Hi there RD, I did say "most" as my qualifier. If it helps I do agree that the pack is a problem and needs addressing as did the HB's, which I think Sandow finally is a quality addition.

I'm suprised no one on here has questioned the signing of Lineham ? A great young English player, but why buy another winger when we have Monaghan, Ormsby, Penny & Evans as well as Russell if Ratch & Gidley will be playing fb ?

What we needed was a specialist centre, but instead we'll be using a variety of make-shift & average players who can cover the position but shouldn't ie, Evans, Ratchford, Monaghan, Hughes, Grix (if he ever gets fit or manages to remain injury free), Currie, Laithwaite etc etc.

Atkins should definitely not be guaranteed a start, but based on our squad will play every week. And I don't see King as a starting centre either.

I'm concerned.

Could it be that TS doesn't see a future for Penny?
I don't see a problem with Penny, it's Joel Monas that is completely spent. (Thank you for the years JM).

King will be a starting by the end of next season as he has all the makings of a quality centre who can see gaps and off load at the right time.
We need either Gidley or Russel at Fullback with Ratch at centre, he is not at his best at fullback. Monaghan got drawn in time and time again last night it was as though he didn't want to be one on one with Carney!! He looks past it.
The one good thing for me was Sandow looking for the runners if we learn his game over the winter and run lines off him he will put players through gaps all day.

We played our best rugby with Russell at FB this season. His kick returns and scoots set us rolling forward and direct up the ruck.

I would suggest that given performances this year, there are a significant amount of cas players who are better than the Warrington equivalents.
Shelton, Carney, Gale, Millington, Lynch, Holmes would easily get into your 17, as might the likes of Massey, Springer, McMeekan and Junior Moors.
I personally don't see the excitement about Ratchford, but I think Myler, Westwood, Sims, Hill and Clarke would get into the Cas team. I also think Sandow will be a fantastic player for you, but he needs time to settle and get to know the team.
Put the two teams together and take the best from each one and we might stand a chance.

i agree with pretty much everything you have said there... i also don't see what the big deal is with ratchford... at FB he looks disinterested, in the halves he looks lost.. he is to lightweight to be a 13.. His best position is probably in the ... Jack of all trades, master of none... If you go back to the team we had 4 years ago, he wouldn't have got a game.

There was an article on the Guardian web page saying Joel is expected to be Lineham's centre next season. As for Notts Tiger's comments,i think why Cas are doing well is because they have a coach who can motivate & get the best from his players. There was a major alarm sound last year when Clark & Sneyd left, but Powell hasn't let that get in his way.

The post was actually not by The Speculator (me) but by Speculator (someone else). Perhaps you should learn to read better?

Perhaps I should, but I can see the word "the" before it though, did you miss it? I was edging my bets and made it lower case.

he stabbed you with your own sword there RD

Cas are above Wire in the league for a reason. We have a few excellent players who'd get in any team. We also have some very poor players. Overall you're a better team than us. For sure. (Although I don't think you played well last night).

I'm not a fan of Ratchford at FB, I don't think he's good enough defensively (would he have put Carney into touch like Russell did a few weeks ago?) and he isn't intense enough in his running off the line. His best game for us this season was at Centre against Wigan!

Or shows that some supporters feel that we have a right to be successful and if we are not then it's due to a lack of effort. How about you stop wingeing till the off season, it's like a broken record.

Didn't realise I had someone else's username! Will ask for a different one.
No problem with speculation it's the whingeing that I find tedious. As for any criticism of me by Rubber Duckie...I wear that badge with pride.

It was a lass digging at him not me, I was just a backslapper, I learnt how to backslap from the best there is.

There's a delicious irony in RD being duffed up on the internet by 'the speculator' and 'speculator'.

Great, can you read it again then, rubber duckie is lower case, perhaps there is someone else with a username like me?

if you're referring to me.. i always went after you on my own... there was no backslapping... Anyway, I don't really do it anymore as that market is flooded these days

Ratchford was terrible last night. I don't remember him having a worse game in the P&B. He was thrown around like a ragdoll when tackled.

It was difficult to watch him at times.

Ratchford and Currie both last night. We were just shouting 'drop your knee' randomly at the TV.

Far from wanting new players,we need someone to get them all pulling in the same direction, singing from the same hymn sheet. The whole season has been reminiscent of the last days of Cullen ,with Nero Smith fiddling while Rome was burning all around. The players we have are no worse than throughout the league, but they need a leader & the club needs to sort out whatever is wrong in the dressing room.

It didn't quite resonate as much as "geerrrr in to em!"

What about Cory Patterson @ Salford? He seems to be unsettled according to reports on BBC etc and I think he could adjust easily to SL and add a bit more grunt which is lost when Sims and Hill go off for a rest.

+1

I could live with him coming to the Wire