I'm confused, are you?

[Grumpy of Crumbie]

Quite rightly we all have our individual opinions around the comings and goings and whether this is good or bad. I think its a case of we are where we are for whatever reasons.

I like to take a broad view and in my opinion settled teams win things. I think this is particularly true in rugby. Look at the vast majority of European and World Cup winners. The teams have been together for at least two or three seasons and almost pick themselves. Tigers and Munster in their day, Leinster over recent years, Saints now, even Toulon took a couple of seasons with a largely settled team to start winning things.

Whatever we think about who is coming and who is going and regardless of the reasons I think we will be some way from a settled team next season and consequently may not be challenging for the top honours again for a couple of years. A new coaching set up is likely to compound this. On the positive side if this is the start of a longer term view and re-building a world beating Tigers side that will flourish for a number of seasons bring it on.

[4071]

4071, I have only just started posting on the forums recently so the opinions of others previously should not be held against me.

I don't rate Scully or Gibson as top 4 club starters. Look at any of my posts and you won't see anything different there.

Blaine Scully..... 6 tries in 34 games and only 2 tries this season. Poor.

Gibson. How many big hits or big carries can you remember from him? I can't remember many if any.

I'm actually with you on Scully. I think he's nothign more than a decent squad-level player, and not the sort of player who should be considered first choice for a top flight club. I'm the same with Thompstone, Camacho and Morris.

It's one reason I'm still irked at losing Alex Lewington (10 tries in 21 games this season for a poor London Irish side). I'm not really happy with recruiting quantity over quality. I have always thought that squad depth can be built from within and that we should recruit genuine first-team quality rather than building mediocrity in depth.


As for Gibson, I was under the impression that big hits and big carries were not the be-and-end-all of back row play. It's not what he brings. Doesn't mean that he's not a starting-quality flanker.

[Phil B]

I'm confused, with myself a bit, curious I know.
I keep reading about players leaving tigers, I'm upset about it because most of them are exceptional, international and in some cases lions!!!! This makes me sad, my club that I love and have loved since I first discovered rugby aged 11 at Thomas estley, where they gave out free tickets and I discovered welford road. In those days I watched Jez harris and john liley, an underwood on both wings. Johnson brothers, the abc club, adel kardooni(sorry for the spelling adel!!!) and of coarse, my hero dean Richards. This inspired me to join westleigh, latterly to become lions, soon to become housing, so sad. Since those wonderful days I have followed my local club and in doing so I have seen many trophies, many world class players and enjoyed many many wonderful trips to twickenham.
Have I set the tone? Or shall I go on with the reminiscing? Ok I'll stop, one of the older crowd will only trump my dean Richards with a dusty hare or something anyway.
My point is, eventually!!!
For the first time in my life, I really do not know what to expect from my beloved tigers, we are losing some great players on one hand, but on the other hand they haven't won anything, so am I sad to see them go? weather this is thier fault or the management or the RFU or the cap who knows? So it makes me apprehensive. I'm glad mauger is comming back and I am excited about the players that are or could follow him to welford road.
This is obviously a time of transition for the club and the playing staff, I accept that, but I'm not sure if my glass is half full or half empty.
Also, I have worked in Northampton for the last 12 months, bad timing!!!
Can anyone console me, reassure me, or sympathise?
Hope this post evokes some light hearted response and does not get taken too seriously.

Keep the faith?????

I understand your post, and you accept we are in transition. We have not had a good season, and although I can see no evidence that we can suddenly turn things around, we are still in with a shout for the premiership, and so I am grateful for that. I am generally positive, and my glass is half full. I have high hopes for next season, when we may not be so ravaged by injuries. I am looking also towards a settled and revitalised coaching staff, the new additions to the squad and players hitting form.

