I was quite excited when I heard this week that we were signing a couple of new players - two more young 'uns from Sale Sharks. I was somewhat nonplussed by the news that Andy Titterrell was going to Edgeley Park until the end of January. This means that he will miss key Championship games against Doncaster and Bedford.
If Sale contacted Leeds and asked if they could borrow a hooker why did Diccon not offer them Phil Neilsen or Scott Freer, both of whom could do a job for them in the AP? Unless Steve Diamond rang up and said we want to borrow Andy Titterrell. If so Diccon should have said he is not available. Unless Andy had already told Diamond that he wanted to do it, leaving Diccon with no real choice. Andy has said that he still holds ambitions to play in the AP. Perhaps he did not mean "with Leeds"!
It seems to me that Sale hold all the aces in this arrangement. It may well turn out to be a great arrangement as far as we are concerned but I have a nagging doubt now about Andy's commitment to the cause - our cause.
Showing posts with label Sale Sharks. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sale Sharks. Show all posts
Thursday, 15 December 2011
Sunday, 15 May 2011
Who is to blame?
Leeds Carnegie rugby club is in turmoil, again. The 3-year plan of the management team is in tatters and the Leicester duo, Back and Key, have gone - Key sacked & I suspect Back resigned before he too was axed.
So what went wrong and who is to blame? The second year of the plan had been a success in that the club had avoided relegation. When Neil Back trumpeted his "top 6 finish" as the third phase of the plan we thought that a mid-table finish was on the cards.
The pre-season was an absolute disaster. To my mind things had started to go wrong before then. I had heard that we were signing Charlie Hodgson from Sale. His body language, when seen on TV, said that he wanted away. I am sure that the Leeds management thought he was coming, hence the lack of any other decent stand-off in the close season signings. For whatever reason Charlie changed his mind & we were left scrabbling for decent players who could perhaps fill the 10 shirt. We ended up with a decent, injury-prone 12 who, to my way of thinking, did not fill the 10 shirt in any way, shape or form.
That was the start of the season-long failure to move up to the "next level". Everything else was incidental. No number 10 = no success! Therefore I have no hesitation in pointing the finger at a certain Yorkshireman from Halifax (not Mallinder this time) and saying;
"Charlie - it's your fault!"
So what went wrong and who is to blame? The second year of the plan had been a success in that the club had avoided relegation. When Neil Back trumpeted his "top 6 finish" as the third phase of the plan we thought that a mid-table finish was on the cards.
The pre-season was an absolute disaster. To my mind things had started to go wrong before then. I had heard that we were signing Charlie Hodgson from Sale. His body language, when seen on TV, said that he wanted away. I am sure that the Leeds management thought he was coming, hence the lack of any other decent stand-off in the close season signings. For whatever reason Charlie changed his mind & we were left scrabbling for decent players who could perhaps fill the 10 shirt. We ended up with a decent, injury-prone 12 who, to my way of thinking, did not fill the 10 shirt in any way, shape or form.
That was the start of the season-long failure to move up to the "next level". Everything else was incidental. No number 10 = no success! Therefore I have no hesitation in pointing the finger at a certain Yorkshireman from Halifax (not Mallinder this time) and saying;
"Charlie - it's your fault!"
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