Quote ="BrisbaneRhino"[uQuite seriously, who gives a rats what he did at Bradford?[/u It has absolutely zero relevance to his performance as England coach.
The results against Australia and NZ were 20-28 and 18-20. England could and perhaps should have won both. The end was the same, but I assume you have seen GB/England absolutely smashed by both those teams? Quite recently in fact. I've seen us get hammered in Brisbane - absolutely humiliated. With players like Peacock, Morley, Harris, Long et al in the side. This England team is light years better then the last one to come down under.
But any improvement is somehow all down to the players and nothing to do with the coach. Really? He had 'four years' to prepare? Again, really? With his full squad available on a regular basis? Even half his squad? Even half his squad being able to play regular competitive matches? Or was it more like a few catch-up sessions with players when he could get them?
As for Chase, until literally a few weeks before the WC, there seemed very little chance that Widdopp would have been fit. So as a good coach did, he would have planned with Chase and Sinfield. If you take Widdopp out of the equation, all the other names bandied about for 7 are frankly laughably poor.
You can argue - understandably - that he could have dropped Chase a week earlier (I would have agreed with that), but to suggest he should have started with Widdopp against Australia for instance is barmy.
Which brings us to the other load of tosh. Brough is responsible for not even being considered for England. McNamara didn't force him out. He was told he wasn't an automatic selection. How bizarre for a coach to do that with a player who hasn't achieved anything much at all in a ten-year career.
It was Brough who took his bat home and decided he was Scottish rather than try to force his way into the squad and then the team by delivering performances that would demand his selection. So if you want to bag anyone or Brough's absence, bag Brough, pseudo-scot-dummy-spitter extraordinaire.
I'm 100% certain McNamara has made mistakes. But blaming him for the results without looking at the quality of the performances is not fair, suggesting that a narrow-heartbreaking defeat is the same as an embarrasing hiding is ridiculous, and suggesting that Brough wasn't solely responsible for his non-selection is laughable.'"
Are you kidding? On that basis then, anyone can be given the role as their past experiences/results mean nothing.
