According to John Davidson the journalist the coaching shortlist is as follows John Duffy, Anthony Murray and Micky higham as well as Ryan O’Brien
No Rob Powell then? Gutted
I was all for a quick appointment but it may be worth waiting till all the sackings have been made in SL come the end of season.There may be some potential candidates hanging fire for the Wakefield and Salford jobs which they might not get.
Whoever we appoint will not please everyone. John Duffy and Anthony Murray have already been mentioned. May be some applying for the Bradford job. Micky Higham certainly had a good playing career and was a leader on the field.
Of those, probably Duffy offers the most experience, but I would have preferred Henderson if he had applied. I would also prefer an early appointment.
I suppose that there is an option to continue with the interim appointment for the remainder of the season, but that will be met with an avalanche of negativity on here. You never know O’Brien may just prove everyone wrong and be a great success and put him in a good position to get the job for 2023.
Good point for comment and discussion, but we really won’t know who has applied and I suspect that the journalist is just repeating rumours.
Just a thought, would Matt Peet have been acceptable for Widnes fans. His background was mainly as Head of Youth Performance at Wigan, with limited coaching experience. Is there any at Widnes with Academy experience?
Doubt we have a shortlist yet given we’re not looking to appoint a coach for a number of weeks yet.
You could read that as they want to give ROB maximum opportunity to win a couple and give him the job because it's easiest.
Hope its more they are being thorough though....
You could read that as they want to give ROB maximum opportunity to win a couple and give him the job because it's easiest.
Hope its more they are being thorough though....
I actually think appointing O’Brien would be the hardest decision, if this Forum is representative of fans (which I doubt it is). The negative posters will have a field day “Finney appointing his mate”, “the cheapest option”, “not qualified for the job” etc.
I too hope that the club are seeking to appoint the best candidate, with the right experience, qualifications and vision to improve performances on the field and maybe contacts within the game to bring in new players to improve the squad next year. Whoever we appoint will not please everyone and there will be some posters just waiting for the chance to criticise.
If they think O'Brien is ready they may as well give him the job now rather than faff about in that case.
If they think O'Brien is ready they may as well give him the job now rather than faff about in that case.
If he gets appointed then my season ticket for one goes in the bin.
@cj91 They should consider O’Brien along with other applicants. If that means delaying any appointment until after the Bradford appointment or to the end of the season with the aim of attracting additional applicants, then that may improve the chances of O’Brien or may kill his chances completely, depending on performances in the interim.
The club should be actively trying to recruit the best coach we can get
Not waiting to select the best option from whatever Tom , Dick or Harry decides to apply
Murray going big style over at Colwyn Bay, would he risk that for your gaff? Possibly!
Duffy did a good job for us, but got poached by Fev, and then left POR in a similar manner, to go to (home?) LSV But he didn't last too long under the Beaumont regime, when (yet again) the Leythers were out of their depth in SL.
Higham (so far) unproven at coaching level, so..............
Stick with O'Brien for now, and see how how performs?
My prediction however is - Duffy.
Spelly.
RO'B from his history at the club has qualified steadily as his job has changed. Of course his experience is limited to Widnes as far as I know. As Frankg mentioned Peet has followed the same route at Wigan!
One thing that the Widnes cognoscenti rarely does is accept the local boy as worth a look. Gilmore was never good enough but has never looked back!!!How many MOM has he won against us?
Higham was a player that I hated tbh, but he knows the game and always played it aggressively. He rubs people up the wrong way wherever he has been and walked away after gaining his teaching qualification. Looking at the teacher shortage he won't be out of a job, but may only wants a part time role. This should be fine atm, though the maybe distant option of him and Smithy, in part time coaching roles, could work?
Unless the Board are about to surprise us all and go full time next year what we need is a no nonsense coach who is happy to coach hard bitten Championship level rugby, rather than non-aggressive SL style rugby in the Championship.
All journos have to do is fill a column and they will do that with whatever comes to mind, so take it with a pinch of salt. We aren't as attractive as we would like to be to players or coaches so the Board will have to choose with care.