[Chris71]

Re: London at home : Sun Mar 03, 2024 6:11 pm  

hull2524 wrote:

Well that was fun. We score from Walker break game over. But no this is Hull. Second half was poor. Maybe you can't see it on TV but our wingers need to keep out a bit more. Russell played well but if I was the opposition I would kick high to him all day. Houghton justified his spot but there lies the problem as brown isnt a half. Missed Hoy IMO. But a wins a win..Oh to be a supporter of FC

Not sure I agree that Houghton justified his spot as think Nu Brown the far better option at 9. Think we are back to changing the team just to accommodate Houghton at 9. Not saying Houghton is poor just think that we’d be better with Brown at 9 with Balmforth on the bench and Hoy in the halves. Poor recruitment by Smith and the club to give Houghton another deal when we’d signed Smith and Nu Brown whilst having Balmforth also.

As some else has said as much as TS is experienced the clock must be ticking soon as we simply are not progressing or look like we are progressing under his tenure.

Re: London at home : Sun Mar 03, 2024 6:11 pm  

pmarrow wrote:

Smith hasnt had the budget the others have had, not really sure what people are expecting. Hes being told to bring and develop our own players, something he is doing and you cant throw them all in at once. Hes also inherited a squad that has players with contracts they shouldnt have.

I think some of you have short memories, im under no illusions we will finish low but young players are starting to break into the mold.

Yes today was terrible but they won and this team will get better when players return. Getting rid of Smith will solve nothing. Bout time the supporters realised whats trying to be achieved here and your going to have to show patience. Forget about the previous coaches, Smith has a totally different task.

Take pride that players like Staveley, Charles and Martin are not looking out of place. Last week Gardiner, Litten and Balmforth, these are the future.

We're still a full time team and should be doing the basics better, London are part time, had 8 players out and almost beat us

Re: London at home : Sun Mar 03, 2024 6:17 pm  

Dave K. wrote:

Yeah, doesn't quite work does it, he does some good things, but just not in a halfback way, think he has to be at 13 or 9, Hoy back in or start Charles.

Morgan Smith has been out best half this season. On reflection it seems an odd signing if we're carry on trying to play Nu in the halves.

Re: London at home : Sun Mar 03, 2024 6:22 pm  

Ok well let's look at the positives amongst the poor performance. Walker is class at FB. Martin if he keeps progressing will be a good winger. Smith looks to be a good bargain buy. Staverly again if progresses will be a very good Second row for us. Russell and Bullock did well. Ashworth good buy. Oh yea and I had a nice chicken tea

Re: London at home : Sun Mar 03, 2024 6:24 pm  

Putting Tony Smith under more scuritiny from now.

I take into account we've hardly had a good roll of the dice this season and the squad has problems many years in the making, but I expected to see at least one aspect of our game to improve but we are instead weaker than we were under Hodgson. Time for this supposed coaching legend to show what he's made of not just some media freindly soundbites.

Re: London at home : Sun Mar 03, 2024 6:28 pm  

Yep, pressure is on Tony now from me.

I refuse to believe he can sit there and think that Smith and Nu Brown is a better partnership than Smith and Hoy.

What a shambles we have become, seconds away from defeat against a part time side at home. Even the way the players celebrated annoyed me, no relief, just appeared like they’d won the grand final.

I accept that this is a side that simply isn’t good enough, and that it will probably end up finishing 10th again.

Positives, Staveley and that Lewis Martin is rather quick.

Re: London at home : Sun Mar 03, 2024 6:29 pm  

We must be the dumbest, most frustrating team in world sport. The only positives to take put of that were Staveley, Martin, Ashworth and the 2 Loan players.

I don't get what they do in training all week, our line speed is appalling, we're weak in the tackle and our core skills are awful. Is it fitness related? Do we have a plan?

We can't persist with Brown at 7 it's not his fault but he's no a half back. We've looked best (or least worse) this season with Smith (a proper 7) and Hoy (the closest thing we have to a 6, Trueman aside) in the halves. We have New Zealands number 9 in our team but play him at 7 I just can't understand why. If we lose Balmforth due to a lack of gametime I'll be absolutely livid, the kids done his time on loan in the championship put the graft in and looks the part every chance he takes the field but he can't get in for more than a game at a time even after a good performance.

Re: London at home : Sun Mar 03, 2024 6:31 pm  

Steve0 wrote:

We're still a full time team and should be doing the basics better, London are part time, had 8 players out and almost beat us

Not sure if London are part time so cant comment.

But again they is a bigger picture beyond today. The one thing I take from the club time and time again is that we have to produce our own and that to me looks like its happening. We was never going to finish high this season, the rebuild is alot bigger then some think by the looks of it.

Ive said many times Smith may not see the job through but bagging him and getting rid will solve nothing. To get us back up there the gap from youth to first team needs to be plugged. I can see that happening. It will be a slow process but they will get better.

You have to look at some facts, Smith had to sell our best player to sign a scrum half when he came in. That scrum half also then left the club to return home,leaving us in a weaker position. Hes had a remit of producing youth which will take time, whilst also having to oversee a change in backroom staff and training facilities.

Its easy to look at the first team and write it off. The job is much bigger then that.

Re: London at home : Sun Mar 03, 2024 6:35 pm  

2 points off second

Re: London at home : Sun Mar 03, 2024 6:48 pm  

pmarrow wrote:

Not sure if London are part time so cant comment.

But again they is a bigger picture beyond today. The one thing I take from the club time and time again is that we have to produce our own and that to me looks like its happening. We was never going to finish high this season, the rebuild is alot bigger then some think by the looks of it.

Ive said many times Smith may not see the job through but bagging him and getting rid will solve nothing. To get us back up there the gap from youth to first team needs to be plugged. I can see that happening. It will be a slow process but they will get better.

You have to look at some facts, Smith had to sell our best player to sign a scrum half when he came in. That scrum half also then left the club to return home,leaving us in a weaker position. Hes had a remit of producing youth which will take time, whilst also having to oversee a change in backroom staff and training facilities.

Its easy to look at the first team and write it off. The job is much bigger then that.

Yeah they're part time so that the players can continue to play for them but also afford to live in London. I get that there is a rebuilding process, but is Smith also responsible for signing a hooker this season to play scrum half, and another backup scrum half/hooker whilst retaining our long serving hooker and also Okunbor who looks to be one of our worst quota imports in a while.

There is promise in the youth, but this should be done alongside improvement in the first team, it's no good young players coming into a first team environment that shows indiscipline and poor ball handling skills, or they pick up those traits also, and the club doesn't improve. All head coaches should be tasked with develop homegrown players, but our head coach isn't getting good performances out of his first team currently and it needs to change, or the scale of the rebuild gets even bigger