Sean Long : Mon May 28, 2012 4:31 pm  

Watching the mighty Salford demolish a Nathan Brown side at the weekend, I can't help but thinking we're missing a trick in not having Long on our books. He is the attacking coach for Salford and they were absolutely brilliant with the ball at the weekend, as they have been whenever I've seen them. They attack with real depth, passing the ball crisply and with a real threat each time, very few plays seemed to be wasted. His contribution seems to have been enormous in such a short time.

He also seems to have calmed down since retiring and hasn't had any incidences of bad publicity that I've read so far. I can see Longy becoming a Union coach in the same way Edwards did (Which might also explain him playing for Preston RU at the moment), which would be a shame. I'd love to see him at Saints, he seems to have a bright future in coaching.

Re: Sean Long : Mon May 28, 2012 4:37 pm  

Saddened! wrote:

Watching the mighty Salford demolish a Nathan Brown side at the weekend, I can't help but thinking we're missing a trick in not having Long on our books. He is the attacking coach for Salford and they were absolutely brilliant with the ball at the weekend, as they have been whenever I've seen them. They attack with real depth, passing the ball crisply and with a real threat each time, very few plays seemed to be wasted. His contribution seems to have been enormous in such a short time.

He also seems to have calmed down since retiring and hasn't had any incidences of bad publicity that I've read so far. I can see Longy becoming a Union coach in the same way Edwards did (Which might also explain him playing for Preston RU at the moment), which would be a shame. I'd love to see him at Saints, he seems to have a bright future in coaching.

I think it is interesting that Salford have gone for an attack coach, and wonder why more clubs don't have specialist coaches? It measn that he is responsible for the attacking performances, good or bad, in a way that an assistant isn't. For instance, what was KC responsible for at the weekend? As an assitant, he is seemingly just a passenger, never responsible for losses, but also not praised for successes. It also seems that RU brings through their coaches in this way, and has helped ex players like Edwards, Davies and Panface to rapidly progress through the ranks. I can't see Brown being happy to have speicalists working for him, but do think it is an option worth considering.

Re: Sean Long : Mon May 28, 2012 5:33 pm  

I,ve said a couple of times this season that Sean Long should be assistant coach, remember DA saying he would make a great coach for the future. We,ve lost our mind set this season, Sean Long could help to get our mojo back. Rush and Cunningham although doing the job on a temporary basis have not really improved our team all that much Post Simmonds.

Re: Sean Long : Mon May 28, 2012 5:46 pm  

The only problem I have with Long is that he was barely mature enough to be a player. Any whiff of the kind of antics that regularly cropped up at Saints would doubtlessly impact upon the team. The guy is a Millward waiting to happen (with the success element in no way guaranteed).

Re: Sean Long : Mon May 28, 2012 10:02 pm  

Mugwump wrote:

The only problem I have with Long is that he was barely mature enough to be a player. Any whiff of the kind of antics that regularly cropped up at Saints would doubtlessly impact upon the team. The guy is a Millward waiting to happen (with the success element in no way guaranteed).

There is that, but I've spoken to a lad who is in/around the Preston Grasshoppers side and he's been nothing but gushing about him, saying he's so committed and professional despite being the big shot league star with the coaching job. He really seems to have settled down. Obviously though given his behaviour as a player there is always the chance he'll tumble off the wagon.

I think Saints should have got in there first when he hung his boots up. Instead of giving him an official title, like Head Coach or Assistant, or even attacking coach just employ him on a consultancy basis, pay him well enough and dangle the carrot of a coaching job if he succeeds. That way he would have been eased in without any pressure on him and without any real risk for the club. I think his influence would be priceless, particularly to the likes of Lee Gaskell.

Re: Sean Long : Tue May 29, 2012 8:00 am  

Salford were a joy to watch weren't they? I'm sure Longy would be delighted to come back, I really think he could sort out our disjointed attack...!

Re: Sean Long : Tue May 29, 2012 8:23 am  

JonB95 wrote:

Salford were a joy to watch weren't they? I'm sure Longy would be delighted to come back, I really think he could sort out our disjointed attack...!

He might be able to improve them in some way. But the problem here is less one of coaching than a fundamental paucity of ability.

Re: Sean Long : Tue May 29, 2012 9:52 am  

Having said all that if Hudds had completed half the opportunities they created they have won by a mile. Salfords attack was good but they won because Hudds attack was very poor.

Re: Sean Long : Tue May 29, 2012 10:00 am  

Harry Pinner wrote:

Having said all that if Hudds had completed half the opportunities they created they have won by a mile. Salfords attack was good but they won because Hudds attack was very poor.

He can only work with the players he has. Their pack and bench is pretty terrible and they can't defend. Salford stand out amongst the bottom third world of Super League clubs in the amount of points they score.

Re: Sean Long : Tue May 29, 2012 10:30 am  

It's not going to happen any time soon - Longy wouldn't exactly be welcomed back to Saints with open arms by a lot of the players, to put it mildly...