Re: 4,839 : Thu Aug 06, 2015 1:21 pm  

meast wrote:

Leeds are on a different level when it comes to attracting players though, they have far more funds to attract top quality players at all levels, we don't, we are building up to having a top class academy for the future,
i see your point but like i said previously we play to our strengths, and if those strengths are not offloading and throwing the ball around then fine, i support Huddersfield, as much as i enjoy watching good games as a neutral, i am happy to support my team, regardless of how they play.

of course, we all want to see us play like leeds and win things in front of 15,000 people every week, but we aren't Leeds, and we really can't compare the 2 clubs .

So then meast if we signed for next season, D Mcquire, Burrows, Delainey, JJB, Hablett, Moon, and got rid of our corresponding players, would you be happy or unhappy,

It's not a trick question in any way, I am just Making the point that these are the players who have been winning things for Leeds for quite a few years now, ( and I've seen all of them slagged off for one reason or another) .

You make the point that Leeds have far more funds to attract top quality players than we do, I thought we all spent the same, ( I know all about the sweepers up and the Canteen ladies) But Leeds are not known for being big spenders.

Where they do have a big advantage over us is the young Talent, but we seem to be getting on the right lines with that now.

IMO where the big difference between us and the Leeds Wigan Saints Warrington's is, It's the culture of those clubs is one of winning, ( Warrington are getting there) Their Fans don't turn up Hoping and praying , They turn up expecting the team to either win, or give it a good go, If they lose a final and get 40 points stuck on them, they don't treat it as a stunning achievement, to them it's a loss and better not referred too.
Good as that game was last week, Saints won't want to keep remembering that, they will want to forget Leeds beat them, Because they are interested in winning, they don't celebrate Loosing.
But above all they have built a reputation, as have Wigan and others of playing good open football, all I'm saying is can't we make a start down that road,( We did make that start when Brown first came ) That is what keeps the crowds up, If we can get that sort of thinking into the club, Play good open football the crowds will come (as they were When Brown came ) Because nothing has worked at Huddersfield since the mid sixties as far as I can see.

I take your point that you will support them whatever they play like, and they can win things that way once now and then. But KD continues to keep saying it, ( If we are to go forward we have to get 10,000 crowds) So unless something changes there will be no club to watch.

Anyway good luck to them tonight , We have had some good wins in Pie land, no reason why we can't again, I feel quite optimistic, we are due a top performance, this could be it.

Re: 4,839 : Thu Aug 06, 2015 9:15 pm  

Jo - great post.

What the club needs is a winning mentality. There's a feeling that they're actually a bit happy to finish fourth, happy to be in and amongst, happy to be trundling about with small crowds.

Given the club has little or no interest in selling the club to the people of Huddersfield, the only thing that might bring in a few thousand more through the gates is a couple of winning seasons. But I don't think the players, or the backroom staff, have the balls (in some cases, talent) to make that step up and win things.

Ryan Hinchcliffe is a big signing for us - coming in from a winning culture at Melbourne. I hope he knocks a few heads together, because there's some good players at the Giants who should win things in their career but won't.

Re: 4,839 : Thu Aug 06, 2015 9:18 pm  

boomer wrote:

Jools, l agree with just about all of that, but l think the main problem at the Giants is that too many people are in "the comfort zone",
Starting near the top , we have a General Manager that is also a director,= job for life?
Rumours, said GM is very pally with some players = contract well past your sell by date.
Mason and Kopczak fiascos = someone didn,t do their job properly, well never mind eh!.
Luke (lve got a bad back)O,Donnell, paid in full, left early, never missed a game for the Roosters?
the same could probably be said regarding coaches, the NB issue was a farce, the axe should have swung the moment he first opened his mouth.
Baloo has already had his contract extended, personelly l,m ok with him at the moment, but if he doesn,t deliver, will the axe swing?, will he jump ship if a better offer comes along, or will the "comfort zone" kick in.
Marketing and Publicity, most fans favourite gripe, ie what marketing and Publicity, again "comfort zone".
Other directors, Who are they ? what do they bring to the club ? or are they a little club sitting in "the comfort zone"
l have watched this club most of my life, and if someone 20, or even 10 years ago had offered me what we have today, l would have happily axcepted, but we get greedy, there is no doubt we have problems to overcome, whether they be players, coaches, backroom staff, management, or above those, the buck stops with Ken Davy.
Ken Davy is a saint, without him we would no doubt be a championship side or worse, Ken Davy is obviously a very good bussiness man, in the financial sector, but a RL club, is a totally different world, l would be more confident, lf l new Ken had an axe, and new how to chop up a "comfort zone", maybe he should just buy one and hang it above his office door.

*applauds*

Couldn't put it better. The club is stagnant. I think it starts with Thewlis at the top. He's been around for ten years, and actually the club hasn't progressed in that time off the field.

Re: 4,839 : Thu Aug 06, 2015 9:21 pm  

meast wrote:

at last night's HGSA meeting,Blake Solly, complimented us on being a well run club who have bred a very good "culture" from the top down, which in turn has led us to being where we are, do we want to throw that away for a quick fix and sack people left,right and centre?

Well, from what I've seen of Blake Solly he's not exactly top notch management material, so I'm not too fussed by what he says.

That said, what progress has the club made in the past ten years off the field?


Jesus, it's only this year that they finally got their arses into gear and opened a proper gym for the players and even then it's not actually near a training pitch.

