: Thu Jul 23, 2009 9:37 am  

tvoc wrote:

I agree that we struggle outside the top eighteen which is why I believe the squad is vulnerable to injury absences. They could yet be lucky with injuries overall (and the early CC exit must have helped in that regard), have their best eighteen available at the business end and find a bit of form to successfully defend their title. Fingers crossed eh.

(I still think it would have been a good idea to spend what is permitted under the cap and replace leaving personnel rather than chance an injury light season and an early exit from the Challenge Cup in order to defend the title though.)

We have had a sort of running battle over the year your and I. I think you are right, in that we shouod be looking to recruit to strengthen the squad as much as possible.

the way I see it is that this player has to be the right man for the job. At the moment our first 18/19 is as strong as any, and we have generally had a fit squad to choose from. As a result I think that we can take time to really fix the issue, rather than rush, and get someone really good. Compare the recent overseas signing with those 5-10 years ago, and they seem to fit in a lot better.

I would love a new signing to boost the strength of the squad, but I wouldn't want it to be ill thought out, as it could have more nagative consequences than positive ones if not properly researched.

If the right plaeyr for the club is available then we should shift heaven and earth to get him, as we don't want to lose him to a rival, but aside from what we see on the park, we don't know what that criteria is.

I'm more than happy to be playing the waiting game, and give some of the youngsters a chance to show what they can do in the short term. However, should a long term injury happen to a core player (Sinfield, Peacock, McGuire, Burrow, Webb) then we should be looking at how that impacts this season's and next seasons sqaud and chances of claiming silverware

: Thu Jul 23, 2009 9:45 am  

tvoc wrote:

(I still think it would have been a good idea to spend what is permitted under the cap and replace leaving personnel rather than chance an injury light season and an early exit from the Challenge Cup in order to defend the title though.)

I wonder whether Saints are now feeling the effect of the cup runs and grand finals over the last few years.. seems to be quite a few injuries stacking up...

: Thu Jul 23, 2009 9:57 am  

leicester_rhino wrote:

We have had a sort of running battle over the year your and I. I think you are right, in that we shouod be looking to recruit to strengthen the squad as much as possible.

It's neither your nor my job to equip the squad and neither of us are in any position to know what went wrong in the off season and who should be held accountable for the failure (if failure it was.)

What we do know however is that a key import failed to materialise and Leeds have not managed to replace someone who was deemed necessary during the off season. Leeds (at this point) have deferred Eastwood's contract for twelve months only although I personally don't believe we'll ever see Eastwood in a Leeds shirt but that's a seperate issue.

Let's hope this saga doesn't now impact on plans for 2010.

: Thu Jul 23, 2009 10:01 am  

tvoc wrote:

It's neither your nor my job to equip the squad and neither of us are in any position to know what went wrong in the off season and who should be held accountable for the failure (if failure it was.)

What we do know however is that a key import failed to materialise and Leeds have not managed to replace someone who was deemed necessary during the off season. Leeds (at this point) have deferred Eastwood's contract for twelve months only although I personally don't believe we'll ever see Eastwood in a Leeds shirt but that's a seperate issue.

Let's hope this saga doesn't now impact on plans for 2010.

Thats what I hope. I belive a lot of time went into the Eastowwd signing, and on the face of it, he looks like he would fit with the squad, and is of the right calibre. Finding a player to fill his shorts (:lol:) will not be easy, and I'd rather we spent time to get it right, than end up with the Sam Moa's of this world

: Thu Jul 23, 2009 10:08 am  

leicester_rhino wrote:

and I'd rather we spent time to get it right, than end up with the Sam Moa's of this world

Improving every week from what I've seen lately despite Hull performing poorly overall.

: Thu Jul 23, 2009 10:28 am  

tvoc wrote:

Improving every week from what I've seen lately despite Hull performing poorly overall.

Fair play. I'd rather see the likes of Watkins, or Allan improving week on week than Sam Moa, or whoever the latest Kolpak Stiff is

: Thu Jul 23, 2009 10:32 am  

leicester_rhino wrote:

Thats what I hope. I belive a lot of time went into the Eastowwd signing, and on the face of it, he looks like he would fit with the squad, and is of the right calibre. Finding a player to fill his shorts (:lol:) will not be easy, and I'd rather we spent time to get it right, than end up with the Sam Moa's of this world

Agreed!! we needs to bring the right people in!!

: Thu Jul 23, 2009 10:59 am  

leicester_rhino wrote:

Fair play. I'd rather see the likes of Watkins, or Allan improving week on week than Sam Moa, or whoever the latest Kolpak Stiff is

Was Willie Poching a 'Kolpak Stiff' and if he wasn't what prevented him being one?

: Thu Jul 23, 2009 11:07 am  

El Diablo wrote:

Sorry but I don't see that a comparison with St Helens has any relevance to the assertion that the current period has been one of the most successful in Leeds' history. My point was that not only have previous generations of Leeds fans not been so lucky but that some of the attitude on this thread seems to be that, when presented with 3 Championships, some people's preferred reaction is to say "pfft, not won many Cups though have we?" which seems almost perversely negative. I'm a great believer in enjoying what you've got (of which there has been plenty lately in this instance) rather than ignoring it in favour of the stuff you haven't.

A perfect summation of my feelings.

: Thu Jul 23, 2009 11:13 am  

tvoc wrote:

The 1st team playing squad is understrength this season and that is widely acknowledged from the Leeds CEO down to humble internet message boards contributors.

Never acknowledged by me.

If the squad goes on to win the Championship (and even the league Leadership) that is a truer test of a squad's abilities over the course of the season than one off cup games.

This squad appears very capable of doing that.

I have maintained for some time that it was. It was also capable of a cup run with slightly better coaching at the time.

Thankfully, there are signs that my two major gripes are being addressed. The offensive game-plan has improved dramatically and the discipline shows some sporadic signs of improvement.

I said two or three months ago that this squad could win the championship if it addressed its' discipline issues.

If this squad wins an unprecedented 3rd championship can anyone really maintain a credible argument that it was under strength?