Get off the fence W71

Cullen may not have won anything and probably had an average win ratio during his tenure. And perhaps he did stay a year too long. However, i had some of my best years watching Wire during this period. Especially from 2003 to about 2006. We were unpredictable but entertaining and i loved it at the time.

Yes we played some great rugby at times, but then the rose tinted spectacles erase the times such as getting hammered out of the play offs at home by Hull FC in 2005, even with Andrew Johns playing for us.

Losing by 50 points at home to St Helens in 2004, Leeds at home by 44 points in 2004, 52 points away at Cas in 2006, Stuffed by 50 at Bradford in 2006.

He could get his teams up for Wigan games though - I'll give him that.

Loved Cull as a player and his passion for Warrington, but as a coach he was a failure in my opinion. I have some sympathy as he was inexperienced and landed probably the 4th biggest job in northern hemisphere pro RL. With his closeness to the players and lack of any league or CC winning experience as a player he was always going to be up against it.

The only time that Wire have lost to a club in a lower league ever (Excluding friendlies), was our Challenge Cup defeat at Hull KR, who were a Second Division club then.

That was when I realised the Cullen wasn`t upto the job.

Out of that list Smith arrived at the right time and we had a golden period with him, shame he never got us the Grand Final win. But he kept hold of an ageing squad to long and never got the replacements right.

Yes his recruitment was suspect.

Gary wheeler, ryan bailey et al

That’s not right.

I remember us getting beaten by Barrow at home in the early 80s.
They were a 2nd division team. They beat Widnes in the final, which was far a bigger shock than KR beating us. Even the BBC saw it as a possible upset as did pretty much everyone.