I know you care, Lee Smith never shuts up about you caring.

Hold on - we don't need Bratfud fans coming on here talking sense...can't you see we're busy wallowing in self-loathing and self-pity

Peacock and?

Obviously you can't be including McGuire in that statement as he played in all but the final 80 minutes.

Burgess?

See! Bless Smithy and all his greatness. He's the key to my eternal optimism and happiness.

Donald.

Nah Donald was on the team-sheet.

Do you know who was overlooked in the final two games though?

No wonder you had a smile on your face nobody's been able to shift since.

Andy last year was a decline on 2009, 2011 is a further decline on 2010. This is all I am suggesting - for me the decline is now a freefall and I fail to see how that is going to be arrested any time soon. All I see is continual re-signing of aged players who are being shown to be not able to compete by the better sides.

As the one of the biggest clubs in the competition we should not be a position where major restructuring is required - this should be an ongoing process, the fact we have so many players OOC at the same time is poor management. The writing was on the wall all the way through last season - but injuries were used as a form of denial for the decline

It is not about domination it is about competitiveness - and no one can honestly say we have been competitive when we have faced the better sides. What has been disappointing is the manner of the defeats to Warrington, Huddersfield and Saints and how quickly these sides have passed us.

I don't dislike him. I just think he's overrated. Very much like U2 (the band!). They're a band. Good on them. Occasionally do something fantastic. But mainly, just a half decent band. Not "THE GREATEST BAND IN THE WORLD!" We need bands like that. Sure. Just like we need players like Smith. I just think he seems to get FAR more praise than he deserves.

Maybe sometimes I go a bit OTT on the criticism, but that's only to try and redress the balance of all the love he seems to get. He's fine. But that's it. Just fine. Massively overrated.

McGuire missed the last 7 seconds of the Wigan away play-off and all of the Headingley one. Doesn't get more "business end" than that.

I don't think I've ever seen a thread on which a large number of people have rated Lee Smith as highly as you seem to think. Perhaps I just missed them. Most people seem to think he's a decent player, and one who finds big plays in big games.

Since you bring it up, I haven't liked anything U2 have done since that one they did for the Batman Forever soundtrack, and would happily feed Bono to starving children in Africa. With a side-order of Chris Martin.

1st team squads usually roughly comprise 20 elite players + 5 progressing through the system.

Say the usual contract duration for the majority will be between two and three years I guess a club would expect to have around 8 senior players coming out of contract in an average season. This season Leeds had 10 having extended some contracts by 12 months last season.

Some of those extensions were pretty uninspiring and have added to the current situation I guess.

Its certainly going to be interesting how GH does his recruiting over the next 2-3 years and how many of the present squad are still here next season

In fairness, if you look at eh spine of the multi-title winning side, I can't remember seeing any team (Leeds or anywhere else) where so much of it came through the club's academy quite so close together. Having so many players in key positions come through so close together was always going to create a fairly unique challenge as they all, inevitably, retire or pass their prime quite close together too.

You could argue that it could have been managed better, but there aren't loads of precedents for this.

I haven't really liked anything that Smith has done since he leaned forward and duped the VR into thinking his feet were behind McGuire, and would happily feed him to the people of Wakefield. With a side-order of Ben Cross.

Pleasing to see the sense being talked by Andy Gilder and Bullseye on the previous pages.

Is it any coincidence that they are of the same generation as I, have watched Rl the same length as I and clearly have a better and balanced perspective as a result? I think not.

As mentioned, the club had already achieved the unheard of when it won 2 GFs in a row. Then it did 3. Did everyone expect or demand 4 and 5?

As also mentioned, GH has put the club on a footing where it is not reliant on on-field successes going forward.

I actually can't believe, even though I am not surprised at, some of the drivel directed to GH by the usual suspects. I guess they have been building up to this through three or four years of frustration for them but success for the club. Now is the time to release. Ooooh, It must feel soooooo good.

If I had to pick a CEO to run my sporting organisation would I pick Sal, Gotcha or GH?

There was no duping .... Smith was clearly onside.

At first I called it as offside too but was happy when that initial view was proved incorrect.

__________



Hardly unheard of considering the feat had already been achieved by St Helens during the SL Era.

The third Championship was unique though.

but I think 2 in a row let alone 3 was exceeding our dreams at Leeds after our record in the 80s-90s

You could hear those branches snapping 10 minutes ago. It was like thunder as it got nearer and nearer and nearer and nearer. Then became an anticlimax.

I too would have GH as CEO of my sporting organisation before Sal or Gotcha, it's a no brainer. But I certainly wouldn't be sucking his purple helmet even when he's put in a poor 18 months performance.

No question. I'd have settled for one in a row at the time much as I would a Challenge Cup now but that doesn't make G1's statement of fact correct now does it?

For us it was.

Yes, I just re-read what you wrote and knew that was coming next.

I agree wholeheartedly with that.


GH manages to lead us to 3 in a row, and 4 titles in 6 years. You'd think that would cut him a bit of slack? But NOOOOOOOOOOOO! HOW DARE HE LOAN OUT BURGESS?!

Quantify how GHs performance has been poor plz.

BTW, a therapist would go to town on that post of yours. Clearly fixated with me and a number of sexual references. I too am married but I am flattered by the interest and mildly curious.

That you had me didn't you?

I feel dirty.

It's good.