If it is Agar out there needs to be a well thought out plan. If the plan were to be Long and JJB as a temporary coaching team it's a massive no from me. Need to go for the best available in order to facilitate real change. If the long term plan was to move Agar upstairs, would that be in doubt? If the team are stagnating because the quality of players, or squad strengthening strategy hasn't been good enough, wouldn't that put a question mark on his suitability for the role? I honestly don't know. But I do know that these are decisions the club absolutely has to get right, otherwise the whole post McDermott era will have proved to be one long false dawn. They need to avoid reacting in haste.
We’ve turned into every team Agar has previously coached, clueless with or without the ball. He has to be moved out of the coaching role. There are coaches out there that would kill for the Leeds job, we have been poor for at least 5 years but the challenge to turn us around would be irresistible for many.
I’d like to see us bring in a coach that has no previous connection to the club, so there’s no baggage, and they can completely reshape the playing squad and style over 3 years. I think this probably means we are going to Aus for the new coach.
If it is Agar out there needs to be a well thought out plan. If the plan were to be Long and JJB as a temporary coaching team it's a massive no from me. Need to go for the best available in order to facilitate real change. If the long term plan was to move Agar upstairs, would that be in doubt? If the team are stagnating because the quality of players, or squad strengthening strategy hasn't been good enough, wouldn't that put a question mark on his suitability for the role? I honestly don't know. But I do know that these are decisions the club absolutely has to get right, otherwise the whole post McDermott era will have proved to be one long false dawn. They need to avoid reacting in haste.
Agar is a good bloke and doesn’t deserve a set of players who have no desire. He will go very soon as wants the best for the club.
Ill be honest and im a bit despondent about the whole set up at the moment, as people on here know im usually one to look at positives but im struggling with that at the moment.
The performances
The bargain basement kit and apparel supplier pushing tat every week (the first year in over 25 years I haven’t bought a replica shirt as I can’t get one that fits)
The state of the pitch
Playing on Thursday nights constantly in poor weather
The club has everything going for it, IMO the best stadium and complex in RL, a recent history of success and a rich history to draw upon
A great youth setup and some great players coming through
And yet everything is just so flat and meh!
Over the last few years ive been watching some of the older games that the club put on youtube throughout covid, I watched a Leeds V Saints game from 2007 (i think) recently, we were fantastic, amazing atmosphere, exciting free flowing rugby utterly ruthless in defence.
Ill be honest and im a bit despondent about the whole set up at the moment, as people on here know im usually one to look at positives but im struggling with that at the moment.
The performances
The bargain basement kit and apparel supplier pushing tat every week (the first year in over 25 years I haven’t bought a replica shirt as I can’t get one that fits)
The state of the pitch
Playing on Thursday nights constantly in poor weather
The club has everything going for it, IMO the best stadium and complex in RL, a recent history of success and a rich history to draw upon
A great youth setup and some great players coming through
And yet everything is just so flat and meh!
Over the last few years ive been watching some of the older games that the club put on youtube throughout covid, I watched a Leeds V Saints game from 2007 (i think) recently, we were fantastic, amazing atmosphere, exciting free flowing rugby utterly ruthless in defence.
We seem a different world away!
Great post Chris. Agree. The Thursday night games are awful for all sorts of reasons, they are bad for the sport imo. I don't go to them, because of work and i can't take my daughter as it's too late a finish for her when it's school next morning. The pitch is terrible but will hopefully be sorted by the back end of summer but by then it's looking like another season written off. It really is deflating.
To add i quite liked the six again rule but have since changed my mind, partly because it’s implemented so badly, if its on tackles 1 - 3 it should be a penalty or it should be a penalty if a team is in their own half.
How many times do we see teams deliberately giving a six away again on the first tackle, it also seems s bit of a lottery as to when they are given which is annoying for fans - im not having a go at refs here either they are just implementing a stupid rule.
Ive no issue with the clampdown on head shots, I think the players need to adapt, maybe the refs are a bit too keen to bring out cards but it isn’t as big an issue for me as it seems for some.
Pathetic against a side that is average at best,sorry Rich time up,thankyou for steadying the ship but on tonight’s performance we are going nowhere fast!
Hull certainly aren’t average when they have a full team,but last night they had a patched up team on a 4 day turnaround,plus suffered more injuries during the game.Some Leeds players had a lacklustre attitude,thinking they only had to turn up to win
Whilst its starting to get to the point of me wanting Rich replaced, he shouldnt be the only one from our coaching team to go.
Rich - Was brought to the club in some pathway development role, ends up being our head coach, been better than i initially thought he would but still a small time hire at the time.
Long - Was actually intrigued when we hired him, been an absolute disaster imo, our attack has been comicaly bad under him for the most part
JJB - Club legend, no coaching experience
Walker - Came back in 2017 working for Leeds foundation looking for youngsters with athletic traits who could maybe try RL and adapt them traits to RL, suddenly he's coaching our Academy and now our reserves, no experience, but again, ex player...largely been mickey poor considering the talent at his disposal, talks absolute nonsense aswel, obviously thats just my opinion.
Butterill - Finally, we get to U16 level, arguably the biggest club in the country has to go as far down as Scholorship to find a coach who's regarded as one of the best at what he does, Quality coach proven over years.
Agree with all of what’s been said, but honest to God as a wire fan and looking at our bowling Green of a pitch I’ve got to ask what on Earth your ground staff have actually been doing the last 6 months? It’s absolutely diabolical and quite simply unbelievably bad for an organisation of your size and stature. It’s genuinely amongst the worst I’ve seen at Super League level. It’s “only a pitch” but is it indicative of the malaise at the club? Very strange….