Re: Recruitment - where does the buck stop? : Sun Dec 04, 2016 4:58 pm  

We've signed a lot of good players who've played very well for us and helped us win trophies under Smith.

There's no real issue with who we have signed, in the main (there are always odd ones). It's who we didn't sign in the Winter of 2012-13 for me. We didn't sign anybody, not one player, when we knew that Morley Carvell MMonaghan Hodgson and Cooper were all leaving at the end of that season. That - and the sudden retirement of Briers - set us back years. It had its knock-on effect up to last season which saw us finish 6th and get to no finals even though we did sign good players like Clark the Winter before that season.

If we get the right signing to replace Sandow this Winter (and that doesn't have to be a direct replacement for me, can be any position), we will see a continuation of the knock-on effect of the good signings we've made in the last few years which saw us do much better this season in getting to both finals and winning the league.

Re: Recruitment - where does the buck stop? : Sun Dec 04, 2016 5:04 pm  

LJWire wrote:

Why don't you draw up a realistic short list and present it to TS on a Monday teatime at Tesco when he's about to buy another one legged donkey or has been liability!!!

Ed Balls and Honey G.are currently.waiting for a new opportunity.

........they'll be cheap.

Can you imagine the stadium announcer...

Not at number 10, Ed......Baaaaaaaalllllllllssssss

Re: Recruitment - where does the buck stop? : Sun Dec 04, 2016 5:20 pm  

lefty goldblatt wrote:

But that IS the problem. We are a team that is fighting for honours. These two were surplus to requirements, at teams further down the league. We should not be recruiting players, just because they are cheap. It's like Richard Branson doing his shopping from the OOPS shelf at Tesco, on a Monday tea-time. I'm fully aware we have salary cap to adhere to, but there must be better players available, to bolster our squad, should we need to.

These 2 were a disaster waiting to happen. Unfortunately, it happened. Smith's fault.

We recruited players who were available, and could fit under the cap given that we left it late.
As I said that's the issue. It was a planning issue.
I'd have been more than happy to use the Lineham money for a better prop. Anyway the forward issue has been sorted now.

Re: Recruitment - where does the buck stop? : Sun Dec 04, 2016 5:36 pm  

Psychedelic Casual wrote:

It's who we didn't sign in the Winter of 2012-13 for me. We didn't sign anybody, not one player, when we knew that Morley Carvell MMonaghan Hodgson and Cooper were all leaving at the end of that season. That - and the sudden retirement of Briers - set us back years. It had its knock-on effect up to last season which saw us finish 6th and get to no finals even though we did sign good players like Clark the Winter before that season.

and therein lays our problem...Smith's pigheadedness / lackadaisical attitude.
We'll be Ok, I know what I'm doing, attitude.

We have a couple of seasons of nothingness, followed by bottling 2 finals, in the weakest season that Super League has known.

As you can tell. I've now had enough of him. He's lost any good will he had left.

Don't let the door hit your Aris on the way out, Tone.

Re: Recruitment - where does the buck stop? : Sun Dec 04, 2016 11:55 pm  

I agree Lefty.
It was the easiest season to win a major trophy.
Our only competition all season was Hull and Wigan.
We all shared the spoils but we ended up the bridesmaids.

I'll say it again. 2016 will go down as probably the most disappointing season I ever seen. We really ought to have achieved more.
Had Leeds Saint's Hudds and Catalan(OK early season) really made a fist of it, them LLS would have carried some weight.

[Uncle Rico]

Re: Recruitment - where does the buck stop? : Mon Dec 05, 2016 9:30 am  

rubber duckie wrote:

I agree Lefty.
It was the easiest season to win a major trophy.
Our only competition all season was Hull and Wigan.
We all shared the spoils but we ended up the bridesmaids.

I'll say it again. 2016 will go down as probably the most disappointing season I ever seen. We really ought to have achieved more.
Had Leeds Saint's Hudds and Catalan(OK early season) really made a fist of it, them LLS would have carried some weight.

and by definition so would the elusive GF win, let's win it this year in a really competitive league

Re: Recruitment - where does the buck stop? : Tue Dec 06, 2016 6:34 am  

Just one thing to consider when talking about certain short term signings for 2016, is that it was the first season that we ran a reserve side. And some players with experience were probably signed on low contracts to pad that side out to help bring the younger players through. Subsequently injurys dictacte 1st team call ups.

Re: Recruitment - where does the buck stop? : Wed Dec 07, 2016 10:53 am  

We had a prop by the name of Chris Lightbulb. I can;t decide if he was a great signing or not.

Does anyone have a link to his stats ??

Re: Recruitment - where does the buck stop? : Wed Dec 07, 2016 11:27 am  

Steve51 wrote:

We had a prop by the name of Chris Lightbulb. I can;t decide if he was a great signing or not.

Does anyone have a link to his stats ??

Pints in the London Bridge with the Cullen Crew.......thousands
Nando's smashed......thousands
Good games.....a few

Re: Recruitment - where does the buck stop? : Thu Dec 08, 2016 8:14 am  

Steve51 wrote:

We had a prop by the name of Chris Lightbulb. I can;t decide if he was a great signing or not.

Does anyone have a link to his stats ??

He was a fat Trent Waterhouse!