Re: Rick Stone sacked : Tue Mar 27, 2018 6:20 pm  

We'll now see how good/bad our player's really are. Are they that bad or have they just not been playing for the coach? Only time will tell and it'll probably not happen straight away. Feel sorry for Rick Stone but as stated it's a results based sport and he's taken the bullet for things beyond his control at times.

On another note, I watched the Rugby Union Premier league show yesterday and there were 50000+ at London Stadium, Leicester sold out, 30000+ at St James Park 20000+ at Bath. How are they doing that? And how can RL learn?

Re: Rick Stone sacked : Tue Mar 27, 2018 6:34 pm  

brearley84 wrote:

what have i been saying for a long time, crazy how other people lose their job but others like thewlis and thorman keep theirs.... stone the scapegoat here.

Whats more to the point Brearley how come that these contracted players don't have their contracts ripped up after all it is they who are playing the tripe that Stone was sacked for.They most certainly have not been playing professional Rugby League.Try watching the warm up carefully and I will lay money you will be able to see the players who don't want to bother.Why sack Thewlis and Thorman they are not players and I might add Thorman at his best was equal to some of these con artists who are playing now.People ask why we don't attract more spectators having watched this lot this season it speaks for its self I'll bet that Leeds have more speccies Friday than we do!
Strangely enough this has been going on for quite a few years it is nothing new.RL is a hell of a hard game I you go on the field and give less than 100% you will get injured.Does this ring a bell Brearley.

Re: Rick Stone sacked : Tue Mar 27, 2018 7:48 pm  

Why are people saying RS is a scapegoat, Why does Brough come in for such a lot of stick because he is not the player he was a couple of seasons ago, ( he is still better than some of our " get him signed up for 5 years stars " . The truth for me is that the Giants is a losers club, It's no one person fault It's the whole club.

If you think thats being harsh or doom and gloom, then examine the record for the last 50 odd years, It's a history of a once great club that's been going backwards for so long It's hard to see anything ever changing. Despite a long list of Coaches and an even longer list of players the club has gone nowhere. Out of all that long list of coaches they can't all have been poor, and neither can they all have been let down by the players.
In my time watching the Giants ( as my team ) only two coaches have shown any sort of ability to get the players performing to the standard required, A Murphy and N Brown, although T Smith may well have done had he stayed, I don't believe the problem with Brown was any of the clubs doing, But it certainly failed to capitalize on the other two, and i believe in both cases it was about money, Something that has been squandered in large amounts in other areas.
Why does no one seem to understand that rugby league is a business , and like a Supermarket ,If it's failing sacking the till girls wont save it, The management have to be right or the whole thing just crumbles.

I still think the right coach is vital in sport, some can get the very best out of players ( example Powel ) Although i liked R S as a person he did not take us forward at all, We have been marking time and i'm not surprised he is gone.

What i expect to happen now is to go with Thorman so the club can go through the usual lengthy and thorough job of vetting all applicants, and then pick a cheap one so as to leave more money to sign a couple of Superstars to make us into the Giants that finally wake up,
We have the players now we just cant get them to play, and Rick has done no better than most of the others.

Re: Rick Stone sacked : Tue Mar 27, 2018 7:48 pm  

Grandad 1 wrote:

On another note, I watched the Rugby Union Premier league show yesterday and there were 50000+ at London Stadium, Leicester sold out, 30000+ at St James Park 20000+ at Bath. How are they doing that? And how can RL learn?

What they’re doing isn’t rocket science. It could work in Huddersfield. They cultivate a feeling of belonging in their spectators by creating what Eric Hobsbawm called “invented traditions”

Re: Rick Stone sacked : Tue Mar 27, 2018 8:02 pm  

Jo, I’m not sure why you think we have the players to compete. The recruitment over the past three or four years has been desperate at times.

Grix - gone, no replacement
McGillvary - improved enormously
Cudjoe - injured but still outstanding
Wardle - gone, no replacement
Murphy - shot as a player, but still here
Brough - shot as a player, but still here
Robinson - gone, no replacement
Crabtree - gone, no replacement
Lunt - gone, no replacement
Kopczak - gone, no replacement
Ferres - gone, no replacement
Chan - gone, no replacement
Lawrence - steady player, hasn’t progressed

Substitutes:
Faiumu - gone, no replacement
Patrick - gone, no replacement
Ta’ai - still got it
Wood - gone, arguably replaced

That team beat Wakefield 40-0 to win the League Leaders Shield. In almost every case the club has failed to replace those players with men as good or better.

Why is that? Who makes the decision to replace international standard second rowers with players from the Championship? And how can they possibly expect it to work?

