Not being around the club anymore, I am not privvy to the goings on there. I do read what people write on here, and there are those who I know, and whose comments I respect and believe.
It is blatantly obvious, even to those who are not 'in the know' that something is not right. There have been too many of our players who have mysteriously 'disappeared' at various times of the season. This is a situation that we can't allow to happen, especially as we have such a threadbare squad at the moment. We are just a couple of injuries, or suspensions away from being unable to select 17 players - and we still have at least two games to get through.
I will not criticise any individual player, who is brave enough (yes, it takes real courage) to step over that white line and play for 'my' club. I believe they give their all every single time they play - yes, even against Widnes last week. In fact, their effort and courage almost got us an unlikely victory at Warrington - personally, I felt they were unlucky. We have a team that, if it sticks rigidly, to a robotic game plan, is in with a chance - providing the opposition hasn't got the talent/pace to beat the 'robots'. However, what our current, depleted squad desperately lacks, is that pace and class. No way were we going to get away from our own '25' late in Saturday's game.
So, to the point of 'missing' players. Unfortunately, some of these guys are the ones who are capable of doing the 'unexpected', or have the pace to make something out of nothing. Players with talent often have the 'idiosyncracies' to go with that talent. No way is Zak Hardaker 'perfect - neither was Alex Murphy, or John Woods. Yet they do/did possess outstanding, world class abilities. Their coaches are/were prepared to make allowances, to harness those qualities. Sure, as a man-manager, you do have to have a disciplined framework, to work in, but you also have to make allowances for individuals. Like it or not, they are not all robots - they are all individuals.
To an 'outsider', our managers (i.e. coaches) do not seem to have been prepared to make those allowances and, as a result, we have lost the services of absolutely key personnel, when they should be out on the pitch. I honestly believe, with great sadness, that this is what will get us relegated at the end of this season. I sincerely hope I am wrong, but I have this awful feeling..........
