How would we attract these players that will improve us, if we have a coach who seems to be out of his depth?

At this moment in time that is probably right. However if you took those players that were playing for Wire under Cullen who looked bang average at best, a big chunk of those became vital parts of the team under a different coach. Great coaches bring the best out of the majority of the players the majority of the time. Radford seems to have brought the best out of Westerman and Shaul (although Shaul was showing that last season as well) but nobody else seems to be putting in their best performances under him.



Do you think there is a big percentage of players that are playing as well as or even better than they did last season? If your answer to that is no, then you have to ask yourself why not?

I would be quite happy to concede that only a change of management and a few changes were all we needed if we had as good a squad as those teams. And yes I do mean even Cas! They have the in form centre in the league, a winger outside him scoring for fun and probably one of the top 3 hookers in the team and a 6 & 7 only bettered by Wigan. Problem for Cas is these players are all on top form together, teams will work them out and they will suffer losses of form, and so their season will stutter and they'll achieve the more realistic position of 6th/7th.



Too many of the current squad are not good enough for a top 2 team challenging. I reckon 20 of the top 25 aren't good enough. With Westy, Shaul, Lineham, Paea & Crooks (needs to physically mature) being the only ones. (Note i'm only stating top 25, that doesn't include Bowden or Hadley, who I think is pure class and will be a star).

I've only seen Westerman and Shaul improve but I haven't seen any performances worse than last year. For me it's the same players churning out the same performances. The only ones showing anything different are the ones that weren't here last year - Feka, Paea, Talanoa, Thompson etc. but while the dross is still here these players will become consumed by it.

I think Ellis, Houghton, Talanoa, Tuson, Heremaia, Rankin are all good enough for super league, that gives me 14 decent players with your list. We need a better coach!

Why isn't Radford a part of this dross? He has been at the club a long time.

I've not suggested that simply a change of management and a few changes are all we need. What I am saying is the current squad is not performing to its potential or ability under Radford. I accept we need major changes but we also need the right man to do it and so far for me Radford has shown he is not the right man for the job.



If Cas are indeed to finish 6 or 7th then they have improved significantly under Powell. As for the players being in top form I don't argue they maybe but that is what happens when a team gels and know there game, but that's how teams get success by players reaching top form. Powell has whether you accept it or not played his part in getting this to happen it isn't just a fluke. Do you think Huddersfield would have got the league leaders shield if their players hadn't performed on form for a good chunk of the season?

At the end of the day for me it is not a simple case of changing the coach. We've been changing coaches for years and we've not seen any changes to the inconsistencies that have plagued the club. There needs to be a serious clear out and cleanup at the club as we try to get to the root of the problem. If ever there was a time for allowing a coach the time he needs to build his own team it is probably now.



But is Radford the coach to bring about these changes and be given that time? The answer for me is no. We're not playing any better under Radford than we was under Gentle. On the face of it we seem to be worse. Radford doesn't appear to know what his best team is based on his constant rotation and questionable selections, our defence is looking worse than last year and our attack looks just as clueless as in other years. His public criticism of players doesn't seem to be having any effect on the players other than on Ben Crooks who seems to be bereft of confidence. That's not good. Nor is his public admittance that he doesn't know what the problem with the team is or how to address it. It is a problem that has affected our previous coaches but Radford was supposed to be the man that had the answers.



Most crucially though, we currently sit 10th in the table and based on current form we're more likely to slip further down the table rather than up it. For a team that finished 6th for the previous two years that is not good enough. A change in coach should be for the better but that doesn't appear to be the case with Radford.



Now it is not up to me whether Radford goes or not. It is AP's decision and his alone. If Radford stays then I hope he can turn this around and show us why he got the job in the first place. But whether he stays or goes, the man in charge needs a good background staff supporting him. Based on what is available on the club website we look light in this area compared to other clubs. We've got some great training facilities but without the staff then we're hindering ourselves.



On the playing front, the squad we have is largely the same team that finished 6th two years on the bounce and that is the level we are at. If we are to become a top club then in the long term we must rid ourselves of the players that have been guilty of the complacent, halfhearted, efforts that we have seen in the past. Players like Shaul and Westerman give their all every week for the team and these are the players we must keep and encourage others to follow their example. If they can't then they should leave at the earliest opportunity. More importantly though, in the short term we must simply stop this slide we are currently on, find a way to dig deep and turn these results around. If we don't, I fear the worst for our season and the club as a whole.

Nail on the head

Given that we've worked our way through a whole load of coaches over the last ten years, and the same problems have kept occurring, I think it's fair to assume that the coach isn't entirely the problem.



Personally, I think we've settled for mediocrity for too long. Gone are the days when we went out and bought Barnett, Jason Smith, Prescott, Kearney etc. Fitzgibbon and O'Meley were probably the last examples, and they were coming to the end of their careers. This started under Sharp, continued under Agar, when we were using our Ozzie quota for players like Cusack, Byrne, Dykes etc who were either physically shot or no better than the players we could have found at Halifax, Doncaster, Batley etc.



I like Pearson's idea of bringing through a whole load of youth players, and hopefully it will free up money to supplement them with some really big signings. But then I do wonder about Pearson... He talks a lot about Wigan and their set up but they have dozens of support staff, focusing on every area of the team and the club. We have none of that, and don't seem to be trying to rectify that.



What I don't like, and haven't liked since it was announced, is the appointment of Radford as coach. For me, he was one of our most indisciplined players - and now, lo and behold, the discipline of the team on the pitch is shocking. That Rankin penalty at the start of the second half on Saturday summed it up for me. That reminded me of the sort of penalty Radford used to give away himself.



We all recognise there is a problem with the culture of the players at the club - only here for the beer etc - so to appoint somebody who has been an integral part of that culture as the head coach was asking for trouble in my opinion.



It was never going to work, but I thought it might go marginally better than this. Now it's falling apart he's thrashing around.



Can somebody explain to me how you can loan Arundel to Bradford - who will be eyeing us up as a team to overtake if they get their points back - and then a fortnight later pick a winger at centre and moan about how few centres you've got?



IMO Pearson has to bite the bullet, get on the plane, go to Australia with a blank cheque and bring back an experienced, hard line, successful Australian coach. Not an assistant coach, a coach. Somebody proven. It will cost the absolute earth, but it's going to cost him more in the long run through lost ticket money, lost merchandise money, lost prize money and money frittered away on loads and loads of signings like Liam Colbon and Jason Crookes if he doesn't do it.

Everyone agrees that the club needs a change in culture amongst other more tangible things and it's disappointing that after almost 3 years under pearson we're not further on than we'd like. Where some seem to disagree is who is the best man (coach) to help implement these changes. Some say radford, some not. My take on it is that radford may well be the man but entrusting him with it is a major risk and one I don't think the club can afford to take. He may turn out to be a great coach but at this stage his abilities are unknown. Would you trust a major change project within your organisation to someone with no experience or would you bring in someone with a proven track record? Entrusting it to a first time coach with barely any time as an understudy is asking for trouble. I hope pearson wises up quickly and brings in someone with a proven track record. I don't mind if radford stays to learn from him but unless pearson want to be looking at financial meltdown then he needs to act