I think that is an issue that has clouded peoples judgement of McDermott.



The fact is, for various reasons (youth development, playing numbers, the salary cap, exchange rates, structures etc) the playing standards in SL have fallen fairly dramatically, this means that even when Leeds win or demolish teams, there are still failings within the side that people can see. Which creates an expectation issue in that because Leeds have been so successful for so long and the general nature of sport is that people expect improvement, a comparison between this squad and they 04 or 05 or 09 sides isnt going to be favourable.



Its an odd situation where a good job by McDermott is simply taking Leeds backwards at a slower rate than the game in this country is going, that leaves us in a weird world where Leeds can be successful and even see relative improvement, and still be noticeably inferior to our own previous performances in the not too distant past.

All very valid points but, from my perspective as a punter, I simply want the team to perform consistently to the best of their ability. In my opinion, that has only happened for relatively short periods whilst McDermott has been in charge. That fact does not and should not cloud the fact that he has been very successful at extracting some very good performances from the players in key periods.



I'm not going to speculate on the why he fails to achieve consistency, why he has achieved the success he has or whom may also have contributed. To me this points are almost unprovable and, to some extent, irrelevant. I recognise that he deserves credit for the success experienced in his tenure and a good deal of respect. Furthermore, I'm really not sure who is out there that could improve the team to any great extent, the potential candidates seem a bitten on the ground.



Juan - You've failed to recognise that Wigan were not up to much on Friday, a point made by McDermott himself.

Exactly. We were dreadful and flattered you I think. There are at least 3 teams better than Leeds on current form IMO and if it came to it I wouldn't mind playing you in a semi final.

If I was a Wigan fan I wouldn't mind playing anyone in a semi

Fair comment



WCC and CC win would still be a good season for us though.

Correct, especially in veiw of the injury hit players. Obviously the big flop of the season was warrington, so in comparison if you win at wembly it would have been a reasonable season.

Leeds only ever win in style when the opposition have an off-day.



True story.

Yep.



#FACT

Probably. Most of the league is pretty even now thanks to the levelling down of standards so when one team wins in style it's probably because the other team had an off day (e.g. us with our 32 missed tackles).

32 missed tackles caused by good, strong & evasive attacking play by the Leeds players?

don't forget the lucky bounces we had, you were certainly mentioning them on your own forum, semi final, you wish

Certainly Wigan have not been up to their usual high standards this season but you can only play what is in front of you and Leeds put in a top class performance which would have beaten a Wigan side from previous times too IMO. To not give the coach some praise for that is some what churish.