That crossed my mind too. Plus, with Raper there was the Dave Whelan factor.

If memory serves, Whelan was interfering in team matters and going over Raper's head. There had obviousbly been a complete breakdown of trust, because wasn't it felt that Raper then jumped before he was pushed (and was then pushed as well)?

I don't get the impression that McManus is as much a blunt instrument as Whelan (not with Saints one week away from a big cup tie).

maybe the HKR form is down to Morgan telling them hes off ?

then again maybe wakefields form before murryfield was down to him telling them hes off to saints too

I got told at the weekend he is taking over bradford next season

What about Brian Smith?

There was talk of Nathan Brown to the Roosters last week wasn't there?

Cronulla ?

ricky stewart to saints and nathan brown to cronulla ??

Has he won anything with Saints?

Your right sorry it was Cronulla. I don't know where i got the roosters from?

a points decision against cunningham i heard

But who's to say Potter will do anything in the remaining 6 months of his tenure?

Noble took a team that were a shambles and got them to 3rd 3 years in a row. I agree that final Year was the Big Test and he came up slightly short, but then again so did Potter! A Big defeat in the Semi and then only a close defeat of what a lot of your fans call a "Poor Wigan" team in the GF semi actaully got you to a Final.
So Has Potter "Improved" St Helens? It was only 3 weeks ago a lot of the Saints fans were saying how it was the most Boring Rugby Blah Blah Blah they had Seen in 20+ Years!

As a Wigan fan I think it's great news. Despite rumours of players spitting their dummy out he's got Saints playing well and they'll be there or thereabouts this year yet again in my opinion.
Can't see it happeneing but I realy, really hope Justin Morgan gets the gig

Probably.

Morgan is no different to Potter in coaching terms imo. Potter has a better team at the moment and thats the biggest difference.

If Potter is replaced by Morgan then it's like for like and we've not got much to worry about BUT if Potter is replaced by Ricky Stewart then it's bad news for us and the rest of SL.

A lot of the dead wood at Saints like KFC, Flannery, Fozzard etc will be leaving at the end of the season. That’s a lot of cap space which a quality coach with a good knowledge of the NRL will be able make a big impact with

From the rest of SL’s pov it’s a worry that all the good things Saints have done this season have come from their younger starts. The likes of Eastmond, Pryce, Graham and Roby have all been top draw this season and all had points to prove at the start of the year.

If they pull in Bailey, Shenton, a 13 and possibly another winger they are gonna be a major threat next season. We’ve already seen at Wigan this season how much a top coach can make a huge difference.

You'll find quite a few posters on the Saints board praising Potter for the way he's handled the younger players. A couple of Saints fans were heaping praise on him for just that on Good Friday in the bar after the game.

Saint's fans seem to think it could be Justin Morgan as head coach with Cunningham as his assistant. I'd be happy with that from a Wigan perspective, worst case scenario would be Bellamy signing for them.

He may have done well but i still wouldn't call him a top quality coach either. The players i mentioned like Pryce, Roby and Eastmond all can go up another level as well and i'd be very surprised if Graham doesn't find it easier when he gets reinforcements in the front row as well.

But the thing is though, they have had more than a few injuries since the start of the year and what's going to happen to the younger players once the 1st teamers are back? It's ok saying he's handling them well, but he's only had to bring them in because he's had to. They also have a smaller squad than last year on top of the injuries. It isn't as if he's rotating younger players with 1st team players to keep the 1st team players out out of position.

So despite 'more than a few' injuries and a smaller squad he's guided them to third in the table, two points behind the leaders. The bookies have Saints down as second favourites to finish the regular season top (behind us) and favourites to in the Grand Final.
You could argue, as was mentioned in another post, that Potter has identified 'dead wood' at the club and has taken the brave decision to plan ahead and bring in the youngsters. All this while (apparently) having influential figures against him within the club.

I got told at the weekend that we've lined up Ricky Stewart

Well hes doing a great job down at Cronulla nearly as good as last season!

Now there is a dummy spitter of the highest magnitude, decent coach though.

I guess that would mean Eastmond at 6 and Pryce to fullback.

KFC

Eric Hughes

Phil Clarke.

Eddie Hemmings.

I'm sure he's writing a letter to Jimmy Saville as we speak...