It is now three weeks since Back left the club. Gary Hetherington has been busy in that time. Players' departures have been announced. Some expected, others not totally unexpected. Alongside all that activity we hear that interviews have taken place for the role of coach. Who has been interviewed? I've no idea but some people have thrown their names into the hat:
Llyn Howells - experienced coach who knows the Championship very well. Downside is that he has not achieved much whilst he was at Donny.
Simon Middleton - more than 10 years at Leeds, knows the players and the club ethos. Downside as defensive coach his sides leak points like they are going out of fashion.
Gary Mercer - ex RL man who knows the club. Experience? Limited.
Other names have also benn bandied about. These include John Callard ( the fans favourite) - lives locally and has worked with the backs when they were good. Diccon Edwards - former head of the academy who would be a Lanny-like appointment (& hence a bit of a gamble) and finally Phil Greening who has done good things at London Welsh & who quit to try his luck elsewhere.
Whoever gets the job will have to hit the ground running and adopt a different approach to his predecessor. These are hard times and money is tight ( while we have the Key/Back debt on our backs). Her will have to get the best out of the players we have already. I cannot see GH letting them out on a shopping spree. Two or three key positions might get covered. Nothing more.
Expect a decision this week.
Sunday 29 May 2011
Friday 27 May 2011
And now the good news!
Leeds Carnegie have issued a list of players who are being released. This list is considerably shorter than it might have been ( as I expected a real clearout). There are, of course, players going who we will miss. Leigh Hinton has been a good servant of the club and Juan Gomez has shown that there is still a place for pear-shaped props in the modern game.
Several players on the list were brought in 12 months ago to help the club move up to the next level so it is not surprising, given their failure to make any impact on the AP, that Fury and Browne have been released..
The good news is the players who are not on the list. Presumably those players, including MacDonald, Hardy, White, Oakley and Paul, are in the middle of negotiating new contracts. Hopefully we will get some concrete news in the next week as to who has signed new contracts.
I feel as though we have past the nadir and things are looking up!
Several players on the list were brought in 12 months ago to help the club move up to the next level so it is not surprising, given their failure to make any impact on the AP, that Fury and Browne have been released..
The good news is the players who are not on the list. Presumably those players, including MacDonald, Hardy, White, Oakley and Paul, are in the middle of negotiating new contracts. Hopefully we will get some concrete news in the next week as to who has signed new contracts.
I feel as though we have past the nadir and things are looking up!
Saturday 21 May 2011
Reality Check for Tykes Fans
Yesterday it was announced that Marco Wentzel is leaving the club by mutual consent. This came as a shock to many fans who did not grasp the seriousness of the situation at Headingley. Wentzel is 32 years old and is purported to be on £180k per annum. That is a lot of money to pay a Championship player hence Gary Hetherington offered him a way out of the club.
The next contracted player to leave will be Hendrie Fourie. Again he will be on a decent salary ( as a current international player) which Leeds cannot really afford to be paying in the second tier. Others will follow as GH cuts his cloth accordingly. This is the reality of the situation that Leeds finds itself in.
I am saddened that there are so called fans who are calling for the board to put up more money or resign. Where do you think that money will come from? Those fans who expect anyone to hand over millions of pounds to prop up the club are living in lala land. Time to get real kids!
The next contracted player to leave will be Hendrie Fourie. Again he will be on a decent salary ( as a current international player) which Leeds cannot really afford to be paying in the second tier. Others will follow as GH cuts his cloth accordingly. This is the reality of the situation that Leeds finds itself in.
I am saddened that there are so called fans who are calling for the board to put up more money or resign. Where do you think that money will come from? Those fans who expect anyone to hand over millions of pounds to prop up the club are living in lala land. Time to get real kids!
Sunday 15 May 2011
Who is to blame?
Leeds Carnegie rugby club is in turmoil, again. The 3-year plan of the management team is in tatters and the Leicester duo, Back and Key, have gone - Key sacked & I suspect Back resigned before he too was axed.
