What's going on? : Sun Feb 28, 2016 10:26 pm  

Is there anyone with any insight to what's going on at saints??
I know fans have these knee jerk reactions a lot but for me this is different.

I don't think I have seen saints perform this bad ever and it's glaringly obviously the coaching.
There's no way that Cunningham and long are this clueless. And we have some very good players no matter what anyone says.
Is it purely attitude and we don't have someone with fire in their belly to fire the players up?
Leadership? Wilkin is a great player but looks uninterested from what I've seen.

I've not watched the kr game yet but just pondering on why saints are so f&&&&&& dull and predictable and becoming the most boring team to watch in super league, and for the first time I'm starting to lose interest in watching them.

Re: What's going on? : Sun Feb 28, 2016 11:18 pm  

I keep reading the similar line in here about losing interest in watching Saints from a few posters. Sorry, but how bloody spoilt are you lot? It's your team, you're a fan and you support them through the eye sore times as well as the good times. That's what we do. By all means, slag them off, criticise, exercise your right as a fan to have a go, but don't lose interest.

People who haven't seen Saints 'play this bad', a line that I've heard and read so many times over the years, clearly didn't see us pre 1996 where they went the best part of 25 years without winning the league and only had a couple of Regal Trophies and Lancashire Cups in the cabinet.

You've been spoilt. You're lucky enough to have been around in the most successful spell in the clubs history. To have watched them win or compete in loads of Grand Finals, Challenge Cups, World Club Challenges. Oh, and during that time we've had tonkings. Even when we had the great sides we took a tonking every now and again. I've seen some whopping, humiliating scorelines a put on us.

I know we're not playing entertaining rugby but for crying out loud, get behind the lads and let's stop crucifying them and our coach. Or at least leave it for a few months and see where we are at, instead of slating a team that's got 2 wins out of 3 so far.

Fickle.

Re: What's going on? : Sun Feb 28, 2016 11:20 pm  

It goes without saying that Cunningham is an inexperienced coach in a high-pressure environment.

We have a good bunch of players. It's not the best squad I've seen. But it is by no means the worst, either.

They are good professionals and when things are going well I think the team largely coaches itself.

But when injuries begin to pile up and results start to slip inexperienced coaches have a tendency to over-compensate rather than accepting the losses as the inevitable consequence of competition and sticking with the plan.

Like most people in the workplace the last thing players like to see is uncertainty and change. And when such is foisted upon them by a coach who is perhaps pressing the panic button a little too early they can quickly become dispirited and tempers can flare. Suddenly players are pointing accusatory fingers at each other and if the coaching team doesn't take prompt remedial action the whole situation can spiral out of control.

It's a sink-or-swim phase which all new coaches must go through to a lesser or greater extent. Those who find a way to cope live to coach another day whilst those who don't are at the mercy of capricious chairmen.

Given some of the problems the club has faced over the last twelve months I'd be very surprised if something like the above hasn't occurred at the club. It would certainly explain a lot of things.

That said, I don't necessarily think it reflects badly on Cunningham because, as I said, this is a hurdle which all rookie coaches have got to find a way of dealing with.

My guess is that if Cunningham is still at the club this time next season he will be a much better coach for the experience. But there are many challenges between then and now and he's just got to find a way to get through them.

Re: What's going on? : Sun Feb 28, 2016 11:35 pm  

Makes sense I guess.
Obviously he will be better with experience and I agree with the sense of panic which seems to be the case with some of the team selections.
Like most saints fans. It's not the losing I can't take, it's the style of dull predictable rugby. Especially with someone like Sean long on the coaching staff. It's just a little od.

Re: What's going on? : Mon Feb 29, 2016 7:55 am  

Twentyman wrote:

I keep reading the similar line in here about losing interest in watching Saints from a few posters. Sorry, but how bloody spoilt are you lot? It's your team, you're a fan and you support them through the eye sore times as well as the good times. That's what we do. By all means, slag them off, criticise, exercise your right as a fan to have a go, but don't lose interest.

I know we're not playing entertaining rugby but for crying out loud, get behind the lads and let's stop crucifying them and our coach. Or at least leave it for a few months and see where we are at, instead of slating a team that's got 2 wins out of 3 so far.

Fickle.

I,m usually one of the optimistic ones supporting the Saints for better or worse over many years including the dark seasons in the 80's.

But something has been wrong at the club for about 3 years now, the ethos of the club has changed we have lost the "saints way" of playing which so many clubs had admiration for and tried to emulate. We've lost many great players and coaches which obviously has its effects on success but thats no excuse for the decline in attitude and approach to games in a lazy manner, I don't know if we have a mental coach to prepare for games but we seem to be seriously lacking in this department by the obvious Jeckyl and Hyde performances in games.
Yes we have an inexperienced coaching team that seems to be set far far away from the "Saints Way", but surely the message from the fans should have filtered into the club that this boring rugby is very restrictive to success and most importantly has a negative effect on future support.

