Quote: Ferocious Aardvark "I'm interested in your coining the cliche that he's "overrated". Whose ratings? People come up with this repeatedly about all sorts of players they personally don't rate, usually radio show phone-in types etc., but what does it actually mean? Are you saying that you concede the majority opinion of Gale is that he is rated far better than you rate him? '"
He is overrated buy some of our fans, plus the media to some extent, or at least they did when he first signed for us. You yourself rated him as 'a class act', so you are one of the fans who has overrated him, he is far far from a class act. A lot of fans on here commented that he was a good player, funny how a number of them have now conceded that he has been a let down, others discussing him being dropped. Expectations of him as a player have dropped, that's normally a sign of him being overrated in the first place.
Quote: Ferocious Aardvark "Sights? Listen, right now, we don't have our sights set on being a top club. Yes, we can come up with brave 'Black knight' guff like that, and you wouldn't expect them to bravely say anything else if asked, but the reality which you and your more-and-more fans should face is that we have our sights set on NOT BEING RELEGATED NEXT YEAR and rightly so. That is the first and foremost and paramount thing, if you exclude the tough business of staying solvent, and you can only set your sights on one thing at a time.
So " If we really do have our sights set on being a top club" my arrse. We haven't even made the playoffs for years. That would be a step in the right direction. Take your rose-tinted specs off. '"
I was merely making a statement, fairly simple really, if we (fans, club, management/owners) have sights on becoming a top club then Gale isn't good enough. I have no idea realistically what the clubs 'sights' are, but I'm sure they're higher than avoiding relegation. This season we were hoping for a top 8 finish, with the way the squad is shaping up for next year I would expect management have a similar target at least.
Quote: Ferocious Aardvark "You also don't get that the standard of your first choice 7 doesn't in any way guarantee what you'll do in the league. I believe the current first choice England scrum half is a chap called Rangi Chase. To what heights has he propelled his club?'"
Imagine where the club would have been without him? He regularly carries the team and wins games with his inventiveness and unpredictability. He has speed, flair, good kicking game and stands up in defense, all things Gale lacks, he is in a totally different league as a player.
Quote: Ferocious Aardvark "Behind the right pack, and with the right mix of backs, Gale has shown plenty to suggest he could merit a place in a very good team. Whether that be with us, or elsewhere. Sure he's a way from the finished article, but I've see nothing to suggest he's just "average". Even you and his other detractors must concede he's had a hugely disrupted season and of course his inclusion again in the 2013 England Knights squad alone suggests he is better than an "average" player.'"
Ahhh, the 'behind the right pack' excuse
Funnily enough this doesn't explain why he does nothing with the ball when the pack is on top and he is getting the space. He struggles in our team, so I'm sure he would look even more out of his depth in a 'very good team'.
