Re: Super Ade Gardner : Tue Nov 11, 2014 4:39 pm  

Top Saint wrote:

The lack of respect for a good servant to the club is astounding. In his younger days he was as good a British winger that we had. Injuries meant he never reached the heights of his potential, but he always gave 100% and for that alone I thank him for his service to Saints and wish him well in the future. Glad to see he is remaining at "The Greatest club in the world".

I agree with everything you say.

My only fear is the possibility of a clique of former players with little or no managerial experience who are seen to do no wrong and just agree with each other.

Re: Super Ade Gardner : Tue Nov 11, 2014 5:44 pm  

Offside Monkey wrote:

During the 2006 ear, he was simply imperious under a high ball, whether it be in attack or defence.
His finishing was also very strong and he often showed amazing strength to touch down in the corner under heavy traffic (in the days when the corner flag was out).

Just because he's not Ryan hall, doesn't mean he owes it all to his his centres. Very good on his day and adjusted his physical game to compensate for any loss of pace.

It wasn't Jamie Lyon or Matt Gidley that came up with one of the tackles of the season to smash Dan Sarginson t'other month.

Yeah, he was good in that period. He scored crucial tries in the 2006 Grand Final and in the 2007 WCC by challenging really hard for kicks. That was testament to how hard he must have worked at his game, as when he first joined us he couldn't catch a cold. He's not a player who will rank among the most talented to pull on the red vee, but I'll remember him fondly because he always devoted himself wholeheartedly to the cause.

Re: Super Ade Gardner : Tue Nov 11, 2014 8:54 pm  

saint at wire wrote:

I agree with everything you say.

My only fear is the possibility of a clique of former players with little or no managerial experience who are seen to do no wrong and just agree with each other.

He's only in the job for a year (at the moment anyway) while he is completing his sports science degree so this isn't necessarily Saints becoming full of former players, although it is starting to look that way, especially if Longy returns on the coaching staff!

I think the club may have been clever here. He had one year left on his contract as a player. He said he wanted to play his way back into the team. However, I very much doubt he had a chance of that given how Makinson has made that wing his own this season. Employing him in a role which complements his studies and points to his future is a neat way to solve a potentially tricky situation.

Re: Super Ade Gardner : Tue Nov 11, 2014 10:36 pm  

SaintsFan wrote:

He's only in the job for a year (at the moment anyway) while he is completing his sports science degree so this isn't necessarily Saints becoming full of former players, although it is starting to look that way, especially if Longy returns on the coaching staff!

I think the club may have been clever here. He had one year left on his contract as a player. He said he wanted to play his way back into the team. However, I very much doubt he had a chance of that given how Makinson has made that wing his own this season. Employing him in a role which complements his studies and points to his future is a neat way to solve a potentially tricky situation.

And also frees up salary cap space to potentially use at some point.

Re: Super Ade Gardner : Thu Nov 13, 2014 8:20 am  

The Yellow Giraffe wrote:

And also frees up salary cap space to potentially use at some point.

I think that's the key here. By giving Ade longer term security, we've got him to agree to tear up his playing contract for, presumably, no extra cost, freeing valuable cap space.
He wouldn't have been on peanuts. We've commented that he's probably a better option than Dawson, but reserve winger isn't where you want to be spending your money.

Re: Super Ade Gardner : Thu Nov 13, 2014 9:20 am  

Offside Monkey wrote:

I think that's the key here. By giving Ade longer term security, we've got him to agree to tear up his playing contract for, presumably, no extra cost, freeing valuable cap space.
He wouldn't have been on peanuts. We've commented that he's probably a better option than Dawson, but reserve winger isn't where you want to be spending your money.

Just a cost saving exercise then, or is Wello getting an increase? That wouldn't surprise me at all. There are no rumours of us adding to the squad that I can see.

Re: Super Ade Gardner : Thu Nov 13, 2014 9:35 am  

Saddened! wrote:

Just a cost saving exercise then, or is Wello getting an increase? That wouldn't surprise me at all. There are no rumours of us adding to the squad that I can see.

We may have been over the SC following the burns signing?
It has all gone quiet, though, which is worrying if we want that extra forward. Unless we're waiting until after the weekend so the player in question can get the game out of the way without the distraction of talking about his new club?

Re: Super Ade Gardner : Thu Nov 13, 2014 3:29 pm  

He had a very good 12 months, otherwise was pretty average. Half way through Gidley's time at the club he decided it was a better option to kick the ball and chase it himself than to pass to Gardner in most instances.

Imperious under the high ball in defence? Really?

However at this point, the most important thing is that he's got potential to be a good coach (or whatever it is he's doing). I just hope it's not an old mates thing, though SaintsFan's point about cap space is an interesting one.

Re: Super Ade Gardner : Thu Nov 13, 2014 3:32 pm  

Did Gardner replace someone in a current role or did the club offer him a new role?

Re: Super Ade Gardner : Thu Nov 13, 2014 4:24 pm  

Offside Monkey wrote:

We may have been over the SC following the burns signing?
It has all gone quiet, though, which is worrying if we want that extra forward. Unless we're waiting until after the weekend so the player in question can get the game out of the way without the distraction of talking about his new club?

I dont think thats possible these days given the 'active cap'