You do realise that it isn't just down to KF don't you? The coach has to be available, he has to want to come here, we have to be able to pay him what he wants, his family have to agree and those are just off the top of my head.
I appreciate that the desire to win the GF tops all other factors for you but even so...

I agree that Wigan and Saints seem to be surging ahead of us based on last year and recruitment but I'm not convinced they are head coach wise as both sets of fans wanted their respective coaches gone for large parts of last season.

I wouldn't mind Wane stepping in, I think he'd do a good job and will have a point to prove, if nothing else it would be out of our system.

A big NO from me re Powell can't stand the guy (obviously I don't know him personally) he's far too moany and hasn't really delivered

I'd take Barry Cooper as a coach if Price leads us to a GF win this season !!

What about Shadwells? I always thought they had more class & style than Barry Cooper.

I know about the club legend and that was an obvious and unremarkable sacking.
But which coaches (obviously 2 or more) did they sack after winning them the grand final.
What were the dates of the win and how soon after were they sacked? I will check up on this as it seems a strange way to reward success.

Hanley won it in 99 and was sacked in 2000. Millward won 2 and I think it took them a little longer to sack him. Either way, they weren't afraid to sack winning coaches if there was a better alternative out there.

Yes I'm well aware of that. I can't see money being an issue, I can't see his family being an issue given he lives around the corner. The only issue with Wane would be if he would want to come due to his Wigan ties but lets ask the question and find out.

You are dead right that they got sacked but ...
Ellery Hanley was sacked for a breach of contract & Millward for gross misconduct.
I thought it seemed a bit strange.

I know what you mean but he also has a track record of getting the best of his players which is the best attribute a coach can have IMO. For me Powell just doesn't like losing and that's not something I would be upset about in a wire coach because I don't like us losing either, he seems to get frustrated when injuries pile up etc, it could be argued we have a better squad depth than cas, so maybe injuries would be a little less frustrating for him. Maybe he could bring Trueman with him too? I think we missed a trick with Watson to be honest, I think he will go well for Huddersfield and would have loved to see what he could manage with our budget and young players.

Whoever comes in will be looking at a rebuilding job, hill and cooper aren't getting any younger and neither is ratchford, Jason Clark, gaz Widdop and inglis are likely to be off at the end of this season as well, and maybe Blake Austin too? There are some really good building blocks in place though already, daz Clark, King, lineham, Ashton, philbin, currie, mulhern? Butler? Plus I have really high hopes for riley Dean (really like the look of him), Longstaff, doro and josh thewlis. Thewlis could slot straight in to the team now and not look out of place. Whoever comes in is likely to have a large chunk of cap space to play with including marquee spots. I hope the appointment is confirmed early and then the coach and board can get to work on recruitment early.

Still a no on Powell for me sorry CW8, the over the top protestations when Westwood was genuinely a bit late on Gale a few years ago at their place had my all Keegan-esque in a losing a lot of respect kind of way.

I agree that there may be some merit in an early announcement of Price's replacement as it might ensure that the players definitely know that the guy making next season's plans is watching now

Hanley got the boot after going crazy and telling all saints sponsors they should pull their money from the club in the season launch dinner, and they picked millward up from leigh.

I don't think that's the best example for this one.

I'm not sure Saints have had great coaches. They have had a lot of great players. Look at the record of their coaches when they have been at other clubs...its not special. Daniel Anderson is the only one who I thought was a top coach.

It would have been interesting if Paul Cullen had taken over from Hanley instead of Millward. If he'd been the Saints coach through the 2000s how many trophies would he have won. Would a narrative have been created that we were stupid to allow Cullen to slip through our fingers and go to Saints and become a coaching great.

Leeds during the McLennan and McDermott era were also a team that didn't need a great coach, although McDermott was just right for that type of squad of big name players - he was able to command respect and authority over them which not many coaches could do.

It's been at Wigan, under Maguire and then Wane, where you can really point to a top coach making a difference. Wigan had some good players but not nearly as many as Saints or Leeds when they were winning Super Leagues.

What's the full story here? I don't recall ever reading it.

Here's a retro BBC report:

[urlhttp://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sport/rugby_league/673959.stm[/url

As an outsider looking in, I have always thought that you guys have always had the ability to win the big games and during your best seasons of around 2009 to 2013 (ish) you were sensational to watch and were easily the best side in SL at the time.

Your reward for this supremacy was that you (only) won 3 Challenge Cup finals and 2 league leader shields and In 2 of those Challenge Cup finals you really stuffed the Rhinos

But you should have won at least a couple of Grand Finals due to your dominance at that time.

IMO you have always lacked the mental toughness required to win the really big games that matter like Grand Finals and have now lost on 4 occasions

In 2012 Wolves beat the Rhinos 35-18 in the Challenge Cup Final
Rhinos however avenged this defeat and after qualifying in the lowest play off position of 5th for the second year in succession they peaked and won the Grand Final against Wolves 26-18

Your 2013 Grand Final loss to Wigan was unbelievable
Wolves were 14 points up at one stage in the first half but Wigan scored 28 unanswered point to win 30-16

IMO you need a Coach that can bring the Wolves club that mental toughness culture required in order to be able to win when it is required and very often against all of the odds too

I would appoint Brian McDermott as your next coach if I had the choice
It might not be popular on here with you fans.

But he will deliver a GF win during his tenure IMO

Things are probably a bit different now. But I am very much into this idea. Good coaches just know how to get the best from good players, make good decisions and keep 'em together. If someone ain't very good ... you can't make 'em into world beaters.
I reckon (if you can sort lively blokes out) anyone could coach Wigan this year.

I’m pretty sure that if you gave me that gig they wouldn’t win a thing 5his season. “ Now listen here John Bateman you can lose that attitude for a start. If I say you’re a prop, you’re a prop.Bevan quit that running, I’ve been watching a lot of rugby and it’s clear that a fullback has to kick the ball as far as he can as soon as he gets it. Jackson lad, here are a load of highlight tapes of Matty Smith when he was here. Just ship the bloody ball on, none of that fancy Dan, look at me ”.

Bollocks

Wow, I’ve been censored! How clever is this site! The original word was male dangly bits.

I'd love to have a go with Jackson Hastings, Bevan French and Thomas Lueluai. Good players.

“Tommy you’re not indestructible you know, leave the tackling to Bevan”

Between 2007 and 2011 St Helens lost five Grand Finals in a row. They also won two Challenge Cups.
What was the reason behind them not being able to win the really big games?
Was it a lack of mental toughness? They had Sculthorpe, Long, Cunningham, Wellens, Pryce, Roby, Graham. Most of those guys had won multiple Grand Finals before, in 2006 they won the treble, but they got tagged 'the bocklers'.
So why did they lose?

In 4 of those finals they lost to a very special Leeds Rhinos team who were also probably the mentally toughest side in the competition for over a decade that knew how to reach their peak for the big games at the end of the season

I think there’s a lot to be said for the mental toughness argument along with culture, the belief that a team can and will win.

On the positive side, should a coach be appointed well before the season ends, without necessarily making this public, then they would have time to assess the current squad.