Top 14 Day 21

[Big Ewis]

WHAT YOU HAVE TO REMEMBER IS A TEAM PLAYING THAT BADLY, AND WINNING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Now overnight PSA has grown balls and calls in Parra, FTD and hands in his resignation on Mon morning along with his 2 muppets, game over France beat Ireland by one point, a BOD try and 2 50mts drop gols by FTD!!!!!!!!!!! in the most exciting match of this century!!!!!!!!!!, Ireland go home taking Sexton with them!!!!!!!!!!!, hid under the back seat of the coach!!!!!!!!!!!, Racing don't bother looking for him !!! and the French players after receiving the 6 Nations Trophy do a lap of honour taking BOD with them and everyone applauds him all the way round, then they all go into Paris and get blotted. OH Forgot they dont let Guscott into the ground and he has to do his muppet punditry from a Parisien bar in the darker regions of Paris Nord!!!!!!!!!!!!! everyone gets home safely and the week after we are back to the TOP 14 REAL RUGBY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

mmmmyes, sounds somewhat plausible, although forgive me, I have my doubts...but still, it could happen.
And yes after this weekend's "performance" (hahaha, 'performance'................) I do already miss the Top 14...

 

[CAB_for_ever]

It's funny, I haven't seen the comments of the so-called "specialists" which were arguing that Brive had ABSOLUTELY no chance to stay in top 14...

 

[Tony Manx]

HaHaHa........people never come back on here to admit their errors only their successful predictions (eh Gaston!!).....

Went to the Brive v BO match a couple of years back and really enjoyed my time there....very friendly crowd I thought......shame that it will be so long before we get back there to play you if ever!!

 

[CAB_for_ever]

A year in purgatory (pro D2), and BO will come back with strong will, just as Brive did

I have reserved my tickets for CABCL vs ASM... when I see what we did on the match in Clermont, I think it will be a great show...

 

[Tony Manx]

A year in purgatory (pro D2), and BO will come back with strong will, just as Brive did....

For many reasons, all to do with the management (or lack of) expertise in the club, I fear that this will not happen for BO and financially am not sure either......

One thing is true in "management speak".......no manager selects their employees brighter than theemselves and the problem with this, in regard to Blanco, is that he is not a very good manager so the quality of those below him gets poorer and poorer as you go down the administrative chain!!

 

[CAB_for_ever]

I find you severe about Blanco... even if I dislike the man he has become after his player retirement, he has done well during years, I would more put the responsibility of the ranking and the results on the players... and in a second range on the coach.

In fact, I haven't true explanations, it seems so surreal... What has happened ? I dunno. I have the most profound respect for players as Yach, Traille and Harynordoquy... But they failed. Many injuries, sure, but the bench and the coach could have been helped by their experience... What a pity ! What a nightmare !

 

[gaston le gaff]

HaHaHa........people never come back on here to admit their errors only their successful predictions (eh Gaston!!).....

Went to the Brive v BO match a couple of years back and really enjoyed my time there....very friendly crowd I thought......shame that it will be so long before we get back there to play you if ever!!

If you don't make errors Tony my good man, you don't ever have to admit to them!!!!! looks like you are back with the amount of posting you are doing, steady on watch the old ticker!!!! Hello to CAB and welcome, its great we gain another TOP 14 forumer as we are about to lose another, but then again it will be good if Tony can keep us up todate with the PRO D2 for the next few seasons.
Brive is good and the resto Le Tribou is one of the best steaks in France!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[CAB_for_ever]

Be careful, the next time you come to the Tribou, we could put some arsenic instead of Pepper lol

And I don't find great the fact BO is going down to Pro D2, personnally, I would have preferred USAP...

