Top 14 Day 14

[Jaguares]

Stade Francais crushed Toulon :what:

 

[Sapinou]

Another game full of regrets and questions, l'Aviron lost their scrum since last week (thank You little Tao for pushing not straight...). Oyo won a boring game of and the good point is That we are ahead 6 to 4 on points if we finish equals. Next week last chance to win away, after we'll play only top-team on their fields and playing our contenders home 8) we're still alive! ("Mais non, mais non l'Aviron n'est pas mort (bis) Car il chante encore, car il chante encore!")

 

[gaston le gaff]

Well thats that!!! as i had a good idea after our pathetic display at Castres yesterday even God (galthie) gets his just deserves (mis a pied) suspended, Jake White in charge and Shaun Sowerby ( ex Grenoble, Toulouse and Stade) is the new forwards coach, Steff Glas stays as backs coach, this is just what Montpellier needed, not saying that Toulon on Sat will not be difficult but we have more of a chance without than with.

 

[Tony Manx]

How quickly it all changes.......this time last year he was the bees' knees and would never leave Montypellier for the national team and now, it does not look like even the national team management (cr*p as they are) would want him...................where did it all go wrong?

See you soon.................or will we just swap places!!

 

[Big Ewis]

indeed, MP's transformation has been just shocking. Like someone going through a tough illness who seems like he's aged 10 years in a few months. Just last year, we saw Galthié dancing up in the stands all smile after a famous victory, MP were lighting up the Top 14, no less. Their best player goes down, and then all hell breaks loose. They've been unrecognizable. Hopefully the changes bring change that can change the way things have been. They need change, lots and lots of it; spare change, coins or small bills, any change they can get.
Just finished watching the game in Castres, and obviously these days they're playing it safe with Pélissié at 10 and the hole they're in, but even in a minimalist game they looked diminutive.
Just how enormous Trinh-Duc really means to them is almost shocking, and must be the hugest compliment for him.

- - - Updated - - -

Toulon were a tough matchup early in the game, and it was a hard fought battle in the trenches later on, but the boys came through and now I can proudly display this table




I always knew, all these months, that we had it in us. It was just a matter of things just...clicking.

 

[gaston le gaff]

you are just unbelievable BE once again the vest is changed, when we get back to winning ways with our new coaches i will not LET YOU display any affection for Montypellier never mind place OUR LOGO next to your name, (remember Sandra Paoli is a very good friend of mine and not doing much at the moment) not even if you are crawling on all fours!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Big day tomorrow Press training, will be meeting Mon White and Sowerby although i did meet Jake White in the 2007 WC when i was doing the anti doping for the IRB.

 

[Big Ewis]

you are just unbelievable BE once again the vest is changed, when we get back to winning ways with our new coaches i will not LET YOU display any affection for Montypellier never mind place OUR LOGO next to your name, (remember Sandra Paoli is a very good friend of mine and not doing much at the moment) not even if you are crawling on all fours!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Big day tomorrow Press training, will be meeting Mon White and Sowerby although i did meet Jake White in the 2007 WC when i was doing the anti doping for the IRB.

how about if I get Isabelle to do it ? Being such a diehard Paris supporter, Gonzalo owes me one, I'm sure he can arrange for something interesting, it may sound unrealistic but sometimes even the big shots are touched when faced with such honorable human qualities as loyalty and a true community spirit.......huh, what am I saying... I don't even want that lousy ancient MP logo anyways, it's completely outdated, just like your post count, so 2005. I'm sorry but I deserve the best, top quality, as to mirror my own worth. As for Sandra Paoli, you can send her a nice big bahhhh humbug okay okay no please I'm sorry I don't know what got into me there I lost my lucidity please let's just pretend like this last paragraph never uhmm this is..
SO HEY I read Altrad's interview on RRama. He seems like a man who's got his head on his shoulders, your typical no-nonsense Syrian businessman. I've been around loads of Palestinian/Syrians/Lebanese in my lifetime, and they don't screw around when it comes to money. I like how firm he's been in regards to Galthié, most presidents/top men will sugar-coat everything they say publicly and spew out the most ridiculous forms of benign rhetoric, pure poetry; this guy here explicitly says he's disappointed in a Galthié that has failed them and isn't sure whether he'll keep him or not in the future. He also understands the industry, and knows the scene quite well.

Ultimately, this isn't good news for the after-Saint-André. Galthié seemed like a very viable option...I think he's a legit, good coach but lacks on a couple of levels, emotional and tactical.

 

[gaston le gaff]

Our President is one cool cookie he has assessed the situation and done exactly what was needed, he now can save himself a whole bunch of money before the 9th Jan. if he can come up with a valid reason to get rid of Galthie without costing too much as he is under contract until end of season 16/17.but i'm sure he will have that info ready and waiting. New horizons for Montpellier, time will tell, there have not been many successful foreign coaches in the TOP 14 this could be one of them watch this space, Toulon is going to be a massive task on Saturday and talk about being thrown in the deep end, it just does not get any deeper.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Big Ewis]

well a confident coach who knows his craft can turn any team around. In the NBA, some mid-2000's season Denver Nuggets started the year 17wins-25losses. A bad record. Some headcoach by the name of George Karl came in and they went 32-8 for the rest of the year, and finished the year 49-33 despite the bad start. That exact same team, he went 32 and 8 with. That's just 8 losses in FORTY games. Insane.
Obviously MP have the pieces, and as Altrad says it himself, they've got nothing to envy about Toulon or Toulouse or Clermont in those terms, they've got the right players. A change in culture, and as White has said it himself, "there are areas that can be improved", and considerable progression can be made from that.

I'm not counting out MP at all for the playoffs this season. Right now for me, all of the Top 4 will surely participate in the post-season (Paris, Toulon, Clermont, Racing) in whichever order is to be seen. After that, right now we've got Grenoble and Bordeaux completing the 6 top seeds. Will they remain ? Nothing is less sure with Toulouse and Montypellino one step too close and a good wide glance into that promised land.

Bonne année, you guys I hope 2015 will be better than 2014. Don't think it could possibly be any worse, and I'm not being a whiny ***** - I just don't see how !!