...and have won at least one Grand Final. That's all that matters now. We have to put everything into winning the Grand Final at all costs. If that means change of coach, then so be it. If it means we have to get players and/or coach on board who we don't like, then so be it. I was explaining to somebody yesterday, that in all the Grand Finals at least one of St Helens, Wigan or Leeds has been involved. Only three other clubs have been involved and one of those was pretty dominant early on. In the next 20 years, I want us to be in that first group, or at least appearing in the Grand Final more than a couple of token times.

PS That same stat re one of three clubs appearing in the final almost applies to the Challenge Cup as well (us and Hudds in 2009 being the exception). Other than 2009, it was 1986 the last time that one of Wigan, StH or Leeds wasn't in the final.

I couldn't agree more we need to be consistently in the top four, easier said than done but that has to be the aim, the next five, ten, twenty years is about having got it right, I feel the club is going in the right direction, slowly at the moment as there is a lot to get right.

Think back to Ossie Davies did he get it right? yes because he wanted to walk out at Wembley Stadium and he achieved that, he also got it right with Murphy who wanted another Wembley appearance just as much, Murphy got it right with the players he signed early on getting the success they both yearned for.

Did Ossie Davies get it right for the long term future of the club no and it showed as soon as Murphy retired from playing things were never quite the same, we had a good A team a few came through but not enough to lay a solid platform for the future.

It's all about getting it right now and for the years to come.

As I have stated previously we suffer from sentimentality at our club and have done for many years. Constantly yearning for a player who has been injured for long periods to return to the once dazzling form is not the stance of a winning team/club/supporter. Having players with a dip in form lasting full seasons is again poor on the club/players part and shows sentimentality.

If you look at the best sides over time they lose long term injured players and lose players who's form has gone at the end of a season, they don't look back and don't get caught up in the hysteria of what the replacements do.

Look at Wigan and their band of merry men coached by a Neanderthal as some would say. History shows the difference in their trophy room with him in charge and ours with TS. We beat Leeds twice at Wembley and said they will be on the slide now due to age, some slide that was.

We need to shake things up and get the players and management to understand that winning is everything nothing else matters, ever.

Absolutely agree great post.

But at least we all seemed to like the idea of the salary cap to produce a more level playing field throughout the season ,but it seems in the end game,even with Hudds & Cas making better progress this year , that the better coached usual suspects still manage to win. We do ,though,still have a play off system where any one of 8 clubs could be Champions.
Contrast that with football where there is still the situation of maybe 4 clubs providing a serious challenge for a title & the winner will probably be the club that spent the most money,but most of their supporters will only be able to watch on tv.

Very true Snaggletooth the club has to stay focussed on today and the future, the post asks for views on the past twenty years I went a little off topic going back a further twenty or so, the club had a great start with Ossie Davies, quickly followed by some lean times, twenty years or so on we get the Sky funds, Murphy and Dorahy more lean times followed until the appointment of Tony Smith.

Over the previous forty years or so I have watched many individually good players but few good teams, It's now time for the club to change all that, nothing will take away my Wire memories and I want to add to them, get it right from now then the club can give us a great future.

Before the salary cap for a long period it was only Wigan, as you point out Hudds and Castleford with hopefully a new ground on the horizon are now at least in the picture, you would expect Cats and ourselves to be back in the picture next year, HKR seem to have aspirations Hull FC at least are trying to get the formula right, Wakefield with the appointment of Brian Smith hopefully are at last showing some intent.

It's been a slow process in trying to get SL fully competitive but there are some good signs, the top 6/7 should be a fairly competitive, all the teams know where the bar is, the play off system is not everyone's cup of tea but it's been with us in one form or another from very early on, it's part and parcel.

We can't compete financially with with the Aussies or Union so let's concentrate on ourselves it would be a great achievement to be able to have a strong viable competition.

Football, we can only dream about the wealth even so with all that money only three or four are in with a chance with less chance of winning the big one the European champions.