: Mon Apr 06, 2009 8:29 am  

UnleashKeith Carnegie wrote:

You don't seem to be defending him, you just seem to be looking for aswers. Maybe if you don't agree you should put your points across as to why?

I don't need to put any points across - its not me making the assertions about him, so I don't have anything to explain.

And anyway, I'm doing neither of the things you suggest. I just get hacked off when folk come out with glib comments - either way - without backing them up. Platt has been the club fans' scapegoat for some time, and as with any scapegoat its helpful to examine whether or not the vitriol directed against him is actually justified by the facts. This is especially important where people emphasise high-profile mistakes - and surely no-one could deny Platt knows how to make those - but don't necessarily spend as much time emphasising what went right. So, when you get supporters - especially from other clubs - making statements that (e.g.) he is the worst FB in the competition, I'm just curious as to how they have formed that objective and balanced judgment?

Or, curious to see whether some people are picking on, or winding us up over, an easy target without being able to back it up when challenged.

And FWIW I see in Platt the potential to be an excellent FB - as many of us did after his first few games - but he certainly does not help himself sometimes.

And, FWIW, I fail to see how having the fans on your back is any good for a player's confidence, especially when its bloody obvious that confidence is a problem across the whole team right now.

: Mon Apr 06, 2009 8:55 am  

[quote="Adeybull"] And FWIW I see in Platt the potential to be an excellent FB - as many of us did after his first few games - but he certainly does not help himself sometimes. [quote]

A bit of sense at last.

Platt is NOT a bad fullback. On his day he's awesome. What he is however is prone to stupid mistakes and making bad decisions. Saying Platt is the worse full back in the comp IMO is just ludicrous. What he did yesterday was downright stupid, but don't think he doesn't know that. As much as I have questioned some of Platts decisions and tactics, I dont think he is where the blame lies for yesterday. For a Superleague side to conceed 40 points in one half is "questionable!" in the least. I really feel for Steve Mc because there is only so much you can do. He won't have coached Platt to make thats stupid mistake and he won't have coached the team to forget how to tackle for 40 mins. But if a coach's players are responding like that...Maybe its time for the coach to go???

Bradford seem to lack leaders. Leaders on the sidelines and most of all, a leader in the middle of the park. Morrison is a massive loss for you, IMO he needs the captincy because Deacon needs to put all his available effort into his game.......

It'll be interesting to see how the players respond on Friday????

: Mon Apr 06, 2009 9:13 am  

You are doing what we did in 2006, looking good in patches but then blowing good leads, and a lot of it seemed to be down to fitness. We got a new conditioner at the end of the season and it never happened again. A fit side wouldn't have fallen off tackles like you did, and Perpignan is the one place that will expose your lack of fitness due to the speed of the pitch and the weather.

It was your coach's game plan that put you 26-0 up, and kept you looking dangerous down the edges whenever you got the ball. It was your side's failure to stop the Dragons momentum that cost you the game, and that is down to fitness.

Platt can be a very effective full back, but his howlers do tend to be big ones, but I reckon Dragons would have scored from the drop-out even if he had held onto the ball. They had a relentless look about them.

[Bullseye]

: Mon Apr 06, 2009 9:20 am  

Platt's howler was awful but plenty of other players made missed tackles that led directly to tries. Where is the flak for the likes of Newton, Deacon, Langley and Jeffries who all made glaring errors?

Platt is the fallguy at the moment, he's unlucky that as fullback his errors are always more high profile. But it does show that if anything the fullback needs to make good decisions more often than anyone else and he's not doing that.

: Mon Apr 06, 2009 10:32 am  

rugbyreddog wrote:

He doesn't create instability because we can't be relegated. What it does do is bring in somebody new with two thirds of a season left to judge what is required for next year. Now we are out of the cup this year is a write off.

How do you work that one out?

True, we can't be relegated, but to say if a coach comes in and doesn't improve results (which was my original counter-point - someone may well come and improve us but it's by no means assured) and instability won't arise from that lack of improvement is just pure fantasy.

: Mon Apr 06, 2009 10:35 am  

Bullseye wrote:

Platt's howler was awful but plenty of other players made missed tackles that led directly to tries. Where is the flak for the likes of Newton, Deacon, Langley and Jeffries who all made glaring errors?

Platt is the fallguy at the moment, he's unlucky that as fullback his errors are always more high profile. But it does show that if anything the fullback needs to make good decisions more often than anyone else and he's not doing that.

I could not have said better myself. If everyone lived up to Nero and Sykes and Burgess early on we would not have lost

: Mon Apr 06, 2009 10:36 am  

McNamara lives in Hull, and Platt in Greater Manchester.

We'd need two taxis otherwise it would get expensive.

: Mon Apr 06, 2009 11:20 am  

Asim wrote:

McNamara lives in Hull, and Platt in Greater Manchester.

We'd need two taxis otherwise it would get expensive.

Not necessarily.

McNamara's taxi would fall apart in the second half of the journey, and Platt's would go straight past him.

: Mon Apr 06, 2009 11:23 am  

Ferocious Aardvark wrote:

Not necessarily.

McNamara's taxi would fall apart in the second half of the journey, and Platt's would go straight past him.

: Mon Apr 06, 2009 11:30 am  

morrissey wrote:

At Cas Platt was outstanding.

He's clearly made some really bad in-game decisons during his Bulls tenure - however - in my opinion he will turn it back around and when he does, you will have one of the best broken field runners in the league.

You're kidding, right? He was never outstanding. He was average and made some ridiculous decisions.