posted Mar 28, 2008

Agree with many here. Great player in his day cant knock that, but beating his chest and massaging his own ego appear now to be the bedrock of his game.

i also find it hilarious that he thinks its wrong to undermine the coaching team. Err.. what. His rather pathetic climb down and weasel words after the world cup hardly put him on the moral high ground to pass comment.

but at the end of the day, in his pomp he was bloody good!

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posted Mar 28, 2008

On Test Match Special, Christopher Martin-jenkins was bemoaning the poor standard of cricket journalism now compared to decades gone by. He spoke about how reports weren't written abotu the play but simply quotes stitched together. This is precisely how I feel every time Lawrence gets mentione don articles like this or when his face appeared onscreen during the RWC and the 6N. He is not part of the England team now. He's not a universally liked man with the fans. He hasn't coached a successful side. Allowing this man airtime and print space to air his views is worthless.

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posted Mar 28, 2008

so mr dayglo wants to try undermining Martin Johnson. He has a go at the coaching team when things weren't going well at RWC but went strangely quiet on the subject when we all but won the thing. Now he seems to be tempering his remarks about Brian Ashton and almost making excuses for him (he didn't put it quite as well as Brian Moore did on the 6N).
So now he's not sure about a man who got his captaincy with England and took the team to a new level while he was posing about and, while he might have been a decent No 8 he wouldn't have been half as good without Messrs Bach & Hill.
It just makes me wonder if he has his own agenda(surely he hasn't got another book to sell) or does he just(as I suspect) like the sound of his own voice. .

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posted Mar 28, 2008

The media will always apply pressure for change when a team isn’t performing well. Often this is unjustified (England football, Liverpool football) but in the case of the England rugby team this has largely been spot on (although agree Dallaglio’s comments are tiring).

The world cup performance was in spite of Ashton and not because of him and with the exception of a the game against a poor French team and the Cipriani show against a poor Ireland England did not progress any further in the 6 nations.

I disagree that England rugby supporters demand instance success but they do want to have confidence in the man in charge and be able to see some kind of logic in the decisions he his making. Ashton has lost all credibility because of his consistently incomprehensible selection policy (Balshaw anyone?). Like Robinson before him he may be a good coach but he has shown that he is a poor decision maker and poor man manager.

Andrew needs to decide who he wants as the No.1 man in charge of England. Every other rugby playing country has a No.1 man in charge. If Ashton isn’t up to the job (which he plainly isn’t) his position in the England set up is untenable unless the incoming No.1 wants to retain him as a backs coach which surely would be a slap in the face and unacceptable to Ashton.

The No.1 has to be ultimately in charge of everything like in the Woodward era. They do not need to do any coaching themselves but oversee the running of everything. That man needs to have the final say in all decisions and the buck stops with him if things don’t work out. If that man is Johnson, Jake White, Dean Richards/Ryan, Pat Howard or whoever they need to be told that they are in charge and they can pick whoever they want as their backs coach, forwards coach, nutritionist etc…..

To maintain the status quo or come to a compromise with the present regime is unacceptable.

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posted Mar 28, 2008

Writing from a distance (I live and work in France but follow English club and international rugby on TV and Internet) it seems that there is a lack of confidence among the players in the long-term leadership and direction of English Rugby.

The values that we cherished in the past are perhaps no longer applicable to the modern professional game, but it makes me very proud to be an Englishmean when I hear French people express their admiration for our national sense of courage,team spirit and fair play. The franglais expression 'fair play' has come to epitomise our game.

Bring in Martin by all means, but please sort out the politics first and get back to the basic values of the game we love and gave to the world.

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posted Mar 28, 2008

Let's get this straight. Dayglo was a brilliant, brilliant player, so let's not knock him. I don't care what he thinks about Johnno, so long as MJ joins England.

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posted Mar 28, 2008

Will people stop writing daft things like 'what a great job BA has done, we've finished second...' To finish 2nd in this 6 nations was bloody poor for a start...the WC was a fluke, a team that had nothing to offer but courage should not have made it that far.

The RFU are a jobe beyond compare - they make ven British Airways look efficient. Meetings, Committees, more meetings and committees - layers of flabby management are taking the game nowhere.

Appoint Johnson, give him the money and the power to appoint who and what he needs to get the job done the sit back and enjoy the ride. Rob Andrew should concentrate on grass roots development and acting as a buffer between Premier Chairmen and Martin Johnson.

Only people who have seen a rugby ball can possibly say that Dallaglio has not been a superb player and servant for club and country - he also loves to say things that wind people up (kind of a hobby)so I advise all to take his views with a decent pinch of salt.

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posted Mar 28, 2008

Andrew is not bowing to press pressure he is reacting to the reality that BA is not the right man for the job. The Welsh success this year has shown that the managment team are fundamental to a teams ability to deliver. England have not delivered in the 6 nations and achieved what they did in World Cup because of the staunch commitment of the senior players - and it was they that rightly blew the whistle. Johnson is a true leader who can inspire - give him the reins please asap. His coaching experience is irrelevant as there are a fine group of ideal types who can provide the nitty-gritty - it is this that England need. Let's move forward and quickly.

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posted Mar 29, 2008

Agree with a lot of what's been said on here. Couplpe of points:

- Andrew: What the hell does this guy actually do on a day to day basis? If he's going to have a 'profile' in the media, he needs to be more accountable for his role and position. At the moment, he appears to be the RFU's little puppet that they wave in front of people when the going get's tough, in short, a 'yes' man who needs to grow some balls

- Dayglo: Absolute muppet who siply says things to build his own personal profile. A little like Campese, he is renta-quote who really, anyone with half an ounce of intelligence, should ignore.

- Current coaching structure: Got a lot of time for Ashton, given what he has had to work with. The problem lies in the fact that as a three, the coaching team doesnt work properly at present. Johnson if brought on board should be given a Shaun Edwards style role. Wells, out. Ashton remain as head coach, Johnson team manager... an other to come in too... healey... no way!

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posted Mar 29, 2008

Brian Ashton has proved with his success in the World cup & 2nd place in the 6 Nations he is a world class coach . Long may his reign continue .

The media of England have a lot to answer to & they love nothing better than to see a good man fall just to create gossip & media stories , They would do exactly the same if Johnson lost a few games .

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