Roly wrote: ↑Wed Sep 20, 2017 8:42 am
It is unfortunate that there does seem to be a mindset of 'if you were a real Tigers fan, you would attend every possible match' - and that those who don't are in some way unqualified to an opinion.
I've not noticed that personally. I think people have more of a problem with your general negativity. If I remember correctly you said that Tigers were on the slide even when they last won the Prem for example. Also you've also admitted winding people on purpose. It's nothing to do with you not attending games.
Their view on 'true fans' is more of a generalisation, it isn't specifically directed at me (necessarily). Its still wrong.
Tigers were on the slide, it is my belief that May 2014 was an anomaly that papered over the cracks. I'll give credit where its due....
Some people deserve to be wound up, they're so far up their own behinds its like shooting fish in a barrel. You could argue that I should rise above it, but I can't. I'm a bad man. Still, it seems to strike a chord with some people - for example, the idea that some Crumbie Dwellers get so worked up that they lose control of their bladders (and that's just while receiving the apparently terrible service at the bar) - whilst initially levelled as a mental picture, was obviously a cap that fitted some.
“It is no use saying, ‘We are doing our best.’ You have got to succeed in doing what is necessary.” Sir Winston Churchill.
I am less bothered about who we sign now, than I am about who we develop. Back in the era the Original poster was talking about and for many years we seemed to have a production line of top quality players rolling out of our academy and our development squad into our first team then England, and the Lions.
That production line is lacking productivity. What are the reasons for that? If we could answer the question and solve it then maybe we could buy fewer expensive foreign players and sack fewer coaches.
hjfreeman wrote: ↑Mon Sep 18, 2017 5:44 pm
A rather broad question here but I will explain as much as I can.
Fortunately, back in 2004 I was the proud owner of 2 season tickets and as well as know, we were coming off some great previous years in Europe and continued success in the league. The team was to stay dominant for years to come, most noticeably in the Premiership and even still, get to another European final against the Wasps of which we lost :(
Then comes 2011, and I move over to the US where I still live today. Every weekend though I will try and find a video stream of the Tigers game or at least listen to BBC Radio Leicester or if not that, just keep refreshing the BBC sport page for updates on the score. For the past however many years it's been now, Tigers have looked like they've been on a gradual decline. Never really signing any blockbuster players like we used to but the other top clubs in England seem to do. Losing out on Europe duty very early on in the competition, get beaten at home more often which used to be an absolute fortress. If we ever did lose at home, you would hear the thousands of gasps by the fans, as if to say, "Did we really, honestly, truly just lose at Welford Road?"
This kind of start to the season would have never been accepted in previous seasons but now we seem to accept it, accept this decline? Even from pictures and videos I see over here in the states, it looks as if large parts of the stands are empty when each weekend in the past they used to be for a majority, sold out games.
Now, to be clear, this isn't me living on a borrowed time. I completely understand times change, teams change, management changes, but from what I've seen from the Tigers over these last 3, 4, 5 years, we aren't changing and we are not getting better. Can anybody attribute this to something? I will still continue to support my Tigers until I am no longer on this planet but this question has been running on my mind for some time. Will the Tigers ever reach their former glory again or will the likes of Saracens, Wasps, Exeter be the new powerhouse of a league we once dominated?
Thanks
Nothing has happened to the Tigers, they are and will remain IMO the best rugby club in the world for the very reasons that the other like Sarries etc remain hopefully of being as good as the Tigers. They will fail because that do not have the fan base ancestry that the Tigers was built on.
No disrespect intended but, given the USA today, by living there I believe you have already left the planet?
Whoever said "one person cannot change the world' never ate undercooked bat
Roly wrote: ↑Wed Sep 20, 2017 8:42 am
It is unfortunate that there does seem to be a mindset of 'if you were a real Tigers fan, you would attend every possible match' - and that those who don't are in some way unqualified to an opinion.
I've not noticed that personally. I think people have more of a problem with your general negativity. If I remember correctly you said that Tigers were on the slide even when they last won the Prem for example. Also you've also admitted winding people on purpose. It's nothing to do with you not attending games.
Their view on 'true fans' is more of a generalisation, it isn't specifically directed at me (necessarily). Its still wrong.
Tigers were on the slide, it is my belief that May 2014 was an anomaly that papered over the cracks. I'll give credit where its due....
Some people deserve to be wound up, they're so far up their own behinds its like shooting fish in a barrel. You could argue that I should rise above it, but I can't. I'm a bad man. Still, it seems to strike a chord with some people - for example, the idea that some Crumbie Dwellers get so worked up that they lose control of their bladders (and that's just while receiving the apparently terrible service at the bar) - whilst initially levelled as a mental picture, was obviously a cap that fitted some.
Do you mean May 2013? That's the season we last won the league.
2014 was the season we lost to Saints in the semi final.
