Wish i felt the same way...in all honesty i think you will relish the week off and it will be a corking game at Headingley which will decide the LL.

Yeah, it's a bit early to look at the Leeds game and write it off. We could have a full strength team by then? The week off will be much needed IMO.

There are a few problems however the biggest has been the fact that our team has changed each and every week because of injuries to key players. I believe that so far this year we have managed to put our first choice starting 13 out twice. Compare that to Leeds Wigan et al and we begin to see the issue.

Add to this the fact that the clubs recruitment policy for props has been awful (we never replaced baloo or fozzy) and it is obvious that teams will make hay up the middle of the park.

Finally add in the fact that we have had KC out then Roby out then KC again and its hardly suprising nobody knows whats going on.

We need some players back - although they didn't look that full of confidence today - we need time and we don't have it.

Except when we've played Leeds in recent times having had a week off, we've lost.




That wasn't the case in the early part of the season, but Potter still changed the line up virtually every match.

Not sure about that at all, you will have had your first week off before which will do you wonders and this season you've really had the measure of us. Total 50-50 game for me

The problem with Mick Potter isn't a major issue. Granted he isn't a good coach and he has little idea of what to do with Saints at the moment and we'd be in a far better position with DA at the helm as he had a go at least in preparing for the opposition and playing to suit.

BUT Mick Potter could be replaced with Wayne Bennett and we'd still struggle. I feel sorry for Potter big time. He has a squad made up of players about to retire and untried young players, many of whom won't make the grade in SL. He has very few senior players to work with and any more than 1 or 2 injuries is an almost guaranteed defeat because the squad is so thin.

The problems we've got have been caused by the board putting all their eggs in the youth/saving money because we're in financial trouble basket. We've not replaced the departing senior players adequately for years and we've been weakening the squad for 3 or 4 years now. Even if you are successful you need to sign players to keep the age of the players varied. You can't have all your key players retiring at the same time. We didn't cope with that factor sufficiently.

The young players in the squad aren't good stromg to keep us a top side. Wheeler and Eastmond (Who can't cope with SL physically) might but the rest are unlikely to be anything special. Having said that if there were brought through in a more responsible manner they might do better. With youth players you bring one or two through and give them time amongst senior player to learn and develop. Ours are being thrown in left right and centre and when you have 5 or 6 rookies in the 17 they can't cope and suffer from the experience rather than developing.

It's not all doom and gloom but our days as a trophy winning side are over for the foreseeable future. Sport is cyclical to a degree but we've not coped well enough over the last few seasons. The transfer policy and squad building has been poor.

I'm not a Potter fan but i'm willing to give him time. His tactics are my issue, we play 5 drives and a kick rugby all game and try nothing new. Fine tactics if we have enough firepower, but he seems to have no plan B. His substitutions likewise are too rigid and he doesn't adapt to the game.

That said i wouldn't be suprised if we didn't win again this year. Any team without Long, Cunningham, Cayless, Wellens injured (did he have the op?) amongst others and Pryce (MIA) would struggle.

... That you're not winning all the time and you scouse fans can't hack it .....

If Saints play 5 drives and a kick style rugby, why did the ball end up hitting the ground behind the players about half a dozen times in the first half? If fact i think you'll find that it was Leon doing just that that allowed HullKR in on 39 minutes and 50 seconds. The problem from where i was sitting today was we went side to side to side to side - that behind the play ball that Paul Cullen pointed out. Unfortunately there was no player in position repeatedly to take the ball. I'd have been grateful for 5 drives, at least we wouldn't have kept gifting possession to Hull. That is the tactic that Mick Potter needs to change IMO. We need to earn the right to go out wide, only after we've made the forward yards - and that just didn't happen today, which is where Potter deserves criticism.

Problems are

Potter is a poor coach and can not motivate
the young players are vastly over rated/not ready for SL
we can not compete financially with the likes of Leeds,Warrington

apart from that everything's fine!!

Didn't against Wakefield at home though...

I think you,ve got to give Mick Potter a bit of slack this season for many reasons.

1) He,s took on a team that is in decline and entering a transition season, McRae, Hanley, Millward, Anderson had fantastic players to work with.

