Heard he has been sacked
Apparently James Ford (current Director of Rugby) has taken over the team for the rest of the season.
V coincidental that Wire announce Sam Burgess as next years coach (I know! Where to start with that one! The gift that keeps on giving - I hope!!!) and Long was rumoured to be his assistant… although strange to get rid of him now? 8 points clear at top? 🤔
@johnnyboy Board are jittery that this may be their last chance of SL.
We’ll never know what happened behind the scenes at fev but it’s obviously not on performance as the league doesn’t lie. Maybe he was open to offers and the Fev board didn’t like it
Sean has never been one for the 'conventional' approach!
Seems a bit odd though, Leon Price, now Long thrown out!
Sounds a bit like panic stations!!!!
The way I read it is that (after their defeat on Sunday) the Management are terrified that they have spent so much money and “might” not get promoted as this will be their last chance. IGM has made the bar so high that clubs like Rovers with grounds like theirs have little chance to get enough points to break through the ceiling required. When I attended one of the Monday meetings it was mentioned that Widnes would in theory finish about 16 in that list where Rovers would be I’m not sure.
Not Sure if I’ve had a senior moment but have I read that we will get an idea of the positions this winter, prior to next season starting👍
Take the statement with a pinch of salt.They aren't getting jittery over two defeats all season and top of the league.There's more to it.Always is with him.
Logically you are right I guess, but there were a few mistakes against Fax, on both sides, so both are beatable. Maybe not by us atm though!!!
I agree with Martin that some of the smaller clubs will be knocked back by the image that IMG wants to give the game.
That is what Fev fear and it has to be our chance. WVIPS needs supporters now for the club to be ready for the opportunity.
Played 21, won 19 lost 2, 8 points clear. Sacked on performance?? Must be a fall out of some kind. The Featherstone side is a very good Championship side, but its not like Leighs last year that was full of NRL players. If they went up they would obviously make signings but the current side would finish bottom in SL. So 8 points clear with that squad is a decent result for me.
I wonder if Long has looked elsewhere and they are found out, though with SL for next year odds on, I would rather be head coach as Featherstone in SL than assistant at Warrington. I think it helps Tolouse, Fax and dare I say it even us if we can sneak into the play offs. For Championship clubs going up this year is so so important. If Cas go down with that stadium, such a small town population wise and so many other SL clubs a stones throw away you would have to worry if they will ever get back in while all this criteria nonsense is flavour of the moment.
@sandgroper If the IMG criteria is all about big clubs. then then there is no chance for most clubs in the Championship and a few in SL, including Salford, Leigh and Castleford and other so called "big clubs", only because someone is currently willing to subsidise the club.
My guess is probably that the Directors and maybe players have lost faith in Long - maybe he is considering an offer from elsewhere. It could also be that whilst the investors have put money in to Featherstone in the past few years, with reduced central funding, they are having second thoughts about investing large sums for another season, possibly in the Championship.
I would bet that the investors in the likes of St Helens, Wigan, Leeds, Warrington etc would baulk at having to put more money in the event of a reduction in central funding.
With decent home support, a good coach and a competent Board of Directors ie who invest more than they take out of the Club, clubs like Widnes could compete with SL funding. In fact, I believe the game needs to retain and help improve the future of the so called "smaller" clubs in order to develop the game of RL, with a fairer distribution of central funding within the professional game, subject to Clubs meeting minimum criteria on support, financing, facilities etc.
The future of the game will rely on developing our own players at every level and not having to rely on over-paid imports, who often fail to live up to their billing.
Logically you are right I guess, but there were a few mistakes against Fax, on both sides, so both are beatable. Maybe not by us atm though!!!
I agree with Martin that some of the smaller clubs will be knocked back by the image that IMG wants to give the game.
That is what Fev fear and it has to be our chance. WVIPS needs supporters now for the club to be ready for the opportunity.
I have joined WVIPS even for a Tenner as every little helps mate. £5 is nothing and the lowest payment 👍
Take the statement with a pinch of salt.They aren't getting jittery over two defeats all season and top of the league.There's more to it.Always is with him.
Yes they are, Thats why they approached us for Gilly after their 1st loss. They have no faith in their halves and Gilly destroyed them in last years semi. Honestly, They are panicking they don't get there this year.
I may be wrong but their job is to publicise the game and drastically changing the 'image' is a big part of that.
They want nice well filled stands that we see at soccer TV games.
This is absolutely contradicted by games at, say, Cas where they still have old railings alongside the pitch etc - not a modern image when we have girls soccer to compete with. Some clubs, like York and Sheffield are trying to up their image but many are, maybe, not financially prepared to establish a good team and rebuild their ground to match the IMG vision.
We are lucky with our stadium, much though some may criticise it!
Our TV coverage is still in the Eddy Waring dark ages, sloppy English with no 't' s etc etc. This isn't even northern dialect it's just poor. That will change I suspect as they find more like Amor who can talk well, with knowledge. You only need to watch a couple of Aussie presentations to see the difference.
I would agree that there is a danger of throwing the baby out with the bathwater but if RL doesn't push hard we will be pushed aside by other sports, particularly women's soccer which is seeing crowds booming.
I can't honestly see the SL clubs throwing money to the Championship unless NRL imports are reduced. That is where the greedy top level have been happy to ignore the lack of second level development. If they aren't careful they could lose their supply of local talent altogether.