thought it would, although after your good start I did wonder if I had under estimated your chances. It was always going to be a tough year for Wakfield given the gap in spending power between yourselves and the big boys in SL. You're certainly doing it tough at the moment but you'd think that you will improve again before the end of your SL season.

I don't know if there is a strategy to try and hold something back for the final 7/8 games in the split, if it was my team I'd like to think not. I go and watch my team in the hope that they're going into each game with a single aim of getting the win. Damage limitation for 23 rounds before a big push in the split doesn't seem a great strategy for building the club and supporter base. When that split does happen it shoukd certainly be a very tense couple of months for a lot of clubs with so much at stake.

It will be interesting once the other 3 clubs destined for the middle eight become more evident. I think Betts has already been targeting games with his use of Brown and if they fall further behind the pack he will have difficult choices to make.

Even with a fully fit squad if we play the same style of Rugby as we have attempted this season then we will finish 7th or 8th in the middle eight. Our completion rate is around 50 % because our players are simply not good enough to execute the passing style game Webster has tried to get them to play. Our players are some of the worst players in SL. They may just have the ability to play a very simple game plan designed to get them to the end of their sets and kick. Not pretty but it is all they are capable of.
Defence is about desire, attitude and determination all atributes we do not have at present, not sure how we engender this into the players. It seems obvious that Webster, his staff or our captain are not able to get a response from the team. Remember last year when the Catalans director took control of the situation after they lost to us last year. I think the players have had to much carrot and not enough stick. Each player should be made to report to the directors on Monday morning, with their agent and receive the bolloking of their lifetimes. Those agents sold their players to the club on the basis that they could play Rugby well they need to prove it. Injured players like Ian Shirke ( not the genuine injured players ) should be made to do an 8 hour day cleaning the ground. The players are taking the michael, every player who has worn the shirt this season is a full time pro player so should be able to tackle, catch and run hard.
I fully expected us to be in the middle eight and unlike Vasty agreed with the bookies, I did not expect us to be given a game plan beyond our players abilities, I expected to see effort, I did not think we would win a single game, on paper we are the worst team, but I can respect a team that gives 100% in defeat.

I don't disagree with you at all. The strategy Webster is hinting at is dangerous and certainly cynical. But, it's a strategy that the new structure allows. I'd love us to be in a different place but our situation is what it is and, if SL survival is the name of the game the damage limitation strategy is the best one we've got. Heard the story of the two blokes in the jungle confronted by a hungry lion? One shouts, "Run for your life!" but his mate stops and puts on his running shoes.
"What the f... are you doing? You can't outrun a lion!"
"I don't have to outrun the lion", says his mate. "I just have to outrun you!"
That's the position we're in now.

The cynic in me wonders whether Webster is trying to buy himself time to the end of the season referring to the play offs etc continually if it was a 'normal season' he'd probably be looking at the door now.

We'll probably get pumped in the play offs aswell then Webster will join Agar at Warrington as his number 2 with Tony Smith going back to Aus whilst Trinity face the prospect of playing teams like Batley next season..

We're off to the Halifax game this Friday and whether we lose or not I'd love to see Crowther, Jowitt and Johnstone in the 17.

Idiotic post.

When Harbin (basically a PE Teacher) had a team of misfits and kids after the Pearman debacle we lost 10 in a row - but none to the magnitude of 80 points - he's of given his right arm for players of the ALLEGED quality of Tim Smith and Danny Kirmond. There are no excuses for 80 -0, in fact there are non really for 40 point deficits it's just that we have got used to them.

He's a wind up.

