Currently the Bolton weather forecast for next Saturday is 22 deg, with gentle breeze, so could be a case of who tires first loses.

During a run of poor form?
No

Half way through a season when we’re almost assured of a play-off place as a team who’s aim is to get into the play-offs?
No

After just 18 months in the job?
For some maybe, but not for me - unless you’re absolutely stinking the place out, three years is the time for that

Westwood’s muscles have turned to jelly. Earlier this season he was running into defensive lines with the ball as fast as he could and melting into the tacklers, looking busy but doing absolutely nothing and getting dominated.

It's boring and predictable at the minute. We're easy to play against and rightly so opposing teams don't have any fear about facing us.

Our attack absolutely stinks, we are trying to play a tight game being very hard to score against and controlling the field position but errors and discipline are killing us completely. The game play just isn't working because the players just don't have the mentality to carry it out. Time to play a style that suits the players that we have. Fitness is potentially a huge concern as well but we defend so many sets it's just as likely to be the errors and penalties conceded that are making us look tired as well.

Its not just a poor run of form though, we over achieved with no pressure last year without a doubt, coupled with us bouncing back frkm a very miserable 2017, price earned a lot of brownie points.

However he's rapidly ing them up the wall this season, since the brick wall of the saints game, we are unrecognisable from earlier in the season, and whilst he's giving soundbites to suggest we're getting to the bottom of it, we're getting worse.

Mmm.
It takes all views I guess.

Is Westwood even training with the first team?

Pretty much the same as the rest of our pack then.

Price has phased Westwood and Atkins out of the team before he’s even got anyone good enough to replace them. Both of them although past their best would bring more to the table than a few out there today.

Just watched Widnes v Toronto from this afternoon. Number 37 for Widnes was a lad on loan from us, Ellis (?) Robson. Big lad, forward, played almost the full game, looked good - why is he at Widnes and y Tasi in our team? Makes no sense to me at all. Price clearly has his favourites and that is doing us no favours.

Or perhaps Duckies 2nd warning wasn't so far off.

I was going to say that it's starting to feel like it did towards the end of the TS days, but actually I think its more reminiscent of the late Cullen era. Big name signings are coming in and raising the expectation levels, we've hit a plateau and results are inconsistent but we're trying to create the impression that things are still heading in the right direction and these are just bumps in the road.

Incredibly some of our fans are even trying to cling on to losing these sort of games as a positive, thinking that well in the past we've been good in the league season and then lost in big games, so the way to solve it is to be worse in the league as this will give us better chance in the games that count...

We had this kind of "it will come good in the end" blind belief when Cullen was here too.

Jason Clarke and Matt Davis. I suspect that the cost differential is probably 3:1 or 4:1. Not being critical of either of them but definitely represents questionable investment.

And what warning was that?

Atkins currently has a cast on his right wrist after an operation earlier this month. Before that he had a hamstring injury.

Not sure about Westwood, his performances weren't great early season but I'm sure he'd do better than Tasi.

Price is putting players out with niggly injuries Cooper and Hill being 2 of a few others. This information came all the way from Barrow in Furness.

That's because Cooper & Hill are the only 2 props that can do 60/70 minutes. The overseas contingent are just 10 minute journeymen.

Correct however isn't that down to Price and pure neglect on his side that we don't have any adequate repalcements for Hill & Cooper? Everyone knew Tasi was a joke of a signing when it happened. Saints got rid cause he wasn't good enough for them so why are we signing players who wouldn't get in their team?

Who releastically out of this squad is good enough? Ratchford, Lineham, Charnely, Austin, Hill, Clark and Cooper. Everybody else I'd say the jury is still out on for me and they can be easily replaced/upgraded.

1 Stefan Ratchford
2 Tom Lineham
3 Bryson Goodwin
4 Ryan Atkins
5 Josh Charnley
6 Blake Austin
7 Kevin Brown
8 Chris Hill
9 Daryl Clark
10 Mike Cooper
11 Ben Currie
12 Jack Hughes
13 Ben Murdoch-Masila
14 Jason Clark
15 Declan Patton
16 Lama Tasi
17 Joe Philbin
18 Toby King
19 Sitaleki Akauola
20 Harvey Livett
21 Danny Walker
22 Jake Mamo
23 Matt Davis
24 Jack Johnson
25 Luis Johnson
26 Pat Moran
29 Eribe Doro
30 Ellis Robson
34 Ben Westwood

The signs for Price have not looked good for a while, but this was a poor game to make any meaningful analysis. Players will be holding back for next weekend and Price pulled off Cooper and Hill quite early on presumably to save them for Hull.

Westwood I hear is currently injured.

I’ve heard the wrist issue could’ve waited until the off season. Even when fit it’s been clear that Price doesn’t fancy him and has preferred King over him.

We’ve been garbage for a while now. I think anyone’s judgement or analysis is based on a lot more than just yesterday.

Even when winning we’ve been just above average and have been dragged through by the likes of Ratchford, Austin and Clark.

We look lost for ideas at the moment and lack any direction. Our discipline and ball handling are shocking and we’re showing no signs of improvement.

On the whole we’ve made no progress from last season and over the last month or so we’re going backwards at a rapid rate. As a group we look like we’re playing with an attitude and a bad one at that.

We can turn it round, winning Saturday will go a long way to putting a few things right, but if not, there’s a few very worrying signs for me.

To a degree but you think that we can just go and rip up contracts and make players come here.


Weve not been an attractive prospect to new big signings since we won a few cups but we did not push on or our recruitment did not take u s to the next level.

Im also not convinced that price is in 100 control of signings too

Our recruitment post Tony Smith has been as bad as it was when he was in charge. Smith got a lot of stick for his recruitment during the latter stages of his tenure and rightly so, but the fact our recruitment is still poor indicates to me that the issues recruitment wise run deeper within the club than just the Head Coach.

Not ripping up contracts but why sign players lie Tasi when we've previously signed Johnson to then loan him out? I know who I'd rather have.

You look at Bullock at Wigan - why wasn't we in for him over Tasi?

Price probably isn't but Fitzpatrick has a lot to answer for as well IMO. He may talk a good game but not much else.

Agreed. The problems lie deeper than Price and changes need to happen at the top. The acceptance of medicority at the club has been unacceptable. No trophy won in almost a decade, lots of cash wasted, recreuitment disastorous, promotion from the academy non exsistant. Compare that to how Saints are operating - it's polar opposite.