Re: Club Finances Turning the Corner : Tue Jul 28, 2015 3:16 pm  

Are Lineham,Gidley and Sandow better than what Saints have for next season?

Re: Club Finances Turning the Corner : Tue Jul 28, 2015 3:25 pm  

Saddened! wrote:

Pah! To be Arsenal we'd have to win the Cup. We don't do that.

We're more like the Everton of Super League. A good club in the past but lacking the ambition to kick on. Last seasons GF win has papered over so many cracks in the tarmac we've ended up with a mural instead of doing the re-skim that was required. Dominiquah and Matty Dawson versus Sam Tomkins or Chris Sandow anyone?

For accuracy Widnes are more like Everton. Do you want to have another go, cherry picking 2 fringe players against 2 key signings from 2 clubs isn,t exactly whats its about.

Re: Club Finances Turning the Corner : Tue Jul 28, 2015 3:54 pm  

Rommel wrote:

Are Lineham,Gidley and Sandow better than what Saints have for next season?

Lineham is. Gidley is debatable, but I'd say better than Burns overall. Sandow most definitely is, provided he doesn't implode. An element of risk with the last one but on the whole it will vastly improve them.

Of course I might be shooting first with no cause. The academy rising through now might be a generation of classy players. The likes of Grace, Wellington, Richardson, Knowles, Nzongou might all be superb, but therein lies the beauty of RLFANS.com. I can express my opinion, you can all publicly denounce it then finally realise I'm right OR we win trophies, so we're sweet either way.

Re: Club Finances Turning the Corner : Tue Jul 28, 2015 4:04 pm  

Saddened! wrote:

Lineham is. Gidley is debatable, but I'd say better than Burns overall. Sandow most definitely is, provided he doesn't implode. An element of risk with the last one but on the whole it will vastly improve them.

Of course I might be shooting first with no cause. The academy rising through now might be a generation of classy players. The likes of Grace, Wellington, Richardson, Knowles, Nzongou might all be superb, but therein lies the beauty of RLFANS.com. I can express my opinion, you can all publicly denounce it then finally realise I'm right OR we win trophies, so we're sweet either way.

You'd choose Lineham over Makinson? Really? Gidley isn't even a halfback

Re: Club Finances Turning the Corner : Tue Jul 28, 2015 4:37 pm  

Saint #1 wrote:

You'd choose Lineham over Makinson? Really? Gidley isn't even a halfback

I'd put Lineham a country mile above either of our wingers, as much as I love Tommy. I think his size and pace make him a pretty unique weapon and I think he could be the next 'NRL bound' English star over the next couple of years at Warrington.

Gidley is an old head, something Warrington need next year with so many inexperienced playmakers and the maverick Sandow.

Re: Club Finances Turning the Corner : Tue Jul 28, 2015 4:40 pm  

Rommel wrote:

Are Lineham,Gidley and Sandow better than what Saints have for next season?

Don't think Saints would have bothered with those 3, Swift and Makinson different styles over Lineham but just as effective. Gidley not good enough, an all action Burns is better. Sandow is a 50/50 carrying some baggage of uncertainty. There seems to be a little bit of "Salford" in the way they are signing up players at the moment risking instability of misfits.

Re: Club Finances Turning the Corner : Tue Jul 28, 2015 5:07 pm  

Saddened! wrote:

I'd put Lineham a country mile above either of our wingers, as much as I love Tommy. I think his size and pace make him a pretty unique weapon and I think he could be the next 'NRL bound' English star over the next couple of years at Warrington.

Gidley is an old head, something Warrington need next year with so many inexperienced playmakers and the maverick Sandow.

Fair enough with Lineham but then I think Makinson is more solid defensively and probably more well-rounded. He also seemed improved physically this year compared to previous until his injury IMO - he was making more clean breaks and tackle busts.

Agree again on Gidley, but then what use is that if he's more of a hooker than halfback?

Sandow has the potential to be great. No doubt Stevo (and some fans) will love him because he'll try stuff like chipping over the tackle on 2nd tackle when Warrington are just trying to close out a game. Chances are he'll produce some great player. But his attitude is poor, his game management is awful and he's hardly known for his professionalism. Interesting to see how it plays out with him, but I don't think it's quite the second coming of Langer or Johns that I've seen suggested on the Warrington board. Not sure he's what Warrington need either.

Re: Club Finances Turning the Corner : Tue Jul 28, 2015 5:27 pm  

How has this turned into a warrington Saints debate? I don't care if others have gone out and signed a debatably better player than the one we already have (for twice the price) - if our 1-25 is stronger than last year than were in good stead to challenge - as we did in great adversity last year, and have seemingly done this year (without a real halfback for the majority). I think another signing and well achieve that.

Finances may be "boring" but money is the lifeblood of sport and without it there won't be a club to look back on in 5 years time.

We currently need 13000 total attendance from the 4 home games to see another rise in total attendance (and yes, that still represents a slight decrease in average attendance - but if the numbers though the door are up that's only a good thing) - so hopefully the core business can continue to expand as other operations become more profitable, and we can see a shift to the side operations supplementing the core business rather than the other way around.

All in all it's great work - and it's not even like the club have been shortchanging the playing side (despite what some on here would say) to achieve a break even with transfer fees paid is a feat I can only applaud.

Re: Club Finances Turning the Corner : Tue Jul 28, 2015 5:47 pm  

Saddened! wrote:

Last years GF was an astonishing achievement by a coach and group of players that had no right to happen. It was based on character, determination and a one in a million combination of events that led to the backs against the wall mentality.

It's called sport. Anything can happen. Saints won a trophy, much to your disgust and disappointment (however much you try and hide it). Get over it.

Saddened! wrote:

Warrington have just gone through a similar phase. They won a few cups with a decent and upcoming squad. Instead of kicking on and investing they tried to rely on youth and did it on the cheap for a while. They spotted that and have put it right. With Lineham, Gidley, Sandow coming in they will be vastly improved. Exactly the same pattern we had when McManus realised it wasn't going to be sustainable winning nothing. We win a GF and bang, the quality of recruitment drops again, plummeting like a stone. Hopefully this time we'll only have one iffy season and we'll replace Walsh and Burns with real quality.

You seem to have missed out one key issue in everything you have said about Saints. It's called RETENTION. Look at the money that has been spent on players like Makinson, Swift, Percival, Lomax, Walmsley, Greenwood and Thompson. Every single one has talent and keeping hold of them by SPENDING MONEY on new and improved contracts is not 'doing it on the cheap'. All you ever focus on is recruitment.

Your last sentence about Walsh and Burns is so ridiculous it isn't even worthy of debate.

Edit: I forgot to mention Roby!! Just look at the money that the club splashed on him. He is the best player by a country mile in SL, and will be next season too.

Re: Club Finances Turning the Corner : Tue Jul 28, 2015 6:12 pm  

Saddened! wrote:

I'd put Lineham a country mile above either of our wingers, as much as I love Tommy. I think his size and pace make him a pretty unique weapon and I think he could be the next 'NRL bound' English star over the next couple of years at Warrington.

Ha. I think you have just confirmed to me that you know f*** all about RL. You think that Lineham is better than Tommy because he's a bit bigger.

Also, I would bet that Makinson is quicker than Lineham.

Lineham does not come anywhere near Tommy when it comes to pure skill and class.

Back on topic, well done EM and the board. They have put their hands in their pockets over a very long period of time and they are now starting to reap the rewards. It is greatly appreciated by 99.9% of Saints fans. We could make a profit of £10 million and win every piece of silverware going and Sad Act (a.k.a. Saddened) would find something negative to say.