Graham Richards wrote:The Friday / Sunday debate is for me dead in the water. There has been a so much baloney written about it. AP is clearly more interested in corporates. I recall him alluding to the fact that kids attendance is down since Fridays became regular and that he wanted to address that situation. I see no indication that he is.
I'm a strictly Sunday man due to living in and working in London. There was a time when I would bust a gut to ensure Friday afternoons were free for me, but I can't and won't do that anymore. Spent too much watching dross. Forget IAKOW my passion is as great as ever but I am afraid until I see that passion constantly on the park then I will continue to pick up the scraps that I can get from Sunday games. My financial support is still there as the family wardrobe will show, but regular attendance is not.
I have always been vocal in my desire for Sundays and still have yet to see evidence that it helps the squad (I don't get the turn around arguement, it certainly doesn't help our home form. Thats a fact) I have also yet to see where the initial survey was done. But time has moved on and so have I. Sundays are now commited to family things which involve other activities which often get planned well in advance of fixture changes. I suspect I am not the only one. This may well be different as I say if the passion was there on the park regularly.
I have seen games this season. Sts away at Easter was a highlight as was Magic weekend. I also attended Wakefield away and thats when the penny dropped.
I have watched (FC Live) with interest the change in style over the past few matches. I have also heard LR say its not a style he coaches. He doesn't like it. That sums up our problem. The players know exactly how they should be playing. The fans love that style and its a style that will win us far more than the LR way. But so long as LR is in charge we won't see it regularly, regardless of who we have brought in for 2016.
I would imagine a few fans will get passes on the back of that potential style being played week in week out, but it won't happen.
So its Thursday / Friday or whatever night Sky dictate and a dross style of play. That will inevitably mean closed stands (yes plural) and crowds of under 8000 regularly, until AP wakes up or LR changes his style.
So are you saying that Radford wants the team playing conservatively (5 drives+kick etc.) but the players ignore this and play their own way ?
Around mid-season Radford said several times that he wanted the team to play more freely and chance its arm more than it was doing. I think we have seen that happen increasingly as the season has progressed - at times we have overdone it and perhaps tried things that certain players can't execute consistently. We can hope that the personnel coming in next season are better equipped to execute to a better level. Recently Radford implied that in his opinion it's not possible to play loose gung-ho stuff 100% of the time and that he prefers to coach some control. Leeds, the best team by some margin, play a mix of open rugby together with expert game control by their senior players and a superb defence. That is demonstrably the blueprint for success and they achieve it with a high quality playing staff mix of young and senior players. Let's hope that Radford can emulate this style of play and squad mix with next season's squad.