2) Most of this season we,ve operated with a shortage of two props and never really replaced Fozzard.

3) Most of our injuries have been in key positions.

4) The game has changed from open skilful rugby to a kick and chase style which Saints haven,t adapted to.

5) We,ve played most of the season without a left centre and at times we,ve had too many young players in the one match.

6) Referees have slowed down the game which has probably effected saints the most, as our game plan is fast play the balls for momentum.

Most of the above points are generally out of Mick Potters control, its up to the team to find a new winning formula and for the supporters to get behind the team win or lose.

exactly mate, he had a hard job anyway that was compounded with a ferocious injury list.

You dizzy bled?

That's the issue for most teams in the league.

I don't think theres any teams that have their starting 13 for a susraiuned period of time.

I agree with you basically, but surely it is actually Mick Potter remit to find our new way of winning?

(I apologise if thats what you actually meant?)

Whilst I think Potter is a good coach, I did find your game plan in the first half alarming - continually kicking dead to force a 20m tap because your kicking game was so poor (despite the 20/20's aided by a strong 1st half wind).

I knew as long as we held the fort in the 1st half, you'd be in for a pasting the 2nd half and we could have and should have put 40odd on you.

Your team today was the slowest team to have visited Craven Park since our promotion to the SL 3 years ago - and that is something that would worry me greatly if I was a Saints fan...

Yes the Liverpool and Everton fans are gutted at this weekends results

What, you think you are telling us something new here? We've been observing the decline for a full season!

just 1? The last time we had any pace at all was when Albert was here and that was 4 years ago!

We have the slowest squad in the league. I've been saying it since 2007 when Lyon and Albert had both gone. We are being found out by every team who can exploit it. Without forward dominance, which we don't have anymore due to poor recruitment and injuries ,we have almost no long range threat of scoring/preventing long range tries. Even signing an out and out speedster won't help as what Saints need is several players who can go at least 50-60 metres to score/track back.

There are only really two main ways to play in all honesty.

1) Team of out and out bruisers who dominate in the forwards (ala Bradford).

2) Balanced team of strength and speed to play an expansive open game.

Sadly we don't have the personnel to play either at present, and I don't think Harry knows how he wants us to play in terms of recruitment next year.

I'm not moaning, just stating the problem as I see it. Yes we are still top but badly out of form. I'd rather be in 4th or 5th and on a roll. We are limping into the play-offs and confidence is low, and that maybe the biggest problem of all.

Jamie Lyon had pace, to be fair, but he had everything.

I said this last week, we must have one of the slowest back lines, not just in Super League, but in the world. We have no-one capable of going the full length of the pitch, and no-one capable of turning and catching someone from behind. Our wingers are shockingly slow, for wingers.

Letting Fozzard go was a big mistake which I said at the time. (Paul Anderson was also not replaced from 2 years ago another big error).
We have hung on to Cayless for too long in the hope he will get fit again. (Lessons not learned from the Scully situation) I very much doubt we will see the best of Cayless again.
We need two more fit props. Getting Fasavalu back will make a difference in having an impact prop off the bench but bringing in another player would have been useful.
As for speed our 3/4 line are cart horses. We desparately need a couple of speedsters in the team who are a threat from long range.

But the reason Sts are still right up there is because in today's game the key players are 1,6,7 and 9 (add 13 in SL). Which is where - even with a few injuries - your strength is.

I think having a go at Potter is a bit much. You're having a form dip, quite possibly due to the CC run. Now you get a week off around Wembley which will help all your players recover a bit physically and more importantly mentally.

TBH if money is as big a problem as has been made out, Sts are doing an incredible job of staying at the top.

Saints desperately need a dynamic aussie full back.

Too true. We can't do anything about our lack of speed as things stand and we have to go with what we have. We can only hope that Fas gets back and Cunningham is fit for the play-offs so he and Roby can interchange again. I doubt Cayless will appear in the V again at all. He's out of contract (4 years expiring this year)and will no doubt retire in a few weeks time.

Wilkin, Pryce et al need to step up if they want to taste success at Old Trafford or even get there at all as things stand.

Whatever happens it will be good to have Moore back next year. Hudds will miss him I'm sure.