I think we’re moaning for moanings sake here. We learnt nothing about the team or coach tonight, but we have survived. Finish your pint, get home to bed.

What we did learn tonight is that if the crowd get on top, the influence on the referee can make one hell of a difference, and the fans deserve a nod for getting the club a seat at the table for 2023.

Well said Barbed Wire.

I wondered where you were. I'm definitely off to bed.

He's dropped off a cliff after a bright start

If you're off to bed, I won't have to read any of your made up horsedump/hyperbole.

Come on now gaz, you have copped some unwarranted flack but you're goading now. Can't we just enjoy the win and relief?

At the minute opposition teams can single him out to keep him quiet, put Vaughan, Kasiano and dudson with him and quite simply they can't afford to. He's our best prop Atm bullock has been good after being dropped too but he's definitely playing for his future, he knows what's incoming to our pack. Fair play to bullock he looks up for the challenge of getting the shirt next season.

I've only responded to this. If you're going to give it out, be prepared to take it as well, if not, don't give it out.

I'm cool.

Re. Micheale. He came on during the shift in momentum towards Toulouse so he was having to mostly defend which isn't his strong point - he was badly positioned (to my eye) on at least one of those tries before halftime. But really agree though that a pack with more than one threat will open things up for him. Bullock looked really good again - most improved player this year along with some young contenders.

Not to be negative…. but this worked.

The Monday morning crisis meeting will now forever start with “I told you we can do it when the fans get behind us…”

I think the result, especially the comfortable score line, is papering over the cracks.

I think now, now we are actually safe to put the cue on the rack, pre-season starts. Get the 1 to 13 for next season in position now and begin the prep. Other than the Wardle question mark, the backs, halfbacks, hookers and back rowers are all in. Start building the combinations and stop with the tinkering. Either that, or make a call on the coach/Director or Rugby/CEO and use the next 4 weeks to get the right personnel in place to start pre-season exactly 2 weeks after the season finishes.

Did you hear the comment "It was good when the fans got behind us when we went behind, which has not always been the case".

I think the result is papering over the cracks. I fully expect us to lose all of our remaining games. But barring any crazy results we are safe.

Comments like that from Powell don't do him any favours. His PR work is very poor.

Yes because the insinuation is that if we had got behind the team more we would have not lost those games in which we collapsed. That's weak.

Or maybe he's insinuating a belief that our fans behave in as entitled a manner as a couple of us have pointed out on here, lately?

Given the times and the tone of some messages on here last night, it appears that some (A lot?) of the entitled fans on this particular message board, don`t even attend our home games?

I think DP has overlooked that the supporters have been there every week but had nothing to respond to. Sport ,like comedy, is a two way street.
As for Big Tom ,he is the type of player who needs a runner on his shoulder to take a pass, but i was pleased with the contributions of Mulhearn & J Clark last night . Danny Walker didn't seem to spend much time on the pitch last night again , before Daz came back on.

As for the Toulouse tries ,were any of them dodgy ref decisions ,i was badly sighted ?

My first and last game this season was Huddersfield at home. In truth we were bored and it was ~£60 for me, the missus and the little one. Not worth it.
I watch on the TV when we are on or listen on radio if I am not doing anything else. I make no claim to be a "big fan".

Did he actually say that?

yes he did

Anyway I think there is no chance of Powell being sacked. So we may as well leave it alone for now.
Unless of course you like banging on and flogging a dead horse.

Coaches and players need to stop talking about fans.

When has anything good come from a public statement talking about fans? Never.

Most businesses understand the relationship between them and their customers. Produce good products/services, customers buy loads of stuff, leave positive reviews. Produce bad stuff and they disappear. In markets where they can't switch away as easily (like water, energy, renting) customers respond to bad service by complaining vocally.

It's just a part of life. When a business CEO has bad sales figures he can't go to his shareholders "well the problem was the customers didn't get behind us".

In sport the fans are not fickle in terms of switching to other teams, but they will stay and vocalise their opinion. And the opinion always follows the quality of what is on offer.

I think some coaches or players think they can control it the other way by saying if the fans get behind us and cheer us on we'll play better. Completely utterly naive and shows no understanding of what sporting crowds are like. The crowd is like an organic body that cannot be asked (however nicely) or commanded to respond in a particular way. It responds to what it sees. It's not as transactional as winning or losing - crowds will respond to heroic efforts. If a team is busting a gut and genuinely doing everything it can to succeed the crowd is always going to get behind them even if they have been poop for weeks.

So as the sporting psychologists like to talk about: "focus on what you can control not what you can't". You can't control the crowd by asking them to behave a certain way. You can control putting a phenomenal effort out there even in the face of defeat, and a crowd will respond positively.

I think the difference though in relationship between a company and customers, and that of a club and fans, is that fans are quasi shareholders.

When we buy goods from a shop, we're just buying goods, we aren't buying the goods to support the company. When we buy tickets or merch, we're buying intrinsically to support the club. The Glazers at Utd have used this club fan relationship to their advantage knowing that fans will still buy the merchandise and the tickets no matter how poor the team's performance. I'm lead to believe that Utds off field performance has remained strong for years, despite poor on field struggles.

I agree with a lot of what you say here in measures. I could well be wrong, but I believe the 'call to arms' from Powell and probably moreso from some ex players played its part in some way. I'm not certain, but it didn't do any harm as far as I can see. When Fergie made his departure speech, I'm fairly certain fans took his sentiments on board and really backed Moyes at first, despite overhauling the coaching staff and making some questionable decisions. I think the key thing here is whether the fans respect the person who's making the call to arms.

Defending isn't his strong point is something that should never be said about a rugby league forward. The bloke looks completely unfit which is not acceptable. He was blowing after about 5 minutes.

While I agree he looked well out of sorts last night, couldn't the reason for it being that he is carrying a recent injury, rather than his overall fitness levels being an issue?

It's not like he looked unfit when he was trampling all over the Catalan forwards at Magic?