RobLambert

Totally agree re both players. You could argue that Davies was a bit older and the stats suggest that he has played fewer games over the last couple of years / been more of an impact replacement when he has played. But Briscoe ? yeah he did have a wobble at the start of last season otherwise very solid and one of the very best strong running finishers at this level. Donny will love him.

Yep. Wasn't Reynolds also mentioned prior to the London nightmare ?

We got lucky that year - bit of a golden generation. Handley / Golding and McLelland were also great for us.

Yeah I just have a problem with that first bit. I don't think anyone would doubt that the squad did not fail for the first 95% of the season. So do we make scapegoats of half a dozen or so that did not perform when it mattered ? If so, well, we've already re-signed some of those.......... In terms of moving on I would have thought that a new coach would have been the best way to start. Whether or not Ford is the best man for the job or whether he had enough time to put his mark on things last year - I don't know. However the overriding thing from last year for me will always be poor team selections and a reliance on playing a 'power' game week in week out which increasingly looked both predictable and beatable to other teams as it did to some of us.

I'm genuinely not bothered one bit about missing out on Eden (If indeed it was the case that we had provisionally agreed terms). It was announced back in September that he would be leaving Cas. The statement at the time said.... 'The difficult thing with Greg is that he plays 50% of the games because his body isn’t as robust has he was when he was 20' Why would we have wanted him on that basis - whether we were playing in SL, Championship or the Conference ? I'm more bothered that we let Briscoe go when I assume his demands would have been much lower.....

Quality not quantity at this stage

No #### Sherlock

I watched the full game a couple of months ago - it was on Scrumdown originally. I could not remember it at all - although I was probably there ! Unbelievable second half. Andy Fisher was correctly sent off but there was plenty more high stuff - probably typical of the time. As I recall Greg Austin got away with a shocking one.

The arguing has started already

Yep. But also seems odd to me that we are still prepared to pay big money to some whist letting some proven / quality 'lower' earners go. Really can't guess how the rest of the recruitment will go. Will be interesting.

Thats just ridiculous. 25/27 suggests they are not losers. Why we lose big games is a problem that needs looking at (although probably too late in the day for that) but are you seriously suggesting that man for man they can't handle the pressure ? At the very least that is just too much of a coincidence. Just take a step back and have a look at it. Most of the players we seem to be giving up on would be snapped up by most Championship clubs rather than being regarded as losers. You are believing what other supporters are saying about us as a club. In terms of an explanation ? - FFS - You tell me when in the last 40 years we have announced the departure of so many top class players in one day

So why are we resigning the likes of Aekins

They are the two that bother me the most. Both have always given 100% to the club and I'm sure that most other Championship clubs would have them. Plus it seems that they have been shown the door rather than being lured away. We have to have some faith with what the club is trying to do but sometimes an explanation is required.

In my head I'd added Yei to the list of PNG players that played a few minutes for us and never returned. May be wrong

duplicate post

Of course we relied heavily on DR in 2019....

Just don't get some of the comments about Briscoe. I don't imagine he's one of the higher earners ? - I may be wrong. But imo still one of the the best metre-eaters / finishers at this level. Always gives 100%. Local lad etc. Plus I don't get the age thing. We've already seen 6 ? 30+ players leave. He is still only 29. There's a shed load of wingers that were still playing in SL last year that are older than Luke. (McGillvary / Cudjoe, T. Briscoe, Eden, Charnley, R Hall, Makinson, Swift, Lineham etc) Anyway he'll come back to haunt us

The biggest surprise to me is London being so low. Although to be fair I have no interest in looking at the detail. If I printed the criteria out I wouldn't wipe my bottom with it. I get the idea as to what they are trying to do. Suffice to say that wherever London finish in SL next year - the rating will have miraculously shot up the charts as a new entry in the top 12 by the end of the season.

Yeah thats £2 in gazza77's DID come back to haunt us pot. Or maybe £1m in Rovers DID come back to haunt us pot.

Of the ones not already mentioned Briscoe definitely and Moors if he's not retiring. I suspect Joey will be on his way which is a shame given that I thought we saw the best of him in the back half of last season.

Promoted to the top flight in 88 and 93 as well. Blimey that 91-92 relegation was harsh. Won 11/26 and only 2pts from 7th.

Was it just a rumour that Hall was leaving ?

Some really good news over the last couple of days. I did wonder whether some of the signings mooted for 2024 over the last few months were dependent on gaining promotion but its good to see that we're assembling a squad to challenge yet again. Where that gets us - well lets not worry about that for now.

I'm with the Yorkshire Pudding idea

1st part of that statement bang on. Last part bang on.. Bit in middle couldn't disagree more.