Re: Avoiding relegation : Tue Mar 11, 2014 11:02 pm  

Paddock Punter wrote:

A lot of Powell knocking but someone who I respect and would know thought that he was or had the makings of a very good coach but needed a wise old mentor alongside him after the initial results tailed off but the funds were not forthcoming for such an appointment

Well said PP. My understanding from aussies that played for him was that he was a good coach.

Re: Avoiding relegation : Tue Mar 11, 2014 11:05 pm  

gutterfax wrote:

Good for you. He's flushed over £13,000,000 down the drain, made some insane decisions, idiotic appointments and as a result has lost the support of the MAJORITY of the fans.
Good for you that your best buddy dave has told you he's 100% behind the club........it won't stop them going down and he retires soon enough.

He never hired you though. So every cloud.

Sorry GF. Your post makes you sound like a petulant child. "Best buddy Dave" and then further snipes at Rammo later in the thread. Are you jealous or something. What's going on in your head?

Re: Avoiding relegation : Tue Mar 11, 2014 11:13 pm  

Rooster Booster wrote:

My understanding from aussies that played for him

I take it you mean Luke Dorn then.

He was the only Aussie who "played" during that period.

Re: Avoiding relegation : Wed Mar 12, 2014 12:20 am  

Rooster Booster wrote:

He never hired you though. So every cloud.

Yep.....he never hired me. Remind us all again how that's panned out for him, his wasted millions on the Club? Regale us with the long list of success stories at London's SL club whilst he's had overall control since the end of 2008?
I'll help you out.....since the last game of 2008 and under his leadership we have shed 67% of out average fan base and in excess of 1,000 season ticket holders. In the 5+ seasons to date, we have won 36 of our 139 SL games and are now un-backable as favourites to go down.
All of this has happened with NO CONSEQUENCES for anyone responsible. Towel was even offered a role at the club but his pride got in the way, administrators have come and gone with nobody being held to account for the £11,000,000 in losses over the last 5 seasons....Einstein's definition of insanity fits Hughes perfectly
He's quoted as saying to Ian Lenegan in the book A pastel revolution:

I am an oil trader and successful at that but, but marketing, finance, business management, human resources etc are not my strengths
.....YEP......fill us all in on how well the club have done under his ownership this time

Rooster Booster wrote:

Sorry GF. Your post makes you sound like a petulant child. "Best buddy Dave" and then further snipes at Rammo later in the thread. Are you jealous or something. What's going on in your head?

Mark Rammond made an open and very vocal attack on me here...in this very forum. He suggested that I be banned.....he called on the moderators to ban me because I wasn't posting anything positive. He is the Comical Ali of the club now.....He has said earlier in this thread that he feels better having spoken to Hughes.
This is worse than gushing/fawning....David Hughes is a megalomaniac who will do it his way or he wont do it at all. He thinks fans should come back to the cub because he's sorry he "wobbled" in October. Bollox to that Mr Hughes.......I'd suggest that you market the club or employ someone who can market the club if you want fans to attend. I have never said don't go to games. I have never said don't spend money at the Hive or the shop either.....but this self declared voice of the club has that audacity to tell me where and what to post? love him and anyone else who thinks that because they are "chipper" that I shouldn't be allowed my opinion.

The Team are not good enough for SL and that is a harsh reality for some to accept, but a reality all the same. The reason the team aren't good enough is down to the Owner and his bad decision making over the last 5 or 6 years. Hughes had a real chance of leaving a lasting legacy after all of his investment....but what he has now got is a "husk" of a club that is heading for the lower tier.


BTW, your assessment of Rob Powell may well be that aussies like him and rated him as a coach, but the STATISTICS of a W D L ratio of 19% - 2% - 79% would point to him being out of his depth at this level. He may well have been a really good bloke to work with/for, but in another shocking decision where David Hughes wouldn't take advice on the matter, he employed Powell and as a result, the guy was shot to bits by the time he resigned.