So what went wrong and who is to blame? The second year of the plan had been a success in that the club had avoided relegation. When Neil Back trumpeted his "top 6 finish" as the third phase of the plan we thought that a mid-table finish was on the cards.
The pre-season was an absolute disaster. To my mind things had started to go wrong before then. I had heard that we were signing Charlie Hodgson from Sale. His body language, when seen on TV, said that he wanted away. I am sure that the Leeds management thought he was coming, hence the lack of any other decent stand-off in the close season signings. For whatever reason Charlie changed his mind & we were left scrabbling for decent players who could perhaps fill the 10 shirt. We ended up with a decent, injury-prone 12 who, to my way of thinking, did not fill the 10 shirt in any way, shape or form.
That was the start of the season-long failure to move up to the "next level". Everything else was incidental. No number 10 = no success! Therefore I have no hesitation in pointing the finger at a certain Yorkshireman from Halifax (not Mallinder this time) and saying;
"Charlie - it's your fault!"
So what went wrong and who is to blame? The second year of the plan had been a success in that the club had avoided relegation. When Neil Back trumpeted his "top 6 finish" as the third phase of the plan we thought that a mid-table finish was on the cards.
The pre-season was an absolute disaster. To my mind things had started to go wrong before then. I had heard that we were signing Charlie Hodgson from Sale. His body language, when seen on TV, said that he wanted away. I am sure that the Leeds management thought he was coming, hence the lack of any other decent stand-off in the close season signings. For whatever reason Charlie changed his mind & we were left scrabbling for decent players who could perhaps fill the 10 shirt. We ended up with a decent, injury-prone 12 who, to my way of thinking, did not fill the 10 shirt in any way, shape or form.
That was the start of the season-long failure to move up to the "next level". Everything else was incidental. No number 10 = no success! Therefore I have no hesitation in pointing the finger at a certain Yorkshireman from Halifax (not Mallinder this time) and saying;
"Charlie - it's your fault!"
Tuesday 10 May 2011
Back to Square One?
No big surprise today with the resignation of Neil Back. Anyone who has seen him over the last couple of weeks with a long sad face will know that this must have been on his mind.
The 3-year plan, of which this is the third, has been a massive failure , appearing to be doomed as soon as the pre-season started. However, instead of apologising for failing to deliver Back makes out that he has achieved a lot in that time ( as well as learning a lot) and has reached the point where he can take the club no further. This will come as something of a relief to those of us who could visualise another season like the last starting in September.
Back has shown himself to be tactically naive this season and his fighting spirit has not rubbed off on the players like it did last season, particularly in key games when we might have expected a win.
So are we back to square one? Gary Hetherington thinks that we are in a stronger position than last time. A lot will, of course, depend on who comes in as Coach and what fresh ideas he brings with him. I think that we need to get the new man in as soon as we can & look forward to the challenges ahead.
The 3-year plan, of which this is the third, has been a massive failure , appearing to be doomed as soon as the pre-season started. However, instead of apologising for failing to deliver Back makes out that he has achieved a lot in that time ( as well as learning a lot) and has reached the point where he can take the club no further. This will come as something of a relief to those of us who could visualise another season like the last starting in September.
Back has shown himself to be tactically naive this season and his fighting spirit has not rubbed off on the players like it did last season, particularly in key games when we might have expected a win.
So are we back to square one? Gary Hetherington thinks that we are in a stronger position than last time. A lot will, of course, depend on who comes in as Coach and what fresh ideas he brings with him. I think that we need to get the new man in as soon as we can & look forward to the challenges ahead.
Sunday 8 May 2011
'Urry up 'Arry
One of the big plusses of the defeat at Northampton was the appearance and subsequent performance of one Harry Hannon, a hooker from the ranks of our academy, who came on to face Dylan Hartley in the second half when he replaced the excellent Phil Nielsen.
