Not for me CJ. There’s no doubt that he has had an excellent playing career but he is unproven as a coach and we need someone with experience to get the best out of our current squad.
Denis Betts was also a great international player but was IMHO a poor coach.
He didn't have a clue about the championship? I don't get that, it's still the game of rugby league, just a lower level.
It's a tough one.
Wasn't Purtill the coach with Championship experience we were looking for?? That didn't work.
The club tried a strategy of signing players with Championship experience rather than SL cast-offs, which was sound in principle, but that hasn't really worked.
I'm glad I'm not making the call because it's not easy.
It’s an important appointment this next coach, if we fail we could be around the 1200-1500 mark next season and then we will struggle even more
@wrlfcefc1989 You should watch the film Six Degrees of Separation - sometimes gossip escapes the great big wall that surrounds Widnes.
Well it is an audition for ROB tomorrow anyway.
Wonder who the 'interest from abroad' is? Or is PF saying that Wales is a foreign country 🤣 ?
Tim Sheens?
Still not sure whether Henderson was ever a possible for the job but regardless he’s announced he stays at Keighley til at least 2024.
Let's face facts, people aren't going to be happy with the new coach appointment. There's no Dougies or Vintys out there that are going to want it. There's probably no up and coming Jose Mourinho of the RL world that is going to rock our world or would be interested in the job. We're not a particularly attractive proposition are we, it's going to be someone who's not asking for much and wants to cut their teeth. Like SF but different. I'd be amazed if otherwise.
That's not to say we couldn't stumble on an unexpected world-beater but, you know.....
Whoever is appointed as Head Coach will be welcomed by some on here and vilified by others for whatever reason. Only time will tell whether we get the appointment right, but I hope that whoever is appointed is given time to sort things out on the pitch. This year is probably a question of the new Coach assessing the players in the squad and who he wants to retain for 2022 and identifying potential recruits for 2022; and maybe to bring in players this season to strengthen the squad.
The only thing we know is that there has been interest in the position from home and abroad and interviews have been held. Ryan O’Brien in his recent post-match interview indicated that we were about half-way through the process, which doesn’t fill anyone with confidence. In view of this, it is perhaps the time for the CEO to give and update prior to the Bradford game, with any indication of the timescale for the appointment.
I would prefer the new Coach to be someone with authority and experience in the game, but would also have no problem with O’Brien getting job, with maybe Matty Smith as Assistant Coach. I believe Smith has expressed a wish to get into coaching. Whoever is appointed will be met by positive and negative comments on here, but he should be given time to turn things around and not judged after seven games.
Raising memories like Vinty and Dougie depresses me!
Can't see any players or coaches anywhere in our leagues atm that remotely match their charisma or rugby vision.
Tim Sheens was a flash of what they had and entranced supporters and players while he was here. His departure seems to have been over the cost of an assistant but we don't have any idea just how much that was or, indeed, just how much the club could afford at that time and what PF's instructions were on that matter when he was negotiating.
This year is probably a question of the new Coach assessing the players in the squad and who he wants to retain for 2023 and identifying potential recruits for 2023 ; and maybe to bring in players this season to strengthen the squad.
The only thing we know is that there has been interest in the position from home and abroad.
In other words another write off.The new coach needs to come in and start getting results from this squad of players now.This season.That's why Finnigan and the club parted company, because he couldn't get results.The anouncement of the coach will be received with groans anyway.Leeds scoured the globe and ended with a relative nobody so I don't hold out much hope for us.
@sinbad Not really a write-off. I too would expect any new coach to improve things on the pitch, but the chances of a play-off place are remote. It will be an opportunity for the new Coach to look at the players and assess who he wants to keep in 2023 and identify potential recruits for next year. He may even be able to bring in a few new recruits this year to improve the squad. How much flexibility he has will depend on funding that is available.
What I would hope is that we see an improvement in performances and a few wins, but any new coach should not be written-off on here after a few games.
If we can see an improvement in performances and more wins than losses, we can then look forward to the rest of the season and next season with a bit more confidence. You never know, we might even see a few good performances from Levy Nzoungou before the end of the season.
@sinbad Not really a write-off. I too would expect any new coach to improve things on the pitch, but the chances of a play-off place are remote. It will be an opportunity for the new Coach to look at the players and assess who he wants to keep in 2023 and identify potential recruits for next year. He may even be able to bring in a few new recruits this year to improve the squad. How much flexibility he has will depend on funding that is available.
What I would hope is that we see an improvement in performances and a few wins, but any new coach should not be written-off on here after a few games.
If we can see an improvement in performances and more wins than losses, we can then look forward to the rest of the season and next season with a bit more confidence. You never know, we might even see a few good performances from Levy Nzoungou before the end of the season.
That may be stretching things a bit Frank, but you never know, he must have had something to have attracted the clubs that he's visited! If he does come good do we re-sign him?