I think the critisism of Pickersgill is unfair. I think we've got to remember that last year was his breakthrough year only because McNally was injured most of the time. Add to the fact it was a league that hardly has quality running throughout the teams, its easy to see how he doesn't look as good this year.

This is therefore his first proper season and I think he needs time to develop and grow his confidence. Lets face it we aren't getting relegated or promoted so why not use the season to see how he goes. If he's not up to the job by the end of the year then a new FB should be a priority.

I think more concerning is Kears general tactics and team selections. Why is he not being questioned more than he is... he had the biggest budget last year and we scraped into the Championship through the playoffs, this year we again have one of the biggest budgets and should be getting a better tune out of the squad.

The props are playing far too many minutes because he is determined to play only 3 within the squad for some reason and play backrowers as makeshift props. The centre combos are getting flipped around like a pack of cards week in week out so there is no consistency or partnerships being developed and tactics seem to be 5 (ineffective) drives and a kick (or lack of based on the Cougars game).

Kear might be upset with the players but I'm more upset with Kear... i've lost faith in him and think we need a younger hungrier coach at the helm.

Think that's a bit harsh. I'll give you the L1 stuff etc and we started this year unconvincingly, but I think we've turned a corner since Batley. Also take the first 3 half-backs out of any side and they'd struggle. I expect us to move up the table in the coming weeks. Our next games are against Dewsbury, Halifax, Barrow & Rochdale. I expect a minimum of 3 wins from them 4. All the teams above us seem to be playing each other so we've a real chance to move up the table. If we cock-up and end up only winning half of those, with players oming back from injury then fair enough, questions should be asked.. I take your point about the budget but let's see where we are after Easter when we start getting players back, and the others lose their D/R and loan players.

Wandered a bit off topic here. I would like to see Stephenson get a chance at FB and Ryan return to the wing, where he is our only attacking threat (apart from Flanagan scrabbling over).
As for the comments about Kear, I wondered who would break ranks first. I've been on the brink myself all season, but last week he made some tactical changes that resulted in a good win.
In general though, and yesterday was a prime example, we just offer nothing in attack and must be a very easy team to coach against.
As has been said, the next four matches, whilst all difficult, all offer at least a chance of winning. However if its going to be 5 drives and chuck it anywhere again, then serious questions will start being asked.
Hopefully all will be well. Kear has been a fantastic coach in his time and come what may will be at the Bulls all season, but performances, particularly in attack, need to improve or we have to think of moving in a different direction, long term.

For me Kear is what we need now as we consolidate in the Championship but you look at Ford and others and you start to think that the best thing we can do is moving him upstairs in 2020 as Director of Rugby and look to provide money to fund it through not spending on a big name signing for 2020 and instead getting a coach with new ideas who probably won't be on the same wage as JK.

More like going up a blind alley yesterday

Quite surprised and disappointed that Picksersgill hasn't continued last season's good form. I thought he had it in him. Not really a fan of Ryan at full back. I'd persevere with Picksersgill at Full Back over Easter personally and if he doesn't improve then he's had around half a season to cement the jersey and it will be probably time to give Stephenson a run out.

Don't see the point in making any panic buys, as mentioned we arnt going to get relegated and we can still probably challenge for top 5 with what we have got. Although Hanbury is a free agent and would and a nice touch to the squad for the right price.

Not gonna criticise Kear. He's the right man for me. This season and certainly into next, even bottom end of SL if we get promoted within the next few. You're never going to see much attacking flair from his side's. That's just not how he plays. He wants to play the stats game and swing the scales in our favour.

We have got the coach and the playing personnel to be playing that way. I definitely feel we are capable of another 50%

For me we don’t need a new coach yet. We’re playing in a much tougher comp and we’ve been plagued with injuries to our halfbacks and props which would affect any team. Defensively we’re better than we’ve been for years.

I don’t see what age has to do with a coach’s ability to do the job. Kear knows this division very well and is proven at this level. For me this year was always going to be tough. A lot of the squad are very young and learning the game. Consistency will come when we get a settled spine in the team and players get used to what is required at a higher level. We’re pretty much where I expected us to be.

I wouldn’t let a poor performance at Keighley colour my judgement. Against Batley and Leigh we showed signs that the attack was coming together. Did anyone expect us to stuff Batley in those conditions? As for Leigh they’re a good side but as we saw they too have issues. Go on the Fax board and you’ll see plenty of fans that aren’t happy with them either. We only lost 14-0 to Toulouse who thrashed Toronto.

Perspective needed I think.

If we’re still playing like strangers when we’ve had a settled side out for a few weeks then complain.

Ashley Gibson has played full back.

So has Sir Keith Mumby

Gibson is a good solid centre. Wouldn't put him anywhere near Fullback. I'd like to see someone better come in at Fullback like I said at the start of the season and have Pickersgill as his understudy but as a few have pointed out this is just a 'hit and hope' year. No real chance of going up (and tbh I wouldn't want to this season) and I don't think we'll be bottom 2 either. So instead of wasting cash. I'd like to see Pickersgill and Stephenson get a run of games and hopefully that prepares them. If things don't improve towards the end of the season I'd look at getting someone in for next season.

