I was going to say dont believe what i am reading here but then again I do,we must have the most fickle fans in SL bar none.How on earth fans slagging Houghton of is beyond me.Are you saying we should have kept Heremaia ?lets face it he is inconsistent and his defence is not the best.The last two results are not Houghtons fault,a quick play the ball is a must for any hooker and when he did off palaeasena (twice) he made the break with no back up.Our ruck speed is pedestrian and the reason we are not performing.I have watched every game this season and we started off well a,for some reason we have gone off the boil .

I like Houghton, I said as much in previous post. But I like him for his energy and his commitment, not his quality.

In the modern days of super fit forwards and fast defensive lines it is vital that passing out of dummy half is quick and accurate. If you dither around, the halves get no time on the ball and the attack breaks down. Houghton is great running from DH when the forwards are dominant, but no pack is going to dominate for 80 minutes every week, and when they are not dominant his distribution isnt good enough to buy the backs the time they need. The half backs get a lot of stick on here, and a lot of it may well be deserved, but its alot easier to look good when you are not being rushed every time you have the ball.

As for his defence, why do you think a man who doesn't play 80 minutes makes so many tackles? Its because teams target him knowing they can get a quick ptb. He doesn't miss many tackles, but in most of the ones he makes he is little more than a speed bump, clinging on for dear life until someone else comes to help him. Teams know they will get over the top of him and find their front. Ive seen countless breaks come about from this.

I'm not saying we should bin him, but we should imo go back to starting him on the bench and bring in a hooker who knows how to control a game and create time and space for his team. However we are going to put our faith in Cunningham instead, and although I love to see youngsters get a chance, I can only see us being worse in this department next year. I hope I am wrong.

Houghton isnt the sole reason for our poor form, far from it, but hooker is such an important position these days that we need to address it if we are going to make any significant improvements.

I dont want to pick him to pieces, thats just my 2 penneth.

Danny Houghtons turn today is it?

I've been banging this drum for a while. Its not scape goating, and removing him wouldnt turn us into a great team overnight, but hes not goo enough for where we want to be imo.

I too have noted his deficiencies for a few years only to be shot down in flames on here by people claiming he'd been unfairly treated by not been selected for international duties. He's not good enough, his distribution is appalling it's not just slow, for such a pivotal position his passing is erratic. He works hard abs gives 100% but we need and have needed better.

ive said it before and i'll say it again. if we send one player forward when driving the ball in, the defence can put 3-4 players in a tackle, resulting in a slow play of the ball as they win the collision and the wrestle on the floor. so from acting half it will be hard for houghton to do anything.

send 2 or 3 forwards up whilst driving in, the defence has to think and only put 2 in a talk, so better chance of winning the collision and of winning the wrestle on the floor, resulting in quicker play the ball which is were houghton is at his best.

That's a very fair point. But regardless of whether you win the floor or not the passing should still be accurate if nothing else.

Andy the way round that is to fall on your front don't let them turn you Then you get a quick play the ball Good teams do it Wigan Leeds Saints

if you read this forum regularly you would see that his performances have frequently been called into question, especially speed and accuracy of his distribution

if you're losing the collision how can you fall on your front!

This is one of Paea's big faults and was at his time with us as well, he will make some barnstorming runs and keep the leg drive going often making an extra 5+ yards but this can be at the detriment of a quick ptb. Crowd pleaser for definite but often not he best option.

Totally agree.

The paedestrian way our players get up to play the ball is NOT Houghton's fault.

Give him a quick ptb and we'll see what he can do.

AND i think their will be no shortage of TOP clubs after him when his contract is up.

Just my opionion of course but like those who say no clubs would want him i have no facts to back this up.