Re: coaching : Tue May 24, 2011 8:21 am  

Coaching at this level is different from the level of coaching most of us who post on here will have experienced.

Terry has a difficult job, when you have nothing, like Wakey I guess at the moment, coaching is easy, it is back to the wall and seige mentality. When you have an abundance of talent, Warrington, Wigan, Huddersfield, Saints, it becomes about player management and when to chnage people and you have a luxury of playing 1 or 2 juniors in a side that essentially is world class.

We're in a middle phase and everything is about our continuity and development. If, at the end of this season we finish 6th for arguments sake - not easy or a given. But that is development and like this year we attracted Isa, Mathers and Youngquest in the off season - if we add 3 or 4 of that quality again and you consider Arundel, Clarke, Milner, Owen (rehab year), Walker will have more experience and quality about them, then you develop.
OR! we dont capture the positivity and develop, slip to 10th, then you start to look at perhaps 1 or 2 of those being tempted away, the signings you attract are not the same quality and you cement your place in mediocrity.

In my view, this discussion is a pointless one at this time of the season from outside the playing squad. most of the things I see and when I see our players they are buzzing and there seems to be something about this group that hasn't been there for a while..... Socially I do think Mathers and Youngquest seem to bring a lot to that and Widders; the positivity and belief is what we need to protect.

Here ends philosophical wafflings about management and achievement - in short - Judge TM on a 6th place finish at the end of the season...... That is all!

Re: coaching : Tue May 24, 2011 8:25 am  

Fearless' Headguard wrote:

But how much of that is REALLY down to TM though? No doubt he guides them when they do break through to the first team but the actual recruitment and early development must be more down to the scouts and youth team set up?
I mean I may be wrong (I honestly don't know if it is the case or not) but does he really go down to games at Panthers U-15s or Normy Knights or wherever to look at these players? And as for Huby, Shenton, etc is a major part of that not just them maturing as genuinely talented players?

Well said, with good clear logic.

We often don't give enough praise to those actually bringing the youngsters through from young ages (often voluntary aswell ). They would be well worthy of a mention over the tannoy at our every home game. TM is perhaps just involved in putting the 'icing on the cake', where as the key foundations have already been laid by others. The question then is....is TM the right man to mentor and make a finished article out of the young ones? As per the original post, would Tony Smith or Nathan Brown do a better job?