Master of None wrote:...but in his time with Ulster, he was Man of the Match on numerous occasions and played with considerable style and passion and I personally wish him every success with Northampton along with any player who has served the province well and has moved on.
Agree totally with that sentiment.
GC
"Out of Ulster have I come. Great hatred, little room - maimed me from the start. I carry from my mother's womb....a fanatic heart"
Master of None wrote:Hi everyone, this is my first post (maybe my last). I find it strange that some people seem to take satisfaction in berating and insulting Neil best in recent times. I had the pleasure of being involved with coaching Neil in his early days at Malone RFC and I have nothing but praise for him both as a person and as a player. I don't know why things with Ulster deteriorated and I suspect that a lot of the posters on this site don't KNOW either,but in his time with Ulster, he was Man of the Match on numerous occasions and played with considerable style and passion and I personally wish him every success with Northampton along with any player who has served the province well and has moved on. (I'm sorry for the length of the post, I know that brevity is admired)
That is the real question that people have not got near to answering. A little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
rosetintedgoggles wrote: The way he was treated by the muppet O'Sullivan would have had a major negative effect on anyone's outlook and attitude.
I wish Neil Best well and hope that one day soon we may see him in the green shirt once again.
The first bit is cowpat. He was dropped by EOS because his form for Ulster crumbled between the Autumn games and the 6N.
As for the second bit...And so say ALL of us.
nope.
Nope to which?
In my opinion as a Neil Best fan, my first statement is true
As for my second statement. I find it hard to believe that any real Ulster supporter doesn't wish Neil well and want to see him back to his barnstorming best. If they don't... shame on them.
Neil Best, at his best, was the best No6 in Ireland - albeit for a short time.
I for one wish him well in Northampton and would like to see him back in an Ireland shirt. He should be in prime position to take over from the injured Dennis Leamy in the Autumn Internationals.
I'm sure many of us have worked in organisations where we have become disenchanted with policy and ideals. We rebelled, tried to change things but finally parted company - it was for the best in the end and for everyone concerned. I'm sure that's what happen with Neil.
Who was at fault? Probably both parties - it usually is!
cables wrote:I do not get any feeling that anyone is taking satisfaction from what they posted. I believe all would be tinged with sadness.
Well said, Cables. Neil Best in full flow was a wonderful sight and it is with no small measure of sadness that I read about his departure for Northampton. I'm happy for Neil that he has, seemingly, found a club in which he can, once again, feel a part of the team and can find his top form and I am sad that he won't be doing that in an Ulster shirt. At the same time, it seems obvious to me that this was the time for Neil to move on. I don't think he would ever have recovered his best form at Ulster and that is a situation that suits neither a very talented player or the club that he is playing for. I can say with certainty that I am not happy that Neil Best has left but under the circumstances, I am glad for both player and club that it happened at this time.
If Neil Best had played as he did 2-3 years ago for us last year he would have been a big loss. As it was, and for whatever reason, he really has been quite poor since the 06 autumn internationals. He was very good against Worcester.
If I could have picked one of the pair we lost to Northampton it would have been Roger Wilson. He mightnt be the best player in the world but he was a very solid one, I can barely remember him having a bad game, and if we were planning on playing Ferris at 6 there would still have been a space for him in the team. Diack may turn out to be a solid player, there is a slim chance he will be a great player, but we all knew Roger was a solid one and 7 or 8 times out of 10 better than the opposition 8.
Whilst I liked seeing the Ulster lads do well (2 Instonians too!) at Northampton and wish them all the best it was quite sad watching 3 decent home grown players who if motivated would definitely add to our squad playing away from Ravenhill. Espescially given how terrible I fear we are going to be this year.
If Neil Best had played as he did 2-3 years ago for us last year he would have been a big loss. As it was, and for whatever reason, he really has been quite poor since the 06 autumn internationals. He was very good against Worcester.
If I could have picked one of the pair we lost to Northampton it would have been Roger Wilson. He mightnt be the best player in the world but he was a very solid one, I can barely remember him having a bad game, and if we were planning on playing Ferris at 6 there would still have been a space for him in the team. Diack may turn out to be a solid player, there is a slim chance he will be a great player, but we all knew Roger was a solid one and 7 or 8 times out of 10 better than the opposition 8.
Whilst I liked seeing the Ulster lads do well (2 Instonians too!) at Northampton and wish them all the best it was quite sad watching 3 decent home grown players who if motivated would definitely add to our squad playing away from Ravenhill. Espescially given how terrible I fear we are going to be this year.
Personally I can't wait to see the two lads in action in the GP, I've never had so much interest in seeing one of the english teams. I hope they tear the league apart!Would also love to see Neil McMillen getting game time and making an impact.
slimjim wrote:Personally I can't wait to see the two lads in action in the GP, I've never had so much interest in seeing one of the english teams. I hope they tear the league apart!Would also love to see Neil McMillen getting game time and making an impact.
rosetintedgoggles wrote: The way he was treated by the muppet O'Sullivan would have had a major negative effect on anyone's outlook and attitude.
I wish Neil Best well and hope that one day soon we may see him in the green shirt once again.
The first bit is cowpat. He was dropped by EOS because his form for Ulster crumbled between the Autumn games and the 6N.
As for the second bit...And so say ALL of us.
Cowpat???? Hope you were referring to EOS and his 16 man squad system! My point was that EOS had his chosen few around which he built his team. He didn't really trust his squad members, the result of which was a number of the squad players clearly became disillusioned with playing for Ireland. This particular chicken came home to roost when ROG amongst others played so badly during the world cup but EOS had no plan B.
Colin if you genuinely believe that Neil's form didn't nosedive between the autumn internationals and the 6N; we have nothing to discuss as we are poles apart.
I was convinced that he was going to be dropped and he was. I’m not saying that Easterbunny was better, but he was EOS’s favoured player. Neil had forced his way onto the team with superb form for Ulster, but when it dipped, I was convinced EOS would drop him.
That is not what I said. He did have a dip in form for Ulster and of that there is no doubt but that is not why he was dropped. His loss of form happened long before he was dropped from the Irish 22.
Last edited by colinh on Tue Sep 09, 2008 8:38 pm, edited 1 time in total.