I thought we said he'd be judged on this season, his players e.t.c

If you judge him on this season....taxi anyone?

So far I'd say McNamara isn't delivering. We always knew it would be a long re-building job but we've yet to see any real evidence of the first team being re-built. Instead we've seen steady decline.

2009 will be his third full season in charge. Each year performances have become poorer and more inconsistent. Increasingly the coach seems baffled as to the reasons why the team isn't playing to his instructions. The players seem capable of pulling out the odd good performance but these are becoming the exception rather than the rule. We were inconsistent in 2008 but this season is even worse. If the coaching staff are baffled then surely it's time for a change?

As FA says I think McNamara is a "dead man walking" as far as the head coach job is concerned but the board appear to be standing by him and I don't forsee any change before the end of the season at least.

The thought of Macca in charge again next year doesn't fill me with excitement. While I'll still be going no matter what I can see crowds dropping further while the present decline continues and unfortunately I can see no light at the end of the tunnel as yet.

While a positive OSV result would be fantastic it wouldn't automatically turn things around on the field. The club seems to be playing things very long term at the moment with their eggs very much in the OSV and academy schemes bearing fruit. I just hope we still have a club by the time those things start to pay off.

Sacking a coach shows neither ambition nor the lack of it. That would be indicated entirely by what happened next. If we were to sack MacNamara and replace him with an existing top coach, that would show ambition. If we were to sack him and replace him with an unproven coach, that would simply show desperation. If we were to sack him and replace him by promoting Basil Richards, well...

Well we didn't sack Nobby but...

My point exactly. The sacking is nothing. It's the replacing that counts. To replace the promising unproven coach of three years ago who - at least at first team level - has failed to live up to expectation, with a promising unproven coach now, would be a knee-jerk of the highest order and would at best risk and at worst invite another three years of disappointment.

Fair points. But sacking McNamara would not be knee jerk in the slightest. He has had more than enough time.

What happens next for you is to move on like we did.

Ace! Some re-building advice from a Crusaders fan. Have we really fallen that far?

Sacking without a plan for replacing with better would be knee-jerk. Sacking with a realistic and costed plan for replacing with better would not be knee-jerk.

Ok, so say we sack him tomorrow. What happens then?

Pray do tell.

RAB will have 35231 less threads open.

Not this season. Its dead and gone. Well have to live with Maccas contract up to 2009 end when it runs out as does his assistants and there are no indications as yet from management that they will be retained.
If there is to be rebuilding of the coaching structure it will be 2010.

That's true. It's dull on here when we win.

I thought it had been ascertained that the contracts are up at the end of 2010?

It's never been fully verified.

Assuming this is Maccas last hurrah, how about Fittler ? may feel undermined if Nobby joins Roosters coaching staff, also could Mark O'Meley be persuaded to leave Oz ?

I'm sticking to the view that I've held since the Wigan match. MacNamara should be judged in July. If at that stage he hasnt done enough to justify the Board's confidence in him, he should be replaced before the 2010 recruitment "season" gets underway.

I am glad that the thread i started has stimulated some genuine, sensible discussion. I will add a little more:

The recruitment season has started. Soliola, Fa'alogo, Fitzgibbon etc...

McNamara being sacked could not be a knee jerk. We have been on a slide for over 2 years. No other Superleague club would show such patience. there would still, even in our poor state, be a long list of experienced coaches beating down Hood's door to get a shot at the job.

Every budget in the club is being sacrificed to stimulate youth development. this has been neglected for years, but may take years to sort out. Balance is needed. The best, most Talented youngsters will not join a club that is in decline like ours, over a club like Leeds/Saints/ Wigan that are seen as big clubs, even when, like Wigan, they dont back this up with trophies.
The first team is what the fans pay to see, so neglecting this area is foolish.

if Kooga are struggling to satisfy demand, make it public and get people like me off the club's case.

What does Duffy do these days apart from pretending to be Langley and mORRISON? I remember when a thread like this on the OMB would be folloowed by a PM from Stuart and a conversation about why issues were not as they seemed. this personal approach kept people on board much more!

Indeed.

I would like to think the Bulls are well underway for 2010 squad additions, in fact I think it's been stated elsewhere we are.


I take your point, but I still don't feel sacking Macca is the answer. I think he has been a victim of circumstance (and cost cutting) in many departments.


Would there? I'm not so sure



I would say that youth development is key. And we ARE sprending the FULL cap*

[size=75*if what the Hood is telling us is correct.[/size

And as for players not wanting to come to the Bulls, well Leeds managed perfectly well, despite finishing near the wooden spoon in the first couple of SL seasons.


Fair point.



Again fair point, the club do need to get a little slicker in their dealings with the fans.

I sent an email enquiry over a week ago to the info@ address. I have yet to receive any sort of response.

The problem is that we haven't set down the criteria for judging him. Some people will say that it should be league position. Others will say that victories over Saints and Leeds prove he can do it and he should be given more time.

I emailed them a while back and Stuart replied the next day, so I'm not sure that is always true.

I've since had a response!! Hurrah!!

Personally I would judge him on our performances, excluding the more extreme fluctuations. ie ignore the two best and two worst performances. All teams can occasionally raise their game to heights that they cannot sustain, all teams have occasional stinkers. Look at what is the norm.

Applying that standard (and I don't think it's a bad one) to this season, the norm is very close matches that go our way around one time in three.

But we haven't had any big wins have we, just narrow wins, narror losses and some BIG losses.

I know you like to paint a positive view but I'd be surprised if we don't get any more big wallopings especially once the pitches start to dry out.