To say things are rocky in the Haven camp at the moment is putting it mildly. The fact of been knocked out of the two cup competitions at the first hurdle, a seemingly paper thin squad in terms of quality, accompanied with the signings of the Workington quartet and the struggle to sign overseas players has let a depressing feeling take hold of a number of Haven fans. That's not to mention Ged's outburst in his after match interview against Gateshead which left many fans incensed and calling for his head.
Crashing out of the Northern Rail Cup was a bitter blow and actually does mean more than some fans realise. If, and it is a big if, our new BOD are to be believed when they say we have Super League aspirations, then it is imperative that we make a Championship Grand Final or win the Northern Rail Cup in the next 3 years. With the latter now out of the question for this year, it makes it that little bit harder. It might be a narrow way to look at things, but it is one opportunity missed.
As I mentioned in my post last week, losing at Gateshead was very disappointing indeed. I always thought the players would make up for it on Sunday though in the first Championship game, and they didn't disappoint as far as the scoreline went. However I mentioned last week that Ged took some flack at Gateshead, and going by his comments in his after match interview on Sunday, he wasn't best pleased.
Whilst not at the Recre for the game on Sunday, I do know exactly what was said due to reports both from friends and the press. To repeat the expletives that were directed at him at Gateshead in the club where children were present is inexcusable. Some people on the forum have said it's no worse than what is said on the terraces and they are correct. However, as a person who is the figurehead for the club, professionalism should be paramount and he should not have stooped to the same level as the person who abused him at Gateshead.
What annoyed me personally were his comments that were documented on the Whitehaven News website on Monday. For starters, it's clear he is very defensive and not very apologetic with his comments. However what I found most annoying were his comments on players being abused personally on websites and that the focus needs to be on driving these people out of the club. As the owner and one of the Administrators of the HavenFans forum, the largest Whitehaven RLFC forum, I can say that abusing players personally is not tolerated. In fact, abusing anyone on the forum isn't tolerated! Whether they be a player, coach, BOD member, club official or just another member on the forum. A number of people have had their membership terminated because they broke this rule and this will continue if people abuse this rule.
What is tolerated is critical discussion on players/coaches performances and their impact on the team. As fans, we have the right to share our thoughts on the team and the playing staff. Providing these comments are not abusive or libellous then they are allowed to run their course on the forum. Perhaps it might be better for a coach not to read internet forums as there are bound to be items on them which will criticise certain aspects of the team? What I will say though is that it's sometimes hard to control people at a match shouting abuse, but you can easily on an internet forum as it is all written down. I provide the fans with the platform to communicate with each other and along with a team of moderators, try to keep things abusive free. My message to Ged is simple, if you have a problem with abusive messages on the forum, come to me direct and discuss it. A lot of people know who I am and I certainly do not hide behind a name on the forum. What is not appreciated is when a coach brands critical discussion as personal abuse in the press.
Enough of that rant though as I think Ged has really got to get things together on the field or I fear for his future. Let's face it, he has made plenty of mistakes so far. The 4 signings from Workington, sending a weakened side to York, leaving Dexter Miller bench warming for 74 minutes at Gateshead and the comments in the after match speech on Sunday are hardly positive points. However, all of this could well be swept to one side if he can get this team to gel and play some good rugby. I personally believe that Ged is a good rugby coach, a very good one. The players think very highly of him and many have said he is the best coach they have played under. He is letting himself down badly in other off the field areas though but as long as he gets the results on the field, then it wont matter.
Whilst I'm still sat on the fence over the future of Ged, the majority of fans fall well either side. Some say they wont go to another game until he's gone, others think he is still the saviour. One thing I do know is there is a definite divide between the fans on this issue and others at the club. After speaking with Steve McCormack the other day, one thing he pointed out was during the 'glory years' everyone was pulling together. Players, coaches, directors, fans, sponsors etc... we were all together and united. We are far from united at the moment which is extremely worrying. Crowds are dwindling, confidence in the team is low and Ged is becoming very defensive. If we are going to move forward then we as fans need to find a way to unite.
I don't know what the answers are, but it is clear that major changes need to happen soon otherwise we could find ourselves slipping at a rapid rate.
On a much more positive note, I hear that Karl Long had an excellent debut and we could we be looking to offer him a permanent deal if his form continues. Also the new general manager Nigel Beaty has impressed me greatly and we have exchanged many emails and phone calls already. He seems to want to use the website as a tool to communicate with the fans and also is passionate about taking the club forward. A breath of fresh air if you ask me.
To tie it all together, Ged needs to concentrate what he is best at which is purely rugby coaching. If he does that and we manage to stay lucky on the injury side of things then I am cautiously optimistic about the season.
Tuesday, 17 March 2009
Monday, 9 March 2009
Now is the time
Some of you may have noticed the lack of posts over the past few weeks, there is a reason. Instead of coming on shouting all guns blazing, I thought I'd wait until the cup competitions were over to see how we looked. Now we are out of both the Northern Rail Cup and the Challenge Cup, something that not many people expected at the start of the season, I think we can start to see how our season it going to shape up.
The main point that has stood out to me over the past few games is the lack of discipline the side has. Daft penalties are been given away left, right and centre, it just isn't acceptable. I know many fans have said that the ref has been bad, but how many weeks can we use that excuse for? We need to make sure we are well drilled and play as close to the rules as possible. We must make sure we don't give the referee any opportunity to penalise us.
Another point that is worrying is our defence seems to be leaky to say the least. I don't seem to remember us conceded so many soft tries in recent seasons gone by. For example, yesterday Andrew Henderson for Gateshead was allowed to scoot over for two very easy tries from the play of the ball. Our defence just wasn't awake at all. Also the effort and commitment on display by some players in defence leaves a lot to be desired.
