Always a Wasp
General Category => Wasps Rugby Discussion => Topic started by: Westy68 on May 08, 2022, 11:35:49 AM
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I know we can’t change this season but we can’t denial it’s a big problem for us.
I really do think Charlie has the potential to be a very good 10 but not for another 2/3 years.
I appreciate we have the young lad from Newcastle coming next season but again it’s not going to solve the problem next season, great in 2/3 seasons.
Yesterday really highlighted the 10 problem, Charlie hardly touched the ball as everything was coming of 9, which I personally believe is effecting him.
It looks to me the coaching set up don’t trust Charlie to play 1st receiver and is then constantly par passed.
We have the potential to be a decent team but not if we don’t have a 10.
I’ve read that we may have up to 3 players coming in for next season, one has got to be an experienced 10 so the young 10’s don’t have so much pressure they can’t clearly deal with and the coaches don’t seem to trust
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I think playing behind a more powerful pack will allow the 10s not to think they have to create chances out back from every type of ball whatever the quality and be a bit more pragmatic and balanced knowing they can rely on the forwards more.
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Yesterday really highlighted the 10 problem, Charlie hardly touched the ball as everything was coming of 9, which I personally believe is effecting him.
He doesn't have a chance if the delivery from 9 is so slow. Yesterday Dobby was so ponderous he reminded me of Ben Youngs.
To play off 10 effectively you need quick ruck speed and immediate, accurate delivery. That's how Quins play. We're nowhere near that.
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Yesterday really highlighted the 10 problem, Charlie hardly touched the ball as everything was coming of 9, which I personally believe is effecting him.
He doesn't have a chance if the delivery from 9 is so slow. Yesterday Dobby was so ponderous he reminded me of Ben Youngs.
To play off 10 effectively you need quick ruck speed and immediate, accurate delivery. That's how Quins play. We're nowhere near that.
Sorry I didn’t make myself clear, because we don’t have confidence in our 10 I believe it’s effecting Dan, as it seems we can’t have Charlie as 1st receiver, therefore slowing Dan down and having him change is normal game
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My biggest concern with 10 is either we need an experienced attacking 10 or a young 10 who has a good mentor, and honestly I don't think we have either.
Robson having off days really doesn't help either. Likely due to motivation problems, but it could well be just poor attack strategies as well.
Might be an overall problem with attack rather than the individuals. I'm honestly not sure. Because Robson was class last season and the season before last, best in the league.
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I think playing behind a more powerful pack will allow the 10s not to think they have to create chances out back from every type of ball whatever the quality and be a bit more pragmatic and balanced knowing they can rely on the forwards more.
I mean according to reports from yesterday, our forwards were pretty fantastic. And I don't see this as a weakness for us.
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I think playing behind a more powerful pack will allow the 10s not to think they have to create chances out back from every type of ball whatever the quality and be a bit more pragmatic and balanced knowing they can rely on the forwards more.
I mean according to reports from yesterday, our forwards were pretty fantastic. And I don't see this as a weakness for us.
I'm not saying it's a weakness but actually a platform the game plan can be built on for next season which wasn't necessarily the case last season and earlier this season until the reliability of our set piece became more evident and the power of the forwards around the pitch developed. Whoever is at 10 doesn't have to think they need to create magic tries of whatever ball they get, hence the pragmatism and balance.
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Let us see what happens with the new chap. Look at the way Biyi has become such a great player in 18 months or how Stooke fitted in seamlessly.
I ageee it is a worry.
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I’m not concerned with our 10s, I am concerned as to how they are utilised. For me so much of your play goes through the 9-10 axis, and it is full utilisation of both positions that has such a huge impact on the team as a whole. We are playing far too much of 9 and our 10s are not dictating play anywhere as much as they should be, and as such that extra layer of responsibility on our 9s are inhibiting their play because they are simply being asked to take on too much. It should be automatic that whoever plays 10 will be leading and shaping our play in harmony with the 9, it should not be optional or even considered to be a choice. You want to play 10, you need to demand the ball, expect to be leading the plays and demanding attention. The less influence your 10 has the less influence the team has. The fact Atkinson seems so anonymous is -in my honest opinion- a coaching error, and one that needs correcting.
