Re: THE worst Saints team .. the decline is complete (I hope : Sat Apr 20, 2013 5:06 pm  

TheVee wrote:

It's obvious to everyone we need halfbacks so it doesn't really need pointing out constantly, does it?

It's not optimism though can you quote were I said we would win silver? I said we're not that far off with a fully fit team which we're not and beating wire away showed that. Just cause we need halfbacks doesn't mean returning players wont make a massive difference.

Your right , having some players back will mean we'll possibly beat most of the mid table teams. woohoo well I'm over the moon with that.

This is Saints, not Wakefield or Cas or any other team who would be ecstatic just to make the top 8 . Unless we discover a halfback or sign one this season is done and dusted . Next season is over before it begins unless we show some bloody ambition and shake up this tired squad. We are or where a top team , we used to play with flair and be entertaining even when we wernt the greatest side , now we have nothing and havent since Anderson left and the slide really took hold

Re: THE worst Saints team .. the decline is complete (I hope : Sat Apr 20, 2013 5:51 pm  

But we've had half's and shuffled them off. It's not down to bad luck.

I'd still say we are a top 4 side, injuries have been horrendous. But today's pathetic effort was simply down to poor poor poor retention of the ball.

We did a defensive effort for 20 minutes straight. It was not poor defense as a team (although Lance was shocking), it was poor effort going forwards.

TP gave a few drives but looked like an injured player coming back. Sia drove the ball in and the rest were dross. No aim of tacking the ball in, looking to run some daft angle and drop the ball off.

I still hold we have some players who are good enough players, but trying to run a side with no halfs is pathetic. For me it all comes back to signing Lance. Before him there was a problem with the centre position, but we had enough about us. Signing Lance has tied up money and position in a player who should never have been signed.

Laffranchi may not be a prop but for a year he managed to hold his own. Lance has contributed 0. In fact I would say less than that as his presence is negative.

If we are naming teams I still remain with the same line up I said a week or so ago.

Lomax, Makinson, Turner, Percival, Meli (or new winger)
New 6 and New 7.
Warlmsley, Roby, New Prop, Sia, Manu, Flanaghan.

New prop, Clough, I'd have Laffranchi as a 2nd rower or not at all,

The out's

Wellens, Ade, LMS, Perry, Laffranchi if we are persisting with prop, Howarth, Lance,

These I would let go for different reasons to the above

TP as I think he has served us well but maybe it's just his time
Wilkin he's doing a job at the moment and it steadied us, but once back out of the number 7 shirt, is he a better 2nd rower than.

Sia, Manu, Flanaghan, Laffranchi?? Even Jones is looking a bit more solid there.

Re: THE worst Saints team .. the decline is complete (I hope : Sat Apr 20, 2013 5:53 pm  

WidnesExile wrote:

OH how we wish Dr Koukash had dropped the cheque in McManus's pocket!

But would that have meant Dr Koukash having some power as well as Mr McManus?

Re: THE worst Saints team .. the decline is complete (I hope : Sat Apr 20, 2013 5:59 pm  

Judder Man wrote:

I think we would have won that game today if all those injured players were playing this afternoon. Also we said at the beginning of the season we will not get to any final without half backs, we are what we are a mid table team, people should stop torturing themselves and accept it for this season.

I agree with your post about acceptance - but is it going to be any better next year?

Rush as CEO; really ?

Brown coming out with this:
"It was a great effort to get to the front with 12 men. It was just unfortunate, with the incident that happened, that we couldn't hang on.

What planet is he on? We were worse with 13.

Re: THE worst Saints team .. the decline is complete (I hope : Sat Apr 20, 2013 6:12 pm  

saint at wire wrote:

I agree with your post about acceptance - but is it going to be any better next year?

Rush as CEO; really ?

Brown coming out with this:
"It was a great effort to get to the front with 12 men. It was just unfortunate, with the incident that happened, that we couldn't hang on.

What planet is he on? We were worse with 13.

