The end of leon

[Pilch55]

did a great job last year. Really got us going.

This year for me has been a flop tho. Disagreements between the board and coaching staff, players not wanting to play for their coach meaning half arsed efforts - only a certain few players who can be bothered to turn up to training .  Fair enough folk work but the travellers couldn’t be bothered and Leon never clamped down on it. Looking forward to what’s next. Hopefully get local lads in to have a go who have a bit of passion and enthusiasm. 

[GentlemanJim]

disappointed in penky if he's said that. Senior professionals should know better

[Davo5]

13 minutes ago, gillmeister said:

If the coach had seen Sutton play and was responsible for signing him he might have had more faith in him 

Surely a coach should be attending local amateur games to check on potential players.

[gillmeister]

7 minutes ago, Seaton Sandy said:

He also had us going well at the top end of a division above where we are now.     

There is a history of local talent not translating their potential onto the semi professional scene for a variety of reasons. I don't believe Gary Murdock can be totally culpable for that. 

I can’t recall being top end? That’s why Martin Wood took over.... 

[gillmeister]

10 minutes ago, Town Army said:

Would you blame Gary for that? Not having a dig by the way.

What I remember of those Seaton lads, they came with great potential, but seemed to fall a bit short of what was required to play at the level we were at.

Definitely had talent mind.

The club and coaching staff at the time failed them in my opinion yes. 

[Bullmania]

Seeing all your comments about Leon. When at bradford year we got relegated and had allowed of kids he apparently bullied them so your comments about him to players sounds about right. 

But first season has a coach he did a grand job where when the rfl moved the goal posts it should been york, Bradford and Workington promoted after Bradford and Workington both won there semi final matches and swinton already down. 

Sure leon learnt a lot in his time with you guys I still think it's early in the season but then again, lose next 3-4 and your further back a lot time is it best bite the bullet early to give more time for a top 5 spot. After last season also I thought you guys be favourites for the top spot.

[Timmy Streets scrumcap]

The job to be done here is NOT one for an ex international player with more ego than experience...Leon did a fair job given the resources and certainly gave it his best shot BUT i have said this before....top players very rarely make top coaches - the mental attributes for the two jobs are so very different.

Personally my concern was that the one thing that town must be doing is building for the future....I would respectfully contend that a side with a small squad containing Moi Moi,Tickle,Penkywicz,Wilkes has more than one eye on today!....these are great servants and warriors but in all fairness two of them are actually beyond "veteran" status....what is the 5 year plan? Where is the ship heading? Because without this question being answered then the name of the head coach is totally irrelevant.

For what it's worth i think Gary Murdock would be a step backwards and the club really does need to capitalize on the raised profile brought by the name of Leon Price....Murdock would be the equivalent of Haven looking to Gordon Cottier!....move forward and think 2030 NOT just 2019...time to set a proper course and aim for it constructively

[gillmeister]

10 minutes ago, GentlemanJim said:

disappointed in penky if he's said that. Senior professionals should know better

I’d rather they expressed disappointment on twitter than down tools on the field 

[townie88]

7 minutes ago, Timmy Streets scrumcap said:

The job to be done here is NOT one for an ex international player with more ego than experience...Leon did a fair job given the resources and certainly gave it his best shot BUT i have said this before....top players very rarely make top coaches - the mental attributes for the two jobs are so very different.

Personally my concern was that the one thing that town must be doing is building for the future....I would respectfully contend that a side with a small squad containing Moi Moi,Tickle,Penkywicz,Wilkes has more than one eye on today!....these are great servants and warriors but in all fairness two of them are actually beyond "veteran" status....what is the 5 year plan? Where is the ship heading? Because without this question being answered then the name of the head coach is totally irrelevant.

For what it's worth i think Gary Murdock would be a step backwards and the club really does need to capitalize on the raised profile brought by the name of Leon Price....Murdock would be the equivalent of Haven looking to Gordon Cottier!....move forward and think 2030 NOT just 2019...time to set a proper course and aim for it constructively

Some good points. But for success in a competitive league you need a blend of experience in there as well. The club have Miller, Doran, Scholey, singleton etc tied down for the next few years. So to say we are only concentrating on the here and now is a bit unfair.

[Seaton Sandy]

5 minutes ago, gillmeister said:

I can’t recall being top end? That’s why Martin Wood took over.... 

We were third in the table when Gary quit as I believe the stats will show. He wasn't pushed as was rumoured at the time but as I've already said the pressure was causing him sleepless nights.    Subsequently I really enjoyed his coaching efforts locally - Maryport were a very successful and entertaining side under his stewardship. You clearly have an anti-Murdock agenda when the rest of us are simply casting around for possible appointments. So - who would you like to take the reins? 

[gillmeister]

Just now, Seaton Sandy said:

We were third in the table when Gary quit as I believe the stats will show. He wasn't pushed as was rumoured at the time but as I've already said the pressure was causing him sleepless nights.    Subsequently I really enjoyed his coaching efforts locally - Maryport were a very successful and entertaining side under his stewardship. You clearly have an anti-Murdock agenda when the rest of us are simply casting around for possible appointments. So - who would you like to take the reins? 

The club having a director of rugby doesn’t sit easy with me. Nor does looking back. The club should be looking forward and bringing in someone of a similar ilk to Leon. We have the barla open age coach on a doorstep and him and his brother have created a fantastic Distington team.

Ideally it would be Someone with contacts in the professional game and who will leave the club in a healthy state after they leave. A few I’d love to see Dave Elliott, Gary Chambers, Chris Thorman or as said elsewhere let’s back Olly Wilkes

[Town1988]

Get on hands and knees to jonty for me! 

