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A Message from Tony Hewitt
Topic Started: Dec 14 2016, 01:33 PM (202 Views)
danjsaints
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https://www.northamptonsaints.co.uk/news/latest-headlines/2016/dec-2016/message-from-tony-hewitt-to-saints-supporters/
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ElmaFudd
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Nothing to see here move along please.
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Wibble
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Yes, its about as much as you could expect from Tony at this point. His job is to steady the ship and let people know they are not being ignored.

Job done IMO.

I am willing to stand with the club, coaches and players and stick this out BUT my support is for Northampton Saints. Everyone else is only holding their possition as long as its good for the Saints.

Personally I am a fan of the way the non rugby side is run. I see a lot of positives on match day where they keep adapting. Yes the beer and food is expensive but at least the quality is pretty good. Almost anyone can find a drink or food they like around the ground and its not just nasty fast food, its very tasty (or at least everything i have tried is). I like that we pay our way and i like that the development has been done well and adds to the facilities and profitability (Just look at the cobblers for how not to do it).

Now i have a lot of time for the coaches too but as said elsewhere there is a limit to that and how they handle the rest of the season will fix my mind on what i expect during the off season (the right time for a clearout IMO).

I think i am just happy that something has been said. I do consider us to be in crisis but i also think we can get our selves out of it. We need a simple but effective attacking plan and we need a bit of luck on injuries. Half of that we can control, the other half we cant.

One thing that still bothers me though is the Saints reluctance to bring in Injury cover. So many other teams when faced with a long term injury bring in a class player to cover. Saints dont often seem to do this. Is it cost?
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danjsaints
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I agree, good statement as they go. I do have to admit, I don't doubt for a second that everyone involved in the club wants us to do well, and I completely disagree with the notion that the higher ups aren't bothered by our league position - my question is not whether they care, but whether they can fix it.
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big mac returns
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regarding injury cover, for me that is a waste of time, you constantly need to think about the long term as well as the short term, injuries should pave way for the academy and fringe players or why have them in the first place, the player u bring in will never be as good as the man you have lost any way, better to give an opportunity to one of our own that is at the club for the long haul.

its good that the club have said something, this really shows my concerns with social media, people use it simply hurl abuse at the club, this is why a prefer a forum like this where we can discuss things rather then simply hurling abuse and not taking into account that others may have different opinons.


my support is also to the club as well but i also will mitigate that also the people are the club, alot of the coaching staff and players have committed long periods of their lives to the club, have become part of the club and deserve the clubs support during the tough times. binning a player/coach who has given ten years of their life to the club is simply not the way to act. loyalty works both ways.

most of us on this forum have said we need some new world class players and a world class attack coach, it seems that this is what the club feels to, its good to have confirmation that we are all on the same page with regards to the solution.

the club is built on superb foundations, no doubt we will come again, however it is very frustrating to have virtually written off a season in terms of silverware before Christmas. our season is now a fight for the top 6
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happyclapper
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I find it very interesting to be honest. I think you get out of things like this what you and your personality is, or how you're feeling about something.

So I read it as follows... We feel your pain, we understand things aren't good enough and we're doing our best to rectify it. I also read between the lines, that if it's not fixed, more will happen.

I was somewhat shocked to read the comments below the article all about price. Seems to me that people there are missing the point or just using the article as an excuse to moan about anything they want - i.e. he's answered all my questions about the playing concerns so let's bash him about anything else.

I am pleased to see much more measured reaction on our forum, which is also what I've come to expect here.

As has been said, I don't think he can say much more without risk of causing more damage.
Re the price of things, meh... it is what it is. I travel to a lot of away games and yes we're probably the most expensive but we also have the best facilities in the league. We can't do that, and pay up to the salary and pay off our loan without charging for it. And we're not that much more expensive.

It is frustrating. But we also have to accept it and give them time to rebuild. We have no right to success on the playing field, it needs to get earned.
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big mac returns
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the price is what it is and what you would expect for a professional sports ground. my season ticket i believe is 350 odd, i personally dont think thats bad, my middlesex ticket is virtually the same and i get far less for it. I travel up from south east london these days so dont go to many away games, its already a long journey for the home games, this year ive only been just to sarries and quins games away but they are still £50 tickets and the food and drink is virtually the same, its just the way of the world these days, long gone are the days of £3.50 for a hog roast and £3 pints.

my only complaint (which tbh i really dont actually care about) is that the bar staff are beyond poor, clearly they are temps and have no real care or understanding of the job. i did voice my displeasure when i paid 5 odd pound for an ale, only to see them draw it from the tap into a jug and then pour it into the pot from there. this may be me being fussy but it killed the beer, was flat and too warm left me paying 5 pound for something that i didnt really want to drink. compare this to quins who have a wide variety of ales and staff that were very friendly. for me it would be better going back to staff that are locals doing it for a bit of loose change would be better then lots of young temps that simply havent got a clue about bar.
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danjsaints
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happyclapper
Dec 14 2016, 03:03 PM
I find it very interesting to be honest. I think you get out of things like this what you and your personality is, or how you're feeling about something.

So I read it as follows... We feel your pain, we understand things aren't good enough and we're doing our best to rectify it. I also read between the lines, that if it's not fixed, more will happen.
Completely agree - I was quite satisfied by the statement, but not everyone would have seen it that way.
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happyclapper
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That's because we're warm, happy fluffy people Dan!!!
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Notso Talented Local
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As I read this paragraph from the statement, because it is starts in a positive manner I was anticipating an endorsement or defence of present management.

