Management and Players Present A United Front In Denial

[mikerob]

Whats the odds we draw Stade Francais, Leicester and Llanelli, and Leinster draw Treviso, Dragons and the worst English side

I can't remember who came out with this originally but the real "group of death" would be Ulster, Toulouse, London Irish and the Dragons.

Or maybe that should be "group of abuse".

[Judith Harrison]

I wish to say that whilst we don't physically watch games (tho' Ive been to Ravers, and 2 daughters went to several games), one should not under-estimate the 'homework' we put in, and follow and are aware (I think!) the functionings of Ulster. NOT just because my kid plays, but because we are truly interested/concerned with further flourishment of U.R.
Ergo: keep McCall and Clarke, give them a go, regardless of last season. Forget this talk of Solomons.
The talk of J.H. 'not worth the money'..is perplexing. This boy went to Ulster as a newly-wed, all didn't work out after short span of time, and it was a (quote) 'turmoil' in his personal life...but, one must 'take their hat off' to him for his honest, revealing interview with newspaper (and he WASN'T trying to make excuses for any bad game days)....are the Ulster people so offay and knowledgable about other players.eg. their marital status, their inner problems, their adjustments etc.etc. Harrison did 'spill his guts', which has not been recorded here in Oz...he told YOU people.
Don't disregard the resilience, dedication...and ability..of Harrison.

[veritas]

[Judith Harrison]

Y.Man..don't know what that means..?! SPEAK some words, critisize, argue..whatever. You call that a response..? Very silly and banal.

[Judith Harrison]

And same to you Veritas..only double!!

[Judith Harrison]

Y.Man..meaningless..? "Charade going on"..with whom, or concerning whom? Or just another of ur nebulous posts, say nothing constructive or informative, and mean zilch.

[LePaul]

Yougman a man of many words eh

Judith there are many people on this Forum who hold their hats off to JH. Last year we had a result, for what it was worth, and JH was instrumental in that. This year, we have seen the real coaching staff emerge and the lads have suffered as a result. Clearly there are many in here who disagree with this point of view but whatever the reason, the guys confidence is in their boots and when you are at that level you do not look good on the night and that’s where we are now.

As for this is he good value thing, I suspect many would rather see Justin stay on but given the concerns of many folk here about McCall and his inability to coach, the disastrous results from this years Magners League and the abysmal results and perpetual non qualification for the Heiny added to this the disgraceful article with interviews from our captain and coach, the folks in here are drunk off and very rightly so. In circumstances such as I describe, people lash out (like McCall did in the Newsletter). Justin I believe, for what its worth, hasn’t given up and is still seen around the pitch scrapping away and winning ball but all of this is being over shadowed by other events.

I believe that you are wrong regarding the retaining of McCall. He has demoralised a great squad of players, he has spent every post match interview blaming this and that and the players for this and that but when it comes down to the bottom line - he cannot coach at this level. He has shown this with the disastrous results at London Irish away and Munster 2nds at Ravenhill and so on. This is not the fault of the players - they have no direction, confidence, faith or self belief. That’s what the coach is for. IMHO

[LePaul]

YoungMan wrote

Coaches Responsibilities:

The Coach runs the team. (therefore the coach should be man enough to accept that things are wrong, that he is ultimately responsible for this and sort it)The Coach is responsible for structured and planned training sessions.

• Preparation of the players
• Structure of the team game plan as his is more or less the same game plan this point isnt required
• Communicating this game plan to the players as per above
• Developing each players potential ask Paddy Wallace about this point
• Encouraging excellence in execution and he will start to do this when
• Providing positive feedback and post game analysis to the players like all the blame game rubbish we have heard and read all season long in his post match hatchet jobs
• Recruitment and retention
• Contributing to, and being aware of, the importance of team morale. see your own observation below - nuff said

The Coach has a role in building the whole player yes - and ALL players in his/her charge by ensuring that playing our game is an enjoyable experience in the player‘s life. He will take every opportunity to talk with and listen to the players and be sensitive to the needs of the individual and the team.
The Coach must never lose sight of the importance of his leadership in achieving the team Goal


I think that over all McCall is not far of the above, However i personally believe that team morale is the main issue

He has failed spectacularly on the aspect of morale 9and therefore confidence and self belief and so on).

[Judith Harrison]

Read ur post carefully LePaul, and agree with..much of it.
You say "disgraceful" in describing the Coach/Capt. interviews (and I'm thankful that JH wasn't Capt. on this occasion, and called to account)..don't know what he (JH) would have said, BUT I do know he would NOT say anything but praise for supporters..he has always said same. I do, however, think that the boo-ing of the team had a confused/surprised reaction from the team..a 'wake-up call' perhaps. But it did have an effect. I've said in posts that I've not EVER heard the boo-ing of a team..even on International circuit.
JH, I feel, is NO longer 'over-shadowed by other events',..nor has he 'given up',..nor is he just playing for money, for the hell of it.
I would not pretend to consult Ulster people on their Coach..but do agree with u LePaul that team MUST get back that "direction, faith, confidence".

[pwrmoore]

I've said in posts that I've not EVER heard the boo-ing of a team..even on International circuit.

Then you can't have watched any of England's Autumn international series in 2006. I was amazed at the way the crowd booed them off the pitch. I never expected to witness it at Ravenhill though.

[Freddie Benson]

JH was pretty forthright in his support of the coaching staff in his interview for the Beeb post-match.

But I'm less impressed with McCall's continued use of the number of players in the international set up as a measure of Ulster success. Ulster should be measured by its results, end of.

[Judith Harrison]

Y.Man, ur 'precisee' or list of duties look fairly straight-forward...on paper.
Morale amongst the fellows, IMO, is great..ie.socialising, caring for each other,game tactics, being a team..but, and this may well prove to be inflammatory, but IMO (solely IMO)...there may well be some players who play for singular glorification and recognition (ie.to Ireland squad)...

[Judith Harrison]

Oh, totally true Y.Man..bad passes, missed tackles..just terrible. Tell u what..I'm going to send my boy to his room without supper..

[Judith Harrison]

"The Myth is bigger than the legend"...?what..?! Be sensible Y.Man...who aspires to a higher staus than Ulster..to Ireland?! Don't ever expect me to name players....aren't u the man on the spot...u tell me..!

[LePaul]

Youngman

Quote:
(therefore the coach should be man enough to accept that things are wrong, that he is ultimately responsible for this and sort it)
Has he not?

There are three aspects to my comments - accepting something is wrong, accepting full responsibility and fixing it. Yes he has, in part, accepted that there is a problem and in part has taken the responsibility for it, although I'm not convinced of his sincerity, but he has neither fixed it or shown any real attempt to do so. The very fact that he has reacted to the booing, and the message that it gave, in the way that he has is indicative of someone who cannot really see what is actually going on. When fans as proud and faithful as Ulster fans boo only a blind man on a galloping horse would fail to see that something was wrong.