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I think playing behind a more powerful pack will allow the 10s not to think they have to create chances out back from every type of ball whatever the quality and be a bit more pragmatic and balanced knowing they can rely on the forwards more.
I mean according to reports from yesterday, our forwards were pretty fantastic. And I don't see this as a weakness for us.
I'm not saying it's a weakness but actually a platform the game plan can be built on for next season which wasn't necessarily the case last season and earlier this season until the reliability of our set piece became more evident and the power of the forwards around the pitch developed. Whoever is at 10 doesn't have to think they need to create magic tries of whatever ball they get, hence the pragmatism and balance.
+1, agreed
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I think Atkinson, Haydon-Wood backed up by Umaga is fine. Atkinson wasn’t in the game much yesterday but for me that was because we had an obvious power advantage so it made sense to keep it tight in the front 8. Go back to the Worcester game and he was taking it to the line and picking killer passes. What one of that trio needs to show is that they can plug the Gopperth shaped kicking gap.
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I think Atkinson, Haydon-Wood backed up by Umaga is fine. Atkinson wasn’t in the game much yesterday but for me that was because we had an obvious power advantage so it made sense to keep it tight in the front 8. Go back to the Worcester game and he was taking it to the line and picking killer passes. What one of that trio needs to show is that they can plug the Gopperth shaped kicking gap.
I remember hearing an interview with Matt Dawson years ago and he was very much of the opinion that a lot of the 9s success was down to his relationship with the 10. He said the communication he was getting when he went in to a ruck to bring the ball out set him up to get the ball to the right place without having to make all the decisions himself. Even when the play was off him it was at least partly coming from the 10. Obviously he could do his own thing if he saw it was on, but if his 10 saw a gap and told him to play a miss pass to the right he wouldn't have to look and assess it himself.
I don't think we have that communication. Which is why Dan is looking slow and indecisive, and why Charlie is often simply missed out of the equation.
So is it that they don't trust each other, or that our 10s don't have the vision?
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Who knows. Maybe Atkinson doesn’t feel confident enough to “instruct” Robson. He strikes me as a quiet sort of chap and is junior in age and stature. You could argue any 10 needs that ability to dictate. I think it will come. One thing is for sure, the signing of Haydon-Wood says to me we’re not getting anyone else. I don’t really see the argument that’s been put forward elsewhere that Dan’s form is a result of Atkinson - he was fine last week.
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There was a good interview with Spink a while ago where he said that he felt like he couldn’t speak up when he first came into the set up, similar to when you’re a young kid at school playing with the older ones. It took him a year or so to be able to know what he could say and when he could speak and how he could impose himself on proceedings,
Must be the same for Charlie, except he was straight into the first team out of school - a huge step up for him. He is playing incredibly well for his age - give him time
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Who knows. Maybe Atkinson doesn’t feel confident enough to “instruct” Robson. He strikes me as a quiet sort of chap and is junior in age and stature. You could argue any 10 needs that ability to dictate. I think it will come. One thing is for sure, the signing of Haydon-Wood says to me we’re not getting anyone else. I don’t really see the argument that’s been put forward elsewhere that Dan’s form is a result of Atkinson - he was fine last week.
Yup.
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There was a good interview with Spink a while ago where he said that he felt like he couldn’t speak up when he first came into the set up, similar to when you’re a young kid at school playing with the older ones. It took him a year or so to be able to know what he could say and when he could speak and how he could impose himself on proceedings,
Must be the same for Charlie, except he was straight into the first team out of school - a huge step up for him. He is playing incredibly well for his age - give him time
And yup again. I’m bored to tears with back and forth of criticism of our 10s. Atkinson is class, he just needs to grow more confident, some of that is down to him though, he has time.
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Isn't it more likely any problems at 10, if you can call it a problem, seems a bit of an over statement, stem from a lack of form at 9.
Robson is in shocking form, it's not Atkinsons fault he is kicking out on the full, kicking 2 meters and making terrible decisions.
