We have seen both sides of the coin this season. We have seen the team run their blood to water on some occasions, and being the forgiving and encouraging chaps and chapesses we are, we stayed back and clapped and cheered them off the field. They won too, but that isn't the first thing on our requirements, we just want to feel they put it all in.

And then we see like at Catalans, and you have to ask WHY - forget coaching, forget poor standard of playeers, get back to the basics - given that our team DID NOT run their collective blood to water, but spent a lot of the game stood around, being lazy, and choosing not to work for each other - WHY did so many players have that attitude?

Have we got anyone that is competent to do something effective about it? I am not suggesting we immediately sign Karl Harrison, or anyone, but does anyone think that the same team would do the same idle shift if they were going back to a dressing room (and training week) under Harrison, or Wane, or some such?

At least we may hear from the upper echelons of the club again. Even if it is only another apology.

Some of it is down to confidence rather than laziness. Wigan's younger players run their blood to water because they know that if they do they'll probably win. Our players can do that if they get off to a good start or get into the game such as when we beat Warry. But the body language suggests that they generally expect to lose. And conceding an early try just reinforces that lack of belief. Their opening try pricked our balloon, the energy just evaporated out of the team.

We all know the job's fooked and has been since the points came off at the start of the season. There's no reason to suggest that the players are thinking any different. Imagine winding a business down with redundancy beckoning. Efficiency and quality control are going to go out of the window. They'll be more focussed on trying to sort their livelihoods for next season and who can blame them?

So you might get the occasional game where it all comes together but generally the mood will be one of resignation. Very hard to see how anyone can shake them out of that really.

Correct. The players are mentally shattered and whatever Cummins is saying is not getting through to them. The idea that despite the fear of being out of work at the season's end 12 or 13 of the players who played on Saturday simply can't be bothered is absurd. They're not very good, they're not sure what they're doing and they don't believe it would make any difference anyway.

Ferecious Aardvark - you are more than welcome to come a get Harrison - take him away!!

Mind you know what its like when your club is in thus position as Fax were in 2003 , it is a shame to see Bradord in their current predicament.

Surely one good way of ensuring that their livelihoods are sorted out for next season is by actually playing well and puting yourself in the shop window?

Let's be honest, who on earth would want any of our players on current form?

I disagree. The trick to acquiring any player isn't to see his current form, but weigh up what he [icould[/i do for you if handled correctly. The trick if you sign him is then to man-manage him - with the rest - to get the best out of the whole.

There are plenty in our squad who would (and probably will) play in SL next year, and will do much better than they have been for us. There are certainly plenty who have a boatload more ability than they have shown of late. That's the most frustrating thing for me. If they were all inherently crap, yet trying their best every week, that would do for me.

About a million times less absurd than the notion that they played like that yet WERE "bothered"!



You are I think in a considerable minority if you think they really were bothered. The coach himself, who i suggest is well placed to really know, is in the majority:


Now, in my book, if players "ARE NOT PREPARED TO DEFEND ON THE BACK OF ERRORS" then that is not being bothered. Do you disagree?



The idea that 12 or 13 of the players who played on Saturday simply couldn't be bothered is therefore a long way from absurd. On the contrary, you have basically had this spelled out by the coach, who is warning the fans that he can't guarantee that all the players will even turn up, or be willing to do a job for the team, and he's worried we could even get embarrassed by Wakefield.

I haven't quite heard anything as defeatist publicly said by the man who is supposed to be motivating the said team, in all my days.

Don't buy this "we were down as soon as we had the 6 points taken off" that's absolutely rubbish. A lot of
Games this season we have had a good team on the field but been given an absolutely spanking in MOST games this season. The players have been paid every week and the "financial troubles" have been resolved for weeks. There is absolutely no excuses for the "effort"'some of these players are putting in.

In 2012 you could have forgiven them for putting in these kind of performances when they won't getting paid on time and we didn't really have anything to play for as there was no relegation. Those players busted a gut to get in the play-offs. This lot think its ok to give up after 30 seconds and see another huge score put past us.

No, 'Not prepared' and 'can't be bothered' don't mean the same thing.

Cummins may have inadvertently hit on the root cause of the problem. If the team was collectively unprepared to defend off the back of errors he needs to look at himself, or have they all gone down with lazyitis on the same day?

For present purposes, then, you'll need to explain the difference, cos I'm buggered if I can see a material one!

To me that reads like Cummins has lost the dressing room, as they say these days.

The most incredible phrase in that somewhat sad eulogy is the one about hoping we have a handful of players 'who are willing to do a job for the team'

Here's a thought Mr Cummins: How about we see 17 players who are willing to a job for the team? Frankly 'a handful' won't suffice, as we can be certain that Wakefield will be fired up for this game.

