Next Head Coach

The "New Signings" thread brought up a good discussion about our next choice of head coach if John Kear goes at the end of 2022 when his current contract expires. I'm still unable to split the threads on here so have re-posted the comments below so we can have a separate thread.

Quote: New Signings " I’d be interested to know what bradfords fans opinions are on old school coaches like kear and McDermott in comparison to relatively young coaches like Grix and Ford and if that will have an impact on the season .'"

Quote: New Signings "Look mate, it’s no good you and Greg Florimo coming on here with your reasonable tone and genuine interest. We are supposed to come on each other’s forums just to be a complete git. Try again but with more sarcasm. I think John Kear is vast approaching the time when he needs to be properly grooming his successor. I’m not saying he’s Peter Fox but he’s getting what you might call “Old school” and thought should be given on who he can impart all his knowledge to. I thought that was Danny Brough but that seems to be out of the window.

It might actually be that we can’t afford to have a high calibre assistant coach (no disrespect to anyone at the club now) to act as JKs heir.'"

Quote: New Signings "I'm not sure you can lump Kear and McDermott together as they are generations apart. Both can be a bit prickly if asked what they consider to be a daft question but McDermott retired in 2002 and Kear some time in the early 80s if memory serves.

Kear gets some stick for his sides being overly forward orientated but I often think you can only work with the tools you have. From what I've seen he has a very professional approach which is what we needed with a young side and with a club with an owner as flaky as Chalmers. Experience counts for a lot when dealing with people and Kear has plenty which is a real asset. He'll have learnt a heck of a lot over the years. I guess the problem emerges if you become out of touch with modern methods or become unable to communicate with younger players. I've no reason to think either McDermott or Kear are in that situation.

I expect Kear and Wood will have had discussions about what happens in 2023+. Kear only has 2022 on his contract with us. If Kear were to retire I'd hope we're very careful about who we appoint and don't just go for an ex-player from the golden era just because we remember him being good on the field.'"

Quote: New Signings "Not sure we are enough of a draw for someone from the golden era. Probably more of a Nick Zisti.'"

Quote: New Signings "SL assistants might want to take a head coach job. Danny Mcguire,Kurt Haggerty,Luke Robinson,Danny Orr to name a few. Lee Greenwood and Rhys Lovegrove could be options from Championship/League 1.'"

Quote: New Signings "Kear is no doubt a very shrewd coach with tons of experience, however I do feel that in many ways the game has left him behind and I do question a lot of his methods and tactics. Whilst he has never been given huge sums of money to spend on a squad, he hasn't been too badly treated in that respect and on many occasions we have badly performed when compared to other sides with even lower spending power.

My honest feeling is that his teams since arriving have been woefully unfit and this results in fewer 80min performances with mistakes creeping in due to tiredness. His unwillingness to play off the cuff rugby has also seen a number of players leave an go on to embarrass us when they return with new clubs.

I accept that it is probably where we are as a club, but even with significant investment I don't believe for one minute that Kear is the man to lead us back to SL.

For me if this was his last year, I wouldn't be overly disappointed, but the next appointment would say a lot about what direction the owners were taking the club.'"

Quote: New Signings "Regarding Kear I've always said be careful what you wish for, for those wanting him gone. I always find the style of play conversation interesting with Kear branded a dinosaur and and some of the younger coaches playing "off-the-cuff", yet reading Yorks forum last season, their fans seemed frustrated at their style. Ironically for us it was our defence we seemed to struggle with last season which is the area you'd always say was Kears strongest point.

I think Bullseye comments are spot on. Kears brought stability and probably a respect to the club. We were a L1 side who had hit rock bottom when he took over. We now seem stable (which came with a big bump in the road) and since that time we've earned promotion back to the championship, and now competing in the play-offs, as well a cup victory over Leeds in there as well. I think we'd have all taken that when Kear came through the doors of a L1 club on its knees. Don't get me wrong there's been some frustrations there, particularly having a poor record in the "crucial games" but I think Kears done alright.

Next season will be interesting. Kear wants us to go up another level. We should have finished third this year so are in a decent starting position, and I think our signings will all improve us. So I think there's more pressure on Kear to deliver, particularly on those crucial bigger games.'"