[whyorange]

My problem is not with who is going out, although I think there will be big holes, but the policy of who is coming in. Last season we finished forth, and did not make the play off final. For Tigers that is not good enough, but there was not 1 person recruited in the summer that was a first choice starter (Freddie was perhaps supposed to be). This season we are losing Tait at 15, but our DoR has stated that we have ample cover and does not need to be replaced. I'm sorry, but if they are not good enough to take the shirt this year, then we are going backwards. People come and go for a number of reasons, and there is no right or wrong, but as a club we have to improve year on year if we don't want to be left behind by the likes of Saints, Sarries, Bath or even Exeter or Wasps!!!

[RagingBull]

Although who left last season that was first choice player? Flood and TBH Williams started a lot of games. I would agree that if we had the majority of our first XV for the season we would have been higher and potentially have been in the final.

What we did do is upgrade most players who left IMO, bar Bowden.

This years recruitment should give us more of an idea IMO with The likes of Parling, Tait, Salvi etc going cap shouldn't be a major issue as well as an extra marquee slot.

[whyorange]

First choice played shouldn't have to leave for us to sign first choice players. That doesn't improve a team. We brought in 3 Italian Internationals who were not first choice, and not even cover for 6 Nations as they were in it (mostly).

[whyorange]

Bring in 1 new first choice player per year, it is 15 years before you improve the whole team. Develop another 2 from the academy or other signings that you coach, it is 5 years

[RagingBull]

First choice played shouldn't have to leave for us to sign first choice players. That doesn't improve a team. We brought in 3 Italian Internationals who were not first choice, and not even cover for 6 Nations as they were in it (mostly).

No but the cap limits choices when you have a large squad.

Generally the cap space created by a starter leaving generally means we can get another in.

Next season is different with the extra 500k and extra marquee player.

[mol2]

We will miss Salvi unless we have signed a very good replacement.
Parling - good as he is we are not short of others who are nipping at his heels.
Gibson - for me our best player early in the season and a very good player and may prove to be our biggest loss.

Scully is very good at chasing the high ball, but this probably makes him sand out as apart from him we have been utterly pathetic at chasing our own kicks since Moody went! Aside from that, like Thompstone, is dependable but not outstanding.

I hope the departures reflect a Tigers side building for the future rather than a sinking ship.

[Isambard]

I think I am not the only one who wonders whether the era of two European titles on the trot is over for good. Superb supporters do not bring us a superb team. It seems a very ordinary bunch of professionals these days and the buzz of anticipation that I used to get about the next home game is no more. Yes I am older but not less passionate.

[Maidman]

Blabyboy, I have a lot of sympathy with your post. We feel a bit mediocre despite looking like we'll be 4th in the Aviva at the end of this weekend. We're still Tigers but we are a bit more in the mix than I remember us being.

I think we must have some excellent signings on their way. We must do, I can't believe that either our DoR or the board would let the quality of our squad slip below current standards.

I sincerely hope we are not on the brink of a few wilderness years like Bath suffered a few years back.

No, there must be some quality signings on the way and all is going to be fine. Just rosy in fact.

<<please God let it be true, please>>

[jgriffin]

We will miss Salvi unless we have signed a very good replacement.
Parling - good as he is we are not short of others who are nipping at his heels.
Gibson - for me our best player early in the season and a very good player and may prove to be our biggest loss.

Scully is very good at chasing the high ball, but this probably makes him sand out as apart from him we have been utterly pathetic at chasing our own kicks since Moody went! Aside from that, like Thompstone, is dependable but not outstanding.

I hope the departures reflect a Tigers side building for the future rather than a sinking ship.

Apropos your comment about chasing kick-offs, for me the bane of modern rugby is video analysis and death by analysis statistics. As I have posted before, coaches seem to think that population statistics predict individual outcomes, hence the long kick-offs.

[Stu_F]

In reference to signings where was our 40 year old signing today, he played in the LV Cup but not the league, not that De Chaves wasn't superb today but just wondering about Thorn.

[Tom Tom]

I think I am not the only one who wonders whether the era of two European titles on the trot is over for good. Superb supporters do not bring us a superb team. It seems a very ordinary bunch of professionals these days and the buzz of anticipation that I used to get about the next home game is no more. Yes I am older but not less passionate.

+ 1.

[fleabane]

+1