Blues 2018
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@kiwimurph said in Blues 2018:
I don't have much faith in the NZRU
Same, but I have more faith in them than I do in the Blues
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@kiwimurph it is an odd conundrum really, NZR are usually so good at sorting out issues internally and forging a path to success, yet the Blues seem to be lurching from bad to worse with little or no intervention from NZR...have to doubt NZR would be doing stuff on the quiet.
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If Umaga is re-signed then surely the sensible option is a 1-year extension with the caveat that only a playoff spot will guarantee further employment. Otherwise, you're out the door. That also bridges the gap to have a run for Gatland if there is no on-field improvement.
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My guess he has signed already. They expect to beat the Jaguares this weekend and are waiting until after a win to announce it officially.
McKendry and Paul will write some borderline retarded puff pieces about turning the corner, staying the course and claim progress has been made
PR masterminds
Meanwhile nothing is fixed. The organisation will bumble on and continue making excuses about how the fate of the Blues is not in the boards or coaches hands. There are external forces that the simple fans could never hope to understand. They think the fans are stupid. They treat us with contempt.
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@duluth said in Blues 2018:
My guess he has signed already. They expect to beat the Jaguares this weekend and are waiting until after a win to announce it officially.
McKendry and Paul will write some borderline retarded puff pieces about turning the corner, staying the course and claim progress has been made
PR masterminds
Meanwhile nothing is fixed. The organisation will bumble on and continue making excuses about how the fate of the Blues is not in the boards or coaches hands. There are external forces that the simple fans could never hope to understand. They think the fans are stupid. They treat us with contempt.
And if we lose?
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In an odd way I think the Blues underperformance has been good for NZ rugby. It means we can consistently have 4 teams in the playoffs and the Blues can play spoiler to the rest of the competition. They are not embarrisingly bad and can still supply test players to the All Blacks.
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In the short term perhaps.
In the long term a poor franchise in the largest market is not a good look. Especially when that market has a direct competitor in another sport. NZ Rugby are lucky the Warriors have also been a bumbling mess until this season.
This is the 7th straight season the Blues have been mediocre or worse.
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@kiwimurph said in Blues 2018:
Here's part of Redman's press conference
Nice to here Andrew Saville ask some tough questions - at least someone in the media is!
There's a different edit of this interview where Redman claims to have a good working relationship with the unions inside the region. Haha he's a liar.
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@virgil he rarely does hold back, did he demand an apology as he did last year from the ABs after losing to Aus?
He reckons the Blues should offer Jack Goodhue the captaincy to get him 'back' up here, get Bryn Hall back...
How long has Redman been CEO?
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@taniwharugby said in Blues 2018:
How long has Redman been CEO?
Since late 2013
So his tenure includes signing Benji Marshall, wanting to keep Kirwan after three years via the Matson deal, appointing Umaga and now probably extending him
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Here is Gregor Paul's latest effort
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/rugby/news/article.cfm?c_id=80&objectid=12040827
I would like to preface what I am about to say with "I am not making criticisms". It's a clever trick, it means you have to ignore my posting history and pretend the criticisms I am about to make are actually objective fact. I recommend every tries it.
The first thing that jumps out at me is the change of opinion from Paul. After months of him and a couple of NZH writers claiming that Umaga is qualified, Umaga is the best man for the job, Umaga is making progress (just not with results) suddenly we are told Umaga needs help. He needs hand holding in his 4th(!!) year of the job, he needs training wheels.
Maybe this is an invention of Pauls mind? However I am going to assume its a leak or a 'trial balloon'.
I'm having flashbacks to the board supporting Kirwan for the 4th year but with Matson doing the actual coaching. This suggestion is slightly different because its more about hand holding. However they are similar because the most important thing seems to be protecting the reputation of the coaches and those that appointed them than actually fixing the team.
Perhaps I should stop calling Kirwan and Umaga celebrity coaches, maybe they are special needs coaches?Going back to the rumour that Gatland is interested in taking over in 2020. One of the issues was what to do next year. Well, Foster might be an option for a caretaker.
No one, not even Waikato fans, sees particularly keen on him taking over from Hansen. So he clearly needs to reform his public reputation. An emergency coaching appointment might do that. An advisor role would not. Even a modest improvement in results would be seen as a success, the Kirwan/Umaga bar has been set so low.Fuck you Redman. You just made me advocate for Foster. Yuck.
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@duluth said in Blues 2018:
No one, not even Waikato fans, sees particularly keen on him taking over from Hansen. So he clearly needs to reform his public reputation.
Who are these Waikato fans you refer to? Gatland is a much better coach than Foster and has been successful with every team he has coached, both in NZ and in the UK.
As to Gatland's public reputation. I personally had little problem with what he said during the Lions tour, because obviously some of that criticism became personal. Henry was always a smug coach and wasn't universally liked outside of Auckland. Hansen had his issues too and needed some major PR work to win the media and fans over.
But having said all that, a coach should be judged on the record of the teams they coach and the Blues could do much worse than have Gatland as their next coach.
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