: Wed Mar 11, 2009 9:54 am  

I've spoke to people who are still at Warrington about this appointment who worked with Cullen for 6 years, they've said it's a great appointment for Widnes and think he will do extemely well.

I'll be honest at first I wasn't that pleased but after speaking to the people that know him and have worked with him, I'm very confident he can get this team playing the rugby we think it's capable of.

: Wed Mar 11, 2009 10:00 am  

Webster is ready to walk out after being snubbed for the job, I hear. Graham Appo to Widnes?!

: Wed Mar 11, 2009 11:28 am  

Leyther_Matt wrote:

Webster is ready to walk out after being snubbed for the job, I hear. Graham Appo to Widnes?!

Naughty Naughty, Matt.

He didnt apply and why would he feel snubbed for the job when somebody with more experience as Stanky, was only put in temporary charge.

He's played under a change in coaching before and flourished so I cant see any reason why that shouldnt happen again.

Interesting to see the view on here that stalling in SL is considered a failure. I see some similarities with Ned's time in SL albeit shorter and with less success. He lost the dressing room quite publicly at Widnes and was too close to certain players which resulted in truly awful performances. He lost his job, ended up on a cushy number in RU and is now back at this level no doubt wiser for his experiences.

I see no reason why Cullen cant come back and right a few wrongs of his own. He certainly seems to have the desire and experience to succeed at this level.

: Wed Mar 11, 2009 11:31 am  

I think its a good appointment for Widnes, although the program may need to have a few thousand pages added to accomodate Cullen's notes!

: Wed Mar 11, 2009 11:38 am  

Would it count under the salary cap if they get Stephen Fry to edit said programme?

: Wed Mar 11, 2009 4:36 pm  

Leyther_Matt wrote:

Would it count under the salary cap if they get Stephen Fry to edit said programme?

BIG GAZ wrote:

Key media presence , aslong as he has a translator with him
Would make an excellent taxi driver as he often goes round the houses or even gets lost , well he gets most people lost trying to fathom out what he's waffling on about PMSL

We'll have no problem at all understanding Cullen. The club will be handing these out on the gate

: Wed Mar 11, 2009 4:50 pm  

A good sense of humour there Pepe

: Wed Mar 11, 2009 4:58 pm  

Wembley71 wrote:

Cullen took over when they were bottom in May 2002. They finished 2 places off that year, then their record reads:

6th, 8th, 4th, 6th, 7th, 6th.

In that time, they've signed, amongst others, Martin Gleeson for a club record fee reported in the region of £200,000 as well as New Zealand internationals Henry Fa'afili and Logan Swann. Joey Johns played three games for £120,000. Then they signed Andrew Johns, then Adrian Morley, Paul Johnson, and Vinnie Anderson. They've had a multimillionaire backer and a state of the art ground built at Tesco's expense, and have won only one playoff game, never made a semi, let alone a final, not been to Wembley or equivalent since 1990, and only once in 7 years finished in the top five.

Warrington are generally regarded as the great under-achievers of the current era, with Cullen at the helm for longer than any other SL coach yet unable to progress the club further by year seven than he had by the end of year one.

Moreover, my mates at Warrington tell me the coaching staff were extremely divided on his split pivots approach, and that the problems of the club came from certain celebrated senior players and the drinking culture they backed, which the coaching staff were unwilling to bring out in the open for fear of losing the public and, in Cullen's case, the exceptionally lucrative salary he was on.

Cullen is a decent NL1 coach and a decent bloke, but with neither the competence or courage to turn a talented disparate bunch of players into a competitive SL trophy-chasing sides. He might do ok at Widnes, as he did at Whitehaven, but I'd take Kelly (or Tersis or Abram or Benson) over him any day. He's your Darren Shaw. Good luck with that.

You do realise that Joey Johns and Andrew Johns are one in the same , I hope, but I guess being a Leigh fan could hinder your knowledge of RL.

Roll on Good Friday.

The Vicar

: Wed Mar 11, 2009 8:25 pm  

The Vicar of Widnes wrote:

You do realise that Joey Johns and Andrew Johns are one in the same , I hope, but I guess being a Leigh fan could hinder your knowledge of RL.

Roll on Good Friday.

The Vicar

Typo. Roll on Good Friday indeed, though a sanctimonious man of the cloth like you should be "tending" your flock.

: Wed Mar 11, 2009 9:43 pm  

Wembley71 wrote:

Typo. Roll on Good Friday indeed, though a sanctimonious man of the cloth like you should be "tending" your flock.

Is he from yorkshire ?