Re: Ian Henderson : Sun Aug 08, 2010 6:41 pm  

marvwoodburn wrote:

Edited for accuracy.

Oooooh, handbags. Can we both stop being childish now?

I'm sure Henderson will be a great player, one that would be a great addition to any club, but my concerns are:
1. It's a continuation of our club policy of signing the best players available, not the best players available to fill the gaps we have.
2. He's replacing McGuire, when Bently should be replacing McGuire and we should be looking for a replacement for Bently. If we can afford to lavish that much cash on Henderson, then great, however ...
3. We can't afford him. We know this because Elima is rumoured to be leaving because of his contract renewal and we can't afford our first choice of replacement for Walters.
4. Elima/Bently again. If we want to compete with the big teams (Leeds/Saints) we need to develop like them. Sign big players when needed, but sign the coach to take the team we have through, promote academy players and select the nucleus of a squad that we can build around for years to come. I would suggest that the spine of our club that we need to build around are Bosc, Mounis, Elima, Bently (with Raguin and JPB vital but not as essential). This means that
a. our first recruitment/retention policy has to be to retain these players, not sign big name replacements.
b. we must ensure that our academy players see a chance to make it to the top, not a dead end occupied by an etranger.

Saints replaced long with Eastmond, they have an academy player shining on the wing. That's what makes them a great club. If we rely on etrangers to stay at the top we are doomed to fail. That's the policy that we have followed from the last two years and that has yielded us nada, despite having a theoretically better squad. In that time we have also successfully brought through zero players (one if you count JPB, though he was started before then),

So, by all means, let's sign Henderson to replace McGuire but only after we have successfully replaced Mogg and Ryles/Chan, after we have retained our key players, after we have retained/replaced Greenshields and after we have obtained the best possible coach who might be able to do something with the squad.

Re: Ian Henderson : Sun Aug 08, 2010 6:54 pm  

wise words belgianxiii and good to see the childish bickering has stopped

a couple of days ago I had a call from a Championship forward,an etranger (can't give his name at the moment,you'll just have to trust me) who says he's been approached by the Dragons - he's a young lad with some potential who would probably be seen as a replacement rather than a first-choice player
it would be great if he had been a french lad tho' or is this just another 'dead end' ?

[Jimmythecuckoo]

Re: Ian Henderson : Mon Aug 09, 2010 10:33 am  

(coming from a naive standpoint) Surely the best Etrangers are those who come in to improve the club and not just the team?

Looking at what a shambles we have been at times this season I am making the leap (and someone with inside knowledge of the corridors of Dragons power might be able to pick me up) that Greg Bird was good at organising on and off the pitch.

What we need are Aussies or Brits who can make the academy players better, bring the UTC players into the first team squad and make Barteau, Gigot et al superleague players.

Its about that mix... too many French untried players will be a disaster, too few and we have an identity crisis.

Re: Ian Henderson : Mon Aug 09, 2010 12:44 pm  

It's a good point, though has any player developed us as a team like Jones did?

Re: Ian Henderson : Mon Aug 09, 2010 3:20 pm  

of course we need the mix with the idea being that the french lads learn from the 'etrangers' and consequently improve the general level of professionalism & performance in all the french leagues
as a fan,I love seeing great players performing and i'm willing to pay at the gate for the privelege - what I don't want to see is negativity such as at TO13 due to outdated coaching techniques whether it be by a french or foreign coaching set-up

[John_D]

Re: Ian Henderson : Mon Aug 09, 2010 8:38 pm  

sanjunien wrote:

wise words belgianxiii and good to see the childish bickering has stopped

a couple of days ago I had a call from a Championship forward,an etranger (can't give his name at the moment,you'll just have to trust me) who says he's been approached by the Dragons - he's a young lad with some potential who would probably be seen as a replacement rather than a first-choice player
it would be great if he had been a french lad tho' or is this just another 'dead end' ?

If it's the same bloke I've heard about, I don't think we have too many worries.

Re: Ian Henderson : Mon Aug 16, 2010 3:27 pm  

Hendo is a very good player so i dont know why you all are complaining
younger than Mcguire and has a bit more pace
your halfback may well be James Maloney

Re: Ian Henderson : Mon Aug 16, 2010 5:34 pm  

sir steve menzies wrote:

Hendo is a very good player so i dont know why you all are complaining

We aren't, I am, for the many reasons listed above, that and TR's choice to release probably the best young prospect in the club.

Re: Ian Henderson : Mon Aug 16, 2010 10:53 pm  

Better than any of the hookers you currently have. Quality player, will improve you.

Re: Ian Henderson : Wed Aug 18, 2010 5:42 pm  

http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/sp ... rench-club Looks like that one could be going through. Good player from what i remember from his Bradford days.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/sp ... rench-club Looks like that one could be going through. Good player from what i remember from his Bradford days.