 

[gaston le gaff]

No one said it was great, but it is necessary as BO run by Blanco and friends cannot exist in today's TOP 14 without a massive injection of money and a clean sweep in the management dept.
What have i done wrong that you want to poison me already!!!!!!!!!! you have only been here 2 minutes and already aggressive or is it just nerves!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Big Ewis]

The USAP still has plenty of quality, they just really have been derailed from the plot by injuries. Key ones in particular. They were playing well earlier in the year but then the descent occurred and they never looked back...

 

[CAB_for_ever]

Was joking Gaston lol

 

[CAB_for_ever]

The USAP still has plenty of quality, they just really have been derailed from the plot by injuries. Key ones in particular. They were playing well earlier in the year but then the descent occurred and they never looked back...

I based my judgement on what they truly showed in the season and what they should have... based on that, I think Brive, UBB, Oyonnax and Bayonne deserved more to be safe than USAP... And "Always Crying" Delpoux is another reason

 

[Tony Manx]

No one said it was great, but it is necessary as BO run by Blanco and friends cannot exist in today's TOP 14 without a massive injection of money and a clean sweep in the management dept.
What have i done wrong that you want to poison me already!!!!!!!!!! you have only been here 2 minutes and already aggressive or is it just nerves!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ah I see monsieur Brive has met Gaston!!

Blanco was a wonderful player and probably the best 15 ever but as a businessman he is far too loyal to friends and employees to be successful in a professional business in my view.......he is responsible for the structural management problems, lack of proper sponsorship, appointment of coaches, overall for recruitment of players and staff and, in particular, physical conditioning which seems to have been so poor and resulted in too many injuries where players have been forced back before they were fit and suffered for it.

 

[CAB_for_ever]

Ah I see monsieur Brive has met Gaston!!

Blanco was a wonderful player and probably the best 15 ever but as a businessman he is far too loyal to friends and employees to be successful in a professional business in my view.......he is responsible for the structural management problems, lack of proper sponsorship, appointment of coaches, overall for recruitment of players and staff and, in particular, physical conditioning which seems to have been so poor and resulted in too many injuries where players have been forced back before they were fit and suffered for it.

In fact, it's more me who have met Gaston... I have done what the first row was doing in scrum in french championships in the 70's and the 80's (I've played 9 and 10 in my youth, and remember few "poire" exchanged between first line" with referee making as if he hadn't seen anything lol)... a very agressive posture (for fun) lol

I find you very severe with Blanco, even if i think the same. BUT I find it a bit "easy" to put on him all the responsibility of the problem... I remember that he always had the same Policy few years ago and that BO wasn't that bad...

 

[Tony Manx]

I remember that he always had the same Policy few years ago and that BO wasn't that bad...

2005 and 2006......yet Blanco was not fully in charge as his stooge and financier Mr Martin was the Club President as I recollect....Blanco was wrapped up in LNR matters and returned circa 2007/8? Those successful teams were the source of the problems now.....Lagisquet and his 9 man rugby!

They continued to play that type of game for far too long such that they never really recovered the ability to trust their backs and move, like Leicester another scrum orientated team have done successfully, to an attacking game that was necessary to survive. They have barely recruited more than three decent players worth their salaries since 2008 and many who lasted less than one season or should have even done that!!

I really do not think I have over stated the problems that the stewardship of Blanco has cost the club......even in the last few years, I understand, he has turned away sponsorship opportunities with Orange, Russians and Kuwaitis that might have meant a loss of influence by him or his mate the owner of Cap Gemini...........!!

 

[CAB_for_ever]

2005 and 2006......yet Blanco was not fully in charge as his stooge and financier Mr Martin was the Club President as I recollect....Blanco was wrapped up in LNR matters and returned circa 2007/8? Those successful teams were the source of the problems now.....Lagisquet and his 9 man rugby!

They continued to play that type of game for far too long such that they never really recovered the ability to trust their backs and move, like Leicester another scrum orientated team have done successfully, to an attacking game that was necessary to survive. They have barely recruited more than three decent players worth their salaries since 2008 and many who lasted less than one season or should have even done that!!