And bear in mind that at least three of those players left because of HR mistakes by the club - something of a speciality at the Giants.

Re: Rick Stone sacked : Tue Mar 27, 2018 8:11 pm  

Grandad 1 wrote:

We'll now see how good/bad our player's really are. Are they that bad or have they just not been playing for the coach? Only time will tell and it'll probably not happen straight away. Feel sorry for Rick Stone but as stated it's a results based sport and he's taken the bullet for things beyond his control at times.

On another note, I watched the Rugby Union Premier league show yesterday and there were 50000+ at London Stadium, Leicester sold out, 30000+ at St James Park 20000+ at Bath. How are they doing that? And how can RL learn?

They can do it because their game is run by professional people who know how to market the game, they have all the right people in all the right places, Journalists who are ex players and give them lots of coverage, Commentators who talk serious stuff ( rather than the circus we get on sky S League ) the modern day Eddie Waring show )

Since Union went "openly Pro" 20 / 25 years ? it has gone further forward than Rugby league in over 100 years, Despite League being Faster and harder Union is taking huge strides forward, and gets double or treble the sky money we do, It may take off in Canada / USA but thats not much good to us except as a tv sport.

Re: Rick Stone sacked : Tue Mar 27, 2018 8:18 pm  

“They can do it because their game is run by professional people”

Nailed it. RL is run by second hand car salesmen and carpet showroom owners.

Re: Rick Stone sacked : Tue Mar 27, 2018 8:28 pm  

Steve May wrote:

Jo, I’m not sure why you think we have the players to compete. The recruitment over the past three or four years has been desperate at times.

Grix - gone, no replacement
McGillvary - improved enormously
Cudjoe - injured but still outstanding
Wardle - gone, no replacement
Murphy - shot as a player, but still here
Brough - shot as a player, but still here
Robinson - gone, no replacement
Crabtree - gone, no replacement
Lunt - gone, no replacement
Kopczak - gone, no replacement
Ferres - gone, no replacement
Chan - gone, no replacement
Lawrence - steady player, hasn’t progressed

Substitutes:
Faiumu - gone, no replacement
Patrick - gone, no replacement
Ta’ai - still got it
Wood - gone, arguably replaced

That team beat Wakefield 40-0 to win the League Leaders Shield. In almost every case the club has failed to replace those players with men as good or better.

Why is that? Who makes the decision to replace international standard second rowers with players from the Championship? And how can they possibly expect it to work?

And bear in mind that at least three of those players left because of HR mistakes by the club - something of a speciality at the Giants.

I completely agree with you about the miss management, My comment was really a generalization, I was trying to make the point that with the right coach we may well have other Cudjo's and such with the right man to spot them and bring them on as Brown did. Powel has done much the same with a bunch of ordinary players at Cas.
But yes i can see where you are going with this, and a few weeks ago i actually pondered whether Mr Davy was bothered about League at all, or whether his interests were far wider.
I really struggle to understand why such an astute businessman as he is would allow his business to drag it's self along in such a pitiful way, On the other hand it's none of my business, I can just choose not to go down but that's what to many have chosen to do already.

Re: Rick Stone sacked : Tue Mar 27, 2018 8:56 pm  

Odds available on Betfred:
Chris Thorman 5/4
John Kear 9/2
Geoff Toovey 6/1
Rohan Smith 8/1
Brian Noble 8/1
Iestyn Harris 10/1
Neil Henry 12/1
Michael Monaghan 12/1
Justin Morgan 12/1
Richard Marshall 16/1
Paul Anderson 16/1
Andrew Henderson 20/1
Jamahl Lolesi 20/1
Jason Demetriou 25/1
Jim Dymock 25/1
James Webster 25/1
Jon Sharp 25/1
Steve McNamara 33/1
Michael Maguire 40/1
Tony Smith 50/1
Danny Brough 50/1
Eorl Crabtree 66/1

Re: Rick Stone sacked : Tue Mar 27, 2018 9:23 pm  

Early Bath wrote:

Odds available on Betfred:
Chris Thorman 5/4
John Kear 9/2
Geoff Toovey 6/1
Rohan Smith 8/1
Brian Noble 8/1
Iestyn Harris 10/1
Neil Henry 12/1
Michael Monaghan 12/1
Justin Morgan 12/1
Richard Marshall 16/1
Paul Anderson 16/1
Andrew Henderson 20/1
Jamahl Lolesi 20/1
Jason Demetriou 25/1
Jim Dymock 25/1
James Webster 25/1
Jon Sharp 25/1
Steve McNamara 33/1
Michael Maguire 40/1
Tony Smith 50/1
Danny Brough 50/1
Eorl Crabtree 66/1

The one with the nearest temperament to Alex Murphy.