The weird thing is that 2023 ended as a bad season, but the spirits were high until about half way through, and even then we finished in the playoffs with a narrow loss at Saints. Prior to that we'd had a terrible 2022, so you'd expect the big drop to come between 22-23, not a year later.
I think it may psychological. We'd bigged up Powell as the guy to change everything, and even after a terrible 2022, we cleared out the playing roster and promised a new culture. By the second half of 2023, I think the general consensus was that we were a lost cause as a club, and it didn't matter who we brought in or what we did, we were destined for the same old also-ran status at the end of every year.
I'd argue that as a club, our supporter base (including potential new fans) is more prosperous and has more disposable income than most other clubs. Warrington isn't a run-down, struggling former mining community. There really is no excuse for the club not to exploit this spending power. To counter that, there's probably much less of a historic 'community' aspect to our club, which would create a certain loyalty and sense of duty (irrespective of rubbish performances).
I'll be interested to see if the Big Sam factor has changed anything.
