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       #Post#: 49002--------------------------------------------------
       Re: What's working / what isn't
   DIR By: HamptonCourtJester
       Date: September 9, 2020, 6:16 am
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       I concur with us definitely having problems from the kick offs.
       I heard several people around me (even at socially distanced
       spacing), all say the same thing when we scored our first try on
       Saturday, that we would immediately give away points, which we
       did. Its a fairly damning endictment of our ability to control
       the KickOff, that natural reaction of so many is to accept
       (albeit exasperatingly) that we will give up points straight
       away.
       Baths first try, was really very very bad.
       I think this point of struggling with handling kick offs does
       indeed boil down to confidence, as has already been mentioned by
       others further up.
       Sorting this it out would go a long way to controlling games and
       building on leads. Rather than scoring, but then immediately
       being put under the cosh,
       #Post#: 49005--------------------------------------------------
       Re: What's working / what isn't
   DIR By: deadlyfrom5yardsout
       Date: September 9, 2020, 6:27 am
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       Same old, same old isn't it. "When we click we are going to
       muller somebody"....etc etc. Oh for a bit of consistency with
       some flair, not the other way round.
       #Post#: 49006--------------------------------------------------
       Re: What's working / what isn't
   DIR By: marlowish
       Date: September 9, 2020, 6:43 am
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       --- Quote from: quinalan link ---
       >
       > For me, when we get our best 15 on the pitch & properly
       focused on winning an important game, they usually stand up &
       win well. The problem is, as has been pointed out in the other
       thread, getting the rest of the squad when they come in, to play
       at that equivalent level. So how do we work with the squad
       players to improve them as players & perhaps improve the mental
       side of their game?
       >
       --- End Quote ---
       I think the problem is that a lot of the squad players are just
       not good enough and never will be.  I find it appalling that we
       have so many who not not prem quantity who are getting paid and
       then we cannot afford to pay Sinkler as much as he can get
       because we would have been over the cap. Joke. Since we won the
       league in 2012 we have constantly signed some players who are
       clearly journeymen and wasted budget on them.
       #Post#: 49010--------------------------------------------------
       Re: What's working / what isn't
   DIR By: Quinston Churchill
       Date: September 9, 2020, 7:07 am
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       We don’t actually have that many who ‘are not Prem quality’ IMO
       and in fact, some of the ones I have the biggest doubts about
       are academy products (White and Lamb) for example.
       A number of the others I’m not sure about are either short term
       signings (Thomas, van Dyk and Stafford) or simply unproven - we
       don’t yet know whether Els and Trenier can step up, but I’m
       willing to give them a shot.
       Sure, the likes of Young and Tex are not good enough to be first
       choice in the Premiership, but they’re fine as back up players
       which is exactly what they are for us.
       A bigger issue for me is the underperformance of players we
       should be able to rely on. For example, Landajo and Garcia Botta
       are experienced, tier 1 internationals, but look nothing like
       that when playing for Quins (Landajo’s had about 2 good games so
       far). Others who should be stalwarts like Will Collier seem to
       be phoning it in. I’d give him a pass over the last few weeks
       given he’s a new dad, but his level of performance has been well
       below par for ages.
       Look at Exeter - Billy Keast or Jack Innard don’t immediately
       scream ‘Premiership player’, but they come in and they perform
       at a good standard. Iain Whitten isn’t scaring any defences on
       paper, but he puts in a darn good shift whenever he plays.
       It’s the same with Bristol - yes they have some star names, but
       the likes of Joe Joyce, Ed Holmes and Henry Purdy are very solid
       players for them who consistently deliver when called upon.
       That simply doesn’t happen with our squad players.
       As I’ve said many times before, we seem to be at lot less than
       the sum of our parts, when other teams seem to be able to wring
       every last drop out of their players.
       #Post#: 49016--------------------------------------------------
       Re: What's working / what isn't
   DIR By: KentQuin
       Date: September 9, 2020, 8:15 am
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       You know what you're going to get with Exeter. Their game plan
       rarely (if ever) changes. Everyone in the squad knows their role
       and they can make changes relatively seamlessly. That strong
       framework elevates their "average" squad players.
       We don't currently have that obvious framework or "DNA" to our
       game. Against Wuss we looked like a team of strangers.
       It depends how you define "premiership quality". I personally
       don't think Young (in particular) or Cavubati are good enough
       for a team who want to be in the top four mix. On a day-to-day
       basis in training, what pressure are they really putting on
       Symons and Lewies for the 4 and 5 shirts? The same can be said
       across a number of positions. I'd much rather see us have a
       smaller squad but of higher calibre players. I think Sale have
       got it right (30 plus academy).
       #Post#: 49035--------------------------------------------------
       Re: What's working / what isn't
   DIR By: Yareet
       Date: September 9, 2020, 11:14 am
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       --- Quote from: KentQuin link ---
       >
       > I think Sale have got it right (30 plus academy).
       >
       --- End Quote ---
       We've had our share of wasted cap spend - Richie Gray being the
       most obvious but DiMarchi and McLean joined off the back of
       decent performances for Italy - and "why did we hire thems?".
       In contrast to Bristol, we have built a squad of 7-9/10s rather
       than some 8-10/10s and some 5-6s. Hence we can put out a second
       XV which wins at the Ricoh whilst Bears' 2nd XV gets pumped by
       us.
       However, the main worry that fans have now is that our squad is
       too small. A couple of injuries and we are screwed.
       #Post#: 49225--------------------------------------------------
       Re: What's working / what isn't
   DIR By: deadlyfrom5yardsout
       Date: September 10, 2020, 3:49 am
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       Dont you lose about a dozen saffers to the Springboks soon too?
       #Post#: 49280--------------------------------------------------
       Re: What's working / what isn't
   DIR By: KentQuin
       Date: September 10, 2020, 7:50 am
       ---------------------------------------------------------
       --- Quote from: Yareet link ---
       >
       > However, the main worry that fans have now is that our squad
       is too small. A couple of injuries and we are screwed.
       >
       --- End Quote ---
       There's no perfect solution, but i'd rather have two quality
       players in each position and then rely on the academy then
       layers of mediocrity and a squad padded out with journeyman.
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