Affirms how much of a clown Blackett is having told the media how Robsons back to his best..the guys playing like a drain and it took 73 mns to realise it yesterday. The statement goes a long way in explaining why we are so shit..he's clueless.
We have a coaching issue... If it weren't for our work rate or moments of individualism, we'd have lost more games than we have this season. Our coaching team is hiding behind both.
As for Atkinson, not even sure why there is a dedicated thread, the talent is clearly being coached out of him.
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Yeah. If it weren’t for our players working hard or creating things with individual talent we’d lose a lot more. As would every other team in the world.
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Isn't it more likely any problems at 10, if you can call it a problem, seems a bit of an over statement, stem from a lack of form at 9.
Robson is in shocking form, it's not Atkinsons fault he is kicking out on the full, kicking 2 meters and making terrible decisions.
Affirms how much of a clown Blackett is having told the media how Robsons back to his best..the guys playing like a drain and it took 73 mns to realise it yesterday. The statement goes a long way in explaining why we are so shit..he's clueless.
We have a coaching issue... If it weren't for our work rate or moments of individualism, we'd have lost more games than we have this season. Our coaching team is hiding behind both.
As for Atkinson, not even sure why there is a dedicated thread, the talent is clearly being coached out of him.
I agree with you, I think all our problems are from our coaching set up
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Must admit I’m a bit confused by this. Is there a problem? Since we’ve had something like a first team back we’ve been winning lots of games. Some against the table toppers and European champions. In our last seven we have gone WWWWWDW. What are we looking for? Perfection?
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In our last seven we have gone WWWWWDW. What are we looking for? Perfection?
I mean I'd ignore the prem rugby cup games because nobody takes those seriously. But you're right, 2 away wins in Europe pretty good, away win at Gloucester is very good, and home wins against Newcastle and Worcester.
I feel there's something missing that stops us getting the top 4 in the league, which is what I think we should be aiming for. If we could match teams like Leicester and Saracens I'd be happy.
Also last season was far more open and loose in play, where as this season we're tighter, but less creative. Might be we find a balance next season.
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I think that the issue is confidence of the 9/10 and execution of the plays.
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Must admit I’m a bit confused by this. Is there a problem? Since we’ve had something like a first team back we’ve been winning lots of games. Some against the table toppers and European champions. In our last seven we have gone WWWWWDW. What are we looking for? Perfection?
I quite agree. There are some posters on here who have a dig at the coaching staff every opportunity they get. They give an opinion and phrase it as fact. Here is a prime example "As for Atkinson, not even sure why there is a dedicated thread, the talent is clearly being coached out of him."
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After seeing the tries we scored, if we had an attack as good as our forwards we'd be a top 4 team easily. So strange seeing us with a dominant forward pack but inconsistent attack.
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Any coaching issue could easily be consistency.
I'm not sure the exact dates, but Mitchell only joined this season and has already switched roles.
When did Everard step up to defence coach? Was that this season? And now he's attack coach.
That's going to be a lot of different ideas across 2 seasons.
And, if Mitchell was offering defence advice while he was attack coach, there could even be a mixture of messages there too.
Ultimately, we've gone from a team not playing that well and losing, to a team not that playing much better, but winning.
That might be luck rather than design, but it's definitely an improvement.
Lee's limited head coach experience is being put to the test over the last 2 seasons. Can he learn to right any mistakes and issues?
There can be no excuses next season, he'll have had time, signings and a full off season with his coaching team
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I don’t really see the argument that’s been put forward elsewhere that Dan’s form is a result of Atkinson - he was fine last week.
But you could say that about anything.
It can't be the coaching because he played well last week.
It can't be psychological because he played well last week.
It can't be his personal form because he played well last week...
Clearly it is something, and yet he played well last week. So I'm going with either poor game plan selection, or poor on field communication. Either way it is a problem for the coaching team to fix.
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I have an off the wall thought about Charlie. If he bulks out a bit he could end up at 12. He’s brave and with a bit more weight his defensive tackling will improve, he likes running to the gain line, but doesn’t have the bulk to break tackles and he’s got some good distribution when he needs it.
