with the news sykes signing a 3 year deal this morning and brian mac always been a fan of him. Does this give the hint brian is our coach? you would think the bulls would have talked to the man to take over before signing him???

I think the club had very little option but to re-sign Sykes, no matter who the coach was.

Could our new coach be Mrs Sykes?

It's either MacDermott or Lowes. I think we all know that.

Do we?

I was going to post the same.

I don't think the board would give it to Lowes, and McDermott wouldn't be a bad shout anyway but nothing is nailed on.

I'm still hoping for Brian Noble.

I think it'll be someone completely different.

Jimmy Carr ?

Alan Carr!

I don't want either! Steve Folkes is who i'd pick.

Monty Python?

Morley Carr ?

Karl Harrison has just taken a, comparatively under-resourced, Batley to the NRC Final in convincing style, he also did a great job at Salford in similar circumstances and has had his reputation unfairly sullied by one bad season there.

Having been here before and knowing the club and it's special feel and ethos it is clear he's the only man for the job.

I agree. Brian Noble it is then.

I don't want him to be coach.

Nobody of any pedigree will come to the Dulls !!
"i saw a lot of positives in our last performance" quote McNamara

Karl Harrison would be perfect for Bradford but as always the clubs board will probably go for an Australian.

By the way what qualifications, rugby or sport wise, do board members have that qualifies them to make a decision on who can coach and who can't. Not trolling, just an honest question that has bugged me for ages.

I hope you are refering to RL in general with that one?? As its been almost a decade since our last aussie coach (of the 4 we've had in over 100 years)

Harrison is not a bad shout in our current predicament IMHO but our new coach won't be him.

Interesting question about the decision makers BTW, I guess the main qualification in our case is the willingness to make the call and take the responsiblity, coupled with experience and talking to other people they respect in the game... I daresay messers Elliot and Smith from down under would gladly offer our board their views of any aussie candidates for example.

I appreciate that the Bulls have generally gone for British coaches in the main. the comment was a sweeping one aimed at most Super League clubs these days. How having an Aussie accent makes you more intelligent rugby wise than the British counterpart is beyond me.

I just hope the Bradford board have had a look at what Karl Harrison has built at Batley with very limited resources, James Lowes is another good British coach who deserves another shot at head coach. The fact he loves the club cannot be underestimated either, how many of us give more to areas of our lives just because we love them more.

We need to develop our own British style of playing again, and this starts with the clubs and the philosophies coming from the head coaches, too many Aussie coaches and this will never happen.

The coaches should come under the same import quota as the players, you should be allowed a certain number of quota spots and this should be made up of ALL full time members of the clubs (Coaches, Assistants, Back Room and players). I know it's a bit radical but something needs to be done to progress our own coaches and players.

My understanding is that you have to be careful to conform with employment law. Why do you think the RFL have conceded to appeals for quota exemptions from existing 'overseas' players? A big reason is that the they don't want the quota challenged in a court because they could lose, and the most likely challenge is from someone whose current means of earning a living is threatened. (e.g. look at the Bosman ruling and the effect that had on accepted practices in soccer and other professional sports in Europe).

If you extend the scope of the quota too far then you increase the risk of a challenge. For example, wealthy backers may decide to challenge the quota because they can't employ the head coach they think is best to achieve their aims for the club (this also helps explain why 'boards' tend to decide who is employed as head coach... they usually include people that own/(provide some/all financial backing of) a club).

4??? I thought it was three? Willey, Smith & Elliott? Who am I missing?

I'd take Karl Harrison over either Lowes or McDermott to be honest

Is there actually any evidence that McDermott is coming back other than the Sykes 3-year deal? Looks like scraping the barrel to me.

Garth Budge was on our backroom staff for quite a while. Was he ever actually coach?