Just in case anyone thought the state of international RL in this country couldn't get any more ridiculous, I hear that England are now being coached by a man who has just been sacked from his domestic post.

Rumours are apparently rife in Bradford that McNamara has been given his marching orders.

Presumably this year Ian Lenagan has made no enquiries about the availability of Bradford players for McNamara to "fend off" and thus secure his position.

Not overly surprsing after the run of results they've had. Desperate times for Bradford.

They need to appint someone immediately, so who's available?

A massive fall from grace for what was one of the leading lights in SL. When they were successful they had everything going well for them on and off the field. We used to live in Wakefield and we'd see loads of cars in and around Yorkshire with Bulls stickers in their windows. The whole matchday experience at Bradford was centred around enjoyment. Live bands, cheerleaders, go-karts.......

I think I read somewhere that when SL switched to summer rugby Bradford Northern lost over half their fanbase but then gained another two thirds in new fans. Unfortunately it would seem that this new fanbase was just a flash in the pan and once the success has dried up they've lost interest.

Gary Schofield has taken up a position with the South African RL so you can count him out.



on a serious note would a return of the prodigal son, Nobby, reignite interest in RL there?

Just come across the same rumours here [urlhttp://www.totalrl.com/index.php?showtopic=205431[/url

Would not be shocked to see Menzies given the job as a caretaker player coach until a more permanent solution became available (Mick Potter).

sounds like a certain football team I have heard of, although their "success" could not be compared to the Bulls

Without trying to turn this into a 'Tics bashing thread, it's bound to happen when you get an influx of new 'fans'. they aren't the people who've been there through thick and thin and go because they love the club, they go because of the success. Once that success/novelty value has dropped off , they're gone. Even the Latics fans refer to their JCL's.

already been done according to total rugby forum. see my earlier post.

cant find anything official yet though

Would be a marketing dream for them, and might help stop the alarming drop in their attendances. I was watching the Bradford game from 2000 when Rads scored right at the death and the away end was absolutely packed. We're lucky if they bring a thousand now.

I hope they pick up a bit in the next few years.

I think the loss of the fans is the most worrying problem for Bradford. At least when Wigan were struggling they had the solace of a big crowd roaring them on.

Possibly all the razzamatazz of the early Bulls years attracted the wrong kind of people. Folk who were looking to go to a circus rather than support a rugby league team.

It's difficult to see how they can win those kinds of numbers back.

but aren't a good number of those latics "fans" supporters of the more traditional/established/bigger clubs that surround Wigan but cant get tickets to watch those teams as there is a waiting list? hence go to latics and see the big teams in action there.

How has this become a discussion about Latics?

Maybe, but you only get to watch your team once a year and after that there are only a few other teams that are worth watching as a neutral (United, Chelsea, Arsenal, Liverpool).

Sorry, back on topic peeps.

FYI Offical now;

[urlhttp://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/sport/sportbulls/8268635.McNamara_parts_ways_with_Bulls/[/url

You guys at the top of the table better watch out now that Lee St Hilare is in temp charge......

Makes a farce of his appointment as England coach.... There are good players at Bradford that Mcnamara has ruined and there are average players that he can't inspire. He was assistant coach of of a poor england side with a supposed World class coach at the helm. Club teams at the top of the SL are bringing in coached with new ideas and new techniques and the RFL are going backwards.... For me we should be looking at an english assistant coach who is working alongside one of the new breed aussies/NZ. Wane at Wigan under Maguire, Cummins at Leeds under Bluey etc. Kearney did the job at NZ as an assistant at Melbourne so it can work...

yeh deffo seem like the england appointment was a bad call now. I bet the RFL keep a low profile

No idea. Stop the Latics posts people!

It's now official at Bradford [urlhttp://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/rugby_league/8814501.stm[/url

His assistant, Lee St Hilaire, takes over until the end of the season.

Dave

I ve got a feeling them 2 who just left Leeds can't think of the names must be favourite for this job

Willie and Fanny?

I don't think anyone will be successful at Bradford at the moment. They have had a policy of getting rid of their best paid players for several years now and have replaced them with people like Sherriffe, Worrincy, Platt and Nero. The Matt Orford signing has been nothing short of a disaster and I think that they are still suffering financially from the Iestyn Harris court saga. They need a big cash injection.

Its just terrible.

England RL should be the ultimate honour, playing infront of 40,000 people!

Hey folks - first post!

Got to admit my first reaction to this was one of negativity. But trying very hard to put a positive England RL spin on this, they do say that representative coaching is a very different job to domestic coaching. It's less about player skills development and much more focused on match preparation. The example I'd give is that Mal Meninga wasn't a stellar coach at Canberra, but his Origin record is outstanding with Queensland.

Obviously I'm not comparing Steve McNamara to Mal Meninga. In fact, I just laughed out loud typing that.



But my point is that we should probably reserve judgement until after this year's international games..