I would happily not sign a marquee halfback if it meant keeping Clark. I’d let go of Austin. Give Clark a marquee deal. Keep Widdop and play Ratchford/Dean in the halves with Thewlis/Ashton at fullback.

Karl Fitzpatrick, the quietness is deafening.

Rather have that than the voice of Karl Fitzpatrick in my head - take it as a positive.

Maybe Daryl powell has not made any decisions. So karl Fitzpatrick has nothing to communicate yet.

I match you and raise with “silence is golden”.

Oliver Holmes https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk ... d-20574311

Oliver Holmes https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk ... d-20574311

Quote Lord Tony Smith="Lord Tony Smith"Oliver Holmes https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk ... d-20574311'" Started this year in top form for us. Always reliable and scores a fair bit for a second rower. Quite fast too when he gets going. Id not be happy if he does go but seems like he will be.

Quote Lord Tony Smith="Lord Tony Smith"Oliver Holmes https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk ... d-20574311'" Started this year in top form for us. Always reliable and scores a fair bit for a second rower. Quite fast too when he gets going. Id not be happy if he does go but seems like he will be.

Quote Lord Tony Smith="Lord Tony Smith"Oliver Holmes https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk ... d-20574311'" Seriously not happy about this on Casforum, Powell is going to get some hammer whatever the results are in rest of the season.

Quote Lord Tony Smith="Lord Tony Smith"Oliver Holmes https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk ... d-20574311'" Seriously not happy about this on Casforum, Powell is going to get some hammer whatever the results are in rest of the season.

I'd be happy with Holmes.....except he's a left edge second rower. So we would have to move him over to the right, i'd be happy with that though as we would finally have some attack and aggression on the right rather than Hughes getting the ball and the attack stopping dead every time.

He’s a workhorse thats for sure. 54 tackles the other night.

Seriously?

It certainly looks like Powell was holding all the aces when he was in negotiations for his job - if all the rumours of Trueman, Matuatia and now Holmes are true, then it's obvious he's been given strong control of recruitment & not being left open to any interference from Fitzpatrick.

It's a good thing that Powell gets to coach HIS squad and not have players lumped on him that he doesn't want (a problem Price has had). The only slight worry I would have, is that too much of a squad overhaul means we have a side needing a period in which players need to get used to each other and new surroundings and we end up with a situation like in the horrific Steve Anderson era, when players looked absolutely lost and performances and results suffer.

Obviously, the quality of players we will bring in will be higher than back then, but it can still lead to uncertainty among a squad - it will certainly be a good test of both Powell's coaching AND man management skills.