Time to Raise our Expectations.

The autumn has, so far , been quite horrid for Tykes fans, until last weekend when the pups were unleashed at Bedford . They came away from Goldington Road with all five points, bucket loads of kudos and a much needed boost to their collective self confidence.

This must now be taken forward into the Nottingham game! It is not unreasonable for us to expect a degree of consistency, game on game. Despite the fact that we have won four consecutive fixtures the home games have been flakey performances to put it mildly.

Our senior squad players seem to be bearing the brunt of the injuries at the moment so it is down to the youngsters to shoulder the burden of performance. To me it seems that they are up to the task. Tomorrow's team has enough about it to see off Nottingham. I expect to see an improved performance and a place in the top half of the table by Xmas.

Kids Clobbered by Cornish Corsairs

Not a good game to pick for your first outing on national television, away at Cornish Pirates, a team who have over the past few years become the powerhouse of the Championship. It certainly looked like men against boys from my armchair.

I hope that Diccon has identified the areas where we need to improve. If not then they are the scrum, lineout, rucking(too slow), defence & game management. Easy enough to sort out if you have the manpower which of course we do not.

After Saturday's beating I have adjusted my sights for the season but we will still have to start with a home win over Donny on Sunday.

Cry Havoc and let slip the Dogs of War!

The weekend is upon us. The wait is over. Diccon Edwards has named his side for the opening fixture of the season. The team is peppered with young hopefuls, eager to make their mark and establish themselves in the 1st XV: Craig Hampson at 9, Ollie Richards at outside centre and Curtis Wilson on the wing. Add to them newcomers Ryan Burrows, Davie Young and Stevie McColl and the Tykes fans will not recognise half the team. Diccon Edwards stated that his teams will always have a winning mentality when they go onto the pitch. This starts tomorrow when he lets slip the puppies!

Now is the Time....

Well we are on the home straight this week. September beckons on Thursday and with it the start of the Championship, which for Leeds, is a jump into the unknown, despite the fact that we seem to be there every other season. This time we have to negotiate several familiar hurdles ( being the relegated team we are the scalp to take, we have lost most of our squad again & hence have no real idea how the new boys will get on)  plus the rugby equivalent of Beechers Brook which is the play-offs.

Already I am filled with trepidation, not just because Bristol got tonked in the play offs & Wuss nearly came a cropper last time round but because we have no experience of this phenomenon. Do we come out of the blocks like a whippet on speed or do we build slowly for the main event in the new year. Both strategies have their merits. I would settle for a first day win and then a nice steady progression climaxing in a play-off final win. Well you can dream!

Time to dust down the yellow hat!

Leeds Carnegie got their pre-season underway last night with a defeat up at Kingston Park. The scoreline reflected the fact that Leeds had 10 players making their debuts for the Tykes. Despite the heavy defeat the match gave Diccon Edwards a good marker to how effective  training has been. The season proper starts 2 weeks tomorrow. The lads have another run out at Rodney Parade on Tuesday and then the real event starts on 4th Sept. First up is London Welsh & you do not need a long memory to remember the opening day when the Exiles won at Headingley. Time to exact revenge methinks.

That was the week that was!

When Leeds Carnegie announced an open forum night I was sceptical, to say the least, about the amount/quality of information that would be made available to the supporters who turned up - if any. Well I was wrong on both counts. There was a full house. GH declared that nothing was off limits & proceeded to give a candid talk on the mistakes, finances and, more importantly, the club's plans, targets & ambitions.

There were some shocks when the list of playing staff was announced - mainly because the "released list " was now 21 players long & the squad list contained approx 8 "anos". Presumably the  released players could not agree terms & the club will fill up the squad with cheaper options.

A pleasing aspect of the night was that the club are focussing on youth - plenty of academy lads have been promoted to the senior squad & the new coach has assured us that they will feature.

The other shock was the new shirts, designed to mark the 20th anniversary of the club. Green black & white will take some getting used to! But it also helps to reinforce the "rebirth" of the club - new coach, new strip, new ethos. I came away from the session feeling very upbeat ( as did a lot of other people) and looking forward to next season. The rollercoaster is back on track & I want to be on it.

New Coach

It is now three weeks since Back left the club. Gary Hetherington has been busy in that time. Players' departures have been announced. Some expected, others not totally unexpected. Alongside all that activity we hear that interviews have taken place for the role of coach. Who has been interviewed? I've no idea but some people have thrown their names into the hat:

Llyn Howells - experienced coach who knows the Championship very well. Downside is that he has not achieved much whilst he was at Donny.

Simon Middleton - more than 10 years at Leeds, knows the players and the club ethos. Downside as defensive coach his sides leak points like they are going out of fashion.

Gary Mercer - ex RL man who knows the club. Experience? Limited.

Other names have also benn bandied about. These include John Callard ( the fans favourite) - lives locally and has worked with the backs when they were good. Diccon Edwards - former head of the academy who would be a Lanny-like appointment (& hence a bit of a gamble) and finally Phil Greening who has done good things at London Welsh & who quit to try his luck elsewhere.

Whoever gets the job will have to hit the ground running and adopt a different approach to his predecessor. These are hard times and money is tight ( while we have the Key/Back debt on our backs). Her will have to get the best out of the players we have already. I cannot see GH letting them out on a shopping spree. Two or three key positions might get covered. Nothing more.

Expect a decision this week.