Going forward I'm not as concerned. Yes we look a little bit clueless at the line at times, but we've scored a total of 60 points against two Championship sides which is certainly acceptable. McNally is chipping in well so far and Theoharous looked extremely impressive in the first 20 minutes yesterday. Attack is slightly worrying at times, but if I was Ged, then I would be concentrating on our defensive effort.
Speaking to a couple of Thunder fans after the game and they expect a backlash against them in the first league game next week. I have a feeling they could well be right, maybe it's a hopeful feeling! If I were the coach, then I would want us to keep Gateshead to under 10 points and put in 80 minutes of solid hard work. Hard work and defence wins games in this league. We certainly have enough fire power to score tries in attack, but we need to get back to the, dare I say it, Steve Mack days of mean defence. So if I were Ged, it would be tackle bags and more tackle bags in training!
On the subject of Ged, he seemed to get a fair bit of flack yesterday, some I would say is justified. Whilst I'm still not 100% convinced about him as the guy to really take us forward long term, I still have faith in his coaching ability. What I am very concerned about is the signings he has brought to the club. Anyone who was at the Gateshead game will have witness what was a shocking, reckless high tackle by Lavulavu in the last second of the game that sparked a mass brawl between both sets of players. He was rightly shown red for it and had quite a bit of anger directed at him by the Haven fans as he walked down the tunnel.
To put it quite simply, the guy is NOT Championship class. Yes he might be trying to make it, maybe trying too hard, but he is giving multiple silly penalties away in a game and we can't afford that. The tackle on the Gateshead lad was awful and he deserves a lengthy ban from the RFL. I for one do not want to see that kind of thuggery on show, especially when the game was effectively over. I certainly do not want to see him in a Haven shirt again.
Another gripe about yesterday was Dexter Miller sat warming up the bench for 74 minutes of the match. Why bring him over to Gateshead to only throw him on with 6 minutes left? Dexter is a big unit and hasn't looked too out of place when he's played so far. Lavulavu was obviously out of gas way before the 74th minute so why not throw Dexter on then?
I haven't got all the answers, I simply observe what's going on. To summarise, we aren't too far off but we need to clear out the dead weight and concentrate on our defence. I still have faith in Ged's coaching ability and feel that as long as we don't have a massive string of losses, he should be given the full season to see what he can do.
In relation to the topic title, now is the time that the club/coach need to come out and lay it all out to the fans. The HavenFans forum is like a war zone at the moment with plenty of emotion flying around. Perhaps the launch night on Thursday will provide us all some answers...we live in hope.
The main point that has stood out to me over the past few games is the lack of discipline the side has. Daft penalties are been given away left, right and centre, it just isn't acceptable. I know many fans have said that the ref has been bad, but how many weeks can we use that excuse for? We need to make sure we are well drilled and play as close to the rules as possible. We must make sure we don't give the referee any opportunity to penalise us.
Another point that is worrying is our defence seems to be leaky to say the least. I don't seem to remember us conceded so many soft tries in recent seasons gone by. For example, yesterday Andrew Henderson for Gateshead was allowed to scoot over for two very easy tries from the play of the ball. Our defence just wasn't awake at all. Also the effort and commitment on display by some players in defence leaves a lot to be desired.
Going forward I'm not as concerned. Yes we look a little bit clueless at the line at times, but we've scored a total of 60 points against two Championship sides which is certainly acceptable. McNally is chipping in well so far and Theoharous looked extremely impressive in the first 20 minutes yesterday. Attack is slightly worrying at times, but if I was Ged, then I would be concentrating on our defensive effort.
Speaking to a couple of Thunder fans after the game and they expect a backlash against them in the first league game next week. I have a feeling they could well be right, maybe it's a hopeful feeling! If I were the coach, then I would want us to keep Gateshead to under 10 points and put in 80 minutes of solid hard work. Hard work and defence wins games in this league. We certainly have enough fire power to score tries in attack, but we need to get back to the, dare I say it, Steve Mack days of mean defence. So if I were Ged, it would be tackle bags and more tackle bags in training!
On the subject of Ged, he seemed to get a fair bit of flack yesterday, some I would say is justified. Whilst I'm still not 100% convinced about him as the guy to really take us forward long term, I still have faith in his coaching ability. What I am very concerned about is the signings he has brought to the club. Anyone who was at the Gateshead game will have witness what was a shocking, reckless high tackle by Lavulavu in the last second of the game that sparked a mass brawl between both sets of players. He was rightly shown red for it and had quite a bit of anger directed at him by the Haven fans as he walked down the tunnel.
To put it quite simply, the guy is NOT Championship class. Yes he might be trying to make it, maybe trying too hard, but he is giving multiple silly penalties away in a game and we can't afford that. The tackle on the Gateshead lad was awful and he deserves a lengthy ban from the RFL. I for one do not want to see that kind of thuggery on show, especially when the game was effectively over. I certainly do not want to see him in a Haven shirt again.
Another gripe about yesterday was Dexter Miller sat warming up the bench for 74 minutes of the match. Why bring him over to Gateshead to only throw him on with 6 minutes left? Dexter is a big unit and hasn't looked too out of place when he's played so far. Lavulavu was obviously out of gas way before the 74th minute so why not throw Dexter on then?
I haven't got all the answers, I simply observe what's going on. To summarise, we aren't too far off but we need to clear out the dead weight and concentrate on our defence. I still have faith in Ged's coaching ability and feel that as long as we don't have a massive string of losses, he should be given the full season to see what he can do.
In relation to the topic title, now is the time that the club/coach need to come out and lay it all out to the fans. The HavenFans forum is like a war zone at the moment with plenty of emotion flying around. Perhaps the launch night on Thursday will provide us all some answers...we live in hope.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
