I wonder how similar some of the posts in this thread are compared to the Saints one when Cunningham came back.

If McGuire is right and it is a player lead club, and the players are on board with this appointment, it could work out a treat. Fully expecting you guys to run Cas close this weekend.

I’m very happy with this. James Lowes is a highly rated coach. Kev will be making the decisions, speaking to the media etc

Our lass said to me this morning, as i sat upon my throne "Kevin Sinfield, i hope its him".

I said, "nah, i hope not. We dont want another Kieron Cunningham situation. I dont think Sinfield would go for it and hes not a coach".

Not sure how i feel about it.

I did however think that McDermott would be sacked after the Wigan game and Lowes in charge until the end of the season.

Well it looks like my informant from last week was spot on

He isn’t coaching, Lowes is. I think this is great news

By who? Nobody in Wire or Bradford.

Sinfield doesn't need coaching skills - his job is to motivate the whole organisation to deliver its potential - its all about strategy/man management/direction, something he has demonstrated on numerous occasions in the past.

I’m specifically referring to him as ‘coach’. A role which is his strength

This is a risky move for both Sinfield and Hetherington.

There's a precedent out there that ex-players close to retirement don't make good coaches. I hope Sinfield can show us a different outcome.

If this is a move to gradually replace GH with Sinfield then I'm happy with that. The on-field side of things I'm more concerned about. I suppose the rationale with Lowes is that a coach of greater stature (Furner, Kearney etc) would not accept a similar position of being subordinate to Sinfield. Lowes could also be easy to replace if things don't work out in the short-term.

The immediate objective is to secure a place in the top 8. Hopefully the euphoria of Sinfield returning will be enough to bring about that change.

In the longer-term, I have no idea what this means for the brand of rugby Leeds will play. Again, the hope is that Sinfield will deliver the brand of attacking rugby most of us want to see, but many of the notable wins he presided over as captain were dour grinding performances. For a long time he had to live with the consequences of not 'taking the two', and however much the current team could benefit from a safety first approach, I hope this is not what we see next season and beyond.

Don't disagree with that but im sure it was said that he would be selecting the team aswell. I don't see how he can be in charge of picking the team without having some input into how they are going to play, which is surely the role of the coach.
If he was coming to just take over the duties of GH that would be different but this role seems to be much more than that

The appointment of Sinfield is clearly a first step into retirement for GH. The fact that he comes in now is simply to placate the worried masses. I'd fully expect another coaching appointment to be made at the end of this season for 2019 and beyond, along with a number of new players.

I did smile when Gary said that "all of our players have performed to outstanding levels over their time here, but not necessarily this season". No 5h!t Sherlock...

A big positive for me is the thought of the promising juniors coming through having Burrow and Sinfield as role models. I can't think of 2 better from the golden generation to mentor the next batch.

Very underwhelmed to be honest.

me too. a top coach and sinfield alongside Gary learning the job would have been perfect for me

Is this the start of Hetherington's "exit plan"? He's 64, could probably afford to spend more time on the golf course if that's how he wants to spend his time, he has basically overseen the stadium redevelopment and is starting to hand over responsibilities. Sinfield has been public before about not wanting a coaching job, so is he basically being mentored for Hetherington's?

I have watched Leeds since 1954 and over all those years in my opinion it has always been a player led club .When coming back from
Wigan it seemed to me that BM had lost the dressing room and that he had to go,just like a number of predecessors over the years,history always repeats itself.I for one welcome Sinfield and believe he will do a good job.ONE THING KEVIN IS IS A WINNER.

Lowes is a good coach - he is now in exactly the right role where he concentrates on developing the skills and the team working required to get out of this mess

I would disagree regarding James Lowes, at Bradford he wouldn't listen to anyone and wanted things his way. Karl Harrison mentions he offered him advice all season and Lowes ignored it. Spits his dummy out with media too.

McDermott learned. Maybe Lowes has.

Perhaps he has learned along the way - and if he doesn't listen to Sinfield he wont have a job

Having met Kevin on several occasions he seems to me to make decisions that benefit the whole and isn't afraid to make those decisions.

Under estimate him at your peril

I think that’s what this is. I can imagine Hetherington wanting Sinfield to have at least had experience coaching before moving up completely to CEO. This way it eases him into aspects of the CEO job with Hetherington still there to assist and gives him that experience at coaching.

As far as I’m concerned it’s a great move for the long term.

People keep mentioning Cunningham, and they have in common that they were both great players and club legends, but Sir Kev has the finest rugby mind of his generation and that's what he's bringing to the table. There are few players in world rugby who could read a game as well as him and I don't say that lightly. On top of that you've got his ethic - he went from being a not great kicker to the best in Super League, he was, apparently, not fast enough to be a half back yet he ran the show against all the flash Harry's and brought us trophy after trophy. I can't think of a single better figurehead we could have.

He's also an incredibly considered individual and I have no doubt that he would not have taken this job on without very seriously considering all the ramifications. In short, I think if he thinks he's good enough for the job then it probably means he's good enough for the job - that's the kind of man he is.

If you can't tell, I'm delighted.

He is a violent lunatic. I am making it up but there is more evidence for my argument than yours.

What is it that makes you think this David, I don't doubt your knowledge of the game, but I'm struggling for supporting evidence.