McDermott has never been a God. He has taken our team precisely nowhere so far bar occasional freak results and you can't argue with that. It did indeed look like we might be getting somewhere but as GF alludes to, we were indeed punching well above our wait.

We are missing Purdham yes but missing Dorn is not a huge concern - fine, he scores occasionally but he doesnt change the way we play or offer any organisational attacking advantages, something we are desperate for. We wander around the park and nobody can take control of anything. As I have posted before, I would love to see the club bring in an EXPERIENCED stand off next season, not a 1 trick pony.

Look at the stats, Mr Lister, Dorn is still 10th in try assists in SL this season even though he has been out for 3 weeks. Orr is top!

I knew you wouldn't let it lie, ho ho ho.

Hurrah. We have been through this whole stats lying before. I'm probably biting here but i'm not bothered, if you (not you personally, but in general) think Dorn is a key man in our side then you are deluded IMO, I lost count of the number of poor games he had at the start of the season. I for one am not missing his abysmal kicking game, hiding out on the wings and his greedy play and cluelessness with ball in hand. The only moment I recall him doing something of value was at Salford away - well done Luke, you got one over on the side second bottom of the ladder.

Do you realise why Orr is top?

You clearly did not see him at Cas or Crusaders away. That's 3 games he has been a major player in plus 10 try assists, yes, he is a major player in our side and he is being sorely missed.

But I think we will have to agree to differ, great work on the flag by the way!

Two more quality sides he's played well against then

That was Cas' worst performance of the season and Celtic are just terrible.

I saw him at Cas. He got the interception and then did very little for the rest of the game as it was clearly a slog in the forwards.

He never said that once mate. Just suggested the clear truth...coaches at this level do know far more than your average fan and as such I'd guess have more idea how the game is run and how to get the best from players.

Everyone is entitled to their opinion...and I agree....coaches shouldn't slate their players publicly...but ultimately, it's the player that takes the field and plays...they should be able to do the simple things like tackle, pass and actually see the space at SL level. All the coach can do is give instructions!

Very simplistic way of looking at things. A coach is responsible for much more than giving simple instructions. If only it was that easy.

You make a good point.

Maybe, immediately after a losing game is not the best time to talk to any coach.

However, it's not good to hear our coach berating the players, while at the same time saying, "I do not know what the answer is," even if he was interviewed immediately after a losing game.

I can't recall the last time I heard a British Army commander berating his troops in public and also saying he didn't know what to do. It's not good for morale, and seems unprofessional.

McDermott has never been as good as some people have said he is. He is quite good with some of the lesser-known players but he consistently fails, IMO to get the best out of the club's leading players, with the exception of Randall this season.

The team is doing its usual routine of starting really well and then losing interest at the business end. We can't blame some woeful displays at Wigan, Wakefield and now at home to Huddersfield on simply missing Purdham. Thats just rubbish.

Just getting the post back on subject, I can only speak as I have found.
Yes, Brian can be a prickly character to talk to, but if you take the time to go up & speak with him, he will always give you a couple of minutes of his time.
It's hard for a person to change their attitude & I think he doesn't hold the press in very high regard, so will only give a short resume' of the game.
As others have stated, he will always interact with the fans at away games & at the Club Forums.
Also, regarding Luke Dorn, what seems to have been missed in other's comments is the fact that he attracts 2 or 3 of the opposition players to stop him from making any darting runs, thus opening holes in their defence for others to exploit.
I agree that he has not been as electric as I would have hoped, but for the reason I have stated above you can see why he is missed.

Yet he clearly understands far more than a supporter would...that can't be argued with...sorry.

OK.

He's a good coach and I want him to stay, existing players want to play for him and he helps us attract new players too. It doesnt get away from the fact that the way he speaks to the media sometimes after games is completely unprofessional and must undermine team and supporter morale. Its also bad PR for the club. I respect him, but the coaches I respect more than him in the game would never do it.

Who was it who said that when you start listening to fans it won't be long until you are sitting with them?

Wayne Bennet

I agree with you. I think it's more likely to be another example of Brian being sharp with the press after a disappointing loss, in the same way he was after the Millennium Magic game last year.

Our game plan is based around not making unforced errors or penalties and then taking advantage of our opponents errors when we get into their 20 metres.
Against Hudds the basic errors came up like a bad rash. When we got into a good field position we wre usually devoid of any idea about what to do. Wakey seem to base their attack around Brough's kicking into their opponents goal area and hope someone on their team catches it.

It may be a lottery but at least they put the opposition under pressure and ask questions. Most of our attacks were just down a blind alley.

I agree, keep it simple, Gale and Orr can supply the kicks and we could get Jon Grayshon on a ladder on a giraffe and he would get it every time.

Seriously, I think the Wakey method is the best we can manage, unfortunately the best catcher in the side is Howell!

Funny how winners like Tony Smith, Daniel Anderson and Brian Noble don't act like that though.

To be fair Lister, on game day, once they cross the white line. Instructions are all a coach can give. Even then it's through someone else.


Of course everything else would have been covered in the run up to game day.

Spot the difference:

Daniel Anderson: "We just did not execute well enough, our fundamentals were not up to a first grade level and where you need to take those opportunities. When you don’t score points you start to lose confidence in your own ability … you need to get a bit of reward for what you’re doing. If you don’t get any reward you lose faith.”

Brian McDermott: "I thought we were absolutely terrible today," he said. "As an attacking force, we were a bit of a joke and, even after putting ourselves in a position to win the game, we came up with a load of rubbish. People are not taking charge out there and we were far too wishy-washy. We have some real problems at the moment, and I do not know what the answer is."

Anyway, I think it's entertaining having a coach who tells it like he sees it, and it doesn't depress me when he says stuff like that - he's obviously right, but it's his job to sort it out and he'll give it his best. Ultimately, his coaching career is on the line.

Did he say that after last nights defeat by the Titans??

,cos he was going absolutely mental in the coaches box at times last night,you could certainly lip read what he was saying,and it wasnt as measured as that statement!

If players are unahppy with the coach as has been hinted at on these pages why has Danny Ward just said on London Radio he is happy with London, loves the experience, enjoys the way the game is developing and that is why he and 6 other players have signed in the last few weeks to stay at London.

Maybe Danny reads these pages and is wanting to set the record straight in his own way

I don't think anyone's suggested that. Have they?

I and a couple of others have simply suggested that McDermott isn't as good as some people seem to think he is. Look at our home record for instance - its desperately poor. Thats undoubtedly having a knock-on effect on retaining supporters when all our good displays appear to have come in the first half of the season (i.e. not the summer bit) and away from home.

McDermott out! Booooo!

We'll swap you Walters for him, we'll even throw in a Perry and a Bell.