Ford - Method in the madness?

[jonnyatom5]

With George Ford not gaining much 'on field' time and being the archetypal bench warmer, it got me wondering about the reasons Cockers would do this. Is it his trust in the young man? Is it blind loyalty to Flood? Or is it because he wants a strong, fit 10 for the 'International' part of the season?

I'm beginning to think the latter. Keeping Ford on the bench for the early part of the season, giving him cameo roles keeps him off Stuart Lancaster's radar and keeps him fit for when Flood, who undoubtedly WILL feature for England, goes off to play the Autumn internationals and 6 Nations.

I believe Cockers knows what talent he's got and is controlling the situation. I also believe Ford knows this too. What am I basing this on? Nothing more than gut instinct.

What are your thoughts?

[Brianf]

Could be jonnyatom5...only time will tell. Who knows what Stuart Lancaster has up his sleeve for the Internationals? George Ford may be part of that set up as well as Flood?

So many questions...

[Pete]

England head coach Stuart Lancaster says Danny Cipriani's hopes of a national recall depend on impressing as a regular starter for Sale.

This means that George Ford equally has no chance of a national call unless impressing as a regular starter, which is unlikely if he remains at Tigers after this season. At least not with the current coaching set-up.

[fleabane]

It is more likely that Ford will feature in the Saxon' lineup. RC was allowed to keep GF over the summer to bulk him up - I daresay SL will want to try out the new GF.

[fortysix]

What Cockerill thinks---and his track record isnt exactly brilliant---isnt necessarily what George or his advisors think.
Fact is--Ford is a class above Flood, even at this present moment..
He has time, vision and pace .
Flood is a good low-rank International Fly half with quite a few negatives, and sooner rather than later, Cockerill has to choose
Let us all hope he doesnt lose Ford before any changes in Management structure
That would be ironical.... and I can assure you lose the goodwill of Tigers supporters if Ford leaves.
Cockerill is playing with fire here.

[tb1]

What Cockerill thinks---and his track record isnt exactly brilliant---isnt necessarily what George or his advisors think.
Fact is--Ford is a class above Flood, even at this present moment..
He has time, vision and pace .
Flood is a good low-rank International Fly half with quite a few negatives, and sooner rather than later, Cockerill has to choose
Let us all hope he doesnt lose Ford before any changes in Management structure
That would be ironical.... and I can assure you lose the goodwill of Tigers supporters if Ford leaves.
Cockerill is playing with fire here.

Please either list a few coaches who have developed more international standard players while Cockers has been in post or shut your hoop.

[Hull Fan]

What Cockerill thinks---and his track record isnt exactly brilliant---isnt necessarily what George or his advisors think.
Fact is--Ford is a class above Flood, even at this present moment..
He has time, vision and pace .
Flood is a good low-rank International Fly half with quite a few negatives, and sooner rather than later, Cockerill has to choose
Let us all hope he doesnt lose Ford before any changes in Management structure
That would be ironical.... and I can assure you lose the goodwill of Tigers supporters if Ford leaves.
Cockerill is playing with fire here.

Please either list a few coaches who have developed more international standard players while Cockers has been in post or shut your hoop.

Conor O Shea brought a few on, with i suspect more to come.

[jgriffin]

Actually i think you are all right.
Cockers has developed Ford well and wisely and I would expect he an Lancaster to be in regular contact.
However, crunch time is approaching, for Cockers, for Ford, for Flood, for Tigers.
I would expect Ford to boss the Saxons first to see if he has 80 minutes of international in him, rather than chuck him in at the deep end. If OK, then expect full international honours in 2013.

[iceman_19]

I normally keep quiet on the Ford aspect, but I have to jump in here.

I have to say firstly I think that he is a tremendous talent and strikes me thankfully as having a good head on his shoulders.

However, people are clamouring for him to start, and I do end up if people have seen a secret game somewhere where he has single-handedly dismantled another side? I've seen good games from Ford, sure, but brilliant? Not for Leicester (though certainly for England age-groups).

My point is that Tigers are known for not caring about reputations, and the same applies to Ford. Cockerill, in my mind, would have told him "Look, the shirt is Flood's at the moment. He has been here for 4 years, consistently performed and has single-handedly won games for us in the past. He will start the season and then go off with England for the AIs. That will be your chance. Perform well enough and the shirt is yours and it will be up to Flood to win it back."

It is the same mentality for anyone and everyone in the club (except front row, where demands require rotation). Ford will know this, and eventually he will draw level and perhaps surpass Flood, but he has to adhere to the club rules. I don't see the benefit of putting him straight in for Flood (who has not played badly, and Ford didn't set the world alight v Sale - though I'm sure he will improve with more games) and giving him a sense of entitlement.

[Tiger_Chief]

I agree with Iceman on this, and trust Cockers and Co to bring Ford on when it is right to do so. Look at Croft, Youngs x 2, Cole and Manu, there is a proven track record. Yes its frustrating when we have a game when we do not score as many points as we would like or loose like at Toulouse, but can this really be pointed just at Flood? No...

Flood plays well with Youngs, and when both are on form are a class act. When Youngs play he brings Flood to almost be a first inside centre as he is that flat and looks to offload.

Ford on the other hand stands more deeply, which we saw at Sale and he struggled slightly with B Youngs, but when playing with M Young in a conventional scrum half / fly half combination which could be a great team. He is very classy, I do not doubt that he will become a future star for England, but give the lad time and ignore the media hype. I for one, would rather he is nurtured that extra year, rather than thrown in the deep end and has kis confidence knocked a la Tait and Allen in their England careers.

[Smurphswillgetya]

What Cockerill thinks---and his track record isnt exactly brilliant---isnt necessarily what George or his advisors think.
Fact is--Ford is a class above Flood, even at this present moment..
He has time, vision and pace .
Flood is a good low-rank International Fly half with quite a few negatives, and sooner rather than later, Cockerill has to choose
Let us all hope he doesnt lose Ford before any changes in Management structure
That would be ironical.... and I can assure you lose the goodwill of Tigers supporters if Ford leaves.
Cockerill is playing with fire here.

Thanks for this post. After such a long time, you have reminded me of what a pile of tripe looks like.

[Bunchy]

What Cockerill thinks---and his track record isnt exactly brilliant---isnt necessarily what George or his advisors think.
Fact is--Ford is a class above Flood, even at this present moment..
He has time, vision and pace .
Flood is a good low-rank International Fly half with quite a few negatives, and sooner rather than later, Cockerill has to choose
Let us all hope he doesnt lose Ford before any changes in Management structure
That would be ironical.... and I can assure you lose the goodwill of Tigers supporters if Ford leaves.
Cockerill is playing with fire here.

Thanks for this post. After such a long time, you have reminded me of what a pile of tripe looks like.

Agreed - the only thing about this whole topic that heartens me is that, apart from the post you mention , how much sense is talked in each of the other posts. Well reasoned too....
... and for the record, speaking as someone who knows the man in question,his view agrees with most on here - he will get a long run of games soon and he is very happy with that.

[youngtiger]

would expect he an Lancaster to be in regular contact.

Really? We are talking about the same Cockers that, when asked by Lancaster if he could know the injury status on players ect., effectively told him to p*** off, right?

Won't be long now, and I'm sure George knows it, before he'll be given a string of starts for Tigers, still aged just 19.

Conor O Shea brought a few on, with I suspect more to come.

Hardly "a few coaches", and a cursory look through the lists shows we have more players in both the Elite and Saxons squads than Quins.