What an outstanding thread.

Think we need to establish that the days of using Horne, and Sharp, as a scapegoat are over.

Westerman was crap against wire.

I think we all need to forget about the last four seasons and who under performed etc and look forward to the future under the new owner, coach, players and staff. If in one or two seasons time nothing's changed then let's go mad, however under the ownership of AP and the coaching of PG I can already see big changes and the future looks promising.

If Horney carries on performing like he has the last 2 games I will be more than happy, consistency is the key for me some-thing he has lacked for several years, I hope the fact he has players waiting in the wings to get a shot and a new coach will help Horney to establish that much needed consistency.

I agree with the OP we should not be playing injured players or a player just for the sake of his name. I am hoping Gentle makes players earn their right to play! IMO that is the recipe to success.

As has been pointed out, there are several obvious reasons for his lack of consistency.

I personally do not consider them reasons, I consider them opinions....

Like mentioned I have been one of Horney's harshest critics,however I am more than happy with his present performance, and sincerely hope he can maintain this standard.

why do some feel the need for a scapegoat anyway.its hardly constructive and hammering a player for a bad game is not going to instil him with confidence is it.if a player is consistently bad the coach will see it.
my main concern is that we play play players in their correct position,even if it means playing a youth team player,and not putting square pegs in round holes.

It's an opinion that he has been played at 7 a lot of the time when he's really a 6? It's an opinion that he's had to organise the side when that's not his natural game? It's an opinion that he's had to do most of the kicking when he's not got a great long range kicking game? Wow.

And yet you will hardly hear a word said against Jordan Turner who has yet to prove himself to be even a fraction of the player Richard Horne is. Maybe Turner has a nicer bottom, eh?

Bit rich....maybe if I championed Whiting you would not resort to childish comments ?
Although for the record I rate Whiting very highly, much higher than Horney who is imo an [uaverage[/u h/back and would not get into a lot of the top teams. Like you point out he is not an organizer, not a long range kicker....He is a support player with a decent short kick, overall average.

This has already been covered in depth a few pages ago. Most clubs have one organising halfback and one supporting/running halfback. He does what most players in his position do and, when he has a steady halfback partner, he does it well.

And if you can't see the irony in your constant knocking of Horne whilst jumping to Turner's defence every two minutes, there's no hope. I know who has given the club better value over the past few seasons, and it's not Turner.

When Horney has an off week, some posters on here will have their socks out. Pathetic.

Yeah, you can see it now. He'll have one bad game, and they'll all be calling for his head.

I do not jump to Turners defense every 2 minutes, he has flaws in his game which needs development, mainly defense. I would like to think Gentle will attempt to develop those areas considering his age (and imo his potential) before throwing him on the scrap heap which appears to be the favored measure by most on here.
My knocking of Horney is not constant it has imo being justified for the last few years, you claim to have reasons for his previous form however I do not particularly agree with them, however I recognize when he is playing well and I am more than happy to acknowledge that, my opinion is that he is an average h/back and I care very little if you agree with that or not, you are entitled to your opinion which again I care very little about.

I found a dummy. Is it yours?

I'd be interested to know how you can disagree with the fact that Horne hasn't had a settled halfback partner for a few years. I'd be equally interested to know how you can disagree with the fact that he has had to perform a role to which his style of play isn't suited throughout that time. These are not opinions, they are facts. He's spent a lot of that time playing alongside Danny bloody Washbrook, for christ's sake. Just what did you expect?

Never mind Horney's lack of long kicking game - I haven't seen much of Seymour's yet.

I'm just hoping that Ellis doesn't turn out to be the same kind of 'special' as Turner.

He's the new Leon Pryce, apparently.

maybe the new richard horne

Or maybe the new richard horne is the new richard horne

Im not getting this bag turner ??

He has been our ( latest) utilety player and he is still v early 20,s. He has also been one of our only players with any attackng flair. Yes his defence needs work but he is a young lad and give him time, we signed him a prospect and that what he is. He is not ready to be a top 4 centre which we believe he could be but when under gentle he could surprise a few people !

I'm not sure I'd consider him a utility, he's played the vast majority of his games for us at centre, it's not like he's been shunted around as much as someone like Whiting. Like Whiting though, his handful of games at 6 were still more than enough to show that he isn't good enough there to be worth persevering with. At centre, it's a similar story to Hall: Good in attack, poor in defence, and he just doesn't seem to learn and improve from his mistakes. His positional play and decision making are still not good enough, nor showing noticeable signs of progress.

That leaves back row, which may be worth a chance, but is going to be a tough job for him to break into in our team.

the very same reasons i used to defend the often disappointing shaun berrigan

And just as valid IMO. Our inability to provide players with what they need to produce their best has been a huge problem over the last 4 years, and must be a major source of frustration/anger for them. I know if it was me I'd be thinking about how much of a short career I'd wasted (in playing terms) in that time.