Phuzzy wrote:
Jonh, without entering into the debte, you can't use that as the arbiter of a good coach! He was there 5 years and during that time were very successful. That is the correct measure of a coach. Otherwise practically every coach who ever lived would be a 'bad' coach' as they almost invariably leave a job when they are least successful. Very few exceptions apply. In fact, correct me if I'm wrong as I don't follow Union, couldn't you call Shaun Edwards a bad coach under these guidelines were he to leave Wasps now!
Anybody who judges a coach simply by the trophies a team won is seriously misguided. On that basis all but 1 or 2 coaches would be deemed failures year in year out.
Is Brian Smith a bad coach? NO he is highly rated but what has he won? What has Neil Henry won? Nothing domestically yet he is an outstanding coach. In terms of winning something when Queensland win Origin you will see Mal Meninga as the coach but the real coach is Henry. Mal is more of a manager.
So how is it Neil Henry never wins anything domestically which by some very naive views on here makes him a failure yet he is outstanding at Origin level (the best standard of RL in the World). Likewise why is Brian Smith so in demand?
COACHES ARE CORRECTLY JUDGED ON 2 THINGS
1) Player development. Some coaches will never have the opportunity to coach a great group of players. Some will. Hence, it makes the use of silverware as a measure very flawed. Coaches asked to be judged on how they developed the playing resources available to them. How the improved those players individually/collectively. We are talking about all age levels from the young to the experienced players.
2) What they inherited in terms of a team and what they left behind. Inherited Legacy and Legacy giftd to the new incming coach.
On both measures Noble fails.
If you do not ant to accept it, please explain how in 2008 we witnessed the most vitriolic condemnation of a coach ever. IL by association ridiculed Brian Noble when he castigated the players. Those 7 deadly sins all refelected an inability of the coach to produce a Wigan RL team. YOU, the fans similarly castigated Noble when for the first time that I can remember Wigan RL fans screamed you are not fit to wear the shirt.
How in Gods name can any sane Wigan fan come here and say we made progress in 2008 when the owner rubbished the playing side of the club and the fans rubbished the playing side of the club. Many even voted with their feet and attendances declined. Week after week fans left Wigan games dismayed at the woeful standard of RL being produced.
Open your eyes, engage your brains for pity sake
Mick Potter won nothing with Catalan but he by common consent over achieved. He was hailed as a good coach. He landed a great new job. his own club did not want him to go. Brian Noble had a squad that was as good as any in SL. Certainly far better than all but 2. Yet he underachieved. His potential legacy is very poor.
As for Bradford - Peter Deacon, Brian Smith created a great legacy for future coaches. It could be argued that Carl Jennings was far more important in creating the Bradford monster than Brian Noble.