(Now ducking expecting the same incoming when I suggested Paulo might work at 13 😁)
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I’m definitely not saying Charlie will not be a good 10, maybe even a very good one.
He just isn’t one now, he is only 20 years old he needs 2/3 years and ideally help from an experienced 10
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I have an off the wall thought about Charlie. If he bulks out a bit he could end up at 12. He’s brave and with a bit more weight his defensive tackling will improve, he likes running to the gain line, but doesn’t have the bulk to break tackles and he’s got some good distribution when he needs it.
(Now ducking expecting the same incoming when I suggested Paulo might work at 13 😁)
That would give us a 10 that plays full back, and a 10 that plays inside centre.
We could do with a 10 that plays fly half
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Well we had a centre who once played 10 (Hendo).
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I have an off the wall thought about Charlie. If he bulks out a bit he could end up at 12. He’s brave and with a bit more weight his defensive tackling will improve, he likes running to the gain line, but doesn’t have the bulk to break tackles and he’s got some good distribution when he needs it.
(Now ducking expecting the same incoming when I suggested Paulo might work at 13 😁)
That would give us a 10 that plays full back, and a 10 that plays inside centre.
We could do with a 10 that plays fly half
We have a 9 that plays fly half.
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I know we can’t change this season but we can’t denial it’s a big problem for us.
I really do think Charlie has the potential to be a very good 10 but not for another 2/3 years.
I appreciate we have the young lad from Newcastle coming next season but again it’s not going to solve the problem next season, great in 2/3 seasons.
This is going to sound sarcastic, but is a genuine question. If Charlie and Will are going to be good/great in 2-3 seasons. How do they do that if they're not playing much because we've brought in a new, first-choice 10 and so they're only able to play when that player is injured, in Prem Cup/A-League and/or a handful of minutes here and there?
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I feel there's something missing that stops us getting the top 4 in the league, which is what I think we should be aiming for. If we could match teams like Leicester and Saracens I'd be happy.
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Remind me how our most recent league games against each of those 2 went...
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I feel there's something missing that stops us getting the top 4 in the league, which is what I think we should be aiming for. If we could match teams like Leicester and Saracens I'd be happy.
Remind me how our most recent league games against each of those 2 went...
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Strangely teams found to have been serial cheaters.
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That's very harsh on Tigers, I think.
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That's very harsh on Tigers, I think.
Why harsh - 5 seasons found to be exceeding the cap - to just under the points deductible limit?
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That's very harsh on Tigers, I think.
Why harsh - 5 seasons found to be exceeding the cap - to just under the points deductible limit?
4 seasons - biggest overrun was £147k the smallest was £56k (Threshold from overspend fine > bigger penalties was £325k/£350k. Fine for non-disclosure of the image rights in 2020/21 but even with the image rights payments added in, they weren't over the cap.
It's not like they were signing world-class talent to their squad year on year claiming that there's something special happening at Tigers and everyone wants to play for them for less money because of how special it is...
Wonder how Manu's never-ending injury issues impacted them as well as Tom Youngs missing for chunks to care for his Wife. If the latter was paid during his absence (as would be understandable in the circumstances), you're quickly getting up to £500-£600k of Salary Spend for players not playing vs £400k injury dispensation (for the whole squad over a season), you can kind of see where £56k-£147k gets eaten up - And that's after image rights added back in (The amount of which per season has never been publically declared).
Funny how with Manu gone, the next season they're under the cap even with the image rights payments in 2020/21.
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That's very harsh on Tigers, I think.
Why harsh - 5 seasons found to be exceeding the cap - to just under the points deductible limit?
4 seasons - biggest overrun was £147k the smallest was £56k (Threshold from overspend fine > bigger penalties was £325k/£350k. Fine for non-disclosure of the image rights in 2020/21 but even with the image rights payments added in, they weren't over the cap.
It's not like they were signing world-class talent to their squad year on year claiming that there's something special happening at Tigers and everyone wants to play for them for less money because of how special it is...
