I don't know what I find more laughable - that people were still talking about last night as the end of the playoff dream or that people are still defending him.

I was delighted with his appointment but it's been a disaster. It happens in sport, what should work on paper doesn't pan out. Clough at Leeds, Moyes at Man U etc.

But you can't just blindly hope things will improve; there are no signs whatsoever that Powell will turn this around even after (another) close season, new signings etc. He increasingly sounds, looks and acts like a rabbit in the headlights and his management style has clearly alienated him and his staff.

Thank god for those unconvincing early wins, or we'd be dead and buried already.

20 metres made from 80 minutes last night from Holmes. An absolute disgrace and should be fined a weeks wages but instead he’ll be in the starting line up next week.

Minikin, holmes and Mata'utia shouldn't be playing and Harrison needs a short break to work on his game IMO, he will come back stronger for sure.

Why can't we manage a game from the halves, all that experience and zero game management, zero creativity. He's changed the players, he's kept his underperforming cas mates in the team at the expense of better performing youngsters and other members of the squad and the performances haven't improved. Why are we continuing with such a poor kicking game, why do we still have no game management, why is the our attack clunky (to put it kindly), why can't we defend, why can't we show any backbone? It's like the players have never met each other and it has been all season.

Why isn't there any inward looking from Powell, your defence coach and attack coaches are not getting their methods and ideas across effectively. Why has there been no changes there?

I don't see this turning around, if we get to the point where we are 2 points from relegation the change needs to be made. If we scrape past relegation will he turn it around with the new squad or will they just come in and underperformed too?

Who's been defending Powell last night? I haven't. What's laughable is, once again you making things up. I seem to remember a few weeks back, after the Cats game, you accusing some of being sanctimonious after victory, yet when asked to demonstrate a post you found sanctimonious, you failed to reply.

You might be confusing the highlighting of anomalies in stat comparing and short memories concerning our performance over the past 6/7 years with a defence of Powell.

It hasn't been good enough and Powell has been disappointing and made mistakes. I'm wondering myself whether we've made the right decision and am in agreement with the points made about lack of progress etc. But it has to be taken into the context of mass upheaval, and therefore the debate isn't so simple. Some are plucking out win percentage stats which really aren't helpful to either side of the debate as they don't effectively compare like for like.

It's all opinions, we can't predict the future. That's what makes this debate so interesting.

Trying to think of all the worrying signs from Powell;

The love of Holmes
Matautia as his main man
Minikin signing and playing over Wrench
Ratchford getting a 2 year deal and this weak man as our captain and his continued appearance in the starting 13.
Signing Kyle Amor (he’s technically a Widnes player not a saints player)
Nicholson behind Holmes and Currie in the second row pecking order
Atrocious defence
Atrocious attack
Slagging off young players
Adding to the list of excuses for losses he’d already exhausted at Cas

Mikaele, Nicholson and Wardle are good signings but I don’t think they offset the above.

I agree with this - it's very concerning. Hopefully he learns from these mistakes and the situation improves.

Just hope saints turn wakey over which they should and Salford beat Toulouse...gunna still be behind Powell but defeat to Toulouse and my opinion of him will change..fwiw didn't go last night but it sounds shocking

Don't see Powell being sacked but we have to ask how many of his signings have impressed. His team selection is confusing, our defence is poor and our attack is mostly ineffective. Clearly the board are waiting for next season.

It's not been good, but there is basically a whole new team he needs to gel in a relatively short space of time - I've never seen such a player turn around before. I'm not defending Powell here, just trying to put things in perspective.

Dear GazWire,

You don't have a right to reply, and I didn't think your question worthy of one anyway. But since you ask, my sanctimonious comment was made in reaponse to a flurry of comments that seemed to think the Catalans result whitewashed everything the came before it, was undeniable proof that Powell was a genius, that a corner had been irrefutably turned and the charge to Old Trafford was underway - and that anyone urging caution was just sone lame old curmudgeon.

Regards Moz

Once again, making things up: a few people had a pop at people for their impatience. I can't recall anyone implying remotely that Powell was a genius and some including myself thought we may have turned a corner - but certainly not irrefutably. I think you sometimes get over excited with your own hyperbole and miss the true content of what some posters are actually communicating.

What was worth remarking on, in terms of a change in posture after the Catalans defeat, was the numbers of switchers from Powell out to Powell in. Only for this to switch again the following week. You sometimes need to be more receptive to posts outside your agenda, and perhaps you'll be less likely to misrepresent.

This is a club who kept Steve Price for 2 more years than they should have. No way Powell is sacked this season. The club is currently tweeting about buying hoodies.