The Current Ulster Squad

[BaggyTrousers]

My current assessment - other incorrect assessments are possible, but just plain wrong.

Hendy: essential for big games
Addison: A waste of a contract, shame, really talented
Andrew: OK squad hooker, but what you see is all there is
Baloucoune: Very good
Bradshaw-Ryan: Who knows but no longer a kid and can’t get a look in.
Burns: Really like Billy but is only a good league player, but we need better, like Pad…..
Carter: Solid but suspect no good enough for what he’s being paid
Cooney: Outstanding but might he be off to Scotland?
Curtis: Won’t make it
Doak: Hopefully will continue to improve to Cooney status – if not Ruan. Like many young players he has dipped from last season but talent is there.
Flannery: writing seems to be on the wall when Doak picked at 10
Gilroy: Bate out, at one stage looked a cert to win more caps than Darren & Trimby.
Herring: Very good, hopefully will keep his standard a while yet
Hume: Hopefully just a little stalled after injury but a real talent
Izuchukwu: Promising but needs a spell of fitness and opportunity
Jones: A genuine trier but a bit of a lightweight
Lowry: Tremendously skilful, size always a worry but as brave as f*ck
Lyttle: Defence is just not good enough
Madigan: As fit as Addison seemingly, if fit at least he’d bring a different game/option than Burns.
Marshall: Having a great season but an injury waiting to happen and a concussion worry
McCann: Maybe with Duane’s departure he might get opportunity, still promising but beginning to really need to get games
McCloskey: Just as essential as Hendy, as reliable a performer as Big Al O'C
McDonald: Thought he seemed promising in pre-season but not forcing himself into the picture
McIlroy: Decent but not much more, lacks the pace a winger needs.
Milasinovitch: The Roy Hattersley of the squad/A tub of Lard can just about hold the scrum and very little else
Moore Dec: Squad Hooker, who knows
Moore Marty: Oh ballix, our only TH with all-round ability but could be career over
Moore Stew: Like him, just not sure if he will find a position but pretty talented squad guy
Moxham: Big lad gives it his all, just not sure his all is enough
Murphy: for a former major talent, he appears to be collecting a wage and making no contribution, similar attendance record as Addison & Shinnerboots.
O’Brien: Who? Yeah, totally anonymous
OÇonnor: The most reliable player in the squad, more or less ever-present and consistent level of performance. Doesn’t know how to let anyone down.
O’Sullivan: Doing a bit of a Warwick, looked good but becoming less solid it appears and scrummaging appears to be going backwards, sometimes literally, lets hope for a renaissance similar to Big Licence has had.
O’Toole: Still promising rather than a genuine option in place of Marty, Scrummaging can be a worry, still young but now needed to really step upin the absence of a proper TH for the season.
Postelthwaite: Seems a big talented lad but is injury an issue?
Rea Marcus: Seemed to have made himself essential, I’m a fan.
Rea Mattie: Looked like he could be outstanding, I remember Darren touting him as the future, but FFFS he has hands like feet.
Reffell: Was it 39 or 42 tackles? Impressive numbers, I just can’t remember a single big moment, albeit I suspect he fought like King Billy just before HT.
Reid: Looks like a promising but slightly lightweight Loosie. Time will tell.
Sexton: Seemingly lots of smoke and feck all fire. So, smoke & mirrors then?
Shanahan: Ah god love him, tries his “not good enough” best
Stewart: Real promise, a talent but are refs starting to see issues, lots of penalties against him in the last 2 games. Starting to overdo his work and teams will not miss the chance to isolate him for penalties.
Stockdale: Oh buggah, he worries me, seems to be completely lacking in confidence, defence looking awful & hands need to get tacky and catch the frigging ball
Sutherland: Great short-term signing, if he stays healthy.
Timoney: Very very good player, strong in all depts.
Toomaga Allen: How in the name of the Wee Feckin' Donkey did he get an NZ cap even if it was 10 years ago & v Japan. With Marty fecked I wonder could our 2nd tub of Lard surprise us? Probably not
Treadwell: Has moved from promising to "oh well" to a very accomplished player, though I'm loathed to say anything positive about FIRFUCs, Farrell appears to have imbued him with a deal of confidence.
Vermeulen: shame he will be gone
Warwick: ironic that now he’s one of our most consistently good performers he will become a bit part when Kitshoff lands. His cause would be helped if he could avoid being headbutted by that Tuilagi front-bottom, the worst citing ever as hated M.M.Reynal went through the collision in detail and restated completely accurately what he and the rest of the world saw. That said, I loathe M.M.Reynal. Before I move on from venting my spleen, SEXTON J (the hated Mexican) can anyone say why he has not been cited for his head clash on Sunday? If BL was guilty, Sexton needs a life sentence.