Wonder how Manu's never-ending injury issues impacted them as well as Tom Youngs missing for chunks to care for his Wife. If the latter was paid during his absence (as would be understandable in the circumstances), you're quickly getting up to £500-£600k of Salary Spend for players not playing vs £400k injury dispensation (for the whole squad over a season), you can kind of see where £56k-£147k gets eaten up - And that's after image rights added back in (The amount of which per season has never been publically declared).
Funny how with Manu gone, the next season they're under the cap even with the image rights payments in 2020/21.
OK 4 season but still cheating despite the ineptitude of it. Allowed the to build somewhat.
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That's very harsh on Tigers, I think.
Why harsh - 5 seasons found to be exceeding the cap - to just under the points deductible limit?
4 seasons - biggest overrun was £147k the smallest was £56k (Threshold from overspend fine > bigger penalties was £325k/£350k. Fine for non-disclosure of the image rights in 2020/21 but even with the image rights payments added in, they weren't over the cap.
It's not like they were signing world-class talent to their squad year on year claiming that there's something special happening at Tigers and everyone wants to play for them for less money because of how special it is...
Wonder how Manu's never-ending injury issues impacted them as well as Tom Youngs missing for chunks to care for his Wife. If the latter was paid during his absence (as would be understandable in the circumstances), you're quickly getting up to £500-£600k of Salary Spend for players not playing vs £400k injury dispensation (for the whole squad over a season), you can kind of see where £56k-£147k gets eaten up - And that's after image rights added back in (The amount of which per season has never been publically declared).
Funny how with Manu gone, the next season they're under the cap even with the image rights payments in 2020/21.
OK 4 season but still cheating despite the ineptitude of it. Allowed the to build somewhat.
Didn't we also get fined for breaches in that period?
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I don’t really see the argument that’s been put forward elsewhere that Dan’s form is a result of Atkinson - he was fine last week.
But you could say that about anything.
It can't be the coaching because he played well last week.
It can't be psychological because he played well last week.
It can't be his personal form because he played well last week...
Clearly it is something, and yet he played well last week. So I'm going with either poor game plan selection, or poor on field communication. Either way it is a problem for the coaching team to fix.
Is it clearly something? Has he just had a couple of bad games? The guy is human. I think we’re looking for deep seated problems where there might be a simple explanation. Some are absolutely convinced our coaches are not up to it - what is that certainty based on?
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That's very harsh on Tigers, I think.
Why harsh - 5 seasons found to be exceeding the cap - to just under the points deductible limit?
4 seasons - biggest overrun was £147k the smallest was £56k (Threshold from overspend fine > bigger penalties was £325k/£350k. Fine for non-disclosure of the image rights in 2020/21 but even with the image rights payments added in, they weren't over the cap.
It's not like they were signing world-class talent to their squad year on year claiming that there's something special happening at Tigers and everyone wants to play for them for less money because of how special it is...
Wonder how Manu's never-ending injury issues impacted them as well as Tom Youngs missing for chunks to care for his Wife. If the latter was paid during his absence (as would be understandable in the circumstances), you're quickly getting up to £500-£600k of Salary Spend for players not playing vs £400k injury dispensation (for the whole squad over a season), you can kind of see where £56k-£147k gets eaten up - And that's after image rights added back in (The amount of which per season has never been publically declared).
Funny how with Manu gone, the next season they're under the cap even with the image rights payments in 2020/21.
OK 4 season but still cheating despite the ineptitude of it. Allowed the to build somewhat.
Didn't we also get fined for breaches in that period?
Yes but we had no problem with it - ie didn't hide it. Ours was associated, as I remember, payments to do with England players funding. Something like Haskell being injured and not playing so the funding claimed was thus us over.
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I know we can’t change this season but we can’t denial it’s a big problem for us.
I really do think Charlie has the potential to be a very good 10 but not for another 2/3 years.
I appreciate we have the young lad from Newcastle coming next season but again it’s not going to solve the problem next season, great in 2/3 seasons.
