Yep 100% agree, probably one of the most important aspects on recruitment this year.

That’s going to be hard when most of the players don’t even have respect for themselves if the last 2 games is anything to go by.

so am I the only one that wants to make the out of contract Shaun Johnson our number 1 target?

I'd even throw the combined wages of Mint and Carlos (probably our two biggest earners) at him. He'd be worth every penny.

He has people he knows like Hargreaves and SKD living in the area. And we could also sell him on the Kiwi legends like Kemble, O'Hara, jimmy, Swainy and the legendary Kearny that have represented our club.

If the club has any ambition and wants to keep the fans onside, then they should be all in for this legend. He'll be as influential as Kearny was on the class of 2005 lifting silverware and going on to reach the grand final the following year, because of the influence he left on the team..

We talk about changing culture. It's the calibre of a player like a Shaun Johnson out on the field for us that can change a culture of a team.

I was talking to someone connected to the club yesterday, they said that the club new this season would be a right off, particularly if they picked up a few injuries. Next season, club are in a better position to recruit and will look to spend the full cap and at least one marquee player (would have been one this year of Clifford excepted his improved deal). This person is usually spot on with his info.

If this is true, I don't know why Pearson just doesn't come out and say that, say this season is about consolidating financially with an aim of bringing more local players through, well below the cap, with the aim of spending at cap and above next season.

I could get along with this season a lot more if this was the case and was told to fans.

All people want is some transparency. Dunno why Pearson said we're at cap this year, he really doesn't help himself sometimes.

If he were open about the season being a write off, it’d push some fans who renewed their passes reluctantly or without enthusiasm into not renewing at all. Your reaction is personal, but the decision has to be made considering the reaction of the fanbase as a whole.

The cap thing is to stop calls to get the cheque book out when things get sticky.

It’s like blaming politicians for being untruthful. I wish they were more honest… but I know they’d be punished for it by the electorate as a whole.

Interesting analogy about the politicians but if the polls are correct, the Tories are set to reap what they sowed regarding untruths such as the Partygate scandals in the upcoming General Election. Whilst I get what you mean about untruths sometimes maybe being about the wider picture (in Pearson's case pass sales) you can only do that for so long before you face a backlash anyway. Pearson repeatedly bigs the club up every year with promises of being competitive and being at full cap and then when that fails to transpire he's nowhere to be found. We'll only likely hear from him now if there's some news on the stadium lease or if the rumour mentioned yesterday about grim finances is true and requires him to speak up. Otherwise it'll be the jam tomorrow stuff when next season passes go on sale.

Again, I can understand why he does it. But we're seeing more and more disgruntled fans scratching their heads at what is happening. Eventually he will use up all his good will unless we genuinely start to turn the tide instead of sinking faster than the Titanic.

The issue AP has at the moment, is that in previous years, his rallying calls at Season Pass renewal time, normally whet the appetite, but the resentment towards him now, suggests that people won't fall for it anymore. It's only March, but if he is still in charge of us in 2025, he needs to be thinking, already, how do I get 8,500 pass holders next season, because if this continues, it will be 4,000

Tbh….that was easy to work out with some of the things Pearson said and the Covid re-payment…I’d love to know what the final payment was,but if he had come out and said that then he’d be slagged off….bit of a no win situation but could be handled better