Something was missing yesterday!

Watching Leeds playing Cornish Pirates yesterday I realised that a number of features which have dogged us all season were missing. This included unforced errors such as knock-ons and turnovers. Our backs looked likely to score (and did - often). Everyone was playing in position (at the start of the game)

Why is this, I wondered? Certainly seeing Tommy Bell at fly-half made his season at fullback seem like a weird experiment & left me thinking that DE had gotten it seriously wrong playing him at 15.

As for the lack of errors has the weight of expectation weighed so heavily on the players all season that once promotion was lost they could relax and play proper rugby? Well that is what it looked like to me.

There has been much talk of Diccon's performance this season. He is now alluding to mistakes made and the lessons that must be learned from them. I hope he means his own mistakes & lessons. Next season he must do better in that the teams that he puts out each week must do better. Mid table will not get us into the play-offs next time. Players that are joining us are all his choices. This last season has been a difficult one for all of us. Next year must be better.

Back from the brink

Leeds Carnegie went into yesterday's game at the Old Deer Park facing a third consecutive defeat within a week. This appeared to be the culmination of a season fraught with inconsistency and a portent for beatings to come in the play-offs.

As has been the case all season the squad confounded all predictions of its imminent demise with a resounding win against a side which has been in the top four all season. What can we put this down to? A dry pitch? Players returning from injury? New forwards giving the pack a bit of steel? The answer is probably a bit of all three. McColl is a quality player who attacks at pace. Williamson & Aulika have been around and know the forwards game...and yes the pitch was dry!

Looking at players who were missing yesterday I am starting to feel a bit more optimistic atbout the play-offs. We have won ugly on many occasions this season so know what is needed. The first game is at home to the Pirates - whom we have already beaten at Headingley. If we win that then anything is possible.

Embarrassing!

Leeds Carnegie today established it's credentials as a mediocre Championship club. Poor selection followed by poor game management led to another inevitable defeat. The coach has to take most of the blame. The team make the same mistakes every game. Nothing changes. The only consistency is in the poor performance on the pitch. Why do we persist with players who are not on form? The leadership on the field is, to put it mildly, inadequate. Today we spurned two kickable penalties, either of which would have won us the game.

I do not advocate wholesale changes at this stage in the season but clearly the coach is not up to the job and there are players in key positions who are in the same category. GH has some tough but necessary decisions to make before we sink any further.

I fear for Lanny.

England have started the Six Nations with two wins out of two, on the road. Both matches were played in poor conditions. Both resulted in narrow wins. Fair enough. A good start for the new regime and the the lads in the squad who have little or no international experience. This team will only get better and there are players like Flood and Tuilagi to fit back into the side.

Unfortunately the learning curve becomes a steep parabola from here on in. Wales, France and Ireland in quick succession means that the good start will count for nothing if these three fixtures are lost. The press will then whip up a clamour for a "name" to coach the national side and Lanny will be back where he was - on the sidelines.

What we need is a good performance against the Welsh and, dare I say it, another win. Time is not on Lanny's side.

Good business or desperation?

Deadline day for Championship signings saw Leeds Carnegie dip into the market twice. The result? Two seasoned forwards signing for the rest of the season.

Halani Aulika is a Tongan international prop who can play 1 or 3. Our recent experience of Tongan forwards leads me to have high hopes - another Vili, another legend.

Ed Williamson is a more unexpected signing. A powerful hard running backrow forward in his Falcons days who thought his career was over when he sustained a bad hand injury last season. A recent operation has given him a second chance. In his own words he is "back from the dead" and certainly has a lot to offer, adding some much needed grunt to our young backrow.

We would have liked a seasoned centre as well but signing these two looks to  be  good business and will make the trip to Nottingham an even better day out.

That was the year that was...not!

As the year draws to a close Leeds fans everywhere will be breathing a sigh of relief. 2011 - good riddance! This was the year that has seen the club relegated, lost most of the senior players again, had the "sugar daddy" factor removed and been reliant on young players to find our level in a tough competitive league.

Anyone who still thinks that we will bounce straight back into the AP is deluding themselves. As things stand we are shaping up to finish 6th which will enable us to progress to the promotion play-offs. Our current form suggests that we will struggle to get past the semi-finals. Our development this season has been erratic to say the least. At least our defence is improving. However it is the failings in attack that are causing concern to many fans. Will we get any better before the play-offs? Possibly. Can we rely on players coming back from injury? No. So what you see at the moment is pretty much what we will have going into the play-offs.

2011 has seen realism hit the club and it's fans big style. 2012 will not be any different!

Sale call the shots!

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.