Honestly when Millward left.
Thats when recruitment totally went upstairs.
In my mind weve had 4 irreplacable players Cunningham, Scully, Graham, Lyon.
Weve got as close to Cunningham with Roby.
But thats 3 world class players to replace.
Then you look at the Longs Pryces etc
Still top class players but replaceable with class.
We havent done that.
Some of the spending decisions you can understand as a result of the stadium process - not making the most of the last season and the move to widnes in particular - hurt us.
But alarmingly for me now we have the venue the team building should have begun.
A few people have said this but it reminds me of the boards approach in the eighties - sticking plasters , gambles and on the cheap.
Albeit we have far better quality kids coming through and we do have the salary cap.
Our salary cap policy seems to be keeping average players to the ten year mark so we can halve their wages on the cap.
The wello situation is a tough one too.
Hes a fullback and a player for a different era. He has talent still but where do you play him in the modern game.
We need one or two proven quality players to augment the youth talent and kickstart us again.
This is the Newlove moment.
That we now have NO experienced scrum half at the club is a disgrace.
There is part of me that wonders is Eamonn really wants this anymore.
In his eyes its HIS club and were not that grateful.
He has done a fabulous job steadying the club financially and building a new stadium , but to rebuild a team in its current state will take a lot of energy and money.