I've not noticed that personally. I think people have more of a problem with your general negativity. If I remember correctly you said that Tigers were on the slide even when they last won the Prem for example. Also you've also admitted winding people on purpose. It's nothing to do with you not attending games.
Their view on 'true fans' is more of a generalisation, it isn't specifically directed at me (necessarily). Its still wrong.
Tigers were on the slide, it is my belief that May 2014 was an anomaly that papered over the cracks. I'll give credit where its due....
Some people deserve to be wound up, they're so far up their own behinds its like shooting fish in a barrel. You could argue that I should rise above it, but I can't. I'm a bad man. Still, it seems to strike a chord with some people - for example, the idea that some Crumbie Dwellers get so worked up that they lose control of their bladders (and that's just while receiving the apparently terrible service at the bar) - whilst initially levelled as a mental picture, was obviously a cap that fitted some.
Do you mean May 2013? That's the season we last won the league.
2014 was the season we lost to Saints in the semi final.
May 2013, yes.
“It is no use saying, ‘We are doing our best.’ You have got to succeed in doing what is necessary.” Sir Winston Churchill.
hjfreeman wrote: ↑Mon Sep 18, 2017 5:44 pm
A rather broad question here but I will explain as much as I can.
Fortunately, back in 2004 I was the proud owner of 2 season tickets and as well as know, we were coming off some great previous years in Europe and continued success in the league. The team was to stay dominant for years to come, most noticeably in the Premiership and even still, get to another European final against the Wasps of which we lost :(
Then comes 2011, and I move over to the US where I still live today. Every weekend though I will try and find a video stream of the Tigers game or at least listen to BBC Radio Leicester or if not that, just keep refreshing the BBC sport page for updates on the score. For the past however many years it's been now, Tigers have looked like they've been on a gradual decline. Never really signing any blockbuster players like we used to but the other top clubs in England seem to do. Losing out on Europe duty very early on in the competition, get beaten at home more often which used to be an absolute fortress. If we ever did lose at home, you would hear the thousands of gasps by the fans, as if to say, "Did we really, honestly, truly just lose at Welford Road?"
This kind of start to the season would have never been accepted in previous seasons but now we seem to accept it, accept this decline? Even from pictures and videos I see over here in the states, it looks as if large parts of the stands are empty when each weekend in the past they used to be for a majority, sold out games.
Now, to be clear, this isn't me living on a borrowed time. I completely understand times change, teams change, management changes, but from what I've seen from the Tigers over these last 3, 4, 5 years, we aren't changing and we are not getting better. Can anybody attribute this to something? I will still continue to support my Tigers until I am no longer on this planet but this question has been running on my mind for some time. Will the Tigers ever reach their former glory again or will the likes of Saracens, Wasps, Exeter be the new powerhouse of a league we once dominated?
Thanks
Nothing has happened to the Tigers, they are and will remain IMO the best rugby club in the world for the very reasons that the other like Sarries etc remain hopefully of being as good as the Tigers. They will fail because that do not have the fan base ancestry that the Tigers was built on.
No disrespect intended but, given the USA today, by living there I believe you have already left the planet?
You honestly think that the likes of Saracens aspire to be as good as Tigers?
It wont be long that, at the rate they're going, it is Tigers who will be riding the coat tails of teams like Saracens.
“It is no use saying, ‘We are doing our best.’ You have got to succeed in doing what is necessary.” Sir Winston Churchill.
mightymouse wrote: ↑Wed Sep 20, 2017 1:03 pm
I am less bothered about who we sign now, than I am about who we develop. Back in the era the Original poster was talking about and for many years we seemed to have a production line of top quality players rolling out of our academy and our development squad into our first team then England, and the Lions.
That production line is lacking productivity. What are the reasons for that? If we could answer the question and solve it then maybe we could buy fewer expensive foreign players and sack fewer coaches.
Have you considered that there are more clubs doing what we did and some are doing it aswell if not better. I think keeping a production line of top talent going over decades is very difficult. I am not saying it's not been a factor or issue. I am just not convinced it's a major one. But then I guess I am in the glass half full side of the argument anyway.
TigerCam wrote: ↑Wed Sep 20, 2017 1:09 pm
Nothing has happened to the Tigers, they are and will remain IMO the best rugby club in the world for the very reasons that the other like Sarries etc remain hopefully of being as good as the Tigers. They will fail because that do not have the fan base ancestry that the Tigers was built on.
Jim Hamilton was saying that a few years ago Saracens understood that they didn't have the crowd, ground or tradition that say Gloucester and Leicester had/have - not that it seems to have helped the cherry and whites - and built a "culture" that didn't need that. I am not seeing anything changing at Saracens anytime soon.
hjfreeman wrote: ↑Mon Sep 18, 2017 5:44 pm
A rather broad question here but I will explain as much as I can.