This is going to sound sarcastic, but is a genuine question. If Charlie and Will are going to be good/great in 2-3 seasons. How do they do that if they're not playing much because we've brought in a new, first-choice 10 and so they're only able to play when that player is injured, in Prem Cup/A-League and/or a handful of minutes here and there?
Yes but not every week, play some games come on from the bench. I don't think it is actually doing charlie any favours, especially his confidents
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Top four is a red herring at the best of times. Thus season doubly so. Back in November we were close to selecting the crowd so bereft of players were we.
We lost matches we should have won.
We have top 4 form since Jan. That does not mean all is well as many issues plague the team, and top 4, as I have said repeatedly, is miles off top of the pile. We won the other day but were brain dead. I will take that over losing and playing like a dog's arse. Issues remain, but our league position reflects the whole year, not the last 4 months, where we have lost 4 or 5 games in all events, one a month on average.
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Remind me how our most recent league games against each of those 2 went...
Apologies, I meant in terms of overall league performance, not 1 on 1 matches.
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Strangely teams found to have been serial cheaters.
Jesus Christ you really cannot avoid the salary cap being brought up here can you? I respect where you're coming from, but it gets super repetitive.
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How bad is our 10 situation
Its fine, not sure what the fuss is about.
yes the back line aren't firing reliably, but equally they are doing some good stuff intermittently.
Personally I don't see any real reason to panic as yet
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How bad is our 10 situation
Its fine, not sure what the fuss is about.
yes the back line aren't firing reliably, but equally they are doing some good stuff intermittently.
Personally I don't see any real reason to panic as yet
+1
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How bad is our 10 situation
Its fine, not sure what the fuss is about.
yes the back line aren't firing reliably, but equally they are doing some good stuff intermittently.
Personally I don't see any real reason to panic as yet
+1
I don’t think we have bad players.
I just think the coaching staff are introducing new ideas this season and either they’re taking time to bed in, or they’re not the right ideas for this specific group of players.
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Plus we had a new attack coach at the start of the season and then swapped attack and defence coaches half way through.
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I think the more important question is what is up with Dobby? He has gone from one of the best 9s in the prem to being average, with glimpses of very good. Did he come back from injury too early? Is he not fully fit?
For me (and not knowing any details of his situation) he's trying too hard. So, yet again, I would suggest the players need some psychological help to work on their minds rather than their bodies. Get his, and some other players, minds right and the good play on the pitch will flow. IMO
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Top four is a red herring at the best of times. Thus season doubly so. Back in November we were close to selecting the crowd so bereft of players were we.
We lost matches we should have won.
We have top 4 form since Jan. That does not mean all is well as many issues plague the team, and top 4, as I have said repeatedly, is miles off top of the pile. We won the other day but were brain dead. I will take that over losing and playing like a dog's arse. Issues remain, but our league position reflects the whole year, not the last 4 months, where we have lost 4 or 5 games in all events, one a month on average.
Last 5 rounds (since Wasps' off week at the start of March) table looks like this:
Saints P5 Pts 25
Sarries P5 Pts 23
Wasps P5 Pts 17
Quins P4 Pts 16
Tigers P4 Pts 15
Glouc P5 Pts 15 (5 of those from a cancelled fixture)
Sale P4 Pts 14
So despite frustrations with some of what we see happening on the pitch, current form suggests we are there or thereabouts in terms of top 4.
The first half of the season has left us playing catch up in the league, but with everyone back fit and available, and if we can eliminate aberrations like the final 20 minutes at Irish then we can count ourselves among those teams with genuine aspirations of top 4. Sadly too late for this season, but the future really doesn't look as bleak as some suggest.
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I look at our squad and think hell our pack is brilliant. especially next season. Therefore we should make a serious challenge next season. What I don't want next season are any excuses, which we shouldn't have as we will be challenge next season
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I think the 'oh we have lots of injuries' excuse was trotted out a little too frequently this year. Yes it was bad, and yes it was valid for a time, but other teams have had bad patches too and done alright.
That form table is interesting. Maybe come back to me when all the teams below us have played their game in hand.
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I think the more important question is what is up with Dobby? He has gone from one of the best 9s in the prem to being average, with glimpses of very good. Did he come back from injury too early? Is he not fully fit?
