Bristol v Tigers

[ABC123]

Unfortunately we are unlikely to see any changes anytime soon until the board fall on their sword which is also unlikely to happen. No so called world class coach would begin to think about coming to Tigers with the constant interference and over powering influence of our incompetent board.
This is why we have been forced to put up with ex Tigers players or coaches and board members so that the feathers remain unruffled.
Just take a look at the successful clubs in the Premiership, sadly now excluding Tigers, the leakiest defence in the league, where you have DORs, coaches etc..that are seen as the face and leadership of their clubs.
No longer the case at Tigers, the only club in the Premiership run by a committee. Time for the BOD to move on and let the club be run in a professional manner, getting the fundamentals right. If it were a business outside of the sporting arena it would have been defunct years ago.A business is judged on its performance as are the business leaders .
As for the players, they have occasionally proved the squad is good enough and IMO attitude reflects leadership.

[Smudge]

Although he was eventually sacked Bob Dwyer performed a great service to Tigers in that he dragged us into the 21st century and the professional age. He upset scores of people but the effect was electric. Very few liked him and he sometimes spoke to people in the worst way but I would contend that this the sort of change we need at Tigers and now. It can't come from within for reasons I have already stated. Many people will have their noses put out of joint, but that is what it needs. I am not that well versed in SH rugby to put a finger on someone who can do that, even if he could be persuaded to come here.
There are people who can identify the appropriate coaches and they should be in touch. NOW.

As for Cockers? He had neither the intellect or skills to take us any further. Promoted beyond his capabilities, his inflexible and stubborn attitudes cost us many good and great players.

[BFG]

I really don't get the huge shock and overreaction at yesterday's match.
I completely understand the frustration but important factors are in play here that cannot be ignored.
An unsettled and inexperienced coaching department, new coaches with new systems and ideas trying to be installed.
Not the best defensively minded players, BY, Ford, Eastmond Manu, May etc, great attackers but not widely known for their defensive strengths.
Continuity, returning internationals who have been playing different systems and players for a month.
Then the sending off, and at 12, widely accepted by many as a key strategic position defensively.
It all makes for a very tough away match against a side who like to run it around a lot which against the above is an advantage, and are much more settled and are desperate for points.

[mol2]

We've had 15 players who seem to have been playing a different system to each other for a long time.

Yesterday was not a one off. Our defence has been appalling for a long time.

[Tigerbeat]

Still a long way to go and top four is a longshot....top six has to be the target. Loising Denton, who was playing superbly, was a big blow and the autumn internationals did not help with a back line.
Fans have called for the use of the younger players and this has been done: Kerr, Heyes, Hardwick, White, Worth, Olowefela but these have not provided the integration for the team to get the results......I have personally been disappointed with White and Olowefela.
The loss of Veanu to injury, Spencer to suspension, Toomua and Polatanau to Australia and the red card yesterday have not made it easy for the team.

[BFG]

We've had 15 players who seem to have been playing a different system to each other for a long time.

Yesterday was not a one off. Our defence has been appalling for a long time.

I don't doubt that but as said some of the players aren't known for being very strong defensively.
Add in all the other factors and it paints a clear picture, certainly they do need help defensively as a unit and individually.

[Smudge]

bfg wrote :

certainly they do need help defensively as a unit and individually.

Then why isn't somebody doing so? Are they waiting for the Christmas fairy? Who is responsible?
Who picked the team? Who named the captain? What were the coaches doing last week?
Who set the game plan and the plan B if it didn't work?

What on earth is going on with Tigers. How much longer can we go on like this?

