Sharks at a Crossroads?
By Whaley Shark
August 5 2008
The sun has finally arrived in the High Peak (though it will probably have gone by the time you read this), and I feel sorry for the players, slogging through pre-season training in the heat. So it seems a good time to reflect a bit on last season, and look ahead to the next one.
August 5 2008
The sun has finally arrived in the High Peak (though it will probably have gone by the time you read this), and I feel sorry for the players, slogging through pre-season training in the heat. So it seems a good time to reflect a bit on last season, and look ahead to the next one.
I thought last season was quite schizophrenic. We had some really good, if patchy, performances, though often keeping it together for less than half a game. I guess Tigers and Quins away may have been the exceptions where we clicked well. We often seem to start slowly- so is this strategy, keeping things tight and wearing the opposition down so we can cut loose later in the game, or is it complacent over-confidence, for example Leeds away?
Then there’s the team- we have some great individuals, and we lost far fewer of them to injury and internationals last season than the year before. So why didn’t we dish out a few hammerings then? Do we have a collection of egos, and not a team? Contrast the grit of Worcester or the aggression of London Irish at Edgeley Park with some of our performances, particularly against ‘lesser’ teams. Why do we so often seem to be less than the sum of our brilliantly talented parts?
We’ve had quite a few changes, both in the squad and in the structure. Familiar faces have retired (gutted for you, Stan), or moved on (Maggie, Chris Mayor, Ben Foden among others), and we’ve brought in a few players too, notably Dwayne Peel. So will he be the oil that makes our mean machine purr smoothly, or will he be another who promises much, but leaves you feeling vaguely dissatisfied in a way you can’t quite put your finger on it? And what about the Jets that used to be? There isn’t a separate Jets squad this year, and I think we have fewer players overall, so are we perhaps going to see a bit more of some of the bright young things?
Finally, there is the game itself. I wonder if it’s leaving us a bit behind. We built the Premiership win on big, tough forwards playing pretty tight, and some fairly conservative back play though, ironically, we then went wild in the Final. We seem to have stuck to this general game plan, but there seem to be some more swashbuckling styles of play around- look at London Irish, Gloucester, or even the dreaded Wasps. Is a game based around pace and movement overcoming a game of control and attrition? The Tigers are perhaps the greatest exponents of ‘up yer jumper’ rugby and it’s interesting that similar questions are being asked on their board.
This is all on-the-field stuff, but we need to think about off-the-field as well. Can we really get the best out of the squad, playing fluently and scoring tries for fun? Can we adjust to cope with the looser, faster style which seems to be gaining ground, never mind with the ELVs, some of which may or may not be inflicted on us? That’s down to PSA and Kingsley, and I think this might be a put up or shut up season for our management.
So what do I think is going to happen? I hope that the team clicks, and if we can do that, I am optimistic. I think our Heineken Cup group may be just too tough for us but, if we don’t progress in that then it will free us up to concentrate on the Premiership and, working well, we can win it. If we don’t root out the malaise that seems to affect us at times and we continue to play below our potential, then I see mid-table at best, particularly if my fears about our game plan being outmoded are correct. But I’m a glass half-full sort of chap, so I’m going to go for it- out in the HC at the group stage but second in the regular Premiership season and a win in the final.
Then there’s the team- we have some great individuals, and we lost far fewer of them to injury and internationals last season than the year before. So why didn’t we dish out a few hammerings then? Do we have a collection of egos, and not a team? Contrast the grit of Worcester or the aggression of London Irish at Edgeley Park with some of our performances, particularly against ‘lesser’ teams. Why do we so often seem to be less than the sum of our brilliantly talented parts?
We’ve had quite a few changes, both in the squad and in the structure. Familiar faces have retired (gutted for you, Stan), or moved on (Maggie, Chris Mayor, Ben Foden among others), and we’ve brought in a few players too, notably Dwayne Peel. So will he be the oil that makes our mean machine purr smoothly, or will he be another who promises much, but leaves you feeling vaguely dissatisfied in a way you can’t quite put your finger on it? And what about the Jets that used to be? There isn’t a separate Jets squad this year, and I think we have fewer players overall, so are we perhaps going to see a bit more of some of the bright young things?
Finally, there is the game itself. I wonder if it’s leaving us a bit behind. We built the Premiership win on big, tough forwards playing pretty tight, and some fairly conservative back play though, ironically, we then went wild in the Final. We seem to have stuck to this general game plan, but there seem to be some more swashbuckling styles of play around- look at London Irish, Gloucester, or even the dreaded Wasps. Is a game based around pace and movement overcoming a game of control and attrition? The Tigers are perhaps the greatest exponents of ‘up yer jumper’ rugby and it’s interesting that similar questions are being asked on their board.
This is all on-the-field stuff, but we need to think about off-the-field as well. Can we really get the best out of the squad, playing fluently and scoring tries for fun? Can we adjust to cope with the looser, faster style which seems to be gaining ground, never mind with the ELVs, some of which may or may not be inflicted on us? That’s down to PSA and Kingsley, and I think this might be a put up or shut up season for our management.
So what do I think is going to happen? I hope that the team clicks, and if we can do that, I am optimistic. I think our Heineken Cup group may be just too tough for us but, if we don’t progress in that then it will free us up to concentrate on the Premiership and, working well, we can win it. If we don’t root out the malaise that seems to affect us at times and we continue to play below our potential, then I see mid-table at best, particularly if my fears about our game plan being outmoded are correct. But I’m a glass half-full sort of chap, so I’m going to go for it- out in the HC at the group stage but second in the regular Premiership season and a win in the final.
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