Originally Posted by tmmorris
the FISO doesn't have to look out of the window
Perhaps, but CAP 410 says "The FISO has the following specific responsibilities:
a) issuing information to aircraft flying in the aerodrome traffic zone to assist the pilots in preventing collisions...the immediate passing of accurate information could be a vital safety factor when the FISO becomes aware of a dangerous situation developing within his area of responsibility." If a FISO doesn't look out of the window in support of that task I'd say they're not very good at their job. No criticism meant of your scenario since I guess neither of us know whether your FISO did look out of the window.
Originally Posted by tmmorris
the crosswind joiner was nowhere near where he should have been
Ah I get the picture now - so this is a general point about bad positioning not just for people joining directly on crosswind but also on standard overhead joins. And it's a point well made. I find students take quite some time to grasp the principals of SOJs. Most frequent mistakes are 1) not knowing which way to turn in the overhead, 2) slowing down too much and not lowering the nose enough in the deadside descent, 3) using far too little bank, resulting in joining upwind of the runway
and 4) not raising the nose enough to stop the descent at circuit height (also dangerous if there's someone going around).