[GentlemanJim]

if you the a step back, if there weren't significant issues why would the club do this. Fans love having a high profile coach but don't know what goes on behind the scenes. The easy route would be to carry on and make do to avoid fall ut. The supporters club are going mad on twitter which is a shame. All the players who have left are local. Travellers don't train  often  by all accounts. Go on hols in the season. There must be summit wrong. 

[Townie89]

The board has the club's best interests at heart so we should trust any decision they make. There's possibly things gone on that we don't know about.

Does anyone know which players were good mates with Leon who could possibly be unhappy about the decision and follow him out the door also?

[Town utd]

For me I would be knocking on Gary hewers door,with an experienced assistant like Dean marwood,then you would have both ends of the county watched for players

[Seaton Sandy]

1 minute ago, gillmeister said:

The club having a director of rugby doesn’t sit easy with me. Nor does looking back. The club should be looking forward and bringing in someone of a similar ilk to Leon. We have the barla open age coach on a doorstep and him and his brother have created a fantastic Distington team.

Ideally it would be Someone with contacts in the professional game and who will leave the club in a healthy state after they leave. A few I’d love to see Dave Elliott, Gary Chambers, Chris Thorman or as said elsewhere let’s back Olly Wilkes

Maybe bringing in Gary as "director of rugby" was an antidote to the disconnection happening locally under Leon's tenure. For all I know he may not want the job - it's a long time since I had any craic with him.  What I do believe is that if we are to revert to sourcing young local talent then Gary has the profile to make it happen - unless you know something I don't? 

[Spike]

3 minutes ago, Townie89 said:

The board has the club's best interests at heart so we should trust any decision they make. There's possibly things gone on that we don't know about.

Does anyone know which players were good mates with Leon who could possibly be unhappy about the decision and follow him out the door also?

Penky

[Town Army]

7 minutes ago, GentlemanJim said:

if you the a step back, if there weren't significant issues why would the club do this. Fans love having a high profile coach but don't know what goes on behind the scenes. The easy route would be to carry on and make do to avoid fall ut. The supporters club are going mad on twitter which is a shame. All the players who have left are local. Travellers don't train  often  by all accounts. Go on hols in the season. There must be summit wrong. 

Members of the supporters club aren't happy mainly because they saw Leon as a mate, he's a clever man Leon, said and done the right things to keep himself in their good books.

Coaches come and go at all clubs in all sports, the club, the directors and mostly, it fans are there forever.

Any word on whether Craig McDowell will depart along with Leon?

[gillmeister]

Whoever gets the job is going to have to reunite the club behind them as it’s evident there’s a split sadly.

We were seventh when Martyn Wood took over in 2002 in the NFP which was the only division below super league SS

[GentlemanJim]

7 minutes ago, Town Army said:

Members of the supporters club aren't happy mainly because they saw Leon as a mate, he's a clever man Leon, said and done the right things to keep himself in their good books.

Coaches come and go at all clubs in all sports, the club, the directors and mostly, it fans are there forever.

Any word on whether Craig McDowell will depart along with Leon?

the directors have done a great job in the last few yearsi mho. No need to throw them under a bus for a decision that will have been very difficult to make i would imagine. They will have all of the facts, not one of us has

[The Voodooguru]

I can't decide if I'm surprised by this news or not. It has all been a bit disjointed this season all over the park so probably not, and the difference between the teams in the derby in terms of motivation in hindsight told a story from the changerooms.

Having said that Leon brought our profile up a few notches and we can thank him for all his efforts last season which with a rub of the green might have gained us promotion. Good luck in whatever the future holds for him.

As for the next coach, Tony Smith used to love living up here didn't he ???? Seriously though its a difficult call for the BOD as they have to balance the advantages a local coach brings to one that has a wider appeal from around the country. For me it doesn't matter where they are from or how old they are as long as they can manage people and coach players into a highly motivated team. Looking forward promoting local players has to be key to show young lads the pathway exists and is achievable, so the new coach has to be on board with this.

[gillmeister]

2 minutes ago, The Voodooguru said:

I can't decide if I'm surprised by this news or not. It has all been a bit disjointed this season all over the park so probably not, and the difference between the teams in the derby in terms of motivation in hindsight told a story from the changerooms.

Having said that Leon brought our profile up a few notches and we can thank him for all his efforts last season which with a rub of the green might have gained us promotion. Good luck in whatever the future holds for him.

As for the next coach, Tony Smith used to love living up here didn't he ???? Seriously though its a difficult call for the BOD as they have to balance the advantages a local coach brings to one that has a wider appeal from around the country. For me it doesn't matter where they are from or how old they are as long as they can manage people and coach players into a highly motivated team. Looking forward promoting local players has to be key to show young lads the pathway exists and is achievable, so the new coach has to be on board with this.

Is there still flats above the blue dolphin?

[IanMac]

Unfortunately in professional sport these things happen, but for me Leon Pryce raised the profile of my team and for that I offer my thanks. He was a winner as a player and I’m sure if he continues in a coaching role he will be a winner as a coach as well. Everyone makes mistakes when they take on new roles and I’m sure he’d be the first to admit that he hasn’t always got things right but overall for me he did a good job. He committed himself to a team a long way from his home and young family which cannot have been easy for him. Good luck in your future career Leon.

I watch with interest to see who our new coach will be, hopefully someone who can keep the profile of the club high and is able to steady what is obviously a rocking ship. 

 

[The Voodooguru]

7 minutes ago, gillmeister said:

Is there still flats above the blue dolphin?

It still makes me chuckle that he used to turn up for training stinking of chips

[GeordieTownie]

11 hours ago, Davo5 said:

Erm,former Town & GB U23s player and one of the most naturally gifted players I've seen from this area,can't see him being interested in coaching again though.

Still none the wiser. Did he apply last time?