Championship 2013-14

[Richie B]

Now most sides appear to have sorted their squads for the next season and we have had sight of the fixtures any views on how we'll fare next season? For what it's worth I can see a finish something similar to last for Mose. Don't see much creativity in our backline so hoping DR will help us there. Pack will be okay though I think. I reckon it's Bristol or Leeds to fight it out for promotion. LW and Notts have financial issues bubbling and Bedford have been raped but don't seem to have pulled much in. Leeds have a more settled side than Bristol who may take a while to gel. To go down I'll take any of Ealing, Jersey or Plymouth but I can't see us not being involved in the scrap again. Would like to see us pull in a decent 10 and 12 but probably a bit late in the day with most good players firmly ensconced in new contracts.

[gary]

Excellent summary. Naturally, I hope you are wrong about us but I suspect not.

[sorrento]

According to the Northampton website, their Senior Academy seems to be dominated by forwards (5 out of 17 players are props).

Of the players we have seen at Billesley previously, Ryan Glynn, Alex Day, Danny Herriot, Tom Warren, Adam Parkins and Matt Williams are still around but Ethan Waller and Tom Stephenson have been promoted to Saints' first-team squad for next season.

Perhaps the most interesting for us may be Will Hooley, a fly-half who was in the England U-20 squad that won the Junior World Cup a couple of weeks ago.

The Northampton website also includes the following snippet;

"Meanwhile, despite playing for Moseley in the Championship next season, lock Alex Woolford will remain a familiar face during the week as he continues to train at Franklin's Gardens".

I should add that the article I'm using was published on the Saints website on May 8 so things may have moved on since then.

[londonexile]

Has the DR relationship with Northampton been confirmed for next season? I assume it has and I've just missed that bit of news along the way? Will Hooley sounds a very good prospect and would benefit from a spell DR-ing in the championship.

[sorrento]

Another quote from the same article on Saints' website:

"Next season we will continue to expand our Academy playing programme, both in terms of more matches for teams from the Saints but also in giving the youngsters the opportunity to become dual registered with Moseley in The Championship......"

[willbassett]

As we're playing Saints pre-season I assume the link is still in place but I'd like to see a few more contracted players being added to the squad. The DR link is useful but we need them to train and play on a regular basis, otherwise they should only be used to plug gaps due to injuries.

[ale]

My guess is we will see an awful lot of Mr Hooley next season and I am told he is some prospect

[Oddsox]

I have now (perhaps sadly) seen four championship sides live yesterday & four more on TV today. Two further teams London Welsh & Bedford I would imagine would not be challenging in the same part of the league as Moseley. This leaves Ealing & Scottish yet to see - but we understand that Scottish are stronger.

One thing is for sure - yesterdays Moseley performance would not have picked up points against anybody I've seen. On Friday I was hearing messages from Maggsy that 'we are underdogs - but we are a close group that will prove people wrong'. That was my thought process too, we seemed to have recruited well(budget accepted). Today we are reading - 'poor attitude from players' that doesn't sound like a close group to me. Surely the captain/senior players would bang a few heads during the game or coach at half time?

Perhaps I am so disappointed, I am thinking too much! Come on U Mose cheer us up next week.

[gary]

'One thing is for sure - yesterdays Moseley performance would not have picked up points against anybody I've seen.'

Agree completely Oddsox. First match form obviously but on the basis of the first days play you would have to say Ealing or ourselves would be favourites for the drop.

Sincerely hope I am wrong!

[philhall]

There were a number of glaring differences between the pre season friendlies - particularly the Newport and the Northampton games and the Saturday season opener against Rotherham. In essence the Rotherham game was a repeat of the opening game against Bedford last season where Moseley went full of hope and anticipation and came away with nowt but our tails between our legs. The Hartbury Colleage game had an air of the Moseley of yesteryear, no much idea what to do or how to do it, but I didn't expect it to be adopted at the first game proper!!

But more than that the Rotherham game was a repeat of many, many seasons of abject, sterile Moseley performances:- missed tackles, or should I say chickening out of tackles; inconsistent scrummaging; dispossession in the tackle, too often against Rotherham ; possession kicked away, time after time; kick off far too long with little if any follow up; player support; penalty count, absolutely horrendous against Rotherham; no indication of the ability to adapt what game plan there might have been; running diagonally across the pitch allowing the opposition to drift defend and squeezing our wingers into touch.

Gone was the close shoulder supporting player ready and willing to receive the deft offload; gone was the support player to protect the breakdown; gone were the safe hands; gone was the ability of the player protecting the breakdown to protect and defend the breakdown; gone was the ability to retain the ball in the tackle; gone was the urgency to swarm at the opposition in both attack and defence, particularly in defence. All these were present in both the Newport and the Northampton pre season games but, with the exception of just a couple of flashes, they were highly conspicuous by their absence in the Rotherham game.

I fine myself saying the same as last season, and the season before that, that "perhaps things will get better as the season unfolds". Things must get better, they cannot be allowed to continue. Last season Kevin Maggs had the buffer of a largely inherited squad of players. This season he has his chosen squad. He has no excuse. There is no shame in defeat if each and every player gives their all - that is an unquestionable logic. Anything else is totally unacceptable. Maggsy must NOT allow it to happen. He MUST rule with a rod of iron and shame and punish severely those players who consistently fail to perform. Only then will Moseley have any hope of playing to their undoubted potential.

Pam and I will NOT be at Plymouth on Friday, none-the-less, and despite criticisms my latent lethargy the least I can say is,

Come on Mooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooose

[kingsheathlad]

Phil you are spot on. Unfotunately due to wok cannot make the Plymouth game but shall follow on Twitter.

[CJB1]

Sept 17, 2013 19:24:38 GMT kingsheathlad said:

Phil you are spot on. Unfotunately due to wok cannot make the Plymouth game but shall follow on Twitter.

Cooking a chinese meal, are you?

[kingsheathlad]

Two woks and I still can't spell