Merthyr...

[JohnCoffey]

We are all passionate Ebbw Vale supporters and always want to look for the positives but we mustn't let that cloud our judgement.
Merthyr were the better side on Saturday - but not on a per £ basis !
Our defence has been very good and kept us in touch until the inevitable.
Our forwards are putting in some good shifts both as individuals and as a pack and there are some outstanding game moments. But we don't appear to have any obvious game plan to break down oppositions and our backs seem to be more effective when they take advantage of turnovers and opposition errors.
We have good players but there is no evidence that we are getting appreciably better as a team - although there are improvements in individual performances.
On Saturday we will be half way through the first part of the season - the leagues don't lie & after 6 games we are bottom of the east section having scored the lowest number of points and the least number of bonus points.
I for one don't like looking at any league in which we are bottom on promises that we are working to a better future. We are a better and bigger club than that.
Finally - all we ask from referees is consistency - Saturday's ref at least gave us that - he is consistently bad. We had him a few time last season & he was shocking on every occasion, has no empathy with the players or the game.

[viewfromthestand]

We are looking at options to strengthen the squad in certain areas , we have been unlucky with injuries and a couple of promising 2nd rows leaving. Jon Davies has been on holiday. Which makes me question commitment. We will see on that one. I think we are starting to look like a team . We were getting on top of Merthyr on Saturday until referee Rhys decided we were not going to win. I saw Clayton Thomas assessing Rhys and Clayton s parting shot to a good friend was BAD DAY AT BLACK ROCK. A poor assesment pending.
I think we can rest assured Lee , Ben and the team will be working flat out to put things right before the league comes together. We will not see any big name signings as the club like many others in our league can t afford them. We have not been swamped by any of the club's we have faced so far. Cut out mistakes, add a sharper cutting edge and we will be in the mix in May.

[JohnCoffey]

Some good points there, but I don’t think we need to strengthen the squad. We may need to add players if we are short of numbers in certain positions but I think our players are as good as those in most other squads.
We are starting to look like a team but we don’t make enough line brakes & we don’t spend enough time in the opposition 22. We have scored less points than any other side in the division and there is a reason for that – we appear to lack a game plan to break down the opposition. Penalties kept us in the game on Saturday & in the interests of balanced reporting we scored our only try when Merthyr were down to 14.
On the plus side we have conceded less points than 4 of the sides above us which shows that we have a decent defence & the players have the commitment & desire not to concede points.

[String]

Finally - all we ask from referees is consistency - Saturday's ref at least gave us that -

Im not sure he was that consistent first half v second half treatment of identical offences. Its almost like he got more annoyed as the game went on and started lashing out. Certainly there were plenty of first half incidents that got penalised that would have earned a yellow if done in the second half.

To me consistency means the same call for the same offence from the first to last minute. We didn't get that but to be fair very few referees at premier level do it.

[Stevey]

Finally - all we ask from referees is consistency - Saturday's ref at least gave us that -

Im not sure he was that consistent first half v second half treatment of identical offences. Its almost like he got more annoyed as the game went on and started lashing out. Certainly there were plenty of first half incidents that got penalised that would have earned a yellow if done in the second half.

To me consistency means the same call for the same offence from the first to last minute. We didn't get that but to be fair very few referees at premier level do it.

Heard the Chief had a half time talk, as he's entitled to, with the ref.....Chief is an imposing figure, maybe that explains the difference in the two halves.

[The Watcher]

Agree with much of what previous posters have said. I to feel that we are looking more and more like a team and from that the narrow defeats will become the wins we have come to expect over the last 7 years. We are not too big a club to go through this rebuilding phase and I do see a clear game plan, there is an issue of execution in my view. In the backs I feel we are missing 2 players, a 13 with an outside break and a winger who has a step and top end pace. (Ellis Wyn Benham will provide the latter when fit if his video footage is anything to go by)
I do not agree that Merthyr looked a better team, as others have said, the Ref changed the game completely, a third year in a row that this ref has cost Ebbw Vale a victory, Quins away 2 years ago and Llanelli away last season
I personally think its disrespectful to label 3 hookers in the 23 as being a phase of deliberately ignoring of ball carriers, it comes down to injuries and absence by others.You cannot just drop players back in when they return the evening before a game having been away for a week, it will destroy the team spirit that is clearly being built, you see that in the effort being put in during matches which has been a major part of our club. Both players can do it in lower leagues, its not really an option in the Premiership in my opinion. I would say Jason Strange is up there with the best coaches the club has ever had, having spoke to him about this sort of issue in the past I am convinced he would have done exactly the same as our 2 young coaches have done.
Lets get behind the boys like we did in Cardiff and trust that coaches and officials are looking to fill the numbers and skills gaps

[JohnCoffey]

Don't want to prolong the discussion, & it’s history & irrelevant now & just an opinion anyway - but I thought Merthyr were the better side because from my position on the bank I thought they had more territory, more possession, made more line breaks & spent longer in our 22 than we did in theirs. But memory not as sharp as it was !!
The problem with the ‘rebuilding’ argument is that practically every other side in this competition is also rebuilding.
However, interesting & valid views on the need for a winger & a 13. Ellis Wyn Benham has missed over a season through injury but before that he clearly had a step and top end pace and the ability to beat a man one-on-one. If he can recover that form he will be a real threat to defences at this level - & exciting to watch. We have a 13 (I think) and no matter how good or bad James Lewis was in his 10 minutes against Barged he is a proven 13 with experience at a much higher level & his video clips will show his pace for the outside break – whether or not he still has it we don’t know as he seems to have disappeared from our squad.

[david brown]

Hate to appear i am using this site for points scoring However in my humble opinion and my defence.I fail to see that when asking a purely hypothetical question ,hence using the conjunction IF ,can be remotely considered as being disrespectful.? I can assure you that was never my intention and was simply saying what was the topic of conversation in the bar pre match should be made public in view of the rarity of it.