An analogy from the real world;
I am an IT Technician. Part of my job is to fix Apple Macs and PCs.
Let say I can fix PCs fine but I am hopeless with Apple Macs. My employer will train me and give me time to learn.
If after three years I still can’t fix Apple Macs they will sack me, irrelevant of how good I am at fixing PCS. Its not the Apple Mac's fault for breaking in the first place, its my job to fix it.

PCs= Attack.
Apple Macs= Defence.

Thanks for getting us this far Matt but its time for a change. Let a new coach come in and build the team for next season.

Agree mate. He has had enough time and chances. Time to look for somebody who can read the game in defence not just attack. Time for some discipline in the side. Time to have a Coach who can takes us to winning Trophys. Thanks Matt for your time and effort but you need to leave. Jack Gibson always said never stay anywhere more than 3 years. Either you hate them or they hate you!!!

Most sensible post on here for a long time

No doubt Calland will come out and say the players didn't stick to the game plan, which shows to me that the players do not respect the coach enough, or have the faith in what he says, to go out and do what they have been told to do.

Thanks for the rollercoaster ride Matt, but I think you have taken the team as far as you can

Well, I've been a staunch supporter of Matt. I'm wavering .........

If we want a home tie in the play-offs and if we want to give ourselves a chance of the GF we have to be despatching clubs in the bottom half of the table.

No chance of a home tie, ive been saying for ages our position in the table is flaky. When Celtic and Salford were in the league we were genuinely the best of the rest. We've slipped back into the pack now, not progressed. Its very sad and clear Matt can't push us on.

The difference between the two teams today was that Dewsbury were more hungry for the win. Both teams 'tried', but when it came down to giving that little extra, it was the Rams that gave it.
If Matt cannot squeeze that extra something out of the players, then we are going to lose these close run games and as most teams in this league can run each other close, then it is likely that we are going to lose more than we should be.

Matt needs to sort it out, otherwise it may well be time for him to realise his time in charge of Fax is running out.

we need to tighten up for the play offs, that has been said many times before, i just dont think Calland knows how though.

we give to mnay cheap yards away, we stay back from the play of the ball and let players run at us.

its now time he went

Sorry Matt,I'm in agreement with all the above.Today we weren't hungry enough and that was why we didn't win.We witnessed it and it was ugly.That game should have been taken by the scruff of the neck in the last quarter and we would have won,but with non tackling and standing off the man like that we got all we deserved.
I predict more of the same if the defence isn't sorted soon.It's not looking good is it!!!!

Its the age old issue of an Halifax side coached by Calland who simply can not defend, do the basics of rugby correct and make consistent bad decisions with ball in hand. Add to that poor communication and ill discipline and it pretty much some us up this year and the previous 2 years really. Although individual brilliance has papered over these cracks previously. Sometimes we need a workman like defensive performance to grind teams down, as we should have today with Dewsbury.

We are one dimensional and teams who own a video of any Halifax games can easily suss us out. I left today totally deflated and my old man who has watched Fax for over 50 years is now saying he doesn't want to go anymore as he has seen enough . . . . . . How many more feel liek this and will vote with their feet??

As I have said before though we are (I fear) stuck with Calland for various reasons and that worries me massively. I would rather have Bally as coach if it meant we had a different approach or gameplan as the club seems to be going very stale at the minute. This year is certainly an ANUS HORRIBLUS!

We lost today to a team that ran from deep onto the ball and looked sharper than us an wanted it more.
They gave their forwards the ball running onto it at pace from deep which hurts you when you have a flat defence like ours whereas we chuck it to Big Frank or Aizue or whoever standing flat who then trying to get going.
It doesn't work, so who is at fault?
Come on it has to be the coach when it happens week in week out.

I am sick of losing to teams who just have the bit extra in organisation and as a result beat us.
Calland HAS TO GO sooner rather than later so we can start building for NEXT YEAR.
This season has to go down as one of the most disappointing in the last 15 years if we don't win anything with what on paper is the best squad in this league.
Thing is we cannot afford this team now so we will have to let some of them go.
Rebuil with players that have a desire to play for Fax and a coach that can organise them.

1 Northern Rail Cup performances.
2 Turning up to a postponed cup tie after travelling to the ground.
3 Signing Holroyd again.

Will seriously consider my options for future games.

As said previously I do not usually climb on the sack the coach bandwagon but enough, today was an insult to all the travelling fans.

Had a few beers myself so got to keep it simple:

Basics = incapable
Team Decision making= shocking
Discipline = poor
Communication= poor
Fitness = poor
Players Technical Ability= good
Entertainment value= high
Performances= below par
Crowds = sure to diminish under current setup
Super League = why?
Chances of winning major comp: low (unless discipline instilled)
Time to sort it: now

Bit simple but why not



ps ref: no comment

Hey you guys have just got Holroyd back,next coming are Brendan Hill,Colin Dixon,and Johnny Freeman,HAPPY DAYS.

