Well things aren't improving, the only thing I'm no longer sure about is are we at the bottom , decline wise or could we get even worse ...

Our "transitional" period has been and gone. We came out the other end a 100% worse as I predicted.

On-field performance is not one of the major determining factors in home attendance/season tickets nowadays - quality of facilities, overall matchday experience and the inate "RLness" of the area are all vastly more important. We'll inevitably see some drop off in numbers next year if results don't pick up but to nothing remotely like the doom and gloom levels being predicted by the usual suspects.

I'll make another prediction and you can bookmark this if you want as I'm confident I'll be right.

We will be averaging 8 thousand per game come the start of 2015.

I'd agree , unless we have a hell of a 2014 ..

That Buemont, Carlisle and Dawson will have to be some players for that to happen.

You do that. I look forward to pointing and laughing. Onfield performance is a minor determining factor in SL attendance - proven and demonstrable fact. You stomping about with a cob on over your little agenda won't change that fact.

Whilst I would have worded slightly differently, I agree that there is no way we'll average 8k in 2015.

Yes whatever

I'm curious over what agenda you think he has? Pete is one of the most sensible posters on here and normally calls it just right. The quality of signing we are being linked with is very very poor. Walsh and Masoe aside we seem to be looking to recruit cast off's and nobody's and retain players who are well past there best - that only takes your team 1 way.

If we keep going the way we are all the glory hunters that are left stop coming and as we are dull as dishwater to watch at the moment I'd expect more casual fans to stay at home too, how big do you think our 'core' support is? Also throw in the state of the economy

Walsh, Masoe, apparently in the miz for Chase. I wouldn't put those in the very, very poor category and we've no idea what else is to come.

Does anyone have anything concrete that saints are looking at chase or is everyone just getting carried away with the rumour?

I would suggest it's the latter.

Salford is supposed to be in for him too.

My guess is he will stay at Cas.

It was in the Manchester Evening News a couple of days ago that it was between Saints and Salford. No sources were cited in the article though.

I did say Walsh and Masoe aside. Chase is sadly I suspect a bit of non starter given our aversion to transfer fee's and we need more than 2 aussie's adding to this squad if we want to compete. Especially given we are going to be moving people on. Names like Carlisle and Beaumont are getting mention , that 5th choice winger at Hudds has been linked with us too. All big names to really excite the fans and get those season tickets flying out the door.

The squad need a major overhaul and that fact were having to do it all in one go is down to p!ss poor squad management over a number of years .

And Chase. But what else have the Romans done for us? Eh?

We are 100% not in for Chase. He's sorted for 2014

If we handn't been so poor at recruitment for years we wouldnt need to buy half a team in one off season. We've allowed a steady decline and now were paying the price.

That's exactly my point and one I've been making for a long time.

"We need half a team"

The knee-jerking.... it burns....



We need a half, preferably 2 (Already got best available one of them for next season? Check!), a prop, preferably 2 (Already got best available one of them for next season? Check!), and some decent coaching (Best available coach that noone complained about at the time who's only had half a season to get his ideas across so far and in whom all hope is by no means lost as yet? Check!)

Oh how we suffer from our terrible unambitious recruiting... Woe is us











"We need half a team" FFS....

In a ideal world we could do with 6 players because half of this team isn't good enough. Obviously your standards have dropped since we have become a mediocre team.

The only players IMO that are the usual class we've come to expect at saints in the super league era are Manu, sia, Walsmsley, Roby and lomax. The rest are either ok or just not good enough.

Well when you've stopped acting like a tool have a think. 2 props, 2 halfbacks and a winger as a minimum is hardly something you want to do all at once really is it?

Brown has left Hudds and they look a strong team and are challenging at the top - Brown takes over Saints and we drop off a cliff ... great stuff or is that a coincidence?

No point trying to convince some people even when facts are all around them. Fact - we keep losing games badly, Fact - we pick players all over the place instead of their settled positions, Fact - we are struggling to even make the top 8 , Fact - we have allowed ourselves to get into a position where we need to recruit a new front row and both halfbacks in one go , Fact - we have resorted to using other teams cast offs to cover in key positions because we have no depth.

Never mind, forget all he facts , you just keep living in happy happy land , soon you'll be able to just print out a copy of the table and turn it upside down then everything will be fine because we'll be near the top.

I agree that the 5 above are the [iclass[/i that we crave, but you can't get a full squad of players like that in a salary capp.

Add to it the following players that i'm certainly [iglad to have aboard[/i

Jordan Turner, Josh Jones, Mark Percival and Luke Thompson

Good players [iincoming[/i

Walsh & Masoe

A couple of players who [ican surely do better[/i
Wheeler & LMS

Some [idecent potentail for the future[/i
Swift and Greenwood

And some [isolid pros[/i
Makinson and Flash

Thats the core of a very decent squad, but I think the next couple of moves will determine whether it turns to a squad to compete with the best, or mearly an upper mid table squad (outside the top 4, but in the playoffs).
Resigning Wellens, Boof and Gardner and not finding an alternative future for Lance is, imo is going to land us solidly in the "almost good enough" catagory.

Replace those 4 (and Meli and TP) with a decent mix of exciting young talent (perhaps the likes of Brierly from he Championship) and a couple of hardened pros (perhaps from the NRL if we've space) ans we could have a genuinely competetive squad.

I think the most imprtant thing we find is a couple of hardened leaders. Players who'll be first to take the hit and give it back twice as hard, like Fozzy or Graham used to do and players who you want there when the hits the fan. The sort of guy that'll belt a player for trying to rough up one of his young team mates.

Scully was giving it the big I am recently, saying he could still manage it without a problem. If that's the case, he should be getting his boots on now. He's exactly what we're lacking -a determined, hardened, ruthless character who'll take everything you can throw at him and still come at you.

We 100% need two props and a stand as well as Maose and Walsh. That's a must, if we are to have any chance of getting to a grand final.

If we want to be a top class team again that can challenge on all fronts, then IMO we also need two wingers and a centre.