skeepe said:
The way I see it with some people is Elliott is damned if he does, damned if he doesn't. I admit selecting Gafa week after week was perplexing, but aside from that I think he did a good job this year.
Now, from what I can gather with this thread, if we sign Thompson, Elliott will be criticised win or lose. If we don't sign Thompson and the youngsters don't immediately step up and we lose, Elliott will be criticised. If they do step up and we win, Elliott will be criticised because he didn't put them in sooner.
Fair summation?
Not at all. Elliott has made a few moves that I have disagreed with and been proven wrong. I was 50/50 about signing Smith and Adamson but he proved that it was the right way to go. I still maintain that one of the best things he has done is get Ale to this club as well. I won't bag him for the sake of bagging him but if he is making mistakes we will point them out, same as any supporter.
I don't support the signing. Not because as a few people have mentioned he has off field problems, that is a side issue, my issue is getting the club and team moving in the right direction. I just don't rate Lance Thompson at all, he really doesn't have many skills at all or more to the point, nothing more than anyone else that we can put in the backrow currently. If we buy him and he plays well then Elliott has pulled it off and well done to him, if we sign him and he is mediocre every week then I will be like the rest of us and wonder why the hell we wasted our money. The other concern is Thompson will be one of those players Elliott will NEVER drop. Rothery could score 10 tries in reggies and still not displace him if he is playing badly. I've said it before and i'll say it again, we need skilled players here now, not another toiler or workhorse, we have plenty of that.
On your second point Skeepe, I have always been an advocate for the best player in the best position, end of story. Age, Experience, whatever, Elliott should just pick on form and that is final. He doesn't seem to do that and worst of all, I don't think he knows the difference between a good and bad player, we've seen little evidence. If a youngster is better, put them in and give them a go. These guys have played together in lower grades for a while and understand each other, that is more important than most of us realise.
