It would be a start. Sticking with what we have on the pitch won't change a thing in terms of the results. As mentioned in other posts our right hand side attacking threat at present with ball in hand is non existent and if teams stack up well on our left were stuffed other than driving it down the middle and Smith kicking it to one of the wingers.
None/few of us know his exact remit. Does he have control of recruitment? Player contracts? An input into tactics?
We do know that he has limited experience of the game at the top level. We know that his one stint as head coach was marked by a safety-first approach and one-dimensional rugby (after Simmons' poor and eratic start to the season, most of us admittedly were relieved for some stability at the time).
We also know that, under his CEO tenure we've generally gone backwards, winning just one trophy in umpteen years after being the dominant force in SL.
We've seen a struggling and inexperienced ciach be given an undeserved contract extension. We've seen past-it players be given 2+years contract extensions that aren't warranted. We've winced as the club's signed players we could all see would be very poor. We've watched as our pack's average age has increased, as we've let promising youngsters leave and brought in ageing players.
Plans A-X - Fages and Smith
Plan Y - Wilkin and Smith
Plan Z - Fages and Wilkin
Not to mention the Roby/Lee farce
RHINO balls are like Bon Jovi albums - Slippery When Wet
ST HELENS RFC - Back in business, Thank you Justin Holbrook.
"I turn the TV volume down because these comedians on SKY are speaking a load of rubbish. They're making a simple game complicated with their long-winded, pointless jargon". Kevin Ashcroft
...I think it's a fair slogan for the World Cup. If you come to England and you don't like the weather, TOUGH TITTIES!!! Andrew Voss, PNG vs Samoa, 4:Nov:13
Anyone notice the amount of Matty Smith drop off passes? Thought that was just a Luke Walsh thing.
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I actually thought we did try to throw it around a bit last night. Unfortunately for KC, no matter what he tries now he is a victim of his own dreadful recruitment.
I don't have any mate, but I'd be amazed if Rush makes any big decision without it getting signed off by McManus. I'm only guessing of course, but so is everybody else. We're all looking for people to blame and solutions in how to repair things. I do like Rush though and believe he loves the club. He didn't have the 'there's nothing I don't know about rugby league' attitude when he held the first team reigns and we finished a respectable 3rd and did the best thing for the club by stepping aside for Brown.
He might be the most likeable chap on the planet, and I've no doubt he loves the club. But from what I've heard, he DOES have a major say in the running of the club, and must carry at least a big chunk of the blame for the disastrous state the club is currently in, with an inept coach on an extended contract, a squad playing well below its potential, some long-standing players well on the downward curve of performance being given new contracts, the signing of some utter dross (at best, Rush has blindly rubber-stamped the signings; at worst agreed with Dunderhead).
In short, he's presided over the demise of the dominant force in SuperLeague, into a team struggling to make the top 8 and, a couple of games apart, playing some of the most turgid, one-dimensional crap rugby I've ever witnessed from a Saints team.
Like we've seen, any team with pretensions for honours can have the odd brainfart of a game, but losing to pre-season relegation favourites Leigh, Wakefield, Salford within the first 7 matches (especially given the clueless manner of our defeats) is an embarrassment.
But there doesn't seem to be any accountability at the club. Failure appears to be met with a shrug of the shoulders by those who own the club.
Enough is enough. Cunningham needs to be booted out, and Rush put on a warning that if his decisions regarding Cunningham's replacement, and ridding the club of overpaid garbage like Wilkin, LMS, Lee, Owens, Peyroux, don't bear fruit, then he'll follow them.
Then again, there's still too many apologist fans who'll moan about performances on the pitch, but then make excuse after excuse for the coach & CEO, so I don't expect anything to change.