Powell Gone

[ELBOWSEYE]

13 minutes ago, phiggins said:

Far worse than the team at Easter even. Very rare to see a team's season disintegrate quite like warrington's this year. Shows how good a start they had, that they are still in top 6.

I think the writing was on the wall for him after the performance against Wigan in the cup. It was just shambolic, from a team that should be performing better even on a bad day. 

The good start was predictable because only George Williams played in the world cup and the rest of the squad had a full preseason, most other clubs did not, it was after the initial start when teams had time with their squad's that the true level came out. And that's were Warrington were found out.

[RP London]

5 minutes ago, Harry Stottle said:

He did, but like many other players he sent them packing, which being the coach is his prerogative, even his mother could advise him he got some of those decisions wrong.

which is my entire point.. for a team wanting to win things to not have cover for half backs is criminal, anyone who does that is asking for trouble.

[Dave T]

4 minutes ago, RP London said:

which is my entire point.. for a team wanting to win things to not have cover for half backs is criminal, anyone who does that is asking for trouble.

It's clear he doesn't rate Dean, but even with that, his odd selections at halfback have pretty much summed his reign up. Ratchford is not brilliant at half, but he is better than PM, Dufty and Danny Walker who he has selected there ahead of Ratch.

[doc]

Can Wire do us a favour and sign up Betts as coach?

He keeps getting linked to Widnes, and we don't want him back!

Cheers

[Dave T]

4 minutes ago, Dave T said:

It's clear he doesn't rate Dean, but even with that, his odd selections at halfback have pretty much summed his reign up. Ratchford is not brilliant at half, but he is better than PM, Dufty and Danny Walker who he has selected there ahead of Ratch.

To add to this - yesterday he moaned that in recent weeks he'd love to have dropped some of his middles, but couldn't because of injuries. Yet a regular feature of his selections has been to leave big young lads on the bench unused during a game. His actions and words don't match up.

[RP London]

6 minutes ago, ELBOWSEYE said:

The good start was predictable because only George Williams played in the world cup and the rest of the squad had a full preseason, most other clubs did not, it was after the initial start when teams had time with their squad's that the true level came out. And that's were Warrington were found out.

To be fair i think thats a bit of a stretch when you look at the teams we played early in the season they were hardly rammed full of world cup players. 

We played against teams with new coaches or who are just not great this season. We then played Wigan and Saints and hit the skids. Half back injuries without any cover, losing props that gave a massive platform and not replacing them and not reacting to any of this in anyway that doesnt seem to be "players need to take responsibility" seems odd

2 minutes ago, Dave T said:

It's clear he doesn't rate Dean, but even with that, his odd selections at halfback have pretty much summed his reign up. Ratchford is not brilliant at half, but he is better than PM, Dufty and Danny Walker who he has selected there ahead of Ratch.

totally... its fine ditching Dean if you have a plan.. you have to accept one or both half back will have some time off during the season for one reason or another so what is your plan.. he changed it so much he obvioulsy didnt have one.. especially one for both going down, which again you should plan for even if its just part of a match where one is not playing and the other ends up off the pitch for a head check etc.

The last few weeks I've been waiting for this decision. Its felt like a team tredding water with no idea and Powell knowing the writing is on the wall. 

[Harry Stottle]

18 minutes ago, ELBOWSEYE said:

The good start was predictable because only George Williams played in the world cup and the rest of the squad had a full preseason, most other clubs did not, it was after the initial start when teams had time with their squad's that the true level came out. And that's were Warrington were found out.

Do I glean from that in your mind Warrington are no different now than they were at the beginning of the season, is it just most other teams have improved and gone past them?

Edited July 31, 2023 by Harry Stottle

[LeeF]

45 minutes ago, Spidey said:

Maybe he had too much resource at his disposal? Some coaches seem to thrive in the “underdog” capacity 

He did well at Cas & Fev. But his first gig at Leeds wasn't the best was it?

The latter days at Cas and not just after he announced he was leaving weren’t the best either. Results weren’t great and the very grumpy side was often seen. How many post match interviews became rants about things? How many times did he sulk in his seat after a match?
When things got difficult at Cas he struggled to turn things around and this has once again been seen, albeit to a greater extent, at Warrington. 
Interestingly he took some of his “favourites” at Cas to Warrington but they didn’t seem to produce unlike some of the ones he let go.

[Dave T]

33 minutes ago, phiggins said:

Far worse than the team at Easter even. Very rare to see a team's season disintegrate quite like warrington's this year. Shows how good a start they had, that they are still in top 6.

 

Purely an opinion piece, but I think this may be what happens when confidence and happiness is fragile. We won some good games in the first third of the season when things were clicking, but at some stage, times are gonna become tough, errors are going to happen, injuries creep in - but I think it has never looked like a happy squad to me - and when you think back to the way some players were treated last year (some of these lads were good mates) - then why would you feel like you are part of a strong 'team'. 

As an outsider it's all looked very unhappy and pretty miserable and I think that has translating into performances when things have got tough, heads have gone down. For all the talk of fixing the culture, things look worse than they have for many years.

[Trojan]

 

Sean Long to Wire, Powell to Fev, where he belongs.  Maybe for next season tho'

[Spidey]

1 hour ago, Dave T said:

TBH, it's hard to pinpoint where it has gone wrong, because in reality, the squad is decent. It has real issues in the centres, but other than that, it has decent halves, Big forwards and a lot of pace in the backs. Whilst the likes of Dudson or Kasiano may get stick, when playing as a unit they do a good job. Look at the likes of Leigh, their performances are better than their sum of parts. Ours are far worse right now. 

