Hocley Soapbox - Season 3 Week 6 - Tale Of Two Cities

Welcome to this week's soapbox. It was a very eventful weekend just gone wasn't it? A definite tale of two cities. On the soapbox this week are your co-editors Mark and Tony, Steel Talk co-owner Jay, Andy Roberts, Nathan and the glamour that is provided by Sarah and Fay.

Time to get on your soapboxes then everyone...

1. Five words on Saturday

Much better stronger team work
Devils totally lacked any passion
Dominant, passionate, top quality performance

Good Win Against Lacklustre Opponents 

Shutout Steelers, Bownsy has 'mare

Matt Marquardt is on fire

Who the heck are Cardiff?

2. Five words on Sunday

Hicks influenced result. Bans coming
Am I allowed to swear?

Familiar Problems All Too Apparent

Fretter/Fitzy bans, lost points 

Retaliation cost us the game

Thanks for nothing Michael Hicks
We need to replace Ronnberg

3. What are your thoughts on the Deveaux signing?

Fay: Hard to say when he’s not played yet. Don’t know much about him apart from the 2 reported incidents in the media. Think the guys really brave to come back to a sport that caused him such a scary injury. 

Nathan: Don't know an awful lot about him so I'll have to wait until I see him play before I can make an opinion on him. Saw the warm up on Sunday though and he looks like a big unit so hopefully he won't get pushed around the ice easily and won't be shy in sticking up for his line mates. Something that was glaringly omitting from the game.

Andy:  The Deveaux signing (much like the Mosienko signing a couple of seasons back) is a bit of a risk bearing in mind his injuries over past couple of seasons. That said I think he could be a great addition if he is hungry to play (which you hope he will be after such a lengthy layoff) and has a chance of not being a type player. With his rep, fights will be inevitable. With us being down to 5 D at the minute he gives Fitzy a chance to not fight and not put us down to 4 D for 5 minutes. He has scored double digit goals in a season several times at a high level so I hope he can find the net here in a similar amount to Desbiens. As with all signings I guess we will have to see when he gets his chance to play.

Sarah: Honestly I didn’t think he was the type of player we needed. I thought the player would be a D man. Thompson (hopefully) knows best though and we haven’t even seen him play yet. I hope I’m wrong in my doubts. After Sunday’s game though, I wish he had been on the ice. 

Mark: Much needed, we have lacked an enforcer of sorts and can't rely upon on Fitzy to do the job all the time. He comes with a similar reputation to Guillaume Desbiens in terms of age and CV, and I hope he becomes as good as Desi. Picking up a player of his calibre is testament to the Club and its name. He won't be the last change.

Jay: Great addition to the team, he has done his time and served any punishment and you can then only wait and see how good a player is, but if he has a point to prove could be a real good pick up and I do prefer players that have that edge about them.

Tony: Let's wait and see as he seems to be a gamble.. I think we're a club that can take a punt and see if he can return to the form that saw him at the show, and a bit more physicality might have helped in Sunday night.  

4. Which player, if anyone, will make way for him?

Nathan: Ramsay? He's been a healthy scratch for a couple if weeks now so obviously out of favour although Westerling and Wallace have hardly been playing lights out since their arrival so who knows?

Andy: The obvious choice for who Deveaux will be replacing is probably Ramsey. It would be nice if we can keep two spare imports and rotate players to keep them fresh. I don't feel that after the Conti cup round in November we will be carrying two spares. Well not two spare forwards anyways. A spare D man and a spare forward would be a more idea situation.

Sarah: If the budget is available then run with 2 extra imports. Rest any players that have had a knock and/or injured or healthy scratch players that aren’t performing well. Nothing like a bit of healthy competition. 

Mark: I think it will be Ramsay if we don't decide on the spare import option. Like for like but with more experience. Not that Brady has let the side down, he's been unlucky with team selection. Would like the spare import option in case of injuries/suspensions.
Jay: None at this stage i suspect, but for me it has to be Westerling, came in as a so-called 1st Line centre and is hardly good enough in my opinion on the 4th line. So it will probably be Ramsay, what do I know, not that he is a great deal better...

Tony: If the budget allows then release Ramsay and carry a spare. I'd also consider dropping another forward for some defensive cover as we're more exposed at the back that up front. 

Fay: Potentially Ramsay or Westerling. Don’t want either to go mind.

5. What do you think to the new conference set ups now the season is almost 2 months old?

Andy: Not a fan of the conference system. Like most I would prefer a straight up league. Unfortunately that is unlikely to happen again anytime soon. I would rather have a straight up league and have conferences to sort seedings for playoffs. The conference system may be better if the fixtures were spread out more. We seem to play same teams week in week out. The out of conference teams games seem to be clumped together. Perfect example of this is we play Braehead three times in October! 

Sarah: It is what it is. It’s obviously going to benefit certain clubs but that’s always been the case. (not necessarily taken advantage of it though)

Mark: Would love to see the league to be one league, as I am not a massive fan of the conference system as it is now and as it was before. One league, bin the CC, that's the way forward.
Jay: I absolutely hate it...give me a straight fight between 12 teams!
Tony: Too early to saw still as so many variations in number of games played. I like the sound of the set up but don't have any evidence either way.. Manchester, Milton Keynes and Guildford are all surprises so far and I think the Patton conference have every chance to fill places 5-8 in the final reckoning above Fife and Braehead. 

Fay: Don’t like nor dislike it. Seems kinda pointless to me.

Nathan: Not a fan of the conference set up at all. Not if the ultimate prize at the end of the season is a league championship in which case it should be a basic league format. Seems to be a bit of an albatross that the EIHL are stuck with now.

6. Jonathan Phillips, a modern day legend and inspirational captain. Thoughts?

Sarah: Every single coach and player that has played with Jono say nothing but good things about him. He never gives up on the ice, he always gives it 100%. He’s got the experience and respect in the dressing room. He’s the GB captain, enough said. 

Mark: The best captain we have had in the modern day EIHL. Absolutely underrated, Jono never lets his standards slip and always gives 100% every shift. The fact he is captain for club and country, shows how highly rated people have him in their thoughts. We're privileged to have such a player on our roster.

Jay: Probably the best captain we have ever had in terms of longevity.

Tony: He must be great in the room because he's not been a top line player for a few years. Enough coaches have selected him for club and country so he must be doing something right. 

Fay: He’s on another level. Heart and soul into every performance, the man bleeds orange. So glad he has spent the majority of his career with us. 

Nathan: Not sure about the 'Legend' part but certainly an inspiration to us all. He may be the wrong side of 30 but can outskate many 10 years younger than him. To be at one club for the duration he has and to amass the amount of games he has then; I doubt we'll see anyone like him again for a good long while.

Andy: 700 games after the weekend speaks for itself. Jono may not be the flash harry guy of the team but he is one of the first names you enter on the team sheet. He keeps it sensible, simple and I can't think of many I would have on the ice when we are on the PK ahead of him. Hopefully he will get to lift some more silverware before he retires in the next couple of seasons.

And that's this week's soapbox.

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