Look, I agree I also think the coaching team are lacking at their jobs.

But I still think the discipline of these so called professional players giving penalties away and being stupid with red mist falling in front of their eyes at times has a lot to do with the outcome of a match.

Just let's suppose everyone kept their cool yesterday, which team do you think then might have won that match?

Kath,

If everyone had kept their cool the chances are the result would have been the same, IMHO.

Despite all the red mist, etc., bizarrely. not one player spent any time in the sin bin. And that despite the referee giving numerous warnings that he was about to make use of the card. As we've seen in this tournament so far this season, a sin binning at international matches can have a substantial effect on the scoreline in the ten minutes when a team is down by a man.

there are dozens of reasons for the "Red Mist" to descend and if someone is tweeking your nether regions you're sure to react badly.

The utter lack of professionalism shown in blindly following a half cocked coaching mantra is however, unforgivable. These 'lads' are highly paid and, one would have hoped, able to think for themselves and make 'on the hoof' changes to a failing game plan.

The sad lack of leaders in the squad is probably the most lamentable problem.

edit for pur spellong



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 14/03/2010 14:31 by MikeGC.

The Old Git in me does still long back to the days when you sorted out your on field problems yourself and you could really tw@t someone without fear of the long walk.

Great stuff. Instead of all this powder puff pushing and shoving.

Whingebasher,

Exactly! It wouldn't have taken 2.5 minutes to sort the bl00dy scrum out, either.

MikeGC,
I think you are correct about the players not being professional in blindly following a poor game plan. However the players that are in the position to challenge or change the game plan are the same exact ones that are there for their unwillingness to challenge. What are you hopingg for Worsley and pain to stand up and say lets throw it around the park instead of grinding through slow phases of play?
Although you cant have a team of individuals every player needs to bring something of himself to the team. Johnson has picked a team that won't do that, they will simply do as told. I think it has become very obvious that anything that isnt in his gameplan makes a players position in the team un tennable.

I think that there is far too much PLAN,

and not nearly enough GAME going on.

That goes for the Premiership too.

It raises the old spectre of the English Muddlehead.
Always looking for ways too overegg the thing.
The `If we dont jump on this it might get out of hand` mentality and trying to fill every single crack.

In this case leaving players to make their own decisions the majority of the time.

We are on the whole, a very cautious race and we see this noxious mix in other sports too.

We often hear people saying how `pragmatic` we are, but what use is the dead hand of pragmatism when there is no art. (The art of knowing when to leave people, and when to guide is something that the French are very good at in many sports).

In this case a `less is more` approach. In other words the art of man management.

Less control. More rugby. Maybe we`d see a bit more art on the field then?

Northampton 2009/10.
London Irish 2008/09.
Wasps 2007/08.
Gloucester 2006/07.
Wasps 2002/03/04/05.

There's nothing wrong with the 'culture' that stops English rugby teams from playing great attacking rugby built on instinct,pace and an artistic interpretation of the game. See all the examples above.

What there is, is an overabundance of unimgainative coaches hell-bent of over-emphasising (with the help of the media, thnk you very much) a couple of stupid law alterations - not even that, a changed interpretation - and telling themselves that it's changed rugby forever and you can't win games of rugby the same way you used to.

Bad coaching is at fault for almost everything that's wrong with English rugby, and given that only about hald the DoRs in the GP are English, I wouldn't call it a long-standing cultural problem.

Ed you've left Bath in 2007, 2008 and 2010 off your list.

There appears a culture of fear around the England squad under J, W & F. A fear to make a mistake, a fear to do something different, a fear to step out of line.

All players really want to play for their country (or in some cases any old country), and won't jeapordize that chance unless they have a huge status already in the game. England have no current world class players who the management wouldn't dare drop.

Those seemingly prepared to suggest a different way of doing things have been shunned.

DB,

Couldn't agree more. Or put another way, picture the scene:

It's RWC 2011 and history has repeated itself. England have been tonked in the pool stages by one of the SH (or even the NH) teams, and it is clear that the current style of play is leading nowhere but potential obscurity. Who, in the squad, assuming it is pretty much as currently, would be willing to stick their head above the parapet and lead the changes?

Arquero, you cant expect players to get up and challenge the coaching staff.

It would be like a salesman going in to the MD and telling him/her that they are doing a @?$%£ job and telling the them how to do it better.

The leadership or challenge to it has, unfortunately, got to come from above. The RFU.

whingebasher, if it were me, I'd be more confident of confronting an MD with a self-evident truth if I had the backing of millions of supporters and hundreds of respected (and otherwise) members of the press, not to mention the last handful of high level employees, a few former MDs, the MDs of other rival companies.

Sale pre Frenchman also.

In fact Sale were the best team to watch from 2001-2004. Certainly better than 2002 Wasps!!

All in the coaching isn't it. The players are responsible to some extent, but it is so obvious that good coaches make decent players look great.

Quote:

Ed Budge
whingebasher, if it were me, I'd be more confident of confronting an MD with a self-evident truth if I had the backing of millions of supporters and hundreds of respected (and otherwise) members of the press, not to mention the last handful of high level employees, a few former MDs, the MDs of other rival companies.

Im with you all the way EB. But when you confront the guy its just you and him. Its a long lonely walk out to your car never to return!!

Mind you I might take a punt on it if I were a player at this time as there will probably a new coach fairly soon, but first Id make sure that my stuff was in the boot, the engine was running and the exit gates were open before I called Johnson a @%$£ to his face...