We were fortunate enough to bump into Harry on our way out of the ground after the match. On the pitch he looks a mean hombre. When you meet him he is a well spoken, polite young man. He had obviously enjoyed his AP debut but was a bit despondant about the result.
When asked how he coped with Hartley he replied that the England hooker talks a lot! Clearly unfazed with his baptism of fire he is one to watch for the future.
So hurry up Harry and make the Leeds number 2 shirt your own!
We were fortunate enough to bump into Harry on our way out of the ground after the match. On the pitch he looks a mean hombre. When you meet him he is a well spoken, polite young man. He had obviously enjoyed his AP debut but was a bit despondant about the result.
When asked how he coped with Hartley he replied that the England hooker talks a lot! Clearly unfazed with his baptism of fire he is one to watch for the future.
So hurry up Harry and make the Leeds number 2 shirt your own!
Friday 6 May 2011
The eve of destruction
I do not get a good feeling about the game tomorrow. Leeds have named as strong a side as they can but the Saints bench looks awesome & some of the Leeds players do not appear to be taking this game too seriously. Steve Thompson has already been seen out on the lash tonight. Just what we need.
Defeat tomorrow will see Neil Back's 3 year plan fade into oblivion as it has seemed like doing for most of the season and the club will be back where it was 3 years ago except for the £2million debt that we have accrued in the meantime. Barry Maguire's song seems quite apt for the occasion....
Defeat tomorrow will see Neil Back's 3 year plan fade into oblivion as it has seemed like doing for most of the season and the club will be back where it was 3 years ago except for the £2million debt that we have accrued in the meantime. Barry Maguire's song seems quite apt for the occasion....
Monday 2 May 2011
Time to take a long hard look...
...at the squad that has brought the club to the point where it has to win at Franklin's Gardens at the weekend to have any chance of staying in the AP.
There are a number of contracts up for renewal, including some players who were new to the club last summer & were only signed up for one season. Neil Back now has the opportunity to say thankyou but no thankyou and be hard-headed in who he offers a new contract to. We are already committed to contracts worth £2m ( assuming get-out clauses are not invoked). This leaves very little to play with. Those players who have been found wanting when it comes to performance need to be shown the door. There are hard times ahead & we do not want to be carrying anyone for another season.
There are a number of contracts up for renewal, including some players who were new to the club last summer & were only signed up for one season. Neil Back now has the opportunity to say thankyou but no thankyou and be hard-headed in who he offers a new contract to. We are already committed to contracts worth £2m ( assuming get-out clauses are not invoked). This leaves very little to play with. Those players who have been found wanting when it comes to performance need to be shown the door. There are hard times ahead & we do not want to be carrying anyone for another season.
Sunday 1 May 2011
One last hurrah!
The result at Kingston Park last night, where Newcastle secured a losing bonus point in their defeat by Bath, means effectively that Leeds have to win at Franklins Gardens on Saturday afternoon to even have a chance of continuing their brief flirtation with top flight English rugby.
There are, however, a couple of factors which could help the Tykes' cause. The Saints are in the Heineken Cup semi-final today. This must surely be their primary objective for the season - winning Europe's biggest prize. The other one is that they are playing Perpignan, a rough-tough Catalan team who will certainly kick seven bells out of the Northampton players if it aids their cause. So we could see the Saints squad with injury issues and one eye on the big prize when we meet next weekend. Will this make a difference? Probably not. Saints have a relatively big squad with strength in depth.
Can Leeds win? Unlikely but not impossible. One last throw of the dice.
There are, however, a couple of factors which could help the Tykes' cause. The Saints are in the Heineken Cup semi-final today. This must surely be their primary objective for the season - winning Europe's biggest prize. The other one is that they are playing Perpignan, a rough-tough Catalan team who will certainly kick seven bells out of the Northampton players if it aids their cause. So we could see the Saints squad with injury issues and one eye on the big prize when we meet next weekend. Will this make a difference? Probably not. Saints have a relatively big squad with strength in depth.
Can Leeds win? Unlikely but not impossible. One last throw of the dice.
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