simonokeeffe wrote:Fanning got player of the month for September
says a lot about the kinda month we have.. although there was no way he was our best player.
Sometimes it's not about being the best player, I'm sure you can get it for showing the most development/improvement and to be fair he has come on in leaps and bounds. Maybe people don't like him cause he's a ginger but Fanning is developing into a pretty solid pro and IMO has developed beyond what I thought he's ceiling was so it'll be interesting to see how much more he has in him.
he is an average rugby player who is currently playing at his peak in a average team getting poor results, nothing to do with him being ginger.
He is big, works hard and does some things well, but Leinster should be aiming for a higher quality player in the team.
goreyguy wrote:he is an average rugby player who is currently playing at his peak in a average team getting poor results, nothing to do with him being ginger.
He is big, works hard and does some things well, but Leinster should be aiming for a higher quality player in the team.
He's a young player, how do you know what his peak is? Tommy Bowe was fairly average early on in his career, I seem to remember some commentators saying he wasn't good enough to play international wing. He did ok in the end I think right....
goreyguy wrote:he is an average rugby player who is currently playing at his peak in a average team getting poor results, nothing to do with him being ginger.
He is big, works hard and does some things well, but Leinster should be aiming for a higher quality player in the team.
If he is playing at his peak as you say, why shouldn't he be rewarded for that by getting this month's award? I'd rather they reward an average player who is actually playing well in terms of his abilities than an international/world class player who isn't.
If everyone was fit Fanning wouldn't be in the team. They aren't, so he is and he is giving it a go.
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We are really showing our class. Sacking coaches , criticising players Grow up and give the players and team a chance, Support through thick and thin. Why don't all the people who are criticising MOC put up their resume and we will see how they stack up.
Don't really get why there's any consternation about this. A lot of people have been quite patronising to Fanning, whereas actually he has been one of our few backs who have played remotely close to their potential since the start of the year. Scored a great try at the weekend too that would have been lauded had it been Luke Fitz.
The lad deserves it and, like Bent and Denton, is the type of squad player that all teams need.
I think a lot of it might stem from the fact that there's a lot of people who'd prefer to see a young unproven back thrown in instead of Fanning, who we know what he can do. I don't necessarily agree and he's certainly performed adequately so far this year. Against Cardiff, Scarlets and Munster, he was one of our top players on the night.
Last edited by wixfjord on October 9th, 2014, 3:34 pm, edited 1 time in total.
goreyguy wrote:he is an average rugby player who is currently playing at his peak in a average team getting poor results, nothing to do with him being ginger.
He is big, works hard and does some things well, but Leinster should be aiming for a higher quality player in the team.
He's a young player, how do you know what his peak is? Tommy Bowe was fairly average early on in his career, I seem to remember some commentators saying he wasn't good enough to play international wing. He did ok in the end I think right....
He isn't. He's 28.
That's a bizarre comparison. Bowe was a star in an under 21 World Cup where Ireland got to the final. He was good for Ulster and the only things that really held him back were the fact that EOS was conservative (despite capping him a few months after that JWC) and the emergence of Andrew Trimble. Think George Hook was the only one saying he wasn't good enough (or more to the point,not fast enough) for international rugby but like most of his opinions, he plucked that right out of his arse just for the sake of saying something. A bit like Heaslip, Bowe got more of a proper go at international level after the 07 WC.
goreyguy wrote:he is an average rugby player who is currently playing at his peak in a average team getting poor results, nothing to do with him being ginger.
He is big, works hard and does some things well, but Leinster should be aiming for a higher quality player in the team.
He's a young player, how do you know what his peak is? Tommy Bowe was fairly average early on in his career, I seem to remember some commentators saying he wasn't good enough to play international wing. He did ok in the end I think right....
Comparing Fanning to Tommy Bowe. Ive seen it all now. 28 is not young.
goreyguy wrote:he is an average rugby player who is currently playing at his peak in a average team getting poor results, nothing to do with him being ginger.
He is big, works hard and does some things well, but Leinster should be aiming for a higher quality player in the team.
He's a young player, how do you know what his peak is? Tommy Bowe was fairly average early on in his career, I seem to remember some commentators saying he wasn't good enough to play international wing. He did ok in the end I think right....
Comparing Fanning to Tommy Bowe. Ive seen it all now. 28 is not young.
Mea culpa I had Fanj at 24/25 but I think my case stands, he's taking his chance look he's not a world beater but I also can't be hugely critical of any of his performances so there's no reason with more exposure at this level he won't show more lines like his try on Saturday and as such is fully deserving of his player reward.
Don't see why I can't compare & contrast, I'm not saying they're on the same level just that it's very easy to pigeon hole a guy as was the case for Bowe in terms of pace (and maybe Hook was the loudest critic but there were others in his early days).
Also just admit you're a gingeriest and deal with it
To be fair to MOC, Its not his fault Dave Kearney, Luke Fitz, Zane Kirchener are injured. You'd say if 2 of those 3 are fit then Fanj probably doesn't make the 23 on a match day. Throw Ferg McFadden into the mix of injuries now too.
On the other side, Fanj has show fantastic application. Done the basics really really well. You can't say he's made any high profile errors and certainly is way down on the list of factors contributing to our lack of form at the moment.
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