For me (and not knowing any details of his situation) he's trying too hard. So, yet again, I would suggest the players need some psychological help to work on their minds rather than their bodies. Get his, and some other players, minds right and the good play on the pitch will flow. IMO
His form was similar when he was co-Captain with Thomas young (or whatever their role was)
If he's now being asked to run the show from 9, then maybe that's not his natural game, the same way that captaincy responsibility wasn't.
That's not a major criticism of him. The same was sometimes said of Wilkinson, and his career went ok.
It could just be that he's not playing his natural game, either due to game plan, lack of confidence in those around him, confused messages from England, or something else.
I suspect that it he can be allowed to get on with what he does best, then we'll see him back to his best again very quickly....
Or maybe he just needs more time to adapt to this new style.
I hope for the former
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I think the more important question is what is up with Dobby? He has gone from one of the best 9s in the prem to being average, with glimpses of very good. Did he come back from injury too early? Is he not fully fit?
For me (and not knowing any details of his situation) he's trying too hard. So, yet again, I would suggest the players need some psychological help to work on their minds rather than their bodies. Get his, and some other players, minds right and the good play on the pitch will flow. IMO
His form was similar when he was co-Captain with Thomas young (or whatever their role was)
If he's now being asked to run the show from 9, then maybe that's not his natural game, the same way that captaincy responsibility wasn't.
We've been playing off nine since post lockdown when he was in the form of his life. Playing off of 9 is not a problem. Perhaps the attacking system or how we use him is.
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Indeed, he has played exceptionally well as the lynch pin of the attack spraying passes, pushing through little grubber kicks and scoring a few tries running support lines.
At the moment something is wrong with either Dobby himself, or the structure of the attack which is causing him & the rest of the back line to miss-fire.
That is what coaches get paid to fix either by changing game plan or personnel. Without a really strong back up 9 (Porter, despite much support on here, still hasn't shown enough IMO) its hard to drop Robson. With Hougard fit I wonder if they might be tempted to try him at 9? Might be a bit late for this season I guess. Which leaves changing the game plan. Which they may have tried to do, with Jacob going to 15 & then the bench, still not really working but maybe some further tweaks to be tried? We'll see.
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Could it be that with Alfie at 8 (and wanting the ball) Dan is hesitant about if it is coming to him. That would be a communication breakdown. He seems more certain with Tom at 8.
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Could it be that with Alfie at 8 (and wanting the ball) Dan is hesitant about if it is coming to him. That would be a communication breakdown. He seems more certain with Tom at 8.
There could be something in that Neils. Although the 9 should be telling the 8 what to do, rather than the other way round! :)
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Indeed, he has played exceptionally well as the lynch pin of the attack spraying passes, pushing through little grubber kicks and scoring a few tries running support lines.
At the moment something is wrong with either Dobby himself, or the structure of the attack which is causing him & the rest of the back line to miss-fire.
That is what coaches get paid to fix either by changing game plan or personnel. Without a really strong back up 9 (Porter, despite much support on here, still hasn't shown enough IMO) its hard to drop Robson. With Hougard fit I wonder if they might be tempted to try him at 9? Might be a bit late for this season I guess. Which leaves changing the game plan. Which they may have tried to do, with Jacob going to 15 & then the bench, still not really working but maybe some further tweaks to be tried? We'll see.
Players seem to be moving around the backline an awful lot at the moment which could be part of the problem. None of them know whether they’re coming or going. We seem to be doing more fiddling with positions than appears necessary from the outside.
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Could it be that with Alfie at 8 (and wanting the ball) Dan is hesitant about if it is coming to him. That would be a communication breakdown. He seems more certain with Tom at 8.
Even worse, is a mentality of "all we need to do is give the ball to Alfie" developing? I'm sure the coaches guard against that and that Alfie has his feet on the ground, but its difficult to ignore all the hype that can build up in the press.
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I am sure the oppo would have cottoned onto 'give it Alfie'. Now's the time to use him as a decoy runner and use some miss passes.