Finish top of the league four years on the bounce and one Championship to show for it.
Failures? Bottlers? Take your pick, but when it comes to the crunch this 'best team ever' of ours just hasn't got what it takes.
We are bottlers. Simple as...!
Finish top of the league four years on the bounce and one Championship to show for it.
Failures? Bottlers? Take your pick, but when it comes to the crunch this 'best team ever' of ours just hasn't got what it takes.
We are bottlers. Simple as...!
THIS YEAR LENDING SUPPORT TO:- St. Helens RLFC, Manchester City, Celtic, Alemannia Aachen, Steps 1 to 6 Non-League Football
It rained for them, it rained for us.
THIS YEAR LENDING SUPPORT TO:- St. Helens RLFC, Manchester City, Celtic, Alemannia Aachen, Steps 1 to 6 Non-League Football
Saints have just been outplayed on both occasions.
It's not a case of being bottlers it just happens, it's sport. You've become far too used to winning finals over the last 12 years, almost immune from losing them. Even after last year it was seen as a one off, but it's very good that leeds won again and rammed it home.
It's good for your fans because they have become complacent. It's good for your club because it will keep them on their toes.
Did you not think as well that your unbeaten run would come to an end when it matters most?
Sport has a habbit of doing that to teams.
I think your being a bit harsh to call us failures, however it is immensely disappointing to lose the way we did tonight.
We've been the best team for most of the year, and to fail to turn up tonight was poor, but lets not take away from the fact this is still a great team.
Most other clubs and fans can just look on in envy at our achievements over recent years, and lets not forget we have some great young talent coming through that should hopefully see us stay in the hunt for honours in years ahead.
Losing tonight will make future victories sweeter. It will get the fans singing at home games, and make us come together. At least thats what some of you have been saying.
THIS YEAR LENDING SUPPORT TO:- St. Helens RLFC, Manchester City, Celtic, Alemannia Aachen, Steps 1 to 6 Non-League Football
how cum non of our big play makers could set a single move up tonight! all the hard work for nothing! pryce was so quite!
We all worried about the unbeaten run ending at OT, which is why a lot of us hoped we'd lose a league game near the end of the season. Complacency wasn't an issue for most of us, we desperately wanted this game tonight both for the legacy of this team, the coach, and to prove that we could beat this Leeds team on the biggest stage. Nobody thought it was our divine right to go out and win, but we'd beaten this same team 3 out of 4 this season and we rightfully felt that we could win. Defeat is a part of sport, not fulfilling potential in a game we've waited 12 months for is another thing.Originally Posted by snake eater
May be 5 weeks in Oz and not wanting to get injured has something to do with it?Originally Posted by nutmeg
Gone Walkabout...
Hardly likely I reckon. I cant imagine one of those players was even giving a second thought to the World Cup. In reality only 8 of the 17 who played today will be there anyway, and those not going include leaders like Long and Cunningham.Originally Posted by Red_V_Roger
Completely agree. Complacency on the terraces is out of the window now for the next two years at least.Originally Posted by The Chair Maker
Lets not over-react
We were beaten by the better side on the day because
a) they handled the conditions better
b) they tackled well
c) they capitalised on our mistakes
d) their kicking game was much superior to ours
Saints didn't bottle it, they weren't chickens, but Leeds deserved to win. Hey, that's sport. There has to be a winner and a loser, and no team has a divine right to win.
Think your being a bit harsh!
To be honest i was sick of hearing all this greatest team cobblers, and watching the game on sky this morning all the crap that was spoken in the build up about how good we are was making me feel ill.
Perhaps a little humility will help the club (and some factions of our crowd) in the long term.
At last a rational point of view. Get over it people. We have been the best team for four consecutive years. One game can go either way and it didn't go ours last night for a variety of reasons.Originally Posted by maghullsaint
I explained all this in a thread earlier in the week and was lambasted for it.
In finals we have become flat track bullies. Ok when paying hugely inferior teams but chokers when paying real quality.
1 league title in 6 years is not the mark of the greatest team as many believe we have. The simple facts are we havent won a final against a genuinely top class team since 02.
The 4 top spot finishes on the are great but lets not kid ourselves about these either. When it was Bradford and Wigan finishing top we were full of ourselves claiming that we werent aiming for it as its only the final that matters. What makes anyone think other teams dont do that now? Its sheer arrogance, we are finishing top now because we are the best but when other teams do it, its because we arent trying.
totally agree daveOriginally Posted by DD
gutted last night as i watched leeds raise their game
and we couldnt match them for intensity
this game is miles more important now than the
challenge cup and we keep failing
A Wigan colleague texted me during the game and used the word 'bottlers'.
Unfortunately, its a tag that may stick to the team for the 'close-season' period perhaps but the CC Final showed that they could turn things around when the game had gone awry at the three quarter mark.
But with the sun on their backs they turned that game around with relative ease!
So that brings me to the point of last night's weather. Was it a major factor...I just don't know, I need to watch the TV version in the cold light of day.
Handling errors were not THAT evident but cautious handling certainly was !
The main disappointment for me was the poor vocal support from behind the sticks. Leeds fans were not that much better but they made the noise to lift their lads when it mattered.
Don't know about Dave, but in the morning I still think he is right unfortunately.Originally Posted by pricey73
Only winning one Grand Final after finishing top 4 times isn't good enough imo.
So it werent the fact that we played the next to bottom of the league side that made it easy to turn that game around?Originally Posted by Naturalised_Yicker
Perhaps this is what happens when you go off to madrid at the end of the season for training, perhaps somewhere wet would have been more appropriate. It has been said all season that saints do not fare well in the rain, it does not suit our kind of rugby etc. Yes we were woeful, but it's not the only game this season, the last home game against warrington when we won in the last minute, we were dire then (forgive the pun) other games we have only won by the skin of our teeth. When we are good we are very very good when we are bad we are rubbish.
DD if you feel like that then dont ever go to watch the most successful team that siants have ever had. so your not happy with 2 Tophies then.
Very true, but in the context of that game it could have been very different as most finals are .....a 'one off game' were form books are thrown away !Originally Posted by The Greatest
There's no point in looking for excuses i.e. weather, Madrid. The simple fact was that the players let Anderson down last night. We are more than capable of winning that game and suggestions of mental blocks, bottlers, failures tags are nothing other than silly comments that do the players a great disservice.
The players know that they should have won last night and it's now up to them to be honest with themselves if they are in that situation again in the future, whether it be for club or country. I'm sure they will be every bit as gutted/disappointed/angry that they didn't produce their best last night and I think they should be shown a bit more respect for the way they have applied themselves during a very difficult season.
Why are they? When was the last great side we beat in a final? The facts are we have bullied poor teams in the CC final and not cut the mustard against our peers. You can not escape this fact.Originally Posted by McClennan
Agreed....we've had far more good days out with the lads than bad !Originally Posted by McClennan