Fortunately, back in 2004 I was the proud owner of 2 season tickets and as well as know, we were coming off some great previous years in Europe and continued success in the league. The team was to stay dominant for years to come, most noticeably in the Premiership and even still, get to another European final against the Wasps of which we lost :(
Then comes 2011, and I move over to the US where I still live today. Every weekend though I will try and find a video stream of the Tigers game or at least listen to BBC Radio Leicester or if not that, just keep refreshing the BBC sport page for updates on the score. For the past however many years it's been now, Tigers have looked like they've been on a gradual decline. Never really signing any blockbuster players like we used to but the other top clubs in England seem to do. Losing out on Europe duty very early on in the competition, get beaten at home more often which used to be an absolute fortress. If we ever did lose at home, you would hear the thousands of gasps by the fans, as if to say, "Did we really, honestly, truly just lose at Welford Road?"
This kind of start to the season would have never been accepted in previous seasons but now we seem to accept it, accept this decline? Even from pictures and videos I see over here in the states, it looks as if large parts of the stands are empty when each weekend in the past they used to be for a majority, sold out games.
Now, to be clear, this isn't me living on a borrowed time. I completely understand times change, teams change, management changes, but from what I've seen from the Tigers over these last 3, 4, 5 years, we aren't changing and we are not getting better. Can anybody attribute this to something? I will still continue to support my Tigers until I am no longer on this planet but this question has been running on my mind for some time. Will the Tigers ever reach their former glory again or will the likes of Saracens, Wasps, Exeter be the new powerhouse of a league we once dominated?
Thanks
Nothing has happened to the Tigers, they are and will remain IMO the best rugby club in the world for the very reasons that the other like Sarries etc remain hopefully of being as good as the Tigers. They will fail because that do not have the fan base ancestry that the Tigers was built on.
No disrespect intended but, given the USA today, by living there I believe you have already left the planet?
A rather narrow-minded way to end what was an insightful comment. Why I am living in the US has nothing to do with my love for the Tigers and while yes, living in the country I live in right now is extremely rocky and nervey, I am also in a fortunate position to have a job I love which has little to do with the president.
hjfreeman wrote: ↑Mon Sep 18, 2017 5:44 pm
A rather broad question here but I will explain as much as I can.
Fortunately, back in 2004 I was the proud owner of 2 season tickets and as well as know, we were coming off some great previous years in Europe and continued success in the league. The team was to stay dominant for years to come, most noticeably in the Premiership and even still, get to another European final against the Wasps of which we lost :(
Then comes 2011, and I move over to the US where I still live today. Every weekend though I will try and find a video stream of the Tigers game or at least listen to BBC Radio Leicester or if not that, just keep refreshing the BBC sport page for updates on the score. For the past however many years it's been now, Tigers have looked like they've been on a gradual decline. Never really signing any blockbuster players like we used to but the other top clubs in England seem to do. Losing out on Europe duty very early on in the competition, get beaten at home more often which used to be an absolute fortress. If we ever did lose at home, you would hear the thousands of gasps by the fans, as if to say, "Did we really, honestly, truly just lose at Welford Road?"
This kind of start to the season would have never been accepted in previous seasons but now we seem to accept it, accept this decline? Even from pictures and videos I see over here in the states, it looks as if large parts of the stands are empty when each weekend in the past they used to be for a majority, sold out games.
Now, to be clear, this isn't me living on a borrowed time. I completely understand times change, teams change, management changes, but from what I've seen from the Tigers over these last 3, 4, 5 years, we aren't changing and we are not getting better. Can anybody attribute this to something? I will still continue to support my Tigers until I am no longer on this planet but this question has been running on my mind for some time. Will the Tigers ever reach their former glory again or will the likes of Saracens, Wasps, Exeter be the new powerhouse of a league we once dominated?
Thanks
Nothing has happened to the Tigers, they are and will remain IMO the best rugby club in the world for the very reasons that the other like Sarries etc remain hopefully of being as good as the Tigers. They will fail because that do not have the fan base ancestry that the Tigers was built on.
No disrespect intended but, given the USA today, by living there I believe you have already left the planet?
A rather narrow-minded way to end what was an insightful comment. Why I am living in the US has nothing to do with my love for the Tigers and while yes, living in the country I live in right now is extremely rocky and nervey, I am also in a fortunate position to have a job I love which has little to do with the president.
Narrow minded? On here? You're joking right?
“It is no use saying, ‘We are doing our best.’ You have got to succeed in doing what is necessary.” Sir Winston Churchill.
Money is pouring into rugby, a lot of it from personal pockets and if the game is to grow and flourish you cannot have just one team monopolising year in year out, as fan bases would not grow, and who wants a league with two or three teams in it? No other team is as well set up as Tigers and we should be grateful we had those glory years - nobody else has come close yet! And the good times will come again. I do not think we are in decline just a bit flat in all areas of the club, it has got rather impersonal.