"The last decade has been the Saints’ most successful period in the last 50 years. We have won multiple trophies, including our first Aviva Premiership title, and reached more finals. We’ve seen players develop in the squad and represent their countries with aplomb. And with the development of the Barwell Stand we now have a stadium to be proud of as our home.

We have become used to being successful, which in turn means that we are unaccustomed to the situation in which we currently find ourselves.

There have been many comments on social media and online forums which accuse the club’s management of being ‘out of touch’. As someone who has been a part of the Saints for the best part of 30 years I can, hand on heart......."


But instead the paragraph finishes with.

"say that I can appreciate and understand the frustrations that everyone has at the present time."

That is very much an 'I am on the fence" comment. I may be stating the obvious but it would not come as a shock if it is more than just an attack coach that is being sought.

Sad times.
Edited by Notso Talented Local, Dec 14 2016, 06:15 PM.
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happyclapper
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I wouldn't be surprised if it's taking a long time due to assessing all options.
If they invest in an attack coach it has to be with the view of giving Jim this season and next, otherwise they risk having to pay off an attack coach in the summer if a new DoR doesn't want them.
So they may be assessing who is on the market who could come in at DoR level and if no one around, then maybe they go with an attack coach for now and Jim gets another 18 months.
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chesty
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Words not deeds,i don't care about beer prices,how a few words work with the easily manipulated.
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Notso Talented Local
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happyclapper
Dec 14 2016, 06:19 PM
I wouldn't be surprised if it's taking a long time due to assessing all options.
If they invest in an attack coach it has to be with the view of giving Jim this season and next, otherwise they risk having to pay off an attack coach in the summer if a new DoR doesn't want them.
So they may be assessing who is on the market who could come in at DoR level and if no one around, then maybe they go with an attack coach for now and Jim gets another 18 months.
That leads to the $64000 Question, who is available, willing, and more importantly able ?

It seems that Cockers is hanging on by a thread too, and top DoR don't grow on trees.

Lancaster....no thanks.

Ali Hepher ?

Personally I would be delighted to see Jim turn things around, but I fear that is now too big an ask.

All i want to see is the team play Rugby with enjoyment. Prior to the 2014 season, I took my family to FG. We were lucky to see team in pre season training, that was enough for me to predict that we would win the final, you could sense something very positive, the players seemed to be relaxed, happy, and when they did I was sure to say. "See told you so!" Oh for a season like that again.

Edited by Notso Talented Local, Dec 14 2016, 06:50 PM.
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ElmaFudd
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Asides from my flippent comment above yes he's said about exactly what I would hope. It will be interesting to see what happens next.

The club have to be extremely careful what they say and do. Unlike us supporters they cannot afford a knee jerk reaction. The PR would be catastrophic. Yes it will enrage certain parts of the supporter base because they will see inactivity especially should thee likey happen and we get another good maulling this weekend.

I've cooled off enough to wait and see what happens come Sale.

Let's see some green shoots and naybe things will ease off. This Friday is almost an irrelevance unless we somehow put in a giant beating performance.
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happyclapper
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I know this will get me shot down but... I've always liked Dean Ryan.
I think he was going places with Worcester and I'm intrigued as to why he left.
He wouldn't need to build a team here which has always been his issue, he just needs to get this one playing.
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Ossie Reborn
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"And with the development of the Barwell Stand we now have a stadium to be proud of as our home". I guess this is why we're off to MK to play Sarries.
Patronising bull*+it.
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happyclapper
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Come on Ossie, let it go!!
The MK argument has been had many times, let's just move on from it.
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big mac returns
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issue is we dont sell out every game at the mo, we need games in mk to grow the support there, if we have any plans to make the gardens a 20k seater those fans are going to have to come from mk.

dont personally want dean ryan, this he did a decent job at wuss but for me hes too old school, would rather someone a bit fresher and younger, for me we've missed the boat if we we were going to change lam or townsend would have been good options but now i dont see many options, maybe howley if he was wanting to step out on his own. but its really just an attack coach that we need and preferably some one with a reputation. someone like Chris Malone could be an ideal option.
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happyclapper
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Or just more success will get us more fans in the ground. I can guarantee someone will say lower prices, but I don't agree with that. Maybe more concessions to get school kids in but otherwise I don't think it would help. We may see a ticket price freeze for a while now as the extra money coming in next season should help.

I genuinely think Dean Ryan could be good and is not too old school in my opinion. He's the same age as Jim. I'd be worried about his longevity though and would want to know why he left Wuss.

But I do agree, we probably just need an attack coach. I don't really know much about who is good or not. But I do know I'd rather support Leicester then have Rob Howley.
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Wibble
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I think if you ask any Saints fan what our main problem has been they would say Attack. We win enough ball, we get the ball near the opposition 22 but then we cant do anything when we get there. Our wins this year have been when we got enough penalties to kick us into a lead. The attacking play from all the team (not just the backs) has been poor. weather thats attack from the set piece, attack in broken play or attacking in counter ball.

As such i think a new attack coach is not a bad idea at this point. But who can we get for part of a season? they will know that their survival will depend on immediate success as if we dont improve soon then Jim and Dorian will not likely be given another season to fix this. So we might not be able to fix this without a big clearout anyway.

I hope not, i hope we find a new attacking style (or even an old one) that gets us moving up the league.

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Ossie Reborn
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happyclapper
Dec 15 2016, 01:04 AM
Come on Ossie, let it go!!
I feel a song coming on and it isn't "Oh When the Saints...."
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