Hey, I liked that, Smiffy, made me laugh!! Anyway, how do you know I never get involved .... my second name ain't really "Fax" yer know .... or is it? And my first name ... is it Tony? Who knows?

Can I head off this bitter little mud-slinging contest before it gets worse. Bit of banter - ok, any more and it's a slap on the pandies, kiddies, and an early bed.

You have been warned.

Widnes NRC game - Black dropped the ball! we should have gone to Blackpool.
Featherstone / Sheffield - they were quality teams who outplayed us on the day (it happens!)

All i am saying is that a coach shouldn't be judged on 2 games after a strong 2009 campaign!

Good I'm glad. But honestly I don't really care who you are, I persoanlly don't hide behind any false Tag just myself. Don't cast aspersions about people TF, I gave up LOTS of my own time to get the ST going and feel proud it achieves what it does today, after 6 people met up one Saturday lunchtime in the Barum Top not knowing what they were doing and totally (at the time) against the wishes of the club, they wanted very little to do with us as our aim was to get a seat on the board. So come on then, tell us all about your involvement? - I'm intrigued.

He's not being judged on 2 games. Fev and Sheff were not quality teams. They were well drilled to defend our single attacking plan.
We were 18-nil up against Fev and got beat. Widnes away last year? Batley away? Gateshead away? We were awful in all 3. He is being judged on not making any progress. Then having the front to blame the players. When he was being interviewed on Radio Leeds, he should have at least said he is the coach so ultimately a large part of the blame is his and its his job to sort it. Not just say the players are not performing.

TBH, it's a bad move to criticise your players in the media like that. Unprofessional. I wouldn't bawl out a subordinate in public; take them aside for a one-on-one in private. Basic man-management.

Widnes - Coming from behind having been outplayed for most of the match
Featherstone - We were well infront and stopped playing - A good coach would have coached a team to kill a game like that off.
Sheffield (Home and Away) - Out thought in both games.
Whitehaven - 30 + points down and had to come back in final 15 mins - Should never happen
Barrow - Play off - Totally out played again

Calland can not coach a side - Last year was individual players brilliance as much as anything - How many "coached" moves did you see in the 2nd half of last year and the beginning of this one? - How many tgimes have our defensive frailties been exposed?- How many times have our ball handling skills let us down? - How many times do we take dumb options in attack?

I could go on . . . . .

NO! Please don't!

Where were you last season?

We beat Fev in the play off semi (remember!) they also beat Widnes away days earlier!
Sheff didn't drop a pt last year, Don Valley was the 'valley of death'.
Gateshead unleashed their new aussies (Branners / Nash) and beat Barrow at Barrow soon after!
Batley away - bannana skin for most teams (slope), watch out for the upsets their this season.

Widnes away - disaster, but hey every team has one!

Cheeky git!!

I was at every single one of those games. Sheff dropped lots of points, 1 bonus point is 2 dropped points. "Gateshead unleashed Branners and Nash"? Good god, were you at that game? We couldn't pass, catch or tackle. Nothing to do with either of those players. Batley away is a banana skin? look at the Batley squad last year and look at ours. It shouldn't even be close, never mind a defeat!!
We beat Fev in play off, yes, only just. And like you said, they beat Widnes only a few days before, (very little rest). I seem to remember that excuse being used on here a few days ago when Hunslet beat us!!!

I only missed one game last season, that was Gateshead at home, we put 72 points up them, and that was around the same time that we put 72 points up Batley. Same team!!!! They seemed pretty "Gelled" on those days

I agree, we've only got 1 move, thats the runaround where shad comes into the line

Remember Holroyd perfecting that with shad coming off his left shoulder at pace.

Good coaching possibly?

They had it working perfectly and I lost count how many times Shad went over in the left corner by the south stand. It rarely comes off now, a combination of being predictable and poor execution.

Yes possibly. But does that mean that its all the players faults that we are playing so poorly?

As soon as the opposition figured out our style of play last season, we didn't have a clue how to respond. That means we had no game plan. Who comes up with the game plan?

I don't come on here to get into silly arguments, everyone is entitled to their opinion and we all havce a common aim and thats to see Fax be succesful again. Some of us feel it won't be achieved with Matt Calland.
Sometimes people on here come out with some very poor comments that show a lack of knowledge of the sport. And thats not a dig at 1987.

Got to agree with you Chris, its good players (when they want to play) like Penky, Blacky (last year not this) and Shad that have won us games by individual brilliance not by a planned move or anything.
Its been very noticeable that well organised teams like a very average Whitehaven have been able to beat us and Sheffield do too, come on they got very close at the Shay this year.
Now those players are no longer playing for him Calland will be unable to get us out of this pickle, he seems to have never got out of the player mentallity where its lets go out on the lash after a game and you try get any Fax players to do anything they won't or its not very easy. They clear off after games and don't want to stick around most of them, there are a few exceptions I admit but they just do what they want.
Thing is he has a long term contract so the club would have a whopping amount of money to pay him off, can we afford to keep him though???
And before anybody starts on me like a guy in the East Stand yesterday I have been thinking this way since mid last season, all those come backs told a story didn't they, now we cannot do them we are stuffed.

We have too many old men, why on earth have we got Wrenchy, Larder, Big Frank, Aizue and Stanley as first choice players? What happened to the policy I heard about getting the age of the squad down in preparation for SL???
Seems like whoever knocks on our door gets signed cos he is available (Brannigan apart), was there any planning in who we got???

Millward has topped Calland already and he has only had one off season to get a team, Leigh looked organised and we cannot cope with that, they won't win the Grand Final imo bit at the moment are miles better than us and that hurts.

Unless he can sort it out, I doubt it I think he has lost the dressing room and the terraces and when that happens its time to go.

Something ought to be done soon if it is to be done at all.

The reason for this is, as people have already mentioned about the cost of paying off the coach's contract, we are currently getting decent crowds and might be best placed to sort out and fund a compensatiuon package at this stage. However, if our performances on the field continue as they have been doing the support will gradually fall off and the club will then be in receipt of less gate money etc. and therefore less and less able to fund a pay-off.

Clearly, most fans are disillusioned with what is being served up on the pitch and it is surely only a matter of time before a lot of people start voting with their feet. I won't be one of them as I have always supported the club through thick and thin going back many years but not everyone who has been attending recently is as committed as that.

For the sake of the club either Calland has to sort out things on the playing front (which sadly he does not seem to have been able to do up to now and doubts must remain as to whether he ever can) or the directors have to grab the nettle...and soon as I have suggested above.

Rumour would have it that there is no chance of the board doing anything about the situation.Either that or they will have to find quite a few spondoolies to pay Mr Hall his money back...........

We're stuck with him and thats the worrying thing for me.

I hear he has offered to go.

To invest his money into the club, Martin Hall firmly sees Calland as a good coach and has faith in him.
If this is the case, he needs to back him and support him through this publicly and stop the speculation of a new coach.

"Fax will 'work with' coach" www.halifaxcourier.co.uk/local/F ... 6189644.jp However if their isnt a turnaround in the next 10 days, the pressure will grow.

"Fax will 'work with' coach" www.halifaxcourier.co.uk/local/F ... 6189644.jp However if their isnt a turnaround in the next 10 days, the pressure will grow.

Right then we have all had our rant and moan, the board are backing him for now, so lets all stop moaning and get behind the team and coaching staff and cheer them on to victories

over the easter period

Heard Leeds want to get rid of Brian, can we swap?