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<blockquote data-quote="snoopy snoopy dog dog" data-source="post: 364060" data-attributes="member: 13611">I suppose what I was trying to say was that Brian McLoughlin took over a young, talented team from Matt Williams. Darren Cave, Ian Whitten, Niall O&#039;Connor, Tom Court (not young but very raw at the time), David Pollock, Chris Henry and Ryan Caldwell all progressed under the previous coach. Have they progressed in a season and a half under MLoughlin or has it been the expensive imports and Stephen Ferris who&#039;ve carried the team? I think it&#039;s the latter. Only Tom Court and Chris Henry are better now than they were in summer 2009. McLoughlin has instilled a steely edge to his pack which has come to the fore in away wins in the Heineken Cup. The defence still isn&#039;t perfect but it&#039;s better than last season. Against that his side lack flair and the ability to get the most out of talented centres and back three players. They rely too heavily on Stephen Ferris. In my opinion Ulster need to boost their squad depth significantly (which McLoughlin is trying to do by picking youngsters consistently) and get some new ideas for their backs. Either McLoughlin or Neil Doak must be held accountable for woes behind the scrum.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="snoopy snoopy dog dog, post: 364060, member: 13611"] I suppose what I was trying to say was that Brian McLoughlin took over a young, talented team from Matt Williams. Darren Cave, Ian Whitten, Niall O'Connor, Tom Court (not young but very raw at the time), David Pollock, Chris Henry and Ryan Caldwell all progressed under the previous coach. Have they progressed in a season and a half under MLoughlin or has it been the expensive imports and Stephen Ferris who've carried the team? I think it's the latter. Only Tom Court and Chris Henry are better now than they were in summer 2009. McLoughlin has instilled a steely edge to his pack which has come to the fore in away wins in the Heineken Cup. The defence still isn't perfect but it's better than last season. Against that his side lack flair and the ability to get the most out of talented centres and back three players. They rely too heavily on Stephen Ferris. In my opinion Ulster need to boost their squad depth significantly (which McLoughlin is trying to do by picking youngsters consistently) and get some new ideas for their backs. Either McLoughlin or Neil Doak must be held accountable for woes behind the scrum. [/QUOTE]

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