|
|
Post by JP on Mar 13, 2008 18:55:17 GMT 1
If you had to name three Blaze players who had to leave at the end of this season, who would you drop and why?
|
|
|
|
Post by Rich on Mar 13, 2008 19:16:01 GMT 1
1.) Ruman Ndur purely because I think KC Timmons brings more to the team.
2.) James Cooke because there are young Brits out there just as good if not better.
3.) Steve Fone because although he is probably the best back-up goalie in the league the question is which three players would I drop, so if its a choice of dropping someone like Carlson, Calder, Martin etc or dropping a good back-up goalie and replacing him with a back-up goalie not quite as good I'd say drop the back-up goalie.
I'v not really got anything against any of these three players but I wanted to contribute to the thread so had to name three.
|
|
|
|
Post by chocice on Mar 15, 2008 12:37:56 GMT 1
I personally think that more than three will leave this summer but the three I would go for are
1. Rumun- strip away the emotion etc around his injury and consider what he has ever contributed on the ice and I would suggest that it has never been more than mediocre, so why sign him again after an injury that no one can be that sure is fully healed anyway.
2, Matty- A Dman import really has to be better quality than a 5th or 6th Dman level
3 Barrie Moore - The club cannot afford to have 2 non scoring imports and if we keep Stewart than Moore has to go. It has seemed this season that he is a player reaching the end of his career and I suspect he may retire anyway .
The big thing this year is not in my opinion who goes it is who comes, this season Thommo has given us probably the best pure Hockey team we have had at the Dome, and whilst a hardcore fan like myself is happy to win each week and admire the more technical elements of the game etc the new , or casual fan is not and needs some excitement to entice them back.
The crowds this season have in my opinion been lower than expected and in part that is due to the lack of a character player in the mode of Payette, Voth etc.
Too many casual fans are now pickingtheir games and missing the Hulls, Edinburgh, Basingstoke and Manchester games, because they know they will bring dull sterile shortbenched hockey and that we will play for two periods and get a few goals up and then play out the third. Many of the final periods this year have reminded me of the BNL days when we used to stop playing after two periods etc.
Personaly I think we have had a suberp technical side this year that has delivered the title but not exciting hockey or a full skydome.
What does Thommo do? What do others suggest?
|
|
|
|
Post by Claret & Blue Army on Mar 15, 2008 20:31:14 GMT 1
Chocice makes a very valid point. We need an entertainer to get bums on seats the season throughout
|
|
|
|
Post by bexblaze07 on Mar 15, 2008 22:10:16 GMT 1
Yes, but would you rather have an entertainer and we don't do as well, or a good class import, with some AHL or ECHL experience thats helps us to win games.
|
|
|
|
Post by JP on Mar 15, 2008 22:44:43 GMT 1
Yes, but would you rather have an entertainer and we don't do as well, or a good class import, with some AHL or ECHL experience thats helps us to win games. We had Payette in the season that we won the Grandslam so i can't really see your point  |
|
|
|
Post by chocice on Mar 15, 2008 23:05:44 GMT 1
I would take the entertainer next season, this season has been good but in reality we have perhaps been too good and consistent for our own good and few teams have come to attack or even try to win at the Dome.
If having an entertainer means we have 4 or 5 more losses in the L column then so be it , we would still win the league anyway, and in front of bigger crowds , which ultimately means more money in the coffers for players in the future.
this great period will not last for ever and who knows what will happen when not onlyThommo decides it time to move on but also Messrs Buxton and Cowley, so we really do need to make the most of it as fans but we still need bums on seats to pay the wages.
I would guess the average crowds are down 250 ish this season which means 250 x an average price of £10 x 27 games, if we dominate agian next season and clubs come to play the trap again who is to say another couple of 100 wont fall off the gate.
If this happend and you do the maths, the following season we may have to lower the wage budget and have a weaker team by default.
Give us an entertainer is what I say.
|
|
|
|
Post by Lee Francis on Mar 15, 2008 23:23:09 GMT 1
Yes, but would you rather have an entertainer and we don't do as well, or a good class import, with some AHL or ECHL experience thats helps us to win games. We had Payette in the season that we won the Grandslam so i can't really see your point Payette in that season was both a quality player with AHL experience, and an entertainer. Since moving to Newcastle he's dropped the quality player tag, and some might say entertainer tag too - and is more interested in doing whatever the hell he wants. If Thommo can find another gem from the AHL/LNAH such as Payette was when he first came over then we'd be onto a winner from every angle. They are out there, all you gotta do is look hard enough. *edit* Just to say that on the whole i agree with Chocice - we are crying out for an entertainer. An entertainer who could play would just be a bonus! |
|
|
|
Post by bexblaze07 on Mar 16, 2008 13:59:43 GMT 1
I think that the best entertainer isn't the person who fights the most, but the one that scores the best and most goals.
|
|
|
|
Post by Claret & Blue Army on Mar 16, 2008 15:07:00 GMT 1
Not sure that an entertainer just scores goals but needs that extra special "Something" that gets the crowd fired up a la Voth, Payette, Craighead etc
|
|
|
|
Post by Rich on Mar 16, 2008 15:42:16 GMT 1
First and foremost its a results business. Its all about winning trophies and ultimutly winning is what will keep people coming through the doors. However in terms of attracting new fans I agree it is an entertainment business, when I first started watching Blaze of course I wanted to see them win because they were my home team but I probably didn't have the same love for the club or sport that I do now and it wasn't that that got me hooked. It was watching players like Kurt Irvine winding-up the opposition that really got me hooked. So to sum up what I am trying to say, having a team that wins is the most important thing but having an entertaining team is no small bonus.
|
|
