By Whaley Shark
May 7 2011

Almost nine months ago, as we saw the first glimmers of Mike Brewer’s new dawn, the Whaley Shark took a wild guess at what the forthcoming season held for Sale Sharks. Now, at the other end of that season, he takes a look back at his predictions and ponders whether or not he needs to eat some humble pie......

Whaley Shark said: Well, one thing is absolutely certain; we are a very different Sale Sharks from the one that staggered to the end of last season, punch-drunk and clinging on to survival- new chief executive, new head coach, new players, and further reshaping of the squad apparently planned over the next couple of weeks.

 Well, in the end we were probably a ‘slightly different Sale Sharks’ this season because, thanks to Leeds’ and Falcons’ inability to win, we hung around on the fringes of the relegation battle without ever really getting dragged into it, and scraped together enough points for the season to end in comfortable non-achievement. As for the new head coach, I never imagined he’d be ‘reshaped’ himself and become the ‘departed head coach’ by Christmas.

 

Whaley Shark said: Many of the new signings are unproven at Premiership level, but the infusion of fresh faces, on the playing side many of them young, fearless and hungry, should reinvigorate the squad. No doubt, some of the new players will make it and some won’t and, from the way he talks, Mike Brewer won’t hesitate to make those judgements. As the squad is distilled down, we’ll start to see who, in his eyes, truly has the talent and commitment and who doesn’t. While it’s an unforgiving process, that’s essential if we are to rebuild from last season’s near-disaster.

 In the event, many of the new signings remain unproven at Premiership level, with some barely or never having made it on to the pitch (Mike Petri, James Lewis, Matty James), or being limited to a couple of cameo appearances (Asaeli Boko) before fading away or moving on. We saw more of some of the others, like Rob Miller, Aston Croall or Kyle Tonetti, while Karena Wihongi, Wame Lewaravu and Sisa Koyamabole have had a good run and Paul Williams would always be on my team sheet. Others, such as the promising Rhys Crane, were denied the chance to show us what they were made of by injury. With Steve Diamond’s new broom in full swing, it’s difficult to know how many of these players will be with us next season.  

 

Whaley Shark said: The Whaley Shark’s mole in the camp is evangelical about Brewer as a coach, and rumours leak out about developing a “Super 14” style of play. Spirit is high and the squad’s mood is positive, so that’s all good. On the other hand, we are without Charlie and Eifion for the start of the season, some of the new signings have only just arrived or, indeed, haven’t actually quite made it to Stockport yet, and the internationals have had to be rested after their summer tours. So pre-season has probably been less than ideal.

 The Brewer coaching style clearly came over more positively than his interpersonal skills were to do later on, and as for players who ‘Haven’t actually quite made it to Stockport yet’- that means you, Mikaele. You well and truly buggered up my Fantasy Rugby, though I admit it’s partly my fault for forgetting the mid-season transfer window so I was stuck with you for the entire season.

 

Whaley Shark said: I suspect our performances will be patchy and our results unpredictable for quite a while as the squad gels together, some of the fringe players make the grade or move on, and the programmed play of the last couple of seasons is gradually (hopefully!) erased. If the Brewer model goes wrong, especially against one of the strong sides, then I think it could go very wrong indeed, so I am prepared to accept some serious reverses in the first couple of months of the campaign. That’ll be worth it, in my view, if we genuinely end up playing heads-up rugby, because then we could well dish out a few wallopings too.

 Well, if you take ‘Quite a while’ as being the whole season, then I got this one right. We have leaked a lot of points in a couple of games, notably on visits to the East Midlands, and today’s misère hand at Kingsholm, and there were two or three where we didn’t miss by much. Once or twice, for example against Gloucester and Saracens, we did click and, when we did, we looked good. But in many games, it was only for ten or twenty minutes, or when we were already trailing in the match and, frustratingly, I was often left with a sense of what might have been.

 

Whaley Shark said: I think the first few games will shape our season. If we get a good start- a few wins, even the odd try bonus point (remember them?), I think that’ll give us enough confidence and momentum to carry us through the long winter slog, and top six is possible, along with perhaps a European pot. If we get off to a poor start, then leadership becomes critical to keep heads up and the squad unified. Mike Brewer certainly talks the talk and seems to ooze self-belief from every pore, but if things go badly early on, he’ll be severely tested. Of course, it’s not just him- the captain and senior players have a role too, but their effectiveness will depend on the spirit engendered by Brewer and the tone he has set. So, no pressure then, Mike!

Looking back, the first few games were pretty typical of how our season was to turn out- patchy and inconsistent. We did finally get a try bonus a few weeks ago and, indeed, have actually scored a fair number of tries this season. On the other hand, top six looked excessively ambitious from quite early on and we ended up frozen out of Europe in the ice of the Scottish borders. And the senior players, well, I suppose they did play a leadership role, but not at all as I anticipated, bringing to an end a Brewer regime which clearly failed to engender the right spirit or set the right tone.   

 

So there you are. Being a generally glass-half-full person, I was probably rather over-optimistic about the extent to which Mike Brewer would turn things round and I totally failed to see the soap opera coming. After our mid-winter turmoil, we were doomed to a season of under-achievement, and so it turned out. I’ll do a proper end-of-season review in a week or two but, in the meantime, hope you all have a good summer.