I,m losing patience that there is nothing positive coming out of the club at the moment.

Re: What's going on? : Mon Feb 29, 2016 8:16 am  

Judder Man wrote:

I,m usually one of the optimistic ones supporting the Saints for better or worse over many years including the dark seasons in the 80's.

But something has been wrong at the club for about 3 years now, the ethos of the club has changed we have lost the "saints way" of playing which so many clubs had admiration for and tried to emulate. We've lost many great players and coaches which obviously has its effects on success but thats no excuse for the decline in attitude and approach to games in a lazy manner, I don't know if we have a mental coach to prepare for games but we seem to be seriously lacking in this department by the obvious Jeckyl and Hyde performances in games.
Yes we have an inexperienced coaching team that seems to be set far far away from the "Saints Way", but surely the message from the fans should have filtered into the club that this boring rugby is very restrictive to success and most importantly has a negative effect on future support.

I,m losing patience that there is nothing positive coming out of the club at the moment.

I would like to thank Bulmers for sponsoring my post...that passion came from some artificial apple flavourings in some lab somewhere.

Re: What's going on? : Mon Feb 29, 2016 9:03 am  

Twentyman wrote:

I would like to thank Bulmers for sponsoring my post...that passion came from some artificial apple flavourings in some lab somewhere.

Thats it !! its Typhoo fault turning us into a "fortnight tea" team, if we go with Bulmers that will give us some............ZIPP.

Re: What's going on? : Mon Feb 29, 2016 1:12 pm  

Twentyman wrote:

I keep reading the similar line in here about losing interest in watching Saints from a few posters. Sorry, but how bloody spoilt are you lot? It's your team, you're a fan and you support them through the eye sore times as well as the good times. That's what we do. By all means, slag them off, criticise, exercise your right as a fan to have a go, but don't lose interest.

People who haven't seen Saints 'play this bad', a line that I've heard and read so many times over the years, clearly didn't see us pre 1996 where they went the best part of 25 years without winning the league and only had a couple of Regal Trophies and Lancashire Cups in the cabinet.

You've been spoilt. You're lucky enough to have been around in the most successful spell in the clubs history. To have watched them win or compete in loads of Grand Finals, Challenge Cups, World Club Challenges. Oh, and during that time we've had tonkings. Even when we had the great sides we took a tonking every now and again. I've seen some whopping, humiliating scorelines a put on us.

I know we're not playing entertaining rugby but for crying out loud, get behind the lads and let's stop crucifying them and our coach. Or at least leave it for a few months and see where we are at, instead of slating a team that's got 2 wins out of 3 so far.

Fickle.

My opinion on it, we are playing much worse rugby now than we did pre 96. Even in the 80s under Murphy when we was never going to win a trophy but we played good rugby. The St helens brand of rugby is entertaining and this brand of rugby is dull.

You can get away with playing boring like Hanley did as he won the Grand final but as he found out, when things go bad and your playing dire rugby it's costly.


Imo we haven't got the squad to win anything. It's not impossible if we get luck but if I had to put my house on it, we won't even make the the top 4.

I'm paying to watch saints every week so I expect a product worth watching and up to now us the fans are being ripped off with this dire one man rugby. I don't expect us to win every week but I expect us to compete and put some sort of show on. I know it can't be done every week but jesus we look like Brooks under 10s playing one man drives in every single tackle.

I'm not calling for KC to be sacked as he was one of my all time fave players and I like him but I can only see this ending one way. Fans won't show if we losing but fans will 100% won't show if we losing and playing this dire Brand of kids one up rugby.

Re: What's going on? : Mon Feb 29, 2016 1:25 pm  

From the outside it looks like we are trying to do things on the cheap.

Re: What's going on? : Sat Mar 05, 2016 3:37 am  

Just watched kr game.

Some things that bug me and don't seem to be addressed, and wouldn't mind some opinions

When a player catches the ball from the kick off and waits half an hour for a forward to run up to pass it to instead of just running it in. Often waiting for the prop just looses ground even if the player just goes down at the defensive line. It drives me insane.

Players getting up and waving arms for penalty before playing the ball. Never going to work. Get up and play the f&&&&& ball as quickly as possible and let the fans shout for the penalties.

No options,
Scully once said, at saints we don't have dummy runners we have options.
Not anymore. This is down to players attitude as well as coaching, maybe even fitness.

I use the catching of the ball at kick off for example.
If the prop isn't there, run it in, get a pass away to the prop actually try and break the line.

I can't stand this boring predictable style. It's pathetic.
Kr looked better than saints.

its early in the season so season is not a write off.
To be honest the fact saints are winning games at the moment does not show up well for super league.
There was a time I genuinly thought the super league was not that far off from NRL. obviously their salary cap has soon taken care of that.