Re: New coach, new signings ? : Tue Sep 13, 2011 9:39 am  

Jim Bergerac wrote:

Not at all, I'll be eternally grateful for the job he did at Batley. However, he's not 'The Messiah' of coaching as some of your fans seem to think, and operates to a very rigid, basic gameplan that comes unstuck up against any opposition coach with half a brain. I'm sure you'll find that out after the first few games of the 2012 season. As I stated previously, he's not good enough for Super League, and thats why he's not currently coaching there. Apart from one half-decent season at Salford, his record there wasn't exactly inspiring, was it? Certainly not inspiring enough for anyone to jump at the chance of appointing him since he was sacked, anyway.

It seems somewhat strange that you have never criticized him in the past but now he has moved on.....? He might well have played to a simple game plan at Batley as he was coaching within financial and player ability constraints, and what a great job he and the Batley players did. With respect he should have much more available to him at Halifax so lets watch this space shall we. With reference to his time at Salford he got them to the play offs and the following season when his team was decimated by injuries he (if the stories are true) was let down badly by the board regarding recruitment. I wish Batley well, as i always have. Its just a shame that the sentiment is not reciprocated by many Batley fans. Have a great 2012 and i hope JK does a fantastic job for you.

Re: New coach, new signings ? : Tue Sep 13, 2011 10:34 am  

[quote="faxlad66"]It seems somewhat strange that you have never criticized him in the past but now he has moved on.....? He might well have played to a simple game plan at Batley as he was coaching within financial and player ability constraints, and what a great job he and the Batley players did. With respect he should have much more available to him at Halifax so lets watch this space shall we. With reference to his time at Salford he got them to the play offs and the following season when his team was decimated by injuries he (if the stories are true) was let down badly by the board regarding recruitment. I wish Batley well, as i always have. Its just a shame that the sentiment is not reciprocated by many Batley fans. Have a great 2012 and i hope JK does a fantastic job for you.[/quote]


I think most Batley fans are extremely grateful for the work KH did at the Mount. Moreover, you will find that many have joined in the discussions as to which players he might take with him. Very magnanimous I believe. I personally wish you well, and am sure you will find KH a real character and fine coach, it seems to be a match made in heaven. I say this because he seems to be able to improve defences. Ours was the bedrock of our game last year, and if he can ally that to your undoubted gifts then you will be formidable.

My only reservation about KH, and it's one I have voiced before, is that he did not develop us as an attacking side. This is where I hope our next coach might take us further. No criticism intended of KH, I just feel that there was even more there.

Anyway, good luck with next season, as a club I have always enjoyed visiting.

Re: New coach, new signings ? : Tue Sep 13, 2011 10:44 am  

distantdog wrote:

I think most Batley fans are extremely grateful for the work KH did at the Mount. Moreover, you will find that many have joined in the discussions as to which players he might take with him. Very magnanimous I believe. I personally wish you well, and am sure you will find KH a real character and fine coach, it seems to be a match made in heaven. I say this because he seems to be able to improve defences. Ours was the bedrock of our game last year, and if he can ally that to your undoubted gifts then you will be formidable.

My only reservation about KH, and it's one I have voiced before, is that he did not develop us as an attacking side. This is where I hope our next coach might take us further. No criticism intended of KH, I just feel that there was even more there.

Anyway, good luck with next season, as a club I have always enjoyed visiting.

Absolutely. What I am hoping from Karl is to keep our attacking flair, but to build into this a solid defence, something we have been missing for the last few years.

On the side note, if John Kear is announced as your coach this will be the coach signing of the season. John Kear has proved himself to be a superb coach and can coach a team against all the odds. He will be a fantastic coach in this league, but may struggle with the limited finance available / maybe not.

Either way I am sure Batley will be extremely happy with him as the coach, as we are extremely happy with our new coach. I am already looking forward to next season....

Re: New coach, new signings ? : Tue Sep 13, 2011 3:44 pm  

spanishbob wrote:

Absolutely. What I am hoping from Karl is to keep our attacking flair, but to build into this a solid defence, something we have been missing for the last few years.

On the side note, if John Kear is announced as your coach this will be the coach signing of the season. John Kear has proved himself to be a superb coach and can coach a team against all the odds. He will be a fantastic coach in this league, but may struggle with the limited finance available / maybe not.

Either way I am sure Batley will be extremely happy with him as the coach, as we are extremely happy with our new coach. I am already looking forward to next season....

Karl Harrison and John Kear are both excellent coaches who both have experience working with limited finance and being successful. John Kear at Wakefield and Sheffield and Karl Harrison at Batley and Salford.

Next season both coaches will be working on limited budgets .Halifax have higher attendances and charge more for season tickets and matchday admission than Batley but with crowds of about 2000 will still have to budget.Halifax will be running a reserve team(which Batley does not have) and would be expecting to pay out more winning pay than this season.

In regards to new signings I cannot see Karl signing many Batley players. I would have thought Karl will be waiting to see which Halifax players want to resign,what happens at Leigh and Barrow and which players are released by Super League clubs. Karl's first target will probably be Spicer at Dewsbury.

Re: New coach, new signings ? : Tue Sep 13, 2011 6:17 pm  

bulldogtrev wrote:

Karl Harrison and John Kear are both excellent coaches who both have experience working with limited finance and being successful. John Kear at Wakefield and Sheffield and Karl Harrison at Batley and Salford.

Next season both coaches will be working on limited budgets .Halifax have higher attendances and charge more for season tickets and matchday admission than Batley but with crowds of about 2000 will still have to budget.Halifax will be running a reserve team(which Batley does not have) and would be expecting to pay out more winning pay than this season.

In regards to new signings I cannot see Karl signing many Batley players. I would have thought Karl will be waiting to see which Halifax players want to resign,what happens at Leigh and Barrow and which players are released by Super League clubs. Karl's first target will probably be Spicer at Dewsbury.

Not sure it would be very proactive for a coach to "wait to see which Halifax players want to resign"
I am sure Karl has already decided who he want's to keep and who he wants to bring in.
I believe at least 3 Batley players will come with him, plus Roparti and two Super League players, at least.

Re: New coach, new signings ? : Wed Sep 14, 2011 2:39 pm  

halifaxjohn wrote:

:MOTOR:
Not sure it would be very proactive for a coach to "wait to see which Halifax players want to resign"
I am sure Karl has already decided who he want's to keep and who he wants to bring in.
I believe at least 3 Batley players will come with him, plus Roparti and two Super League players, at least.

i agree.

rumours are Handforth and lindsay, d williams, roparti and a winger from a SL outfit.

i could see us signing Luke george on DR from hudds, would be ok in this league, is still young.

Re: New coach, new signings ? : Wed Sep 14, 2011 4:06 pm  

Don't know about Ash Lindsay. He's been at Batley for a few years - before KH became their coach. He's a local lad, was there when they were lower down the league and has seen them achieve success. He might feel loyal to Batley since he's been an integral part of the team and want to help them continue to be a success in this division...like the majority of fax players didn't want to leave following our success last season!

Re: New coach, new signings ? : Wed Sep 14, 2011 4:50 pm  

I`ll stake my house on Handforth being with you next year.

Re: New coach, new signings ? : Wed Sep 14, 2011 4:57 pm  

Did you know?. wrote:

I`ll stake my house on Handforth being with you next year.

I hope so, he's been fantastic every time i've seen Batley.

Re: New coach, new signings ? : Wed Sep 14, 2011 5:17 pm  

Did you know?. wrote:

I`ll stake my house on Handforth being with you next year.

he is 30 though!

we are all saying blacks past it, they are the same age.