Re: Remaining Fixtures and can we stay up? : Mon Apr 17, 2017 5:25 pm  

Today's result was always on the cards. We can't continue as we are if ChaLowe are genuine about keeping this club in the Championship.

Re: Remaining Fixtures and can we stay up? : Mon Apr 17, 2017 5:50 pm  

It is very disappointing that Cha-Low have failed to do the big obvious thing and bring some size and experience into the pack. This was from the off the elephant in the room that could kill our chances of survival and sadly they have failed to fix it.

Not too late yet, but Cha-Low have put us behind the 8-ball. Why, I don't know. Maybe they really really don't have any money that they want to put in to give us a chance.

Anyhoo with a pack we'll scrape survival, as we are, we won't. This much is obvious to everyone else so I assume they clearly know.

And don't give me any crap about nobody being available, there's always people available from somewhere. We used to be the only club in the world incapable of finding a scrum half, now it's props. I'm seriously worried. Our young lads have done miraculously but the pigeons have come home to roost at Easter and we shouldn't be gambling on the kids to survive because everyone surely can see that's a losing bet.

Re: Remaining Fixtures and can we stay up? : Mon Apr 17, 2017 6:02 pm  

I'm trying to look at it this way. Half the season is gone and we have earned 10 points to get us to minus 2.. Do that again in the second half and we will finish on 8.

Swinton and Dews may finish the first half of the season on 4 points. Do that again in the second half and they will finish on 8. Our points difference is far superior to theirs so we would potentially be ahead of them going into the bottom 8 competition.

There will then be another 14 points to play for.

There is a long way to go yet.

However with the injuries we now have I agree, reinforcements are now a necessity. You would hope that the likes of Leeds and Salford will send us Murray and Oledski now for the rest of the season given that they haven't played them at all in the first half of the season and have just got past the hardest weekend of the year.

Re: Remaining Fixtures and can we stay up? : Mon Apr 17, 2017 6:03 pm  

Ferocious Aardvark wrote:

And don't give me any crap about nobody being available, there's always people available from somewhere.

It's not that simple though, is it...

1. We can't sign anyone from overseas until this blasted visa situation is finally resolved (hopefully it very soon will be?)

2. We can't sign any available part-time players because we can't pay them enough to go full-time

So, by 'available' what we actually mean is 'available existing full-time players resident in the UK' which limits the pool somewhat.

I just spent an idle half hour trawling through SL squad lists looking for props who might be available on anything more than a short term loan (a season long loan for example) but really couldn't find much. I'd be interested to see any names - even the perennially quoted Ryan Bailey is no longer available.

Re: Remaining Fixtures and can we stay up? : Mon Apr 17, 2017 6:07 pm  

That's the point though, we can't afford to gamble our survival on loanees maybe being available.

And it's now nearly May, and everyone else in the world has a serviceable pack, we failed, stop making excuses for them. It was their job not yours or mine.

Re: Remaining Fixtures and can we stay up? : Mon Apr 17, 2017 6:24 pm  

Everyone's else didn't start in January trying to assemble one either

Re: Remaining Fixtures and can we stay up? : Mon Apr 17, 2017 6:50 pm  

Surely those in charge were selected because of the expertise and top experience they have in the game. Therefore, it surely must follow that they need to invest in team strengthening quickly. Without financial backing, how on earth can we get back on the ladder?..There is still a stadium to maintain as well, so which would be the cart and which the horse? Even with the best supporters in the World success needs to be an option otherwise attendances will fall.This really is hardly in the best interests of the Club as behind the scenes delays are impacting on it with every game lost.Time for someone to show they are not only at the helm, but steering us on a true coarse.

Re: Remaining Fixtures and can we stay up? : Mon Apr 17, 2017 6:59 pm  

The team need to realise that if they keep losing games by their mistakes it will be too late to put things right

Re: Remaining Fixtures and can we stay up? : Mon Apr 17, 2017 7:03 pm  

zapperbull wrote:

The team need to realise that if they keep losing games by their mistakes it will be too late to put things right

I imagine they know that. But to be fair, their mistakes didn't lose them the game today. They didn't help, of course they didn't. But mistakes come with fatigue and having a load of 18/19/20 year olds getting a hammering by big old gnarly forwards week in week out is going to wear them out.

Re: Remaining Fixtures and can we stay up? : Mon Apr 17, 2017 10:26 pm  

dddooommm wrote:

Leigh Beattie confirms that Joe Keyes has potentially broken his ankle.

Well, at least that statement lightened the mood.