The UAFC

I really do hope you are wrong with this one, but it must be quite tough being away from your wife and kids and the same for the Williams family being away from Matt. However I was under the impression that Matt's kids were in the final year of schooling and that it was a bit of an upheavel then but that they would be joining him at a later date ( might be wrong )but if he does go and i can understand if he does lets get Alan Solomons back with andy Ward as his assistant, but hopefully it will not come to that and MW will lead us to another league title and Heinekin Cup

Solly yes, Wardy no.

It will be a sad state of affairs if it happens, and one which Ulster Rugby must both take some accountability for, and be working hard to mitigate the effect if it happens.

If MW's family arent coming up to join him UR should have thought long and hard about whether he was the man for the job. If the worst comes to the worst and it has been identified now, then UR must ensure that the ship isnt once again rudderless for most of the middle of the season...

Anyway hopefully it doesnt happen, and i for one won't be casting my judgement upon the suitability of MW for the Ulster job until we're halfway through next season.

ColinM wrote: Anyway hopefully it doesnt happen, and i for one won't be casting my judgement upon the suitability of MW for the Ulster job until we're halfway through next season.

Agreed

If the worst comes to the worst and it has been identified now, then UR must ensure that the ship isnt once again rudderless for most of the middle of the season...

Meatball surgery would be the answer IF it has already been identified as going to happen.

If however it is a totally unfounded rumour, then it should be clearly denied and immediately.

Meatball surgery - either way.

As stated by OG and confirmed by others I have also heard the same story regarding MW,s family issues. Clearly to be away from your family at a crucial stage,coupled with the fact that you appear to have landed a job with a team is such disarray must be a terrible strain. I wish him well and do not want to add to his woes.

In these circumstances perhaps the only option may be to fall upon his sword,get out quick and perhaps salvage something of his coaching career.

Potentialy a disaster for UR since there would appear to be some very deep set problems within the squad. More importantly should such a scenario come to pass it would most dramaticaly call in to question the competence of those who made the appointment.

I for one, don't think there is 'very deep set problems within the squad'. They are a young squad, more or less newly put together with imported players and young 'uns coming through. The talent of the likes of Trimble, (injured)1F and Wallace just don't disappear, they will get their previous class form back again, the team will grow and learn together then gel. It will not happen overnight, as so many here wish it to. Some cannot wait for that (and to be fair we have been dross for more than a season now), but to not give MW a chance, nor the team at finding their level again I think is a bit rash, and over-judgemental. Our playing has been more intense than last season, our defense, scrum and lineouts functioning better. Our day will come. Lets have a bit of patience.

With all due respect to UR, the players and us the fans. Matt's first priority will probably be with his family and rightly so.
If there is a problem.

If this is true, and whilst i've never been a fan of MW, i hope it's not -

1) when did Ulster Rugby find out that MW's family would not be moving to Ulster?
- if it was before the official signing of the contract, was this taken into account and what moves were made to seek reassurance that this would not hinder his ability to fulfill a commitment of 3 years?
- If it was after the official signing of the contract, what has been done in the intervening period to develop a contingency plan should MW be forced to throw in the towel? As said above, we can't afford another rudderless mid-season.

2) did his relocation to Ulster more generally come up for discussion during the course of contract negotiations? If so, what assurances did MW give on this issue and were they tied into the contract? If not, why the hell not given he was at the time based in another hemisphere?

I don't expect Mike Reid and the others involved to be mind readers but the frequency with which we seem to make complete mess-ups of contract negotiations is rather worrying. As much as i'd like to think otherwise, major decisions made by Ulster Rugby always seem to smack of amateurism.

If MW goes, then i would expect Alan Solomons to be in place within a week. I wanted him last year and nothing i've seen since has led me to think i was misguided. Solomons as Director of Rugby, Matt Sexton as head coach and Robbie Kempson as forwards coach. What the squad needs now - and has needed for some time - is a good firm boot up the ar$e. They wouldn't have dared perform like they did on Saturday were those three in charge.

bells123 wrote: If MW goes, then i would expect Alan Solomons to be in place within a week. I wanted him last year and nothing i've seen since has led me to think i was misguided. Solomons as Director of Rugby, Matt Sexton as head coach and Robbie Kempson as forwards coach. What the squad needs now - and has needed for some time - is a good firm boot up the ar$e. They wouldn't have dared perform like they did on Saturday were those three in charge.

Yeah as gusher said the other week after the dragons game, "If solomans was coach the players would rather be going home crying to their mum than face solomans in the dressing room"

Kempson was a well respected a player and I beleive he could make a good coach

I wanted a Solomons & Sexton team when Matt got the job, but we have Matt now and he has my support. He is trying to do a difficult job and it's going to take time.

Oh Gerry wrote:we have Matt now and he has my support. He is trying to do a difficult job and it's going to take time.

we should learn 'Waltzing Matilda' and sign it on friday night

I think you'll find we remember it from last season!!

Oh Gerry wrote:I think you'll find we remember it from last season!!

i thought we'd forgotten how to sing altogether from last season!

All this talk of Solly, Sexton and Kempson