He has the vast majority of his players under-performing right now. It's why I think it is on him. 

The centres are a big issue and you have one on loan at Wigan, one of your biggest rivals - I would say that lies solely with Powell

[Agbrigg]

Powell is quite wealthy by all accounts. It must have been hard for him over the last few months at wire. People already speculating where he will end up but he might just decide to have a rest out of the game for a while,after all he has been coaching a long time now.

It wouldn't surprise me if he continues at some other club, a back seat as director of rugby would be his  choice.

[The Blues Ox]

Seems to me that Daryl Powell works best in Yorkshire and I know just the team for him and it just so happens that their coach is leaving. 

[Mark S]

55 minutes ago, Trojan said:

 

Sean Long to Wire, Powell to Fev, where he belongs.  Maybe for next season tho'

If I was Powell I would take some time off and get my head straight. I assume he will be paid up until the end of the season.

[StandOffHalf]

3 hours ago, Dave T said:

Hang on, aren't you a Saints fan? Of course you want us to keep him!

I think the manner of performances is far more telling than losing a few games. But even. 

There has been disruption and plenty shuffling needed, you're right, but some of his selections and responses to that have been baffling. 

Yes, Mata'utia in the halves and persisting with Minikin were head-scratchers. Something drastic must have gone on behind the scenes in terms of breakdown in trust/confidence for him to be jettisoned at this stage in the season.

Bit of a Saints fan, but I try to stay a neutral and enjoy good football.

[Gerrumonside ref]

Who would the Wire fans like to see on the short list to replace Powell?

Another current SL coach, an NRL assistant or someone from left field?

@Dave T?

(I don’t mean Dave T to step in! Haha)

[Expatknight]

Maybe Lee Briers might come back?

I can see the attraction, wet and windy Warrington as opposed to sunny warm Brisbane, no contest!!!!

[JonNgog]

Ultimately Powell chose his hill to die on - Warrington’s problems were all inherited, the dressing room full of egos and prima donnas, the culture rotten - but given time to resolve this, his own changes have been disastrous. Dudson, Mata’utia, McGuire, Kasiano… all on him. And a team that are clearly not playing for each other. The opposite of what he built at Cas. Five years ago he looked like one of the great British coaches, but I don’t really know where he goes from here.

Edited July 31, 2023 by JonNgog

[Dave T]

41 minutes ago, Gerrumonside ref said:

Who would the Wire fans like to see on the short list to replace Powell?

Another current SL coach, an NRL assistant or someone from left field?

@Dave T?

(I don’t mean Dave T to step in! Haha)

TBH, I don't have a clue. I don't really see anyone in the UK currently that I'd be championing. I think it is too early for Briers. Holbrook did a good job of sorting out a bit of a mess at Saints following Cunningham, so maybe he has the right skills.

[Dave T]

17 minutes ago, JonNgog said:

Warrington’s problems were all inherited, the dressing room full of egos and prima donnas, the culture rotten 

What exactly is that based on?

I find this narrative really odd, and as much as I'm not Steve Price's biggest fan, I think it is really disrespectful to his team. In his four seasons with Warrington his team finished 4th, 4th, 2nd, 3rd. 

In 2018 - we lost the Cup Final  in a classic against Catalans and lost in the Grand Final in a close game against Wigan.

In 2019 - we beat Saints in the Cup Final before a disappointing playoff loss at home to Cas.

In 2020 - we lost in the Cup Semi to Salford and SL semi to Hull disappointingly.

In 2021 - we lost in the Cup and League semis again to Cas and Hull KR.

We clearly had developed a bit of a habit of losing those big tight games, but the league position just doesn't support all these claims of a rotten culture. 

[Dave T]

One of the things that was discussed a fair bit last year was how Powell was here to sort out this culture problem. One of the things that was highlighted was that Chris Hill, Mike Cooper and Josh Charnley had poor attitudes as they were more focused on their businesses rather than the team. Many Wire fans lapped that narrative up because they can be pretty negative and enjoy bashing their own players. It makes them feel better when we lose a game.

Apparently Powell wasn't standing for them having outside interests and their work patterns being affected by this, so came down hard, and those three were all shown the door. Many seal-clapped and turned them into villains. However, my view on this was that we should be supportive of players future careers, and that it shows a supportive, positive culture for players that we are interested in them and their families as people rather than just being a dinosaur who wants to get grumpy with players when we lose a game. The other key factor here was that these players were often our top performers and a refusal to look at the bigger picture has seen them all doing well at other clubs.

Now a lot of the above is hearsay, I don't have insider knowledge or anything, but it was repeated an awful lot by many people, and hinted at by Powell himself on various occasions. 

[Dave T]

Next Warrington Wolves head coach odds

(Courtesy of Betfred)

6-4 – Justin Holbrook

7-2 – Adam O’Brien

5-1 – Justin Morgan

6-1 – Brett Hodgson

7-1 – Richard Marshall

10-1 – Shaun Wane, Tony Smith

12-1 – Lee Briers

25-1 – Michael Monaghan, Ian Watson

66-1 – John Kear

100-1 – Kevin Brown

[Spidey]

My vote is for John Kear based on what he achieved at Widnes

[Les Tonks Sidestep]

15 minutes ago, Spidey said:

My vote is for John Kear based on what he achieved at Widnes

Definitely. Steady the ship and all that....

[StandOffHalf]

Paul Cullen would get the passion and desire back.