What was happened to my beloved Tigers?

[hjfreeman]

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

[ellis9]

First point- Why do you include Wasps as a powerhouse? They have won nothing since 2008. That's 9 years, 10 years before they get chance to put that right.

Second point- When have we ever signed lots of star players? By the way, we signed George Ford and Jonny May for this season. Are they not star players? Telusa Veainu, although not a star name, has certainly become one of the first names on the team sheet. We already have Dan Cole, Ben Youngs and Manu Tuilagi who are top class with Ellis Genge and others on their way to becoming top players.

Third point- I'd suggest the stadium is emptier because it is bigger. We have more fans turning up each week than we did 10 years ago and even more than when we won 4 titles in a row and our back to back Heineken Cups. Also, we unfortunately have fans who because we don't play "exciting" rugby and have not seen us win the league for only 4 years, deem it pointless to turn up. I suppose the best way to describe these people are glory hunters.

Final point- We get beaten maybe two or three times a season at home because there are 11 other competitive teams in the league. 10 years ago, we only really had 2 or 3 other teams that were capable of giving us a game. This is no longer the case, which is great for the game of rugby.

[iceman_19]

First point- Why do you include Wasps as a powerhouse? They have won nothing since 2008. That's 9 years, 10 years before they get chance to put that right.

Second point- When have we ever signed lots of star players? By the way, we signed George Ford and Jonny May for this season. Are they not star players? Telusa Veainu, although nut a star name, has certainly become one of the first names on the team sheet. We already have Dan Cole, Ben Youngs and Manu Tuilagi who are top class with Ellis Genge and others in their way to becoming top players.

Third point- I'd suggest the stadium is emptier because it is bigger. We have more fans turning up each week than we did 10 years ago and even more than when we won 4 titles in a row and our back to back Heineken Cups. Also, we unfortunately have fans who because we don't play "exciting" rugby and have not seen us win the league for only 4 years, deem it pointless to turn up. I suppose the best way to describe these people are glory hunters.

Final point- We get beaten maybe two or three times a season at home because there are 11 other competitive teams in the league. 10 years ago, we only really had 2 or 3 other teams that were capable of giving us a game. This is no longer the case, which is great for the game of rugby.

That is a cracking response Ellis9, to a post which I'm sure is well intentioned but I think (understandably, given their location) disconnected from the realities nowadays.

The last point is particularly true. Just look at the league table now - only three games gone, and everyone has already been beaten at least once. Because of that, our below-par start still means we are just 6 points off top spot.

And believe me, there are still gasps when we lose at home. We all know - particularly the players - that it shouldn't happen.

[hjfreeman]

First point- Why do you include Wasps as a powerhouse? They have won nothing since 2008. That's 9 years, 10 years before they get chance to put that right.

Second point- When have we ever signed lots of star players? By the way, we signed George Ford and Jonny May for this season. Are they not star players? Telusa Veainu, although not a star name, has certainly become one of the first names on the team sheet. We already have Dan Cole, Ben Youngs and Manu Tuilagi who are top class with Ellis Genge and others in their way to becoming top players.

Third point- I'd suggest the stadium is emptier because it is bigger. We have more fans turning up each week than we did 10 years ago and even more than when we won 4 titles in a row and our back to back Heineken Cups. Also, we unfortunately have fans who because we don't play "exciting" rugby and have not seen us win the league for only 4 years, deem it pointless to turn up. I suppose the best way to describe these people are glory hunters.

Final point- We get beaten maybe two or three times a season at home because there are 11 other competitive teams in the league. 10 years ago, we only really had 2 or 3 other teams that were capable of giving us a game. This is no longer the case, which is great for the game of rugby.

I only say Wasps because they've had a cracking couple of seasons and seem to be turning what used to be a mediocre team into a real European threat. I know full well that the Wasps come nowhere near us on a historic level.

And you are correct about Tigers never really being a team that signs well-known players but the likes of Tuilagi who doesn't seem to be able to get passed a game without being injured for a further 3 months is a continued worry.

You cannot deny that we have been on some sort of a decline whether that just being due to a rebuilding period or what. I'll be back over in December to see a game and cannot wait. But the main point with this post was, do you fans see us being on top again soon? Or will we continue to be a 3rd or 4th place team in the league and quarterfinalist in Europe?