Re: Avoiding relegation : Wed Mar 12, 2014 2:11 am  

Cowgirl Nostalgist wrote:

I take it you mean Luke Dorn then.

He was the only Aussie who "played" during that period.

Nope. I live in Sydney. Ones that are back here. Ask PP. Reading what he wrote would suggest he was told something that was true.

Re: Avoiding relegation : Wed Mar 12, 2014 2:56 am  

Rooster Booster wrote:

Nope. I live in Sydney. Ones that are back here. Ask PP. Reading what he wrote would suggest he was told something that was true.

Powell, along with Blanchard and MacKay are all examples of people who "might" have been ready or could "possibly" have done a job for us. Problem is, we didn't have the luxury of time to nursemaid these people and as such, we reaped the rewards of not employing people with experience of the roles.

Same goes for the lady Gus "hand picked" to do the clubs marketing in 2012. Imogen Gaunt had a background in Communications, Media and PR with both the ECB and LTA. Gus hired her, then in the mid season review to discover why the re-brand had failed, he fired her, only for Harlequins RU to take her on as a....wait for it.....Media and PR Manager.
Same with the "hand picked" Tony Langenegger. Gus plucked him from a background with the LTA and Surrey Cricket....he was in charge of Commercial Sales at the London Broncos and he too was culled in late 2012.

Re: Avoiding relegation : Wed Mar 12, 2014 5:38 am  

gutterfax wrote:

Powell, along with Blanchard and MacKay are all examples of people who "might" have been ready or could "possibly" have done a job for us. Problem is, we didn't have the luxury of time to nursemaid these people and as such, we reaped the rewards of not employing people with experience of the roles.

Same goes for the lady Gus "hand picked" to do the clubs marketing in 2012. Imogen Gaunt had a background in Communications, Media and PR with both the ECB and LTA. Gus hired her, then in the mid season review to discover why the re-brand had failed, he fired her, only for Harlequins RU to take her on as a....wait for it.....Media and PR Manager.
Same with the "hand picked" Tony Langenegger. Gus plucked him from a background with the LTA and Surrey Cricket....he was in charge of Commercial Sales at the London Broncos and he too was culled in late 2012.

Completely irrelevant to what I was on about. Talking to yourself again. I was talking to Cowgirl.

Re: Avoiding relegation : Wed Mar 12, 2014 6:31 am  

Rob Powell could have become an outstanding coach. He did an unbelievable job at South London. We threw him in solo far too quickly, he was still building contacts, his reputation etc. He needed a mentor at that stage in his development.

I've also heard persistent rumours that one player was far too prominent off the pitch in the cosy little world that was the Broncos back then. Whether intentionally or otherwise, this badly undermined Rob who was vulnerable to charges the highest level he had played was Uni RL. It seems Rob had the responsibility but not always the power, the player had the power without the responsibility.

Rob Powell is a loss to RL. One of the many things our club has got badly wrong off the field in recent years.

Re: Avoiding relegation : Wed Mar 12, 2014 7:35 am  

Paddock Punter wrote:

A lot of Powell knocking but someone who I respect and would know thought that he was or had the makings of a very good coach but needed a wise old mentor alongside him after the initial results tailed off but the funds were not forthcoming for such an appointment

I thought he was a terrible coach. Earning the respect of the players is the first rule of coaching he didn't have that or much else. It makes me depressed just thinking about the team he coached.

Re: Avoiding relegation : Wed Mar 12, 2014 8:10 am  

Tre Cool wrote:

I thought he was a terrible coach. Earning the respect of the players is the first rule of coaching he didn't have that or much else. It makes me depressed just thinking about the team he coached.

Totally understand why you think that. We judge coaches on results.

Daniel Anderson made a Grand Final with the Warriors despite the fact that most of his team couldn't stand him. And then when he became coach of NZ, several players chose to play for teams like Samoa and Tonga instead.