I really do not think I have over stated the problems that the stewardship of Blanco has cost the club......even in the last few years, I understand, he has turned away sponsorship opportunities with Orange, Russians and Kuwaitis that might have meant a loss of influence by him or his mate the owner of Cap Gemini...........!!

I agree and you have surely misunderstood me... I do hate the 9 men rugby system or style... I don't reject the idea when it's necessary (for example when BO come to Brive, we should have played a more restrictive rugby and would have won it... but finally, I am convinced this unexpected defeat has been a great thing for Brive)... But have a look on french top 14 : more and more restrictive rugby, even Toulouse ! strangely (only in appearance), ASM seems to have resisted against this idea, but it's due to Vern Cotter, an AB coach changes forcely the things. Montpellier has an awesome style by moments too. But if we do the ratio : restrictive rugby wins more, and it's a pity. In attacking teams, I put ASM, Brive, Toulouse and Montpellier. Racing, Stade Fr, UBB and Toulon play a mixed rugby.
Castres, USAP and Grenoble are surely the most boring teams (and for years for USAP).
Bayonne is disapointing. In the past, their usual flowing style, even in defeat, was famous. But at the gate of the pro D2, they have played a far more restrictive rugby than usual. A pity when you have players as Rokoçoko !
Oyonnax plays like they did in pro D2, a bit strange, but sometimes it works.
Biarritz was totally out of subject this year, and I haven't any explanation for that.

 

[Tony Manx]

I agree and you have surely misunderstood me... I do hate the 9 men rugby system or style... I don't reject the idea when it's necessary (for example when BO come to Brive, we should have played a more restrictive rugby and would have won it... but finally, I am convinced this unexpected defeat has been a great thing for Brive)... But have a look on french top 14 : more and more restrictive rugby, even Toulouse ! strangely (only in appearance), ASM seems to have resisted against this idea, but it's due to Vern Cotter, an AB coach changes forcely the things. Montpellier has an awesome style by moments too. But if we do the ratio : restrictive rugby wins more, and it's a pity. In attacking teams, I put ASM, Brive, Toulouse and Montpellier. Racing, Stade Fr, UBB and Toulon play a mixed rugby.
Castres, USAP and Grenoble are surely the most boring teams (and for years for USAP).
Bayonne is disapointing. In the past, their usual flowing style, even in defeat, was famous. But at the gate of the pro D2, they have played a far more restrictive rugby than usual. A pity when you have players as Rokoçoko !
Oyonnax plays like they did in pro D2, a bit strange, but sometimes it works.
Biarritz was totally out of subject this year, and I haven't any explanation for that.

I am not against "restrictive" rugby and would actually look upon this more as having a strong defense such that a game is be won by stopping the other team scoring. But nowadays successful teams also have good backs (to score when the defence actually fails and they are behind for example) who are used once the defense has worked and there is good ball for them to run rather than, like Bayonne, all ball to run!

The 9 man game of BO was based on a strong defense throughout the team but, in addition, all ball was kept in the forwards by Yach and the power of the forwards would lead to push over tries or penalties enough to win the games. That is no longer a viable sole method of scoring! There was no greater ambition in the club than this hence their wins with under 10 points scored against each of Sale and Northampton in the H Cup at Anoeta!

Nowadays, even with a strong defense, you need the capacity to score tries and this means that you need backs.....with Biarritz over recent years, their defence has been reasonable (until this year) but they could not score much outside the forwards as they did not have the class or trust in the backs!

Many is the time I have sat at Agullera and wondered where a try was coming from in yet another defeat....................

 

[Tony Manx]

Biarritz 22 Oyonnax 24.....................

 

[gaston le gaff]

Thats it Tony nothing else to say, go on open that bottle of Cognac and drowned your sorrows!!!!!

 

[Big Ewis]

Thats it Tony nothing else to say, go on open that bottle of Cognac and drowned your sorrows!!!!!

yeah, just make sure you don't overdose old timer !!
We need you here !