Re: Random observations : Thu Mar 31, 2022 12:04 pm  

PopTart wrote:

I do agree he stayed too long.
I'm not sure how much better Willie would have done back then.

It actually worked out that Chester took the heat and Willie got a fresh team to start with. He's made more from that team than anyone else could have I think.

But when times were good, Chester was the most successful coach we've had in a long time.

Virtually all coaches stay too long, it's how it is. To be fair how exactly do you know, coaches tend to believe in themselves so are more likely than most to keep going. When it comes to the playing side it's the only real job the CEO has and that's when to call it a day and that can't be easy because unless you are tw*t or the person you are asking is it's a hard thing to do. I've done it on numerous occasions and very rarely have I felt happy doing it even though it's been justified from a business point of view, it's certainly always been the last option.

Re: Random observations : Thu Mar 31, 2022 5:43 pm  

Will always be grateful for what Chester did...took over a struggling side and turned us into a top 8 side challenging in the play offs...can't ever forget that Scott Grix moment and being seconds away from ending Saints season!

Just because of the way it ended shouldn't take away from the excellent job he did...built a very competitive squad on limited funds as opposed to other teams...yes he got some wrong but he got plenty right and over his reign I think he had the backing of all the players as our better players were always happy to stay...

There's no doubt he suffered some awful luck with injuries etc...remember that season after the two top 8 finishes we were flying half way through the season sat in 3rd then in the space of a few weeks lost both halfbacks...plus many other of our star players and went on a real bad run and never really recovered...then even the covid seasons we had a shocking start fixture wise playing top 4 teams away in something like 7 of our fist 9 games or something daft like that!

That said...with the benefit of hindsight now it was the right decision for a change....think he just got bogged down with the constant bad luck of missing injured players...disruptions etc...think sometimes it came across in interviews that he was losing the fight and that possibly rubbed off on his players too.

Willie has had a great start and things are definitely looking good but there has been a few similarities...losing to Leigh last season...losing the pre season game at Fev....that first half v Leeds where we had the injuries and disruptions Chester had so much of...having to play two forwards in the centres and losing Miller in the first 5 minutes and a young lad on debut making a few errors...saw things like that loads of times under Chester but when it happens plenty of times fans are very unforgiving.

The things I like from WP though is he's not afraid to drop a player as showed with Tanginoa early in the season...arguably one of our star players but can't have been showing the right signs and was dropped...hasn't done him any harm as he's looked right back to his best the last few weeks whether that be as a prop or a back rower...another thing CC was constantly slated for.

Like the fact he shows real faith in the youngsters and that he won't risk playing injured players...would we have risked Big Dave carrying a knock against Warrington in the cup in previous seasons desperate for a result? All those things will contribute to a healthy competition for places throughout the squad going forward which is a great position to be in...

Re: Random observations : Thu Mar 31, 2022 6:31 pm  

vastman wrote:

Utter nonsense.

No it isn't. He's got it just about right and in a nutshell.

Re: Random observations : Thu Mar 31, 2022 6:46 pm  

Redscat wrote:

No it isn't. He's got it just about right and in a nutshell.

I also think he’s about right,
Brian Smith had the squad really fit but they were utterly miserable.
Chester came in and loosened the reigns, lifted the mood and the squad started playing with a bit of freedom and a smile on their faces.
Also, like it or not, our 5th place finishes did owe something to the demise of a few of the usual top 5 suspects.
Wigan, Leeds, Sts, Warrington, Catalan & Huddersfield all went through a couple or three seasons in transition and thus opened the door for the likes of Cas and ourselves to finish higher up the table

Willie has done the opposite to Chester, he’s taken an unfit team who have had 3 fairly miserable seasons and he’s turned them around, getting them fit and playing some confident attractive rugby.

Re: Random observations : Thu Mar 31, 2022 6:59 pm  

Redscat wrote:

No it isn't. He's got it just about right and in a nutshell.

Whatever