Re: 4,839 : Thu Aug 06, 2015 9:29 pm  

Steve May wrote:

Jesus, it's only this year that they finally got their arses into gear and opened a proper gym for the players and even then it's not actually near a training pitch.

On this note, about five years back I gave a colleague a lift to the station and we were driving along Leeds Road and the players were training. I said to him - that's the Huddersfield Giants training. He was amazed that they trained on a public facility. I hadn't really thought of it, but he was right.

Last week I saw them training there again.



The money that Davy has put in - a lot of it has been vexed away.

Re: 4,839 : Thu Aug 06, 2015 9:33 pm  

Steve May wrote:

Jo - great post.

What the club needs is a winning mentality. There's a feeling that they're actually a bit happy to finish fourth, happy to be in and amongst, happy to be trundling about with small crowds.

Given the club has little or no interest in selling the club to the people of Huddersfield, the only thing that might bring in a few thousand more through the gates is a couple of winning seasons. But I don't think the players, or the backroom staff, have the balls (in some cases, talent) to make that step up and win things.

Ryan Hinchcliffe is a big signing for us - coming in from a winning culture at Melbourne. I hope he knocks a few heads together, because there's some good players at the Giants who should win things in their career but won't.

This.

Huddersfield have done well to become established as a top club in SL. And there's nothing wrong with being happy at finishing 4th when you're used to finishing 10th. But now they need to take the next step, the same one that Leeds had to take under Tony Smith, from the top club least likely to win anything, to actual winners.

From the outside looking in it appears you need more leaders in your squad. You've got Danny Brough who's an excellent player, but is he a leader? I'm not sure who I'd pick out as a leader in your squad.
2 of Leeds best signings were Dave Furner & Andrew Dunneman. IIRC Furner was only at Leeds for 2 years and Dunemann not much longer but the effect they had on the likes of Sinfield, McGuire & Burrow was immense. They, along with Tony Smith, helped turn them from just skilful players to future leaders. Sinfield, McGuire & Burrow then had a similar effect on players like JJB, Ablett.

It seems as if Huddersfield could do with a couple of leaders to start developing the right kind of mentality, which will then feed on itself and spread to others in the squad.

Just a little thing but tonight I noticed Joe Wardle having a right go at his defence on the opposite side of the field following a Wigan try. Now maybe they needed someone to have a go at them but personally I don't think that works. They needed leadership before that point. And certainly didn't need someone having a go at them who'd just given a daft penalty away that gave Wigan an extra set on Hudds line.

I may be wrong, but that's what it looks like from the outside anyway.

Re: 4,839 : Fri Aug 07, 2015 8:39 am  

totally agree on the mentality thing, again though, impossible to compare us and Leeds.

but those players with that kind of mentality don't grow on trees, hopefully we can start seeing a bit more of that in the next few years,starting with Rapira and Hinchliffe?

Re: 4,839 : Fri Aug 07, 2015 9:35 am  

We've had plenty of players over the years with winning mentalities- doesn't make it happen though!
A player once said to me during john sharps time that he felt on the field there were too many chiefs and not enough Indians..... Odd thing to say?

Re: 4,839 : Fri Aug 07, 2015 10:24 am  

Steve May wrote:

Well, from what I've seen of Blake Solly he's not exactly top notch management material, so I'm not too fussed by what he says.

That said, what progress has the club made in the past ten years off the field?


Jesus, it's only this year that they finally got their arses into gear and opened a proper gym for the players and even then it's not actually near a training pitch.

Maybe Ken should as Dean Hoyle if they can share Canalside.

Re: 4,839 : Fri Aug 07, 2015 4:00 pm  

meast wrote:

totally agree on the mentality thing, again though, impossible to compare us and Leeds.

but those players with that kind of mentality don't grow on trees, hopefully we can start seeing a bit more of that in the next few years,starting with Rapira and Hinchliffe?

The winning mentality meast starts at the top, At the very top, I know it's not as easy for a man like KD who has no RL background, so he has to put people in place who do have a background in RL,
It's absolutely useless for Blake Solly or anybody else to be saying what a well run club the Giants are. Stick that all over the Examiner and see how many extra fans turn up to watch this well run club.
Fans turn up to watch a winning team, and winning teams are made of Footballing teams.
Talk to fans outside Huddersfield about good sides at Huddersfield, and unless they saw the Great side of the fifties they haven't seen a good footballing side in Claret and Gold.

They have had lots of good players ,some very good, but even with those players in the side, Tommy Smails, Ken Bowman, Ken Senior, Don Close, Frank Dyson, they were regarded as a slugging up the middle side , because that's what they were.

When you say It's impossible to compare us to Leeds , I just think why is it. They play with 13 men on the field just like us, When I asked you if you would be happy to swap Leroy for Moon, Wardle for Abblett Brough for Maguire ect, You didn't give me an answer, But I suspect the answer would have been no, as it would from most on this board, and yet they are the team that's winning things

So we have players that are as good and better in some cases, yet they win things , We don't, and when we don't, we pacify ourselves by saying things like ,we cant expect to compete with teams like Leeds, or We got to Wembley that was a great achievement, Look where were 25 years ago.
25 years ago we were climbing out of the third division coached by a man who new what winning was all about. Don't think he was here that long ,as I remember ( more's the pity)

K Davy has sunk a lot of money into the giants, but IMO Boomer was right , there are two many people in the comfort zone, and it starts from high up. until there is a huge change in the mentality of the whole club, on and off the field, and people who are not delivering let go, There will always be half the crowd leaving the stadium saying ,they can stuff that, and the other half making excuses.