For me, the strong bench and weaker starting team was clearly an error which Brown has to hold his hand up to, but he is known for tinkering with his team instead of finding his best combination and sticking with it. Saying that, he is working with the hand he was dealt, the no half back issue has killed us all season and our props, for most if the season, have been second rate. Walmsley has been the standout and LMS for the last few games playing from 13 has been in his best form since joining us. As for the rest, well, there is a reason we are vying for 5-7 position in the league, half backs or not.
Whilst Walsh and Masoe will be big pluses next year, I fear these signings may not be enough to get us back into the top 4. We need a 6 and another prop at least. I hear we may be after a very physical english back rower, which will divide opinion, but I think Brown should focus his efforts in the areas where we can make the biggest impact.
McManus will stick with Brown for the duration of his contract, that's pretty obvious, but next season will be the deciding factor as to whether he stays on after year 3 IMO. The club won't want to be paying more compensation to sacked coaches, that's for sure.
For me, the biggest issue was that our last home game at LP, after what is now seemingly a false dawn, was a complete anti-climax. It could still be the last home game for TP, Meli, Lance et al and we went out with a whimper. It certainly wasn't the best advert for season ticket renewals and the business is clearly the most important thing. Our product this season has been sub par, everyone knows that and its a combination of things that has caused it, but mostly out poor recruitment over the last 4/5 years. Unfortunately its like turning a supertanker and only a big shift in our player recruitment will make any significant difference to our fortunes on the field and in turn, make our business more profitable.