I, and I suspect most fans of other championship clubs will be quite happy if matt stays on!!

I don't see what is so amusing about Holroyd coming back. At age 34 he is the same age as Keith Senior who is still playing for Leeds in SL on a regular basis so I would have thought that playing in the Championship at 34 would be quite acceptable.

i though GH had a good first half, his kicking class showed, and if luke branigan can learn from the old master, then even better

a couple of times the link up between LB and GH was excellent, and i saw LB try a new kick, based on what GH had done

GH might just turn out to be a good short term signing, even better if he is doing some kicking coaching with LB,BB and LP

going off thread, LB need to stop kicking from hand for touch, he just does not have the distance!

Brannigan is more of a positional kicker and Beswick should kick for touch when we get penalties.Mr Calland is going to come under some severe criticsm because of the Dewsbury defeat,his motivation and man man mangement skills are a lot to be questioned.Why does he repeatedly choose to coach the game from the stands when its on the touch line the players are looking for some leadership of direction and hes simply not there.If we are not careful this season is going to be out of our hands befre we know it,after all that was the only second time Dewsbury had won all season.

The seasons already gone, time to wake up, now, Matt Calland is rank! and all those that disagree have their right to do that, but one thing i do know is were going backwards, how lame to make excuses in the worrier like he has, they are his players, they cant tackle, he has no cover, they dont show enough pride.

Get real, the players are not looking at the bench during the match! and if they do Bally is there

Jowiet was in his glass box yesterday and came down to the pitch side with ten to go about the same time as mat did! much like Eaton did at Keighky the other week, did u ever see frant endecot at wigan and new zeland in the dugout, no he sat in the stands, were does Karl Harrion sit at Batley, in the stands, do u watch Sky, when they pan to the coaches, were are they! sat in the bluudy stands!
A larger number of coaches in many sports watch from an elivated position to get a better view of the game

STOP Press

Matt Calland wears jeans on his day off therore he ust be a bad coach becase he does not wear his fax tracksuit!

where his commitment and passion, jeans i ask u the club is doomed, doomed i say doomed!



Double stop press, Matt Calland only has 14 firt players and has to play 3 players who are not fir, he must be a bad coach beacuse of this!

STOP PRESS: When Calland has a fully fit squad we make the same silly, basic errors and throw away possession, Not to mention we simply can't defend to save our lives on a consistent basis. You need only look at Fev away, Hunslet at Home, Leigh at Home this season (to name just 3 games) . . . . . . . . What excuse can you come up with for those games? - Entertaining at times but mostly downright frustrating that we can't close down a game. At 16-6 up yesterday we should have had the game sewn up but errors and poor defending allowed Dewsbury to get a head of steam. All I ask for is pride and passion and he simply doesn't seem capable of getting Halifax RLFC to show this. I'd watch us lose every week just to see some pride in the blue and white. If a coach can't motivate you might as well give up. - I just wish Calland would admit defeat and do the honourable thing.

another discraseful performance, built strongly round clueless defence..

standing and waiting for the attack to come to you is not defending, its schoolboy stuff!!!

im sorry, have backed MC as far as i can!

i dont understand how you can go from a team that reaches the GF in 2009....go out shopping and buy some of the best performers in last years championship ( nash, branners) and still come up so far short..

we've got n ideas in defence, and our attack is hit and miss.

we deserve better as paying fans.....

the 1st time iv said this but im afraid youv used up all your lives mr calland!!!!

Okay if we accept that you are indeed correct and it is time for Calland to go it raises two questions.

1. Who will fund the remainder of his contract, will it be you or the rest of the fans who are calling for his head on a stick?

2. Who are you going to bring in to replace him right now and how are you going to afford it?

i dont know if its a fax thing, but we seem to do far too much calling for coaches heads, it solves very little in the short term, and just casues a whole lot more cost, coaches should be judged on a season not a loss or two, we are in a play off position after all!

no i am not happpy at the loss yesterday, but it was a contest right up to the last ten minutes and could have quite easily gone our way!

i would love to be the manager of some of the posters on here and see how they perform at work!

There in lies the problem - I agree that something needs to be done but as per your post above begs the questions Who and How? - I would rather have Billy & Bluey doing it if they can get an improvement (which wouldn't be difficult) but appreciate we are in a catch 22 scenario at present.

Saying that why openly say in the press we need to dip into the transfer market rather than the "loanee" market?? I suspect it is loanees we are after rather than spending cash we don't have.