So we know who it is now. The conjecture is over. Now is the time to get behind him and the team. This is a young BRITISH coach and we need to support him. I wish him the best of luck.

Enough of the platitudes and `good luck` messages, this is a truly woeful appointment.

Let`s not lose sight of the fact that he was BM`s ASSISTANT over a pretty lack lustre period for the club..........Are we to believe that he has been some remarkable talent in waiting but was held back by BM?...........No, despite the positive spin the club have tried to put on the announcement he is a very young coach, still learning his trade and without a distinguished track record.

At a time in the club`s development when we really needed a high profile, experienced coach to improve our performance both on and off the field, we come up with the easy/cheap option......or as some might say we are of so little worth that nobody of note was interested.

So much for DH`s `onward and upwards` speech, this appointment shows what little ambition the club has and the fact that top flight RL in London is well and truly on its backside!!!

No doubt today`s announcement will be followed shortly by equally underwhelming announcements concerning new players........or more likely the promotion of a few U20/U18`s to the first team squad as that is a nice cheap option.

Expectations for next season are now well and truly deflated, god knows what the impact will be on ticket/season ticket sales.

Agree with all of that except the emphasis on the BRITISH - I'm not convinced that's a positive.

From where I sit he wouldn't have been first choice but "He who pays the piper ...", so I see no point in arguing with the chairman's decision, though I can't enthuse over it.

From the piece on the club sitethroughout this period we have also been able to monitor Rob's performance in the role which has been excellent. He has the full backing of the players and has been integral in the re-signing and recruitment of the 2011 squad, which will be completed shortly.'"

As he's not online atm I'll briefly say this sums up Lister's sentiments as well (thought you'd all like to know )

Lets be positive....last season we were shocking and that was with the man now in charge of Leeds. We need to give Rob Powell a chance to do things....on last years showing the only way is up, so there isn't too much pressure in that respect on him. The only way he'll gain experience is by being given the Head Coach role...he's been assistant for 4 years, now he has the chance to step up and prove himself.

Lets just wait till the end of next year to see where we stand.

Also, David Hughes in his comments mentions that the full squad will be completed shortly.....does this mean the 2 Aussies joining the squad shortly or that more numbers will be added shortly?? I'm hoping its the latter....as we'll struggle to field a team at present when we're hit with a few injuries!

Two year deal, is that a good thing in saying he is more than the temporary interim acting head coach, or is there the feeling that the man truly deserves the opportunity. Not knowing the guy I cannot say whether he was a McDermott acolyte. I honestly don't know whether I feel good or bad over the length of the deal, on the one hand it does give the stability, but it seems to be stability that seems to say we are happy with gates of 3500 and are on target for our five year financial meltdown. I would have been happier for a one year deal and the chairman to come out and say earn the chance to renew your deal from 2012, and look to see if there is someone who can take us forwards if we have another disappointing season. Regardless of the length of contract he could be moved back to an assistant coach role if he fails completely as stated by other posters, he does appear to be the cheap option.

He says to add to Chris Bailey and Nick Kouparitsas, two Australians who have already been recruited for 2011."

Oh dear, I hope that's not the end of our recruitment.

Too much negativity. This is a potentially good appointment. Why would we want to participate in the merry-go-round of failed British coaches with "experience" ? After all, people like Jon Sharp have had their talent rather cruelly highlighted by the difference in performance at Huddersfield when Brown arrived. Likewise some of the other names bandied around here. They all have a track record of failing to deliver success at previous clubs. There's no law that says the coaching world has to be a closed shop and nobody else is allowed in. Also, it's always been a bit of a bugbear of mine that clubs automatically assume that top level coaches have to have been top level players. There's no reason why that's the case. In fact, anyone who knows many top-level RL pros might find themselves questioning that assumption quite vigorously.

Powell is young, innovative and untried. He's also, without a doubt, cheap, and if anyone thinks that shouldn't be a consideration, you need to open your eyes to the position we're in. Quins have got a very weak squad, compared to most other SL teams, and that probably explains why the likes of Noble couldn't be tempted even out of unemployment to come down. So there's no rational point to spending big bucks on a tried and tested [and failed] coach, because even Wayne Bennett would have a bit of a task trying to get Quins out of the bottom four next year.

This is good thinking. Powell will be able to hold the fort cheaply while more young London players emerge, and in the meantime, he may well surprise a few people.

Quote: BroncOnIon "He says to add to Chris Bailey and Nick Kouparitsas, two Australians who have already been recruited for 2011." Oh dear, I hope that's not the end of our recruitment.'" www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2010/no ... ague-coach Harlequins have appointed Rob Powell as their new coach, a decision that can be interpreted either as another indication of the London club's problems, or as further evidence of the low-profile progress being made in the development of the game in capital. Andy Wilson making the point I wanted to make in a very succinct journalistic way.

Quote: BroncOnIon "He says to add to Chris Bailey and Nick Kouparitsas, two Australians who have already been recruited for 2011." Oh dear, I hope that's not the end of our recruitment.'" www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2010/no ... ague-coach Harlequins have appointed Rob Powell as their new coach, a decision that can be interpreted either as another indication of the London club's problems, or as further evidence of the low-profile progress being made in the development of the game in capital. Andy Wilson making the point I wanted to make in a very succinct journalistic way.

Clearly our BIG announcement has sent ripples of expectation and fear through the RL community.........normally the most trivial bit of news can expect to spark a load of comment across rlfans message boards, but as a of a few moments ago there were only 3 postings and all on the Warrington board. Comments range from `who is he?`.....`never heard of him`.......and `Quins are taking a bit of a chance on an unknown`.

Do these people not know of our new leaders distinguished pedigree and long track record at both domestic and international level.........high time the marketing department kicked into gear and pushed out some positive messages on Facebook.

Has he?
DH's statement said
It's that word "shortly" again. I don't know if that's happened.

Mmm. Maybe some good reason for the negativity. You are not exactly filling me with positivity and optimism with some of your own comments.

Surely its the worst thing in the world to be considered a stop-gap. If its true we approached Daryll Powell and Aston first, that means Rob Powell was 3rd choice. Him signing a two-year deal might give people the impression that he's simply a holding figure until someone more established declares an interest.

If you're going to appoint someone like Rob Powell, you make him your first choice, you back him and you give him time. Let's hope he's given that.

I didn't phrase that well. I didn't mean he was holding the fort until a better coach came along, I meant that he was holding the fort until we can produce a better team !

I am fairly negative about Quins chances next year because of the weak squad. But I think Powell has got as much of a chance of getting the best out of them as anyone, in fact, given the fairly consistent failure of the usual suspects on the coaching carousel, he may well have a better chance.