Thats right, twas me who mentioned it. Hall was out of the country for a month at his house in France, Portugal, Spain . . . . . .(somewhere in Europe) and team affairs were left in the hands of Calland and the coaching staff.

And didn't they do a great job in his absence.....

if that is true then sounds to me like Hall probably knew and f###ed off to drop us in it.

Why on earth was he allowed to take a holiday during season Director of F### all

So Hall went on holiday before the game because he knew what was going to happen? Are you seriously suggesting that?

Wouldn't be too sure, he taught me PE, and I'm still awful at RL

No it is just show how badly run the back room staff are when the supposed chief goes away at the time of a cup match

With stan doing tactics and skills and bally doing fitness and moves I think it could work

The fact that M Hall was in Spain doesn't mean he was not responsible as Director of Football for overseeing all football matters. I have never felt Calland was the right man for the job but I sense this appears to heading for a major injustice. With Hall away I am sure Calland would not have had the total
authority to sign a player, agree terms, issue a contract without at least passing the deal via one of the remaining directors. If Calland did so well he deserves to be dismissed for gross misconduct. But he acted within his authority it is a different matter. I just find it very strange if this was the case buy hey you never know. Either way it hardly fills you any confidence that the Club Directors & Management are running the club in a competent, professional
and responsible manner.

Jbfax you really are boring.

The whole why was Martin Hall on holiday when should he go on holiday? We had this whole debate last year....he is not the coach. Most of his job is done off season signing new players so he therefore has to go on holiday at some point. Stop posting stupid comments without knowing what his job entails, its just embarrassing

when we got into trouble after fielding jamie thackray,it was our chief executive(james rule)who got the blame,as he was the one who sorted that side of things.are people saying that calland deals with all things regarding players contracts?input,yes-final say,surely not!!.who is actually responsible for dealing with the player's contract?director of football?club secretary?directors?whoever dealt with the contract etc,will surely have looked into everything!!!it looks to people on the outside that calland has been made a scapegoat,considering most people have an inkling that he has an uneasy relationship with his board.

Why are you all trying to draw your own conclusions about who is & who isn't to blame? Were any of you actually present when Ostick was signed or team was selected for Swinton? NO!
An internal investigation is taking place which will consider what role was played by Calland, Hall & Ostick (plus others) - just be patient & wait for the outcome in due course

Hall was present for the signing of Ostick, However he wasn't for the Swinton game and games either side. He also wasn't on holiday he was out of the country for a month or so to do work on his house in said country. When you are running a business (supposedly) on a professional footing, I am not sure he should be away for such a long period mid-season.......

Calland and Co were left in charge of coaching maters, selecting the team etc, in Halls absence (as usual). Maybe Hall if around would have checked Osticks admin, contract etc as he does the paperwork etc for the club and assumed such a basic task was well within the coaching staffs abilities . . . . . . . . Apparently not and maybe the reason for Callands suspension???

We will see.

Lets be honest here, this may not be just about this incident, this may be the straw that breaks the camels back, Matt may well have some good coaching skills midweek and some nice looking badges, I dont wish the guy any malice when Ive spoken to him hes not at all the way some paint him out to be, but for his first coaching role at this level his learning curve and mistakes have not only cost him dear but had an effect on lots of other things, this investigation may or may not absolve him but he has continually made mistakes since he took over and been given chances to overcome his own problems and that of his team, we really had no other choice, this constant state of unfilled potential and making all the wrong headlines has to end somewhere, Halifax RLFC has a fantastic history and great potential. We certainly dont need to be worried about upsetting one man, none of them are bigger than the club and well be fine without him should it come to that. Onwards and upwards, you never know this may release a huge weight from some of the players too. Well done for taking this action Mr Steele, I applaud you today, it was the right thing to do.

Without the facts, what are we left with other than speculation?

There is a chain of command and someone has to be held responsible.




What's that got to do with it? Maybe if Shayfax had been there, this whole sorry mess wouldn't have happened!!!

Bally has managed to get the school team to the national final again this year after winning it last year. The guys done good. Give him some credit.
Perhaps you were just beyond help. Even the therapists have probably given up on you.