Another cup final.

If you think that Leeds Carnegie is having a rollercoaster season then try to imagine what it is like to support Bristol. Totally underperforming all season & losing the Memorial Ground for redevelopment. For a club that, on paper, should be safely in the play-offs by now the season took another downturn when they gave up a 14 point lead at Moseley last weekend.

This had the knock-on effect of giving Leeds back its destiny. If we win all our remaining games then we are in the play-offs. Not an easy ask as we still have to go to Bedford! Still we start on Saturday with a trip to Moseley, scene of Bristol's downfall.

With our characteristic lack of consistency  anything can happen. Moseley have improved from the side we beat earlier in the season. Their pack, by all accounts, shoved Bristol off the park. The boys need to turn up. Diccon needs to keep faith with his fulltime players and, of course, we need to win !

Nervous!

OK so it is match weekend. We lost at Donny 2 weeks ago and now face a decent side, Cornish Pirates, at Cross Green on Sunday. I guess that being a Leeds Carnegie fan is somewhat akin to being a smackhead - you know it is not doing you any good but you just keep going back for more!

See you on Sunday!

Oh dear!

Just when it was looking like it might be a happy springtime for Leeds Carnegie fans the team conjure up an abject display against the bottom side in the division.

To go from the gutsy display against Newcastle the previous weekend to this dire performance in 6 days beggars belief. The club management need to take a hard look at the current setup. Is this inconsistency, prevalent for the last 18 months , all we can expect? I hope not.

Blood and thunder

We lost our home game against Newcastle. It rained. I should have been depressed when I left the ground. Was I - no! The game was a hard fought match between two sides who played as if it was the play-off decider. Despite the low score and the poor conditions the match was enthralling . I was dancing on the terraces as the lads got on top in the second half and took the game to the Falcons.

Leeds had some outstanding forwards. Myerscough and Green both have an appetite for the hard yards. Baldwin looks the part at 6. The best performance of the day came from Ben Harris. Remarkable as he has only been a prop for 2 years after moving up from lock & did not have a club when Leeds signed him at the start of the season.

All of a sudden the season has potential & I am looking forward to more wholehearted performances from the lads which will almost certainly see us get into the play-offs.

C'mon Leeds!

Farce!

The game of rugby union was brought into disrepute when Leeds Carnegie played Plymouth Albion at Headingley last weekend. The much vaunted "Million pound pitch" cut up so badly at every scrum that the referee went to uncontested scrums!

In my opinion if the pitch is not safe to scrummage on then the game should be abandoned and replayed on a fit pitch. It would not surprise me if Plymouth lodged an official complaint.

At the 11th hour.

On the last day of the year Leeds Carnegie has announced the loan signing of Rory Clegg until the end of the season. Rory is a 22 year old stand-off, currently playing for Harlequins.

This is a much needed signing which will, at the very least, take some of the pressure off the shoulders of Joe Ford. Clegg needs game time and Ford needs a rest. It does not take a genious to see that this is a good deal for all parties. Looking forward to seeing Rory at HC on Sunday.

The stampede into mediocrity

Another game, another humiliating defeat.That makes four on the trot (heyho but who's counting?) Progress this season has been hit and miss at best, non-existent or even regression at worst. It is time for the management to have a long hard look at the team's performance. Some serious decisions need to be made soon before the club becomes the Championship whipping boys.

My expectations this season are being downgraded from top four to mid table mediocrity. Am I being over optimistic?