Thoughts ???

I'm sure



a) saddo already made the recurring and amusing Royce Out thread

b)Saints provide him with a perfectly good company car

yes, we've lost a game so we should sack the coach, probably best to get a full new board of directors too

Not a good start I'll say that. Had that been Millward and we'd been losing to Wire, he would have walked on the pitch and poked Morley and Briers in the eye, ran off down the line slapping the hands of the Saints fans and 'done a Mourinho' when we'd scored 3 in the last minute to win.



Royce I feel is pretty much ignoring the present and focusing 100% on the future. The post Eastmond and Graham era. The new stadium era.



I reckon the Mac will have said to him that this season is to try things out while we're out of town, make a few decisions on targets for next season and build for the 2012 season. By then we'll have Cooper Cronk and Benji Marshall at 6 and 7 with Perry and Adam Blair in the front row.

Corrected

I have a few, but even as a Mod, they may be pushing the boundaries of what's acceptable on here.

Bad mistake from Simmons to criticise Arnold, all feedback should be within the dressing room, I think RS was trying to divert attention away from his (apparent) own lack of ability to coach the side to play any kind of attacking rugby, didn't bother watching the second half, stats on sky at half time said it all, Breaks 0.

Oh go on, do tell. Towards whom is the anger to be vented? The club, the coach, a diminutive scrum half, our Captains? Do tell.

He didn't. He said he hadn't seen the incident but that all things should be done as a team. Kyle Eastmond has subsequently apologised on the Saints website so I think he was fully aware of how poor his behaviour was.

Probably us lot on here!

Well it wouldn't be me of course. No one would survive that, the public backlash would have drowned them like a tsunami.

I think you should read the information given on page 331 on sky text, Headline "Simmons criticises Eastmond" No mention of our lack of ideas to breakdown a defensive line, all about Arnold and how he should disclose what he has (or maybe has not) decided. Diverse tactics as far as I can see.

knew there would be a thread on this from the scousers

Based on the games played thus far,nothing has changed under Simmons ie poor defence,very little in the way of attacking ideas and up the middle one man rugby

I saw a similar headline online but all I could see was the observation that the matter should be sorted sooner than later as the indecision is disruptive to the team. Personally I don't view that as a criticism of Eastmond; more a desire to get the team on an even keel.

Did you record the Wire match? If so, watch the try scored by Flannery. Simmons said that is the kind of rugby he wants the team to play. He also said that they started playing more like he wanted them to play at around minute 70. I think it is going to take a long time to undo the barge mentality in our team.

Don't want to turn this into another Eastmond thread but as a strong coach Simmons should take charge of the situation and leave him out of the team until this situation is resolved.

Whats happening at the moment is creating a lot of bad feeling between fans and the player and that may spoil any future he may have at the club.



On Simmons himself its too early too judge, but he does seem to be one of those coaches who has a plan and sticks to it throughout the game even if it isn't working, reminds me a bit of Mclennan in that respect.

Other than rotating players he didn't seem to make any tactical subs on Friday.

Do you seriously think that came from Kyle?? not someone at the club or an advisor telling him to do it! typical PR!



On Simmons come on he has to be given a chance, but when it was first announced that he had been given the position reports from down under seemed very surprised??

I have never known of a Saints player apologising to the fans for his own behaviour towards them before. I might have missed it in the past but I certainly don't remember it ever occurring. It is possible he got a bollocking for what he did because the club will know that they are going to have a hard enough time attracting fans to Widnes this season as is; to alienate the hardcore fans at this stage would be a financial and public relations disaster. Whatever the source of the apology is irrelevant: it has been attached to him and everyone will be watching him. I doubt that he will win back the respect of Saints fans any time soon regardless of what he does but if he puts in 100% from now until he goes then that will keep most of us happy.





I'm giving Simmons a chance. I think he has the toughest job of all our coaches to be honest. And he's had to deal with the death of his own father on top of the mini crises we have had here this season (Kyle Eastmond saga and injuries to our pivotal players). Trying to re-educate a team in how to play attractive and winning rugby league while dealing with those other issues is not an easy task and I feel sorry for him. He looked right fed up when interviewed by Sky after the match! (I watched it back once I'd come home)

That would be great but we don't have the back up to do that.

Read somewhere that the head conditioner at Saints contacted RS whilst he was still in Oz (before he came) to ask about the type of conditioning he wanted for the Team, something on the line of your the conditioner you decide!!!! was the reply, well they are certainly fitter (2 good comebacks) and leaner (Wheelers Belly), so thats someone doing their job. Now coming to role RS is supposed to play, coaching, tactics and team developement, this area leaves a lot to be desired, it will be interesting to see what crowd we get at our next home game. (before you ask, no, I am not going)



Contrast this with whats happening at Piedrom, a first class Head Coach who knows what is required and more importantly gets it done.

And exactly what did he have to do? Turn a side that was almost there into a side that was there! He did for Wigan what Daniel Anderson did for St Helens. But we aren't that team anymore. Those who went on about Potter overseeing a side in transition were talking rubbish because we still had enough of our former pivotal players in place to make the grade. All but Wello has left now and we have started the season with him injured, Leon injured, Kyle not with us mentally, Wheeler injured, Jammer injured and Perry injured. Simmons has lost his dad and there has been the Eastmond saga to deal with. No stability. Did you watch the team in full flow for the first half of the Widnes friendly? That was the only time we have had a full team out so far this year. They looked marvellous. If that is what Simmons can do with the players he has at his disposal - once he actually has them all on the park - then I am looking forward to the season.

I know we haven't got another scrum half waiting in the wings but there are options, possibly Lomax or Wilkins to scrum half, I know its not ideal but I'd rather see 13 players on the pitch giving 100% han what I saw on Friday.

He turned a team of also rans into the best team in Super League, (although it grieves me to say so). I hope that RS proves me wrong and comes up with a winning format, however I don't think he's the right man for Head Coach at any team.

I respect your opinion, but playing Widnes every week is not possible, plus all 3 sides we have played in SL have had their injury problems as well as Saints. playing 1 out rugby will not suffice for me I'm afraid, neither will the Head Coach criticising his own players, especially when he admitted he didn't see what happened.

They were in the playoffs for heaven's sake! We only kicked them out in 2009 because of a dodgy try saving tackle by Longy (ie it was 50:50 whether he had a second effort) and a slide in the rain over the tryline by Kyle. They were 80 minutes from the Grand Final. They were on the brink of reaching their peak, just as we were when Anderson came in and sorted out our defence. They were hardly also rans! They hadn't even made it yet! Royce Simmons has a far, far bigger job to do. He doesn't have pace in the backline or any squad depth and we have worse injuries than Wigan did this time last season. He's also got the Eastmond saga to deal with. I'm quite sure that isn't what he had in mind when he accepted the job!





That wasn't my point. My point was that when we had the full team out - which we have yet to enjoy in a league game - it was possible to see what kind of attack he had in mind, and it was nothing like one up rugby.





He didn't criticise him! I've just re-read the thing. He said he didn't see what happened but that kind of thing should be done as a team, which is absolutely right. And a formal apology has since been put out which suggests Kyle has been disciplined.