And if he is suggesting that there were a handful that weren't even trying on Saturday - and the visual evidence would suggest that - then, given that we look like having Diskin, Ferguson, Blythe, Walker, Fakir etc back and available - then it should be quite simple to drop that handful

Then we would see who 'the handful' are.

I could easily identify who the handful were from my vantage point in the Tribune Ouest stand on Saturday for those having difficulty.
Foster, Gaskell -never let him play FB again, Gale, Henry- never seen him do anything, if fact, hang on, it's shorter to state that Addy, Purts and Kear at least appeared to give a damn! The rest either didn't care or couldn't give a toss.
I've witnessed bigger defeats this season in respect of scores but not a more gutless, passion lacking, soft and embarrassing display served up. It's the first time I've felt the need to say that on that performance the Bulls don't deserve to be in Super League. Sad day!

I would love to be a fly on the wall in the boardroom and hear what Green and co are saying and doing in private. Some people think they are doing nothing as they are not in the papers. I bet they are busy doing something but it may be preparing for next year in the championship - and this work can't be discusses yet in the media as it will look like we have given up.
It looks like we are going down so I would be disappointed if Green hasn't started planning how to get us back up within say 5 years.
At the moment the directors will have "public"faces and comment and also "private" sides that we are not told about. Hopefully, we can stay up and they will never tell us what they are planning but I do hope they have it all planned by the middle of July which is when we could be relegated officially.
Most of the players will already be looking around. Maybe a few of them out there last weekend have already got an offer which could explain their effort levels.

'Not prepared' equates to not seeing the value in an exchange of effort for prospective results, most probably due to having no faith in the outcome no matter how hard they try. 'Can't be bothered' means not wishing to expend the effort irrespective. The former means they do not believe in what they're being assured will be the fruits of their effort. The latter means they don't care.

I think it's the former and as TT says the dressing room has stopped listening or processing what FCs saying. It's tragic because it's largely not his fault, although I do think he's made crucial mistakes. Nevertheless, he looks doomed.

It also reads as if the dressing room has lost the coach

This will be where the club psychiatrist earns his bonus then?

Also - the senior players last year were Diskin, Kearney, Scruton, Walker and L'Estrange. How many of them played in France? Some left due to financial reasons, some out through injury.

In this current team, vocal leadership (which is respected/listened to) is provided by Diskin, Walker and Kearney.

Loan players can't provide it. Younger players can't provide it. Gale is expected to be able to provide it, but it's not working.

If Diskin is available, I think we'll do ok this weekend. But I look at what the team has been doing recently and wonder, like many, if the few good performances are because of, or despite the coaching?

I'm speechless at Cummins comments. What an appalling attitude from the coach. Our biggest game in recent history and he is HOPEFUL that SOME players will do THEIR JOB.

How disrespectful to Wakey. Does he really believe that if only half the team do "their job" that we will win!? We need all seventeen players busting a gut on Sunday. Wakefield certainly will.

Deary me!

I wouldnt be so sure about Wakey, we have lost our way big time at the minute and there's plenty of talk on our board of people who arent going to bother coming to Bradford as they are expecting a drubbing!

Hopefully a couple of players will turn up on game day after eating their ready brek and be willing to put in a abit of a shift.

Regards,

Uber coach Francis Cummins.

Cheer up! Highlights of 99 grand final on sky now. The most upsetting thing watching it isn't the Withers "no touch" it was seeing the determination and effort of our team. Yes we had superstars, but saints made a break with about 5 support players, and everytime saints passed it, there was a bulls player busting a gut to make a try saving tackle. Wonder if Cummins will show our current lot the video. Oh to have a leader like a Dwyer, Lowes, Forshaw, Henry Paul.

Telegraph & Argus wrote:
Next Sunday’s home clash with Wakefield has now taken on added importance and the Bulls must win to avoid falling further behind.

Cummins said: “We knew Wakefield was a big game anyway and hopefully we’ll have a handful of players who are willing to do a job for the team.

“If we have then we won’t be far away. If half a dozen don’t turn up or decide to do something else, then we will get embarrassed again.”


The most incredible phrase in that somewhat sad eulogy is the one about hoping we have a handful of players 'who are willing to do a job for the team'

Erm ..... The players are getting paid to do this as a career, something I suspect many, many fans would love to have the skills/physique to do.

If I turn up to work and am not willing to do my job I get a warning then I get sacked for breaking my contract of employment if it continues - it's simple I understand the rules therefore I work hard to safeguard my employment and my family's well being. I don't always like it but I knuckle down and graft because life is tough at times and that's the way it simply is.

If the players are not willing to play drop them and play 17 youngsters who are willing. I for one would rather see 17 fully committed, hungry young players give their all rather than the garbage that was served up last Saturday, whatever the result may be.

I fear from the comments made in the T&A that FC has lost the dressing room, from this point I don't see any way back (but I genuinely hope I am proved wrong)

Rant Over.

Maybe we're not targeting this one.