Re: Huddersfield match thread : Sun Feb 03, 2013 4:23 pm  

SaintsFan wrote:

They will definitely all play, or all the senior players will play anyway. Whether they will put it right is another matter. But I think that can only really be done at home.

As an aside, in his debut for Bradford Jamie Foster has just scored, and has been busy converting all their tries. He is playing at fullback.

I meant that I expect they will all have the opportunity to put it right, should have made it clearer.

Re: Huddersfield match thread : Mon Feb 04, 2013 12:04 pm  

SaintsFan wrote:

As an aside, in his debut for Bradford Jamie Foster has just scored, and has been busy converting all their tries. He is playing at fullback.

Good on him. I mentioned a couple of times that I thought he needed to move away from the wing to make the most of his abilities. He also made 155 metres forward, which implies he did a few things right.

Glad to know our lads can pull things round in pastures new.

Re: Huddersfield match thread : Mon Feb 04, 2013 2:31 pm  

Carlos Alberto wrote:

If I was Brown I would be dropping as many of the old timers/established players for next week and letting the kids have a go. We may get destroyed but at least they will show some heart and have a go. Unlike those jellyfish that took to the field last night.

What makes you think the kids will respond better to Brown than the professionals? Surely the issue of enthusiasm etc gets laid squarely at the door of the coach?

Re: Huddersfield match thread : Mon Feb 04, 2013 3:06 pm  

He had a mare, it was a tough night for saints everything went wrong no one played well, but manu will be a terrific signing he is a class act.

Re: Huddersfield match thread : Mon Feb 04, 2013 8:45 pm  

McClennan wrote:

What makes you think the kids will respond better to Brown than the professionals?

Are you saying the kids are not professionals? It's quite possible they are more professional than the senior players.

Surely the issue of enthusiasm etc gets laid squarely at the door of the coach?

I don't understand this view. Every player should be enthusiastic at the outset of the new season. I can appreciate that as the season wears on and maybe the campaign isn't going as well as was hoped (or even if it is) then some motivation will be required. But not at the start. They should all have been chomping at the bit and if they weren't then that problem lies entirely with the players, not the coach.

Re: Huddersfield match thread : Mon Feb 04, 2013 9:27 pm  

Carlos Alberto wrote:

No one can blame the half backs. What the hell are they meant to do when they receive the ball on the last tackle and we are still behind our 20m line?

If I was Brown I would be dropping as many of the old timers/established players for next week and letting the kids have a go. We may get destroyed but at least they will show some heart and have a go. Unlike those jellyfish that took to the field last night.

Good half backs will create something out of nothing, Lomax and Gaskell are just runners they don't have the skills to create very much and take on the defensive line to create doubt. Lomax is probably suited to playing full back and maybe Gaskell could end up as a loose forward.
We could drop the likes of Wellens, Wilkin, Meli, TP and Perry and risk injuries to the younger players, Brown will stick with the same team, its only our first game and the jellyfish need to bring out the sting in them for Widnes.

Re: Huddersfield match thread : Mon Feb 04, 2013 9:47 pm  

Judder Man wrote:

Good half backs will create something out of nothing, Lomax and Gaskell are just runners they don't have the skills to create very much and take on the defensive line to create doubt.

That sounds like tosh to me, to be honest.

Good halfbacks will create something out of nothing when they actually have the space to do so. Our pack was so inept that it didn't just create no space but got pushed back to the beginning over and over again. The only thing a halfback might just be able to pull out of the bag in that situation is a (very) long kick that turns the fullback around but even then they would need to rely on the whole team to keep the opposition pinned back, and ours wasn't capable of keeping their hair pinned back never mind the Giants' forwards.

Re: Huddersfield match thread : Mon Feb 04, 2013 10:20 pm  

SaintsFan wrote:

Good halfbacks will create something out of nothing when they actually have the space to do so.

But good half backs create space do they not. Our 6 and 7 are too compact and flat in the first receiver line, we don't even have a second phase now where the likes of Pryce, Martyn use to come in behind the offensive line. I,ve never known a saints team to play so laterally over the past 3 seasons, very easy for the opposition to defend.

Like I said earlier Lomax and Gaskell are just runners, if the opposition reduces that option knowing they have no creative skills then there is very little threat to the opposing team.

In my opinion Lomax will never be a "natural scrum half" his position in the team is elsewhere.

Re: Huddersfield match thread : Mon Feb 04, 2013 10:35 pm  

Judder Man wrote:

But good half backs create space do they not.

That isn't what I have been taught, no. They need space in which to create. You can cite all our best halfbacks if you like - may as well throw Murphy in there too! But they played in a team with forwards who could do a job and give them ground on which to play.

Our halfbacks are young, inexperienced and have not been particularly well looked after since Simmons left. You cannot enable a baby to run until it can walk. Gaskell in particular is being asked to do a marathon straight after a brief time of toddling. Ridiculous expectations.

If our 6 and 7 are too flat then maybe that has to do with the coaching and maybe it also has to do with the limitations of the team as a whole which, on Saturday, were blatantly obvious.

Since we have given away other halfbacks - Matty Smith, Jamie Ellis to name two - then at present we have Lomax and Gaskell who, everyone will remember, looked very good in 2011. I would ask you to reflect on what has occurred since that season ended and maybe you might consider that their performances are not necessarily down to a lack of ability.

Re: Huddersfield match thread : Mon Feb 04, 2013 10:44 pm  

Hi guys, i've not come here to gloat but just to ask what the connection with saints and Fielden was as some of your fans bood him when he touched the ball. Is there some ill feelings towards him for a reason?