Brewer under pressure
Sale coach Mike Brewer is under increasing pressure as he continues to chop and change his squad ahead of the new season.
Sale have been one of the most active clubs during the pre-season campaign and have assembled a virtually brand new playing squad. This has meant that some very good fringe players are now leaving the club in numbers.
Brewer has made the changes because he feels it will help the team move to the next level and compete with the likes of Bath and Leicester in the division. However, there are great worries that it will take Sale some time to start playing well.
There are obvious danger and pressures created when a coach completely changes the look of a club. However, some fans will be very excited by the very public displays of authority and ambition.
Dangers and pressures
Brewer performed a player audit on the squad after last season and has since released a lot of players. These fringe players are what holds a club together over the course of a season and compensate for injuries and suspensions.
This shows that there will already be pressure on the new players at the club by default. They are expected to hit the ground running. A team can have the best pre-season program in history, it still takes a little bit of time to get used to playing games.
Brewer has not been shy in terms of talking about his new team or allowing his players to do so. They have received a tremendous amount of off-field publicity and this in itself creates additional pressure and unnecessary dangers.
The coach said: "Will more players be leaving? They certainly will be and that's being handled at the moment by the club, the players and their representatives – change was needed here. Not change for the sake of it but because the squad lacked penetration, power and back-up in certain areas."
A big season
Putting all of the negative issues to one side, it cannot be ignored that this season could be potentially huge for Sale. A number of other clubs have upped the ante in terms of the quality stakes and Sale have emerged as a side looking to make a real push for a top of the table spot.
This will create a real energy and enthusiasm around the club. Gate receipts should be high and very lucrative while the new players have a chance to create a long and lasting career at Sale.
Brewer added: "I profiled the squad because you have to know the players' capabilities and also how they are being coached and the systems that are in place – that needed to be done because if Sale went into this season with the squad they had last year, they would be in a pretty similar position again this coming season."
Betting advice
Sale would have been an outside bet for the title this season before Brewer started making drastic changes to the playing staff. They will remain a decent outside bet because the likes of Bath, Northampton and Leicester all have a little additional quality in key areas of their squads and club staff. These clubs are always going to be around the top of the table.
However, there are a tremendous amount of good players who have joined Sale this summer and will be looking to do well. Review their summer signings and look at the statistics of new players. Create a list of who has scored the most points in the least number of games and you will have the ideal individual to back in the new season.
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