I never said the issues were not there during the latter part of Sinfield tenure, but since his departure they are more pressing and it's the coach's job to fix that.



Yes we are only just into the first few games but all signs are pointing to the continuation of previous issues and problems, and not any visible change in tact.



I don't think he's a bad coach, I simply think he's been here a bit too long and now that coincides with a rebuilding phase that seems to be getting stretched out as long as possible for as cheap as possible.



My preference would be to sign a new coach,or at the very least a HB coach like Dunemann to work with sutty and Lilley ,for jjb to retire proudly and One of mags or burrow to be moved on for a new 7.



We need some new ideas and some new players to replace those hurtling towards 35+ with no heir apparent. If we don't Start looking now we will be back to bargain bin signings and hoping for a very lucky year just to make the 8.

printer is 100% spot on. I would add some of the quotes going around would also be relevant under TS and Bluey whilst Sinfield and JP were running the team.

So we hire a new coach....:how does that change it from being done as "cheap as possible".....A new coach can't force GH to splash the cash.

Yet again, I never said it was the coach's fault he's in charge during a rebuild phase done cheaply / slow. Just that I think a new coach with new ideas might help shake things up a bit.

Same with the change in players I mentioned.



How long do you think BmD deserves to show he is still getting the best possible from the players after so many years in charge ? At what point would you consider it time to look for someone new ?

Lets put it this way a Coach who matches what Powell does for e.g would get a lot more out if the squad we have & the likes of Moon Watkins Hall etc would get the service to do what they do best.

Now i agree 100% GH has to take some blame wrt recruitment but this team has needed shape & direction xsince Sinfield left they have'nt had it.

Thus far our Defence has improved albeit conceding some soft tries but with the ball we still rely on an off the cuff move from Parcell & some offloads as our main attacking strategy which the better teams in this league will shut down.

For 5 minutes last night i thought Burrow twice(1 for Halls try) & Mags put a couple of good kicks in but then reverted to type.

This squad lacks in quality that needs to be made up for with Coaching imo & Mc.D has run his course.

Hopefully we have a good year & he leaves on a high but the next stage of transition needs to be off the pitch as well as on it.

Amongst the reams of copy there are the odd nuggets worthy of recall such as this from September 2014:



'I agree next year is crucial and even if it goes well there's still a thought in my mind as to whether McDermott will have reached his 'shelf life' at Leeds by the end of 2015.'



So the answer to your question to this poster was apparently before McDermott presided over Leeds' worst season in a long, long while. Sound advice and a shame for the legacy it wasn't heeded.

You might not want to dig up old posts as you once said if you were wrong about a certain something you'd leave this board forever.......whilst I wrong on my numbers, you then messed up yours also, so I'd keep shush if I was you John Wayne.



Your obsession with digging up my previous posts is duly noted....and quite worrying in the Mark Chapman/John Lennon kind of way.

you made tons of excuses last season, 99% of them rubbish. nothing changes this season.

in your eyes we could be as good as 2015 soon.

talk about deluded

As a Saints fan I would happily swap McDermott for Cunningham.

Having your training ground wiped out isn't an excuse it's a fact and one that no other team has had to deal with.



Nothing changed this season? We've conceded just 34 points compared to 100 points in the opening 3 fixtures but you're probably one of those that only think about attack so that's wasted on you.



That you can't see that improvement because we aren't racking up 40 points a week in attack shows you're the deluded one.



We're only conceding just over 11 points a game so far which is the lowest in the league. Granted only a few games in but for idiots to say no improvement just shows them up for what they they just because our attack isn't clicking yet.

the training ground is the only valid excuse you made.

no structure, no shape nothing. macdermott has never been a good coach. ever.

a great man manager maybe but powell or wane is a coach. we are a shambles and everyone can see it but you

We didn't have structure or shape in 2015 (even with Sinfield) and we won a treble. It may not be a style some on here like but it proved very effective.

fair point, but now we don't have sinfield, in fact we don't have a leader or organiser full stop, you have to have structure.

the attack is non existant. no dummy runners, no set plays, one man plays getting to, sometimes, a kick.

But you're missing the point, At times in 2015 we didn't have Sinfield, and when he did play he didn't actually play that well IN THE REGULAR SEASON games......so no it's actually proof that we don't need this mythical structure/organiser for what we want to do.

so this side doesn't need an organiser.

right. absolute rubbish. never more did a side need an organising half back than this one

Then why did theyblead the league so comfortably throughout 2015 without one who was either absent or playing averagely?



How many league games does anyone recall Sinfield playing well in in 2015?

They always had Sinfield. He might not have being picked in the side that ran out, although that mistake was quite quickly put right, but regardless they always had Sinfield there.

same with JP. on the field he was average but his influence on and off it was immense. this side is rudderless

Very true, and it works best if it comes from the players. I think McDermott has coached the defence pretty well but is winging it in terms of all the other aspects in the hope that leadership and cohesion develop naturally. Which will be fantastic if it works - a far better watch than wigan under wane, say - but will mean more of the same if it doesn't. I reckon he'll be given this season.

I think the off the cuff stuff masked a pretty good structure - plenty of times the ball went along the line until a gap appeared. Also the kicking to the corners or the in goal plenty of tries scored from very structured plays.



What is lacking now is the skill and the ability to read the game - the support play is abysmal as is the ability to execute simple plays. A lot of 2015 was built on Aiton supporting Cuthbertson that will not happen in 2017 because Cuthbertson looks a one season wonder.

Look at the teams Leeds have played - Saints with a very young half back and then two of the weakest sides in the league so you would expect us to not have conceded many points. Also no WCC to distract them which probably impacted the results for games two and three last year.



What is worrying is they have scored less points than they did in the first three games - I didn't think it were possible to have a worse attack than we did last year but it seems we do?



Winning isn't the only reason I attend games I want to be entertained by elite players exhibiting elite skills - that hasn't happened from Leeds for 18 months.

we still haven't worked out how to get the early ball to Watkins. its criminal the way he is under used.

there is no direction on or off the field, that's plain to see.

Then why are you watching super league?

That is a very good question? Its more in hope than anticipation

Its been the same year on year and it seems to be getting worse for all our backs. Iv'e got bored of banging on about it TBH, in a way i wouldn't be that sad to see Watkins move on to the NRL or another top SL team, i would really like to see what he could potentially do in a team that plays with more structure and creates space for the outside backs and playing off halfs that can give him good ball.