Hé had success, so did Millward, so did Noble, but the game moves on, players, coaching techniques, management styles and environment.
Powell belongs to the past, the game has passed him by. The players know it and possibly that is one of the problems.
We need to build for the future, not rely on the past. There's no future in history.

Say we'd got another coach in, one of your preferences. Let's say your new coach had to make a similar clear out because the same players resisted change. And your new coach had to deal with a similar player turnaround. How long would you give your new coach to prove himself?

There's too many whatifs in there to give a sensible answer.
Its quite simple, a good coach understands the strengths and weaknesses of his players and develops a strategy and game plan to make them effective. Start simple and develop individually and collectively as and when possible. Replace and evolve, develop capability and confidence in each other.

Is that what has happened? It looks more like a hatchet job to me.

I think you've nailed it here, and this is why it would have been wrong imo to sack him after 1/2 - 3/4 of the way into a season with so many variables changing - meaning no solid consistent platform in any areas of the field to work off. (Some of this is obviously his own fault).

He may well be the wrong coach, but he needs a toolbox of stable tools (for want of a better analogy), over a reasonable amount of time to prove us all either way.

I'm backing him as you probably know , but I'm no better judge than anyone else as to whether he'll be a success or not. We'll never know if he doesn't have the time to sort it however, and in some ways we need him to stay to make him accountable because if we're here next year and it's still bad, he can't turn around and say we didn't give him time.

The ‘stable tools’ is a reasonable point, but we’ve had the tools in place now for weeks. Nicholson was the last in (aside from a Dufty cameo), but the right side has seen Wrench/Thewlis/Minikin at different times over the last 4/5 weeks. Matautia, Ratchford and Wrench have covered centre, since Magic weekend. Dean, Ratchford and Matautia have rotated at right side halfback and Holmes and Nicholson both being in and out in the second row.

The stable tools are there. Every name mentioned has Powell’s signature on the contract. So the consistency is available if he chooses it.

For me, there are too many contradictions. The right side is porous. Its either the players aren’t good enough (why sign them), the system/preparedness is lacking (ineffective coaching) or it’s a lack of cohesion (borne from the constant changes, which have all (other than Matautia who got a ban) been tactical.

It's certainly not perfect and there are some decisions that have been made that have made me question him.

But with so many ins and outs, and new players, and odd injuries here and there, imo, it takes at least a season to work out what works best with so many things to configure.

With new players coming in and others leaving; new performance based relationships are being formed/changing week by week for example: Matty Nicholson might be developing a strong synergy with Williams which wasn't present 3 weeks ago. Holmes' preferred position may not be working because at Cas, other players complimented his style better. If you expand these connotations across the full squad, with so many new players, it takes imo at least a season to have a reasonably clear picture of how best to use the players to fit your ideology.

On Sky today, they were talking about Utd's need for a rebuild under their new coach, and they were talking 2/3 years.

As I say, I'm no better judge than anyone else on whether Powell will be successful, but with everything going on, it's hard to fully know because there are so many variables.

One thing I will say is that the effort, at least, seems to be there now. If there was still no effort, then I'd find it very difficult to back him at this stage.

Pity there isn't an icon for"I want your babies" such is my like for your post

And an old one, Powell obviously has one eye on the future. The guy is clueless why would anyone let their best prop leave mid-season? Is he looking for a pay off?

It's a good post and understandable. No argument from me at all.

And he has won nothing of note.

Coops liked designing his undies more than a full training session, (apparently).

See previous 62 pages

One thing I’ve never liked about Powell is his buck passing. Always has, always will be an excuse merchant. I seem to remember regular comments on here when he was in charge of Castleford regarding him playing the blame game after every loss during his interviews on Sky. Whether it be injuries, the pitch or the referee, someone else was always to blame for his or his teams failings.

I guess I’d have a little more time for him and more patience in his project, if he perhaps came out and admitted that he and his staff have perhaps got it wrong at times and there’s things they need to work harder on as well as the players. I think some culpability or humility would go a long way with us fans and perhaps the playing group also.

Instead, we’ve had players, experienced and young, thrown under the bus, culture issues within the club well broadcast and even the fans, bearing the brunt of his frustrations at his and the teams failings throughout the season.

Let’s face it, whether you’re Powell in, or Powell out - he’s got things wrong and the players can take all the blame they like, but to take a team, who were regular finishers in the top three or four, into a relegation scrap within twelve months, simply isn’t good enough.

Some managers and coaches are made for a club and made for a certain role. The players, regardless of what’s gone before, need to be willing to run through a brick wall for him and for some reason, too many of them are falling short in that department and that includes many of the players he’s brought into the club in order to allegedly help ‘change the culture.’

For me, he’s just not right for us and he’s nothing more than what Roy Hodgson was when he come to Liverpool - the wrong man, at the wrong time, at the wrong club. Great success at a lesser club such as Fulham, with lesser expectations and working on a shoe string, but just not up to the task at a bigger club which has higher expectations.

Regardless though, win or lose on Thursday, he’ll still be here come the start of next season, I’m certain of it.

No. Sadly the clappy super wire Wembley wolfs won’t hear a word against him. They won’t admit he’s the wrong person to lead this club forward, and are happy to accept mediocrity even if it relegates us.

Only consolation is, they’ll be paying admission and clapping all the way to League One.



Lose on Thursday, and I guarantee we’ll have issues a statement by Friday morning along the lines of “Powell and Sheridan have left the club with mutual consent,” or some other bull, leaving someone else (likely Richard Marshall) to clean up the mess and be the man at the helm where we do get relegated.