I'm scratching my head at people calling for Kear's head. It was a major coup for us to get him, and quite apart from the fact we can't afford to pay him off, who do you think we could get to replace him and at what cost/ Wayne Bennett, maybe? I agree that our attack is shiit, but with more injured halves than you can shake a stick at, and lacking a number of go-forward props for large parts of the season, I do think some slack should be cut for Kear, although much less for the team, as they showed last week what they are capable of, and there is really little excuse for how many of them played against Keighley.

Kear knows what's what, and his post-match comments are refreshingly blunt and usually spot-on. Also, whilst we were embarrassed by Keighley, we could do without the Cup and if we lose to Fev I for one won't give a hoot

We're short of numbers now but the same excuse can't be said for the majority of last season, when our attack and general style of play was also incredibly uninspiring to put it nicely.
It's pointless calling for him to be sacked because it is never going to happen, but I really don't like the way JK has us set up to play. It's boring to watch. If we can't steamroller over the top of our opposition then we've no other ideas. The only true flair player we have in our squad is now supposedly out of favour and being offered around. I think that says it all about how JK wants us to play. It might help us avoid relegation but it certainly won't see us promoted any time soon either.

Yet we scored more points than anyone in League 1 last year.

I agree with some of what you say. We do play very conservatively and I think we could loosen up a bit and try a few more offloads and back players up a bit more. As has been said already we’re in a much tougher league and we’ve been playing with umpteen combinations at halfback. Were we ever serious promotion candidates this year? I think this year is more about becoming a solid and difficult to beat side that has engrained some good habits. We’re not there yet.

Seriously, if not Kear then who????

Common sense, which I totally agree with. Might as well see whether either Pickersgill or Stephenson is going to make the grade this season, and then re-assess for next year.

Making a signing at FB would only be necessary if we were really serious about getting promoted (or relegated for that matter) and neither of those two things is likely.

Agreed. Stick with Pickersgill and Stephenson for now.

Not fullback related but the player I think we are missing the most for creating things is Joe Keyes. No idea when he’s back but we are missing him.
Elliot scored a lot of tries last year by simply just backing him up, granted the opposition is better this year

Lee Greenwood? James Ford?

Neither yet proved themselves really. Possible targets for post Kear though definitely.



Very good point. That right side attack has really missed their combination.

Well, although it wasn't the most convincing of displays on Sunday, a win is still a win. Keighley were well up for the fight, but some of our guys seemed to be just coasting. Whether this is the fault of the coach or not, I can't believe that posters are casting doubt on the coach and players at this stage of the season.
Fullback is a position which a player needs to grow into to be fully effective, and Pickers just hasn't had sufficient time at championship level to grow his confidence. He needs to remain at full back and then judge him come end of season. Ryan is far more effective on the wing, and was badly missed there on Sunday.
For Kear to come under scrutiny so early into the season is unwarranted IMHO. Someone posted the other day the names of 13 players we had out injured. When you see that list, it brings into perspective just how difficult JK must be finding team selection. It's no wonder there's a lack of cohesion and flair at the moment.
Our style of play at present probably reflects the quality of team selection forced on Kear. Pretty much every last play of our sets was either a run and hope, or a pass / kick and hope for the best. We're hardly likely to beat any opponent with that style of attack. Shows just how much we're missing key players, especially those who can link with Pickersgill in attack - although that doesn't excuse a few errors in his play just recently.

Why do you think James Ford would be interested in leaving York to join us?

I think it's strange how JK's coaching style is presented by quite a few people. I'm not saying it's wrong, but he's getting exactly the same comments that many attributed to both Peter Fox and Brian Noble; boring ,defensive, steamroller teams, always take the two when it's on offer etc - well, they weren't too shabby in 'winning things' department. As for promotion, to be honest I don't want promotion - it's pointless without an owner who is capable of funding a super League team. Yo-yoing up and down isn't what I want for the club but that's all that we're ever likely to get without proper funding.

Not being funny but I think I could have coached us to glory with the squad Noble had at his disposal. And of course you can survive in SL without a rich benefactor - Wakefield proving my point and then some.



I didn't say he would, I was simply listing a couple of names I'd hope the club would look at if the need ever arose. But if you think James Ford is going to have all of his coaching ambitions fulfilled by remaining at York for the entirety of his career, I'd say you're being a bit naive.

The issue of players “coasting” made me think. We have a really big squad with a lot of “fringe” players. With the lack of reserve games I wonder if that’s caused a few to lose focus? It’s quite possible. How else can you force your way into the team if you’re not playing? If you’re on the outer for a long period I wouldn’t be surprised if players lose form and fitness at the very least. Over a long period it could cause discipline issues too. One for Kear to keep an eye on. Especially since none of those fringe players looked anywhere near 1st team quality on Sunday.

Going to assume the posts talking about a new coach are April fools related.

I too think Ryan could be a decent full back. But he’s an outstanding winger and that’s where he should play. Give Pickersgill a few more games to try and get confidence back, if no better then put Chisholm there when he’s back.

As the last couple of posts. We're functioning on ticket sales, merch, sponsorship (+/- whispers of external funding) and minimal central funding (this year). The problem is getting into SL for us. We can't afford to pay max salary cap like one or two others in this division. If we ever get back to SL, our central funding would go up to £1.8m like everyone else. And like Wakefield, we could manage on that equally well.