I think he's just putting a brave face on in public, at least I hope he is because if he's not he has serious vision problems

Re: THE worst Saints team .. the decline is complete (I hope : Sat Apr 20, 2013 6:14 pm  

bewareshadows wrote:

Walmsley made great drives every time he had the ball. Sia drove the ball in and worked his butt off all match. The rest of the forwards were dross.

Amended for accuracy.

Although I have to add that Greenwood gave it a go too. It's just our experienced forwards (bar Sia) who really should be fired and replaced with forwards.

Re: THE worst Saints team .. the decline is complete (I hope : Sat Apr 20, 2013 6:16 pm  

bewareshadows wrote:

But we've had half's and shuffled them off. It's not down to bad luck.

I'd still say we are a top 4 side, injuries have been horrendous. But today's pathetic effort was simply down to poor poor poor retention of the ball.

We did a defensive effort for 20 minutes straight. It was not poor defense as a team (although Lance was shocking), it was poor effort going forwards.

TP gave a few drives but looked like an injured player coming back. Sia drove the ball in and the rest were dross. No aim of tacking the ball in, looking to run some daft angle and drop the ball off.

I still hold we have some players who are good enough players, but trying to run a side with no halfs is pathetic. For me it all comes back to signing Lance. Before him there was a problem with the centre position, but we had enough about us. Signing Lance has tied up money and position in a player who should never have been signed.

Laffranchi may not be a prop but for a year he managed to hold his own. Lance has contributed 0. In fact I would say less than that as his presence is negative.

If we are naming teams I still remain with the same line up I said a week or so ago.

Lomax, Makinson, Turner, Percival, Meli (or new winger)
New 6 and New 7.
Warlmsley, Roby, New Prop, Sia, Manu, Flanaghan.

New prop, Clough, I'd have Laffranchi as a 2nd rower or not at all,

The out's

Wellens, Ade, LMS, Perry, Laffranchi if we are persisting with prop, Howarth, Lance,

These I would let go for different reasons to the above

TP as I think he has served us well but maybe it's just his time
Wilkin he's doing a job at the moment and it steadied us, but once back out of the number 7 shirt, is he a better 2nd rower than.

Sia, Manu, Flanaghan, Laffranchi?? Even Jones is looking a bit more solid there.

A good halfback pairing would improve the team as a whole so much, before he picked up his knock you could see Dobson setting up plays , demanding his runners and generally doing what a 7 should. It made me sad seeing what we were missing.

Re: THE worst Saints team .. the decline is complete (I hope : Sat Apr 20, 2013 6:17 pm  

CM Punk wrote:

Starting to look like the Wigan of 2005. We all know what happened next...

They won the Grand Final in 2010.

Re: THE worst Saints team .. the decline is complete (I hope : Sat Apr 20, 2013 6:22 pm  

No1 Saint wrote:

A good halfback pairing would improve the team as a whole so much, before he picked up his knock you could see Dobson setting up plays , demanding his runners and generally doing what a 7 should. It made me sad seeing what we were missing.

Yes, we were actually better off without Wello in a HB "role" as he then became a sort of centre/second row after Meli's exit where he did some good tackles, which is all he really knows now.

Perhaps it will be become part of Browns's master plan - one (still useless) HB.

Re: THE worst Saints team .. the decline is complete (I hope : Sat Apr 20, 2013 6:32 pm  

No1 Saint wrote:

I think he's just putting a brave face on in public, at least I hope he is because if he's not he has serious vision problems

I think so too, he,s not one for doing his dirty washing in public, I bet the uncut version to the team was completely different.
In my opinion he,s doing a better job with our annual injury crisis than Potter and Simmons.

At the end of the day its the players attitude thats inconsistent, thats probably why he selects Gardner, Wilkin and Wellens the only players with any remnants of that winning mentality that is required.

Maybe we should be looking at the culture and structure of the club in the same way the Wigoons have done over the past 3 years. In the past we would play the game mostly under our terms within our strength and weakness, these days we invite the opposition to dictate the game, very un saint like.