Anyway, that is how the squad looks, the word BLEAK comes to mind when looking at next season, Kitshoff is not a one-man team. A squad full of holes and there will be more next season than this.

Right, see yis next year.

[big mervyn]

Happy 3 Kings Baggy.

"Hattersley" Definitely wan to add to the pantheon of great UR nicknames.

[BaggyTrousers]

Happy 3 Kings Baggy.

"Hattersley" Definitely wan to add to the pantheon of great UR nicknames.

Cheers Merv, just debating whether to attend a parade tonight. Probably to many god botherers I suppose. Probably get out the smoking jacket and plot the death of Donal Spring.

[thecrouch]

Can't disagree with any of this. We are in trouble. I think we might be in a similar position to the late 00s when we needed the saffers to come in and fix our broken club, though maybe not quite as bad?

Milosinovich, honestly he's appalling. Couldn't believe what I was seeing at the weekend. A total pudding. Saying he can hold up a scrum is giving him too much credit I think, pretty sure he got folded like a deck chair in the first scrum he was in!

[BaggyTrousers]

Yes Crouchie, he did an impression of Tony Buckley in his first scrum, but as you know I am scrupulously harsh but fair, so yes, thereafter he just about held up the scrum

[SOU]

Fair assessment on the majority there, in my opinion I think it’s the fact we have accumulated so many random blow ins and “qualified” individuals recently.

None of the blow ins seem to care about Ulster, and it shows in those knockout games and tight must win games. The contrast in someone like Cooneys attitude compared to some of the D4 rejects speaks volumes to me.

We seem to have gathered a whole load of passive characters, very few leaders and general softies. Can’t see it improving anytime soon.

[for dog and ulcer]

Pretty much in agreement with the analysis except I would be much harsher about Burns.

[Jetstream]

Why have we as a team become so passive? Where have all the big hot-headed Ulstermen gone ?
Is Dan the problem? He always comes across as too nice.
When was the last time you saw one of our players react with anger.
We need an Alex Ferguson in the dressing room kicking them up the jacksey.

[solidarity]

Happy New Year, MrT.

Good to have the definitive word on the squad. I assume this will be forwarded to the powers that be for thier information, edification and action.

[BaggyTrousers]

Pretty much in agreement with the analysis except I would be much harsher about Burns.

Can't help it Dog, anyone in your squad called King Billy is a relief in the face of perpetual animosity from the Ulster-hating governing body in Oreland, the FIRFUCs.

Just to be clear, I'm not displaying "early Clancy" type sectarianism, I have never walked on the Twelfth, though I have regularly run. I have never been a member of the Great Big Order of Jaffas. For balance, neither have I ever sung along with Celtic Symphony or any other songs of terrorist glorification. Anyone can feel free to ask which school I went to, however, it was not run under the auspices of The Council for Catholic Maintained Schools.

[StandUp]

Why have we as a team become so passive? Where have all the big hot-headed Ulstermen gone ?
Is Dan the problem? He always comes across as too nice.
When was the last time you saw one of our players react with anger.
We need an Alex Ferguson in the dressing room kicking them up the jacksey.

I agree but I don’t think Dan is the issue there. We have been too nice for many, many years. With the odd exception like Neil Best and Justin Harrison.
Generally though, Ulster teams haven’t had that killer instinct for a long time.

[thecrouch]

Why have we as a team become so passive? Where have all the big hot-headed Ulstermen gone ?
Is Dan the problem? He always comes across as too nice.
When was the last time you saw one of our players react with anger.
We need an Alex Ferguson in the dressing room kicking them up the jacksey.

I'd love to understand why we are so bad at producing decent forwards.

Why are there no Alan O'Connor types in Ulster?

[for dog and ulcer]

Maybe it's fairer just to say that Billy Sean Burns has proved to be a major disappointment to me. His early promise has not been built on and he seems to be too often hobbling or missing in action. He does not deliver consistently at the level of his occasional top quality plays.

[solidarity]

Why have we as a team become so passive? Where have all the big hot-headed Ulstermen gone ?
Is Dan the problem? He always comes across as too nice.
When was the last time you saw one of our players react with anger.
We need an Alex Ferguson in the dressing room kicking them up the jacksey.

I agree but I don’t think Dan is the issue there. We have been too nice for many, many years. With the odd exception like Neil Best and Justin Harrison.
Generally though, Ulster teams haven’t had that killer instinct for a long time.

Why? Why do we not produce hard nosed bully boys?

[HammerTime]

Kitschoff would be a cracking signing if it was alongside another two ignorant as sin forwards. Kitschoff on his own is practically pointless. Won’t make a jot of difference.