[ourla]

What a tiresome post. I am still amazed there are still people out there who think good times can last forever, that we can win trophies year in year out and nobody will do anything to challenge it, that the club expanded the stadium just so there would be a few spare (to be used for the bigger) occasions, that somehow the game owes us. Where is Roly when we need him to add explain some reality to this ex-pat.

[mol2]

A bigger ground reduces the necessity of having a season ticket to be able to see the games you want to or can attend.

You don't need a season ticket to get into the Bath game any more.

More capacity doesn't guarantee bigger crowds overall - just more for the big games but potentially fewer sales for the lesser games. (If you have a season ticket you will go - or at least have paid for a ticket even if you can't make the game)
If you don't have a season ticket you clearly won't pay for a ticket for the matches you can't make or don't want to see

[fortysix]

He's 150% correct..

All the Happy Clappers keep chirping away, but the irrefutable fact is Tigers are way below their previous high standing.

May Ford or not. we are now a shadow of where we were, and you can blame the Board for highlighting spend on the assets , off the field, rather than the assets on the pitch..

Our forwards and coaching are embarrassingly pants compared to previous packs, and backs as well, and any former Tiger will tell you just the same thing.

Ask Austin.....

Just lets hope-----------as in the previous four seasons---that we scrape something this year.

But dont hold your breath

[Scott11]

Your post has a couple of iffy points but your header is SPOT ON! There is a very noticeable decline we have gone from AP winners to losing finalists to losing SF twice in a row. We lost at home in the AP 3 times last season compared to 3 times the previous 4 yes 4 seasons I believe. No monster pack anymore and we can't even run a lineout,oh did I mention the RCC decimations? Some folk are just blind to it!

[ourla]

May Ford or not. we are now a shadow of where we were, and you can blame the Board for highlighting spend on the assets , off the field, rather than the assets on the pitch..

Can you you not see how totally contradictory that statement is?

We lost by a point to Wasps in the semi last and then we sign England first choice 10 and one of the top wingers.

The idea that the board are somehow immune to the clamour for success is daft. The players say it every week in interviews. Cohen has received direct untold abuse about the lack of success. I'm not saying they are perfect or shouldn't be criticised but I draw the line at neglect of the squad and on the field results. They are I believe as thirsty for success as we are.

[ourla]

Some folk are just blind to it!

Oh, the irony.

[Scott11]

Explain further please Ourla!

[TheRock]

Exeter are planning to build a hotel just like us.
The reality is self sustaining clubs such as ourselves and Exeter have to invest in projects like this to have the revenue in the future it's really not that difficult to understand.
The club spends up to the salary cap and we have two marquee players. We simply can't spend anymore on the playing squad. Whether the money has been spent wisely is a different matter, looking at our squad compared to some of the others we clearly haven't spent it wisely.

[ourla]

Explain further please Ourla!

Tell me this what is exactly your expectation in terms of what we should have achieved in the last 3 years and what we should achieve over the next 3? So just to spell it out, were you expecting our period of success to simply continue unabated? Should our competitors play fair, try hard but never quite match us. Should we as a club be able to seamlessly roll on through years, no decades of unbridled success. What are we the All Blacks?

So the irony is that those of who accept that other clubs can now equal is for resource, for professionalism, for ambition. That the structure, the rules even of the game move on. And that you know it's just :censored: hard to continue to be the best. The one's who accept that, you know what, it's sport. We are the ones who are told we just can't see it.

[kk20gb30]

..whether right or not,correct or incorrect believe this to be a genuine post from someone with an opinion...
So what happens ?
The usual suspects and 'faces' shred it...
Is it really any wonder people don't to express an opinion here ??
Some of you guys need to look hard at yourselves before hammering others

[JP14]

We lost but 2 matches in 2011-12 season and went to the final. We could be good this year:
We have on paper one of the best front rows in the Premiership
George Ford, Toomua(counts as new signing) and May all really good signings
Barrow, Williams and Evans are really good England prospects and BOC is a very good number 7
Mapapalangi looks like potentially a really good player for us
Ben Youngs still is really good and Ben White looks like a future prospect
Nick Malouf could potentially be a really good winger and is a great signing by Tigers
Telusa Vieanu has the best footwork in the World according to BT Sport