Joined: Aug 09 2011 Posts: 1903 Location: Deepest North Yorkshire Woodland
leeds owl wrote:I think as Leeds fans we have become conditioned to accepting mediocrity as a step in the right direction. If you analyse the performances under Arthur we are far from a massively improved team. Beating a Wigan team that had played 3 games in a week was a standout, we’ve had a decent half here and there and people are knee jerking over the possibilities. The reality is people seem to quickly forget the poor games and halves under Arthur and even seek to promote an 18 point defeat to Warrington as an improvement even though we never looked like scoring until a second rower who is leaving put in our only decent kick of the game for a try. This team set the bar so low people have become blinded to how inept we still are and will be in the near future with this group of players.
Excellent posting, BA has been a welcome signing, improved our defensive pattern tenfold, unfortunately there is a limit to what a coach can achieve with a substandard squad.
Joined: May 28 2002 Posts: 7361 Location: Isca Dumnoniorum
No-one wants to accept mediocrity. We do, however, have to accept reality, something a lot of Leeds fans are struggling with. Even if it were possible to sack everyone deemed unworthy of the current HKR and Wigan teams, we would be unlikely to replace them all with exactly the right players needed in one season. And like it or not, the chances are that they would need time to gel. There is no pathway to instant success - just look how HKR have built up gradually over the seasons.
What I want to see is sustained improvement, and that hasn't happened, which is a big disappointment for a club like Leeds. The only realistic way forward is a combination of a) investment in the best junior talent coming through, b) replacing players coming off contract with better players from outside or within, c) improving the way the current squad is coached and trained, and d) finding ways to move on contracted players not performing to standard, without damaging the club's reputation as a destination for top players.
It's maybe too early to pick the bones of this season. Looking back, the sweeping changes to the spine and the messaging coming from the club raised the expectations of fans and media to unrealistic levels. We knew that the forwards needed strengthening but I for one was hoping for the likes of Gannon and Holroyd to really come to the fore and establish themselves as real 'bolters', not to mention the likes of Hudson. Whatever team we have next year, I think setting more modest and realistic goals would be sensible, while improving as much as possible.
Joined: Aug 15 2006 Posts: 9187 Location: NOT in "Crying Corner" on the SWMC Coach
Exeter Rhino wrote:No-one wants to accept mediocrity. We do, however, have to accept reality, something a lot of Leeds fans are struggling with. Even if it were possible to sack everyone deemed unworthy of the current HKR and Wigan teams, we would be unlikely to replace them all with exactly the right players needed in one season. And like it or not, the chances are that they would need time to gel. There is no pathway to instant success - just look how HKR have built up gradually over the seasons.
What I want to see is sustained improvement, and that hasn't happened, which is a big disappointment for a club like Leeds. The only realistic way forward is a combination of a) investment in the best junior talent coming through, b) replacing players coming off contract with better players from outside or within, c) improving the way the current squad is coached and trained, and d) finding ways to move on contracted players not performing to standard, without damaging the club's reputation as a destination for top players.
It's maybe too early to pick the bones of this season. Looking back, the sweeping changes to the spine and the messaging coming from the club raised the expectations of fans and media to unrealistic levels. We knew that the forwards needed strengthening but I for one was hoping for the likes of Gannon and Holroyd to really come to the fore and establish themselves as real 'bolters', not to mention the likes of Hudson. Whatever team we have next year, I think setting more modest and realistic goals would be sensible, while improving as much as possible.
Excellent post.
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Joined: Mar 04 2002 Posts: 4459 Location: Dublin's fair city
Exeter Rhino wrote:What I want to see is sustained improvement, and that hasn't happened, which is a big disappointment for a club like Leeds. The only realistic way forward is a combination of a) investment in the best junior talent coming through, b) replacing players coming off contract with better players from outside or within, c) improving the way the current squad is coached and trained, and d) finding ways to move on contracted players not performing to standard, without damaging the club's reputation as a destination for top players.
c) is the quickest to achieve, b) can be achieved over the next couple of years, quicker if d) can be achieved. Unfortunately a) will take much longer to filter through to the first team and will not benefit from BA's influence and is dependent on Blease ensuring that the club as a whole ensures continued investment and development of young players.
Hail Stewie Griffin wrote: All dumbies those Irish folk
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