comon poptart apart from sykes i think wehad a full strengh side when we were thrashed last week ,and what about the collapse at hull kr give folk a bit of credit we know were going to lose games its the performance and how we lose them that gets folk you and afew more are the ones who want to get real there looks to be problems that need arresting starting with a commited display against wigan a game that us realists dont expect but hope to win

Yes this is a concern, but I am also worried about next years season ticket sales. Whilst the majority of us on here will buy a season ticket when the price goes up, some will either not bother or will pick and choose the games they come to see and that will equate to less revenue for the club.

The way the club is run is also a concern to me. The administration side of things doesn't appear to have improved greatly from under the old regime, and it appears we are operating on a "speculate to accumulate" basis, basically employing lots of people in various sales roles and bringing out loads of different merchandise which all adds to the clubs cost base and hoping that we can sell enough stuff to make a profit. Considering the fairly limited consumer base we currently have, and the fact that money is tight for a lot of people, this is imo a dangerous way to go - especially if the product on the pitch is not up to scratch.

When Bradford were in the crap last year, the team pulled together and adopted a siege mentality and had a good season. I am not saying were in the same position as Bradford were financially, but we clearly aren't "cash rich", and if the squad have this "team spirit" that were always told about, then they need to adopt a similar mentality to Bradford did last year and we will see an upturn in performances and possibly results at the same time, which is in their and everyone else associated with the clubs interests.

You've called that spot on old lad.

People who are shouting about agar should realise he dosn't have that much to work with and which coach in their right mind would want to join us in the state we are in at the moment.

I haven't the time to read all the posts on here, but here is my take.

Agar is OK - not the greatest, but a down to earth pragmatist who seems to fit well at Wakey.

He has a tight budget and, unlike previous seasons, we have tried to spend bigger on the first 17/19 and use the juniors to make up the squad. It's a ploy used by several clubs, except - for all sorts of reasons - we don't seem to have either the quality / quantity of decent juniors that is needed to make this work. 1 or 2 injuries and we look weak, hence, another part of our poor performance is that we are asking players to play injured - not good!

Whether Agar is responsible for Walshaw / Trout / Wildie / Cowling not breaking through is up for debate. I personally feel that we have helped them fail to make the grade by not giving them the opportunity!

We have recruited well generally - yes there have been mistakes (and with Lyne I think Agar is being stubborn in trying to prove he was right and not acknowledging that he hasn't made the grade required - yet) but we have some great players at Wakey and some honest ones too!

Fitness is a problem! As well as pushing players out who are not 100%, I understand that the players have complained that, at times, they are knackered - they certainly appear that way at the start of several games. If this is correct then it could be hugely significant and maybe the root cause of our repeated under-performance! This is not necessarily Agars fault, but he is in charge!

Tim Smith is a problem! I don't know if it is because of our pack being beaten or not, or whether he is missing his buddy, but Tim is not the player he was at the end of last season - in fact he is back close to the player who was roundly boo'd off mid-season 2012. We can't afford this, just as Cas can't afford Chase to be poor or KR with Dobson. We have only one Wizard, and he is certainly wouldn't get in the magic circle as he is now. Whatever the problem is, we need it sorting - and quickly!

The final issue I would mention is motivation. I've met Richard and he is a smashing bloke who loves this game to bits and is a thinker of the game, but I am not so sure that he has it in him to 'strip the paint' when it is needed, and I think John Kear wins hands down in that department.

So the summary I would give is that I would offer him a 6.5 / 10 - good enough not to want to get shut, but plenty of room for improvement. We expected some tough times last season and didn't really get them, this year we expected to consolidate and we've hit tough times, the coach will earn his coin by getting us out of this situation and putting results back on the table - if he doesn't.....

Which makes farming Mariano out on loan (which according to Fev doesn't have a recall option) all the more crazy

Is he staying or are we still getting shut?

It's crazy to even suggest it IMO. Less than 10 months (including an off season) after our unlikely playoff appearance and record SL winning streak because we have hit some bad form?

Let the man finish what he started and judge him on where we finish at the end of the season.

I don't diagree about those games but just as a one off win doesn't make Agar coach of the year, a dip in form should get him the Agar out thread.....in my opinion.

I'm happy at the moment. Changing coach will not help anyone.

I think the failure of our youth policy in recent years has to be attributed to Kear - he was disinterested in the youth development side of the club and often refused to communicate with the scholarship coaching staff; the players we are now attempting to bring through were, as a result, inadequately prepared for life in SL and hadn't trained in the structures and systems of the 1st team. The fact that Agar has managed to salvage a few of them is to his credit and I think the new regime for youth development will start to pay dividends in the coming years - it's no quick fix though.

For reference, I was at the game yesterday and I know for a fact that once again, the youth coaches were entertaining 5 of the brightest U14 players in the region, along with their community coaches and parents; I don't know much about the other age groups, but I do know that if the majority of the new scholarship development squad are signed on at 15, we'll have a crop of genuinely outstanding young lads in our system.

after 22 pages Bren I think we have a winning post!

The proof of the pudding was there for all to see on SUNDAY  , those who were in the  ALL CONQUERING 18s   stood up the the plate , and  I believe others would have ,RFA stated at the evening with , they only looked good in there year because other teams played weaker players , that in my opinion is a load of rubbish (which can only have come someone who was at the club then and who still is now) . I watched the team and still do , missing only the Aldershot fixtures and it was actually the opposite , because we were so good, teams played there strongest side not weaker ,

got to agree its a myth for folk to say other clubs played weaker teams wigan may have done against some clubs but against us ,they didnt ive a programme for the game before thefinal and im sure the wigan side for that game would have been stronger , jack murphy was at fullback, matty russell whos at gold coast titans was on wing ,josh charnley was one centre ian thornley was another sam powell who played half back yesterday played as did logan tomkins and jack hughes who didnt play yesterday but as played plenty of games for the first team ,saints played tommy malkinson,nathan ash and lee gaskell to name some from memory whil e in the cas team we beat in a great night at wheldon rd were jordan thompson ,darren clarke ,adam milner and oliver holmes among others ,they also did the double over mr agars 18s at hull take it from me this team was good and never received the credit they deserved mainlybecause it wasnt on for wakefield to win a competision destined for the big names in the league

Hi Everyone, haven't been on here for a while, sad to see what's happening. As for the players when I saw that you had signed Tim Smith my heart went out to you. Poorest excuse for a halfback I have ever witnessed.
Hang in there hope things get better you guys deserve it
Cheers
Con

You can't have witnessed much then - his form has been a bit streaky but on song, he's outstanding with ball in hand; a couple of months ago, he was realistically being talked about as one of the form hb's in SL.

does Tim Smith merit his place back if he;s fit next week???????