Is Skivington out of his depth

A slightly distasteful poll BUT a fair enough question to ask. Like many I replied "No" BUT GS is obviously and understandably on a steep learning curve along with his team of coaches. Ditto AB as DoR.

I most certainly think they have the wherewithal to learn on the job alongside the current group of players.

I am almost certain there will be a moratorium regarding Premiership promotion/relegation BUT don't think GRFC would be in 12th place anyway - though not far off - at end of this season.

LI have recruited very strongly and Wuss will be our biggest rivals for 12th place.

Not happy-clappy; realistic as to why we are where we are and assured that a gradual and pragmatic approach by the on-field personnel will come good.

I think a huge issue (it's one I felt and posted about at the time when the new structure was put in place), is who can support GS in his role? All but one of his coaches has more experience than him and Browner is very new to his role.

GS has been fast tracked into a pivotal position at a new club, with virtually no support above him to offer guidance. I feel for the guy.

The club should be looking to an experienced mentor who, on a consultancy basis, could provide some much needed support for him.

I thought we were doing pretty well under Redpath (with a nicely balanced team including Nick Wood, Andy Hazell, JSD, Ollie Morgan, Nicky Robinson, Charlie et al). When he mysteriously resigned on the brink of HC qualification, our then brand new owner denied that it was linked to an alleged approach made by Diamond to move to Sale. Then, guess what - within 10 weeks Redpath rocks up at Sale.

The owners then make a couple of poor appointments as coach firstly Nigel Davies - which turned out to be a naive move. Then the owners appoint Laurie Fisher.

Then we had the one opportunity we were ever likely to get to transform and modernise our club - the approach from Altrad. And we get dicked over by the PRL. We didn't have enough clout in the PRL to push this through or the resolution to challenge it in the courts.

We appoint a CEO who has the vision to start making changes to the infrastructure of the club and we cut him loose. Lucky old Wasps, who end up runners up last year and find themselves snapping at the leaders' heels this year.

What characterises the really successful clubs is the vision and commitment of their owners - Wray, Rowe, Lansdown, Orange. The two sets of variables that we change all the time are the coaches and the players. Yet no one ever seems to question the role of the constant ingredients in the mix.

So many on here come away purring from the fans' forums - but how often are these warm words followed up with delivery?

OG you forgot to mention Wealth as being one of the stand out characteristics of the club owners you mention. Money isn't everything but it ain't nothing either.

OG you forgot to mention Wealth as being one of the stand out characteristics of the club owners you mention. Money isn't everything but it ain't nothing either.

Of course. By then why don't we attract wealth? There's plenty of it in them thar hills.

We did attract it in wheelbarrow-loads... Monsieur Altrad. It was rejected by our competitors.

We didn't have the fortitude/standing to see our competitors off. They ran rings round us. There was a nasty whiff of xenophobia in the air too I thought. That probably indicated to Altrad that he was never going to be welcomed into the fold.

I have noticed that a few people have mentioned that the table is skewed due to COVID points being awarded etc.

For balance, this is how it would look if the COVID games were postponed and no result or points awarded (I have noted in brackets the current points total, if different)

BRISTOL - 24
EXETER - 20
SALE - 19
WASPS - 19
NEWCASTLE - 16 (20)
QUINS - 12 (14)
LEICESTER - 9 (15)
BATH - 8 (12)
IRISH - 8 (12)
SAINTS - 7 (13)
GLAWS - 6
WORCESTER - 5 (9)

We wouldn't be bottom, but we are still cr@p. Since George Skivington took over we have won 5 out of 16 games in all competitions. I am not counting the Saints home game of last season.

Worcester (A); Leicester (H); London Irish (H); Wasps (H); Ulster (H). We have conceded 488 in these 16 matches. An average of just slightly over 30 points per game. We have given away a try bonus point in 10 of these matches - 6 out of 8 so far this season alone!

Defence is the most pressing issue; we aren't going to be in with a chance of winning games until we tighten up in defence. For all of the criticism of Matt Garvey, I would suggest you look at the urgency of the player at the other side of the ruck. Compare that to the Newcastle defence and it might give you a clue. Too many players are underperforming at the moment. Whether that is due to lack of confidence, unclear messages and tactics or players not suited to the game plan, we don't know. But without ringfencing, I think we are going down.

Oxford Nick Glaws - Nigel Davies did alright in his first season - didn't we finish 5th ?

"Events" meant that setup went down hill and we lost Freddie B in the process.

Fisher is / was a very good coach but, and I think this is where we will be good in time with GS, is that he didn't understand (neither did JA) the winter months and the physicality and the toll it takes of playing here.

Is GS out of his depth ? Who knows. If we are purely looking at results of this season one might say yes, but we shouldn't look at a small snapshot in time. If anything I'd be a little more concerned with Waldouck as defence coach who is even less experienced.

It's going to take time, how much have we got though ?

SonofPricey I raised an almost identical point to you a while ago and agree entirely with you.....we are simply shipping far too many points. We are more often than not always chasing the game as a result and at the moment we just can't game manage well enough either so we are always going to struggle.

We appear to have a simple game plan but lack the personnel to implement it. We have a defence system which leaks tries. We have probably the two most talented wingers in the UK but the attack game plan appears to exclude them from the action save for chasing the kick. It has been suggested that we are unable to manage the game adequately to close out either a win or a losing bonus point. Who is responsible for game management.
Why is this happening?
Will the current game plan when fully implemented achieve the victories so sorely needed?
Sadly I see a mess, a b#ggers muddle and even worse I cannot see a light at the end of the tunnel. I'm not even sure we are yet in the tunnel!
Yes, there are injuries; tell me when this has never been the case. Yes we have lost influential players - Mostert, Marshall and Cipriani but the bulk of the squad is still there but we have gone from top six to bottom at a speed which I cannot comprehend.