[MikeR]

Spot on smudge - it is hard to see any progress coming soon . A Board of Directors who are mainly interested in money and who have got so many key Coaching Team decisions wrong in the past 6 Years . We badly need a Dwyer or Venter to come in and sort things out - clearly the present technical Coaching Team is either way out of its depth or our self centred Internationals take no notice .I worry that the Board will take the easy path soon and bring in Mike Ford - that will add flames to the fire .
As to the players yesterday - well like hundreds of other Tigers Fans I went to the game - must be one of the most pathetic performances ever . As usual we were not switched on at the start - have they not seen how Bristol play ?. We gave them space , did not tackle and must have been ideal opponents . Eastmond had made loads of errors and was well wound up before being sent off , being penalised for a similar offence earlier - he is quite frail mentally and this sort of thing has happened before with other clubs . The only 3 players who looked if they cared were Spencer , Cole and Holmes . We just looked like a leaderless , overpaid rabble and to be honest some of them deserve to be playing in the Championship , which could well happen .

[strawclearer]

Geordan Murphy in post-match interview:

"We're in a bit of a hole and we've just got to keep digging."

He's not wrong - you really couldn't make it up.

...and in his post match interview to BTSport on the red card:

"...it kills the game really - we probably should have just walked off then."

I'm not sure Geordan has the maturity for this. Like most 'older' supporters, I admire the player to distraction but that's not the attitude a Head Coach should display. I'd rather hear 'we went down to 14 men so everyone should have worked twice as hard'.

Very unimpressed.

[NONAME]

It seems to me we have the best scrum in the premiership and on paper the best backs in the premiership. So there is only one question to answer...Why are we not winning every game?

One word...DEFENCE!

[TigerCam]

It seems to me we have the best scrum in the premiership and on paper the best backs in the premiership. So there is only one question to answer...Why are we not winning every game?

One word...DEFENCE!

Second word: POOR MANAGEMENT

[TigerCam]

Unfortunately we are unlikely to see any changes anytime soon until the board fall on their sword which is also unlikely to happen. No so called world class coach would begin to think about coming to Tigers with the constant interference and over powering influence of our incompetent board.
This is why we have been forced to put up with ex Tigers players or coaches and board members so that the feathers remain unruffled.
Just take a look at the successful clubs in the Premiership, sadly now excluding Tigers, the leakiest defence in the league, where you have DORs, coaches etc..that are seen as the face and leadership of their clubs.
No longer the case at Tigers, the only club in the Premiership run by a committee. Time for the BOD to move on and let the club be run in a professional manner, getting the fundamentals right. If it were a business outside of the sporting arena it would have been defunct years ago.A business is judged on its performance as are the business leaders .
As for the players, they have occasionally proved the squad is good enough and IMO attitude reflects leadership.

+1

[BFG]

bfg wrote :

certainly they do need help defensively as a unit and individually.

Then why isn't somebody doing so? Are they waiting for the Christmas fairy? Who is responsible?
Who picked the team? Who named the captain? What were the coaches doing last week?
Who set the game plan and the plan B if it didn't work?

What on earth is going on with Tigers. How much longer can we go on like this?

Do you seriously think that they aren't trying, they may or may not be the right people but without a fair amount of time no-one will ever know!
We have a group of players who aren't best suited to defend, that much is obvious, no questions really need asking as it's pretty damn obvious, chuck a red card in and you get yesterday.
I'll tell you what is going on here, years of uncertainty led to this, moaners like you calling for Cockers head, then the next one, then the next one, now this one!
Posters wrote back then be careful what you wish for and the current state is a result of your wishes, but first and foremost yesterday was about a red card.

[Crofty]

To those saying a red card makes defeat inevitable, try telling that to Glasgow Warriors, they were down to 14 for more than three quarters against Scarlets last night and dominated the bulk of the game, enduring a late Welsh resurgence to end up 29 20 on top.

[BFG]

To those saying a red card makes defeat inevitable, try telling that to Glasgow Warriors, they were down to 14 for more than three quarters against Scarlets last night and dominated the bulk of the game, enduring a late Welsh resurgence to end up 29 20 on top.

Add in the other factors though, new coaching set up, style of play, strengths of players, players just retuned from internationals, underperforming youngsters, injuries.