LYN Jones and Louis van Gaal certainly don't appear to be peas in a pod but the two coaches share a common problem at the moment – accusations of being dull.

Sadly for Newport Gwent Dragons those complaints aren't being made while challenging at the top of the table; unlike Manchester United there isn't the consolation of some substance to go along with the lack of style.

Supporters at Old Trafford are restless after seeing their side play plenty of joyless football this season. Pedestrian, conservative, structured… boring.

They sit third in the Premier League table and are a win away from progressing to the knockout stages of the Champions League yet fans are pondering whether van Gaal really 'gets' their club.

Is the end result, silverware, worth it if the process is so mind-numbing?

That's a question that Dragons fans have never had the luxury of pondering. It's fair to say that punters at Rodney Parade don't have the same high expectations as those at Old Trafford.

Since the first two seasons of regional rugby it has been pretty mediocre fare in the bottom half of the Celtic League while knockout rugby has been played just three times – in Europe's secondary competition in 2007 and last season plus the Anglo-Welsh Cup in 2011.

Nonetheless, supporters have certain expectations and they want the occasional thing to cheer. At the very least they want their team to dish out a bloody nose when they are downed.

The Dragons tended to do that in the Paul Turner era while in the early Darren Edwards reign they were rather porous in defence at times but played some entertaining, enterprising stuff.

But their Guinness Pro12 displays this season have made pretty tough viewing. It's not only been losing rugby but pretty dull rugby with plenty of errors and an awful lot of aimless kicking.

Perhaps the situation has been exacerbated by us entering the season with such high hopes courtesy of the first half of 2015 when they enjoyed some great results and played some tremendous rugby.

In away games at Newcastle and Treviso they romped to bonus point wins thanks to expansive stuff, they secured the double over Stade Francais by taking it to the French side up front while even in a 30-25 defeat to Connacht, when Rynard Landman was red-carded early on, they gave the Rodney Parade faithful plenty to cheer in awful conditions by rallying and pushing the Irish province all the way.

They were scoring tries in a variety of ways and were a tough team to defend against, which contrasts starkly to the early months of this season.

It can't purely be down to the absence through injury of the lively running of Hallam Amos and Tyler Morgan and the rather more direct style of Jack Dixon. The players in the matchday squad have it in them to be so much better.

Supporters just want to see their team having a crack, hence their delight with the performance against Sale in the European Rugby Challenge Cup when they were clinical and ran in four tries.

Their demand isn't for daft rugby, running from anywhere like Philippe Berbizier and Serge Blanco in 1991, just a bit less kicking and a bit more fun.

One thing that Jones and van Gaal do share is experience and they won't be ruled by the demands from the terraces. "Attack, attack, attack," goes the cry from the frustrated United fans but their Dutch boss has a thick skin and a stubborn streak.

Coaches can't rule by what the fans want but this is the entertainment business and they need to throw the occasional bone. The Dragons have a loyal 4,000 or so who certainly can't be accused of being glory hunters but what they do seek is enjoyment.

The danger for Rodney Parade chiefs is that watching on television is a warmer alternative than going through the turnstiles.

South Wales Argus:

THE Principality Premiership table makes pretty good viewing in this neck of the woods at the halfway stage.

Cross Keys are sitting pretty and on a nine-game unbeaten run, Newport have gone from last season’s bottom club to being a title contender while Ebbw Vale and Bedwas are mid-table and a good run away from being right in the mix for the play-offs.

Five points separate the top five so it promises to be an intriguing few months with champions Pontypridd attempting to steady their nerves after a shaky few weeks in which they have lost league encounters to the Steelmen, Bridgend and Bedwas.

Are they vulnerable? It’s all relative. Don’t bet against a fight back.

We are also reaching a period when the new experimental laws will come under closer scrutiny. The data will have been studied and anecdotally there seem to have been plenty of tries scored now that they have been upgraded to six points while penalties now only have a two-point reward.

The ball-in-play time seemed to be high during the unseasonably good weather of September and October but that may soon change – last weekend it was hard to hold a Gilbert in the cold November rain.

Driving lineouts have already been the weapon of choice, expect plenty more in the winter months while the number of attempts at two-pointers by kickers is sure to increase.

"It's great to see World Rugby, through these trials, trying to be positive and make rugby attractive as possible, not only to play in but for spectators as well," said WRU referees boss Nigel Whitehouse at the announcement of the experiment.

Admirable but even Waisale Serevi would have to change his approach when the going is Somme-like, the wind is howling and the rain is torrential.

In such conditions is two points sufficient deterrent for a flanker playing on the edge?