Aha, we're already getting the excuse in, it didn't take long.



How many times can we use this excuse Fully? Every coach we've had since 2004, this has been used in their defence. One minute we look at our squad and say it's improving on last season, but then when we get rolled over by the big guns easily, or we lose again to a part time team in the CC [uagain[/u and we change our minds and decide to give the coach excuses to make us feel better about ourselves. Again, no offence intended to Fev but how many of their team would anyone choose to replace any of our team before yesterday? Yet again we were totally out played, out enthused, out thought and out coached by a part time outfit. This is and will be the highlight of the majority of those Fev players careers, that is including play off wins and the rest. AS a so called SL club we shouldn't even be talking about this today. As a SL club we should have comfortably beaten Fev with not too much of a fuss. As the rest of the CC results start to filter in today the rest of the SL clubs are doing the business against part timers while we're sat here makng up excuses and hoping that next year or the year after we get it right. We're claiming that what happens on the field isn't important and it's what happens off it that counts. What a crock of crap. We keep saying the same things this last ten years and NOTHING is changing, same crap just a different year.

It's days like yesterday that make me sit here and think that maybe Calder RLFC should have happened all those years ago. Wakey are as bad as us and there's no chance of Fev being given the nod for SL. Someone frigging shoot me!

Hopefully no Fev fans will take any of this the wrong way. I have massive respect for the club and fans and you fully deserved the win yesterday.

Non taken here marshman,

I actually agree with most of what you say. I went to yesterdays game with only one expectation and that was that my team would put 100% effort in for the fans against Super League Opposition and not make it easy for Cas.

I thought Cas would win by 20 plus,because on paper that is what should have happened. I would have stayed and applauded my team had they lost as long as had put the effort in.

Had I been in your shoes that's what I'd have expected mate. Even though we're in SL that's all I ever expect. A good effort from all involved and to look like a SL side.

On the way to the game yesterday I was trying to explain to my lad, who'd never witnessed a Cas v Fev derby game before, what it was all about. I tried to give him a run down of histories, events and all the rest. He knows what a derby game is about but just not so much this one. He asked why some Fev fans absolutley hate Cas with a passion. I explained it wasn't all Fev fans and to most it is just a genuinley good old fashioned derby hatred and nothing sinister. I then went on to explain how Fev were once a top side, how they'd been dumped out of top flight RL and that some Fev fans still are a bit bitter at Cas seeing us as being in their place. Anyway, right or wrong whatever ones opinion on it all that's not quite what I'm aiming at. What is even more annoying to me and probably to some Fev fans is that on yesterdays display, we showed to the whole of RL that we've done very little to justify our place in the top flight. No wonder so many Fev fans feel so aggrieved and aim their anger at Cas. Had they been in SL instead of us they could also have achieved what little we have. I'm finding it hard to justify my teams place in SL when everything I see and hear about our club is simply not good enough.

If you take off your club spec's for a bit, it makes you wonder doesn't it?

I bet we'd be sharing a pint and admiring the full to bursting trophy cabinet in our state of the art stadium somewhere in the Wakefield District.

Apart from the Calder bit the vast majority of your post is spot on.

As for Fully, well programme writing gigs are hard to come by

Interesting point

In principle a merger is probably a good idea (when I'm not wearing the flat cap and blue and white hooped specs), but what to call it? Calder means nothing. Can't call it Wakey, Fev or Cas. What about Ponte? Or 5 Towns RLFC?

I knew there would be a massive over reaction blaming everyone and everything.

As a professional group of players, they have got to look at themselves - Millward (and we lauded the affect through the Hull KR/Wakey/Saints games) came back strongly and was getting good shows out of the squad.

He said all along that this was a big deal to us and we were actively targetting this CC, so we have to assume he prepared the team in that way.

Apart form the Thompson question, which we are all asking ourselves, he picked what would appear to be his strongest 17.

So, in reality I would be looking at the 17 on duty and for once, I actually can allow Wright and Millward a break - I think the 17 on duty turned up like Lennox Lewis did to fight Hasim Rahman and got knocked on their , doesn't matter how many rematches you have now and win them, you still lost on the day.

That's last weeks news now - SL again this weekend. I will say it now that if we finish 7th, I will be glad of this, but only that can take the pain away.
Bored of this Neg Fest, I knew there woudl be a massive overreaction.

To be honest, if fev draw another superleague team and play like they did against us, I'd certainly consider betting on them. Daryl Powell obviously studied footage of us with the team and the players knew exactly what to do to stop us. They gave chase no space or opportunities and 3/4 players went into every tackle. I personally think any other SL Club would have struggled.

I'd second that proposal!

Reduce SL to 12 and immediately improve the quality of the matches.....and possibly down to 10, if we could shoehorn both Hull Clubs in there as well.

All the bottle throwing, pitch invading numpties could carry on to their hearts content , whilst the rest of us could simply enjoy a higher standard of RL.

Defo a win win situation, and I raise my hat to DJKYLE for the original thought.

" Again, no offence intended to Fev but how many of their team would anyone choose to replace any of our team before yesterday?"

Not many Marshy but there would be a number of close calls - especially in the backs - and we should be asking how that could possibly be the case bearing in mind the time each club has spent in their respective divisions.

I'm with MDean on this - something of an overreaction to a poor performance, probably because its our local rivals and we were right royally embarassed!

I agree its the players themselves that have to take all the blame for the result - Millward seemed to be taking the game seriously but unfortunately the players just didn't perform on the day. They have been performing for Millward in the last few weeks since his return so you have to just see Saturday as a one-off bad day at the office.

I'd also agree that Fev played very well and if they play to that same level against another mediocre SL side (Salford & London still left in the comp) they will do alright. However, whether they're able to perform to that level again I'd have to doubt.

I think the reason people are annoyed is because it's not the first time this has happened. We were embarrassed a few seasons ago at home to Barrow too. Most fans can accept a one off defeat to a lower league team, it happens now and again (it wasn't that long ago when Hunslet beat Huddersfield in the cup), but it's happened twice now, and I wouldn't be surprised if it happens again within the next few years. Meanwhile, the remaining Superleague teams playing lower league opposition posted comfortable wins yesterday. I mean, look at London yesterday, they absolutely smashed a Dewsbury team who a couple of weeks ago ran Featherstone very very close.

Also, after our opening try on 4mins, we managed just 10 points. Thats 10 points in 76 minutes from a full time team against a (I believe) part time team. That's pretty poor. I know we don't have a divine right to win every game we play, and I'm glad most fans recognise it wasn't just a poor performance from us but also a fantastic performance from Featherstone. But certain players need to really improve now. I think Griffin has the potential to be a real try machine for us, but his defence has got to improve. Richard Owen seems to have lost that alertness and eagerness to get to the ball which he had before his injury. On Saturday (and most of this season and last) he looked like he was jogging to the local shops for a pint of milk. If he was carrying an injury he shouldn't have played. And our forwards were non existent-where was the aggression? The team also seemed very flat footed, I know it rained a bit but they looked like they were stood in treacle when defending.

And all that in front of three Castleford legends in John Joyner, Mal Reilly and Dennis Hartley.

I think calling for Millward's head is an overeaction. I don't think criticising the players is.