How anyone can stick up and defend webster is beyound me.he is takin the team down to a new levell and they are his players.just cos he had a good start has most coaches do and with howcthis season is going he would be out at any other club

why shame on mr carter, he and chris have done nothing wrong apart from give 100% plus to the club. I have waited until today to post, I was too angry yesterday after watching that performance. no blame at all lays with mr carter and chris. they give Webster the means to put together the team that he wants and can afford. after that it is down to the players and coaches. there is no reason at all that that should have happened yesterday. the boys will know that. any professional rl player can not offer an excuse for such a gutless and unprofessional performance. last week they put 20 odd points against without a doubt the best team in the league and showed some decent line defence. over the years watching wakefield I have seen some great performances and some dire performances but this was by far the worst. what worries me most is that teams in the past have had the grit, guts and fight to get us out of the holes we have been in . watching this lot yesterday I don't think unless there is something radical done pretty quick, that when their backs are to the wall they will be able to scrap their way out of it but Michael carter and chris have nothing to do with that disgraceful performance yesterday

I guess that strategy is ok in the short term but the supporter base won't get behind that for long. Fans won't bother with season tickets and will just pick and choose SL games depending on form if they feel the club are holding back to the final split each year. And if that is the position without anything likely to change in the future then I'm not sure SL is the best place. I know I haven't enjoyed my rugby as much as I have so far this season for quite some time. Whether I'd feel that way if we remain in the Championship for more than a couple of years I can't answer yet. I think it definitely helps knowing that if we continue in a similar vein that we will be playing some SL opposition anyway later in the season. I'm certainly not missing getting smashed by teams like Wigan/Wire/Leeds that we just aren't able to fairly compete with at this moment in time.

The thing is, although he is saying it might be a strategy......they haven't dropped any top players yet, they are just playing really badly.

I agree, this is not the fault of MC or CB. However this has been coming for a while. For weeks we have been hearing the same old thing in every Webster interview and that is, his squad is put together for far less money than all the other teams. This has been drip feeding negativity into the club
on a continual basis and unfortunately I have heard MC and the rest echoing Webster comments.

The players are also hearing the same comments on a weekly if not daily basis. They have now developed a mind-set that just because they do not earn collectively what players earn at other clubs , they now feel they are not as good and incapable of beating them. They have basically accepted defeat before they walk onto the pitch.

There are one or two I do not rate in our squad, we also have some injuries but still had a reasonable team out yesterday. However as far as I am aware, this squad is the most expensive we have ever had in SL and if little Jimmy had put it together there is no doubt we would be paying about £200k more for it and it would not be that far of the full cap.

To me Webster should be toast and we need to be looking for a replacement as quickly as possible. The rot and loosing mentality has set in far too deep and I don't believe he has the capability to reverse the damage he has done with his continual negativity towards the value of his squad.

Last but not least , If it could be done financially, I would be tempted to clear out Webster's support staff also. The new guy needs to bring in his own men and its not as if this lot at the club have been that good anyway.

Could Mc's comments on Twitter a few weeks ago about what percentage of our cap spend was out injured have had a divisive effect with the players who weren't injured being peeved about the disparity in earnings?

I know MC was only trying to put some perspective on the injury situation but in hindsight it could have been a mistake to let that into the public domain.

Listening to the post match inquest yesterday, Webster came across as in previous weeks. It doesn't seem to be hurting him like it is the rest of us. He had a rather blase attitude to the situation, "we need to dust ourselves down and get on with it". I want to hear from our head coach that it's not good enough, that he's out there day and night trying his hardest, slogging his flaming guts out, that he's gonna drop the underperformers and put some young lads in. That he's gonna turn this bunch of underperforming losers into fighters. I want to hear the hurt in his voice, feel the fire burning inside him to put it right. He seems to me like he's given up, that he's fed up and he ain't bothered and that's what's happened to the players too. All we want is 100% effort and if we get that week in week out and still end up in a lower tier then so be it. At least we won't be laughed at by all and sundry. 80 - 0? I still cannot believe it, we are a Super League professional team not part timers. Where is the pride? The guts? I agree with Jack in the Box, this surely is one of the best and most expensive squads we've ever had so excuses don't wash i'm sorry.

It won't have helped. It's certainly been a learning curve for MC this whole social media thing.