Quote: Father Ted "What the answer is I'm not sure. Would keeping Wane and bringing in an attacking coach with a good record help. Waney is a good motivator although he's had a hang dog look about him almost all this season.
Perhaps Wane plus say Geoff Toovey as asst? Toovey would sort out our half backs and backs. The style would certainly improve.
Replacing Wane will be difficult although there would be plenty applicants if his job became vacant. How many of those applicants would be good enough or suitable is another matter. It took IL over a year to find and agree Mcguire so will it take the same next time?
One thing is for sure and that is we are all fed up with the style of rugby played and matter have to improve. Changes have to be made to get those improvements and if they are not made then the outlook for crowds next season is not good at all.
My preference is for Wane plus an attacking/backs asst coach, like Toovey. Don't know if he'd be suitable but if he was I'd have him here and asap!'"
I'm with you on this Ted.
As a person SW is one of the nicest guys I have ever met and as a coach he appears to have pretty incredible motivational skills which ideally we would want to keep within the club.
I have been bored rigid for 3 seasons and there is absolutely no way I will be buying a season ticket next season unless there are some pretty radical changes. I know very little if anything about Toovey other than his name seems to pop up with regularity when new potential coaches roles are available or rumoured to be available.
I am a lifelong fan who when we lost even after 50 years of following them it still used to ruin my weekend but these days I just shrug my shoulders but deep down it really hurts that we have let standards drop on and off the field to such low and for me personally, demoralising standards.
Financially this season I'm assuming will be much better the loss recently posted however, next season will be horrendous unless IL comes up with something different because season ticket sales will fall off a cliff.
I don't expect to win every game and every trophy available but I do expect to see full time professionals with some the highest paid players in the competition to be competitive in every game and show more resourcefulness than we have seen for the past few years. We play with for me zero intensity with a permanent scowl with players who seem to think they are beyond criticism (ST last year with Bilko was beyond the pale) and the club seem oblivious to falling crowds issuing laughable statistics on attendances which I assume is for contentment internally within the club.
GF holders and Latics in Division 2 or whatever they call it should be the perfect model for potential significant growth in attendances, generating more cash and more importantly attracting new and ideally younger spectators on a weekly basis.
This has just passed us by and IL thinks that a game in Australia will fill in the cracks?? That will no doubt be a great boozing trip for spectators and maybe some advertising income but if we play as we have done for the last 3 years it will add zero to our credibility to be a leading team on the park.
I know we cant go and sign 6 or 7 players I'm not that stupid but we need change and we need the club to acknowledge that currently the levels of performance on and off the field are not acceptable. Two or three new players with a change in style will do for me next season even if that means zero finals and we don't make the playoff semi finals as long as I see positive change with good potential for year on year improvement I will be satisfied.
Do I hope Hull lose tonight? Of course I do. Would I then want us to then beat Wakefield? Of course I would. Would that change how I feel and how I think? Absolutely not.
I'm not anti IL or SW I just want to get back to enjoying my club, my sport and stop kicking the cat. I want to go to a home game in anticipation. I want to go back to shouting and screaming during the game - the past 3 seasons I just sit there in silence. I want to burn the wrestling pit. I want to talk rugby during the week while I'm waiting for the next match to come around. I want to stop knocking my club for being boring, insular and petulant.
I know some people wont believe me but I genuinely don't enjoy knocking the club but I still feel so passionate about the club that I feel I must say something even if the club are not interested or listening.
I hope IL will hold one of his forums with the fans in the next couple of months to hopefully, give us some glimpse of potential changes and acknowledge the unrest amongst the fans.