Quote ="Tony Fax"Through THIN!!!!???? So why slag the team off when we're SECOND and in the freking semi!!???? lol??? Yeah laugh out bluddy loud!'"
We scraped in to second which is a fine achievement to a certain extent. But we got lucky with having Leigh and Toulouse as our final 2 games. We got into the Semi whether we won or not having got into second place. So the achievement of a Semi is not as good as you are making out.
The last 2 months has seen Fax nosedive both winning and in the standards in playing. Teams have blips and teams can lose a couple of games in a row. However to go 5 games not winning and seeing no improvement in defence or attack is my major worry and why I personally do not feel MC is right at this stage to take Fax much further.
Why I am not too impressed with MC are the following:
DEFENCE wins games and we know for the past 2 years we have a major problem. Players are running out of the line.A lot of Players missing many tackles. What has MC and his team done about this as for me its seems nothing has been done. For me work should be done on Linespeed and moving up as a line or using some type of defence system like umbrella or whatever. I see Fax just have players shooting out the line or ball watching. Others simply have poor tackle techniques. I do not think MC is teaching/Coaching them properly
ATTACK we have the best attacking team in the comp and one of the best in British Pro RL. Much of that is based on the quality and high skill we have with Black, Penky, Shad etc. BUT also we have them often running around like headless chickens playing not in their normal positions and panicing and making far more mistakes than normal. If our off the cuff system is not working where is the system we use? As far as I can tell there is none its just pass and hope. Why for example do we not look to build pressure? We needed on Thursday in that first half calm heads and a calm system. 5 drives and a good kick and chase. We did not and gifted them an intercept making our life harder. We needed to play Barrow in there half but we played the majority of the game in our half chasing them. I do not feel MC is at a level to take a team like Fax further. We need a strong Coach who can change Tactics at any time. We need a Coach to play people in their right positions. People knock Penky but he aint a halfback and neither is Beswick. Play people in their Natural positions!
ATTITUDE Why do we seem to lack energy and passion? For me Fax play as though its a chore. You look at the passion and energy levels in Barrow for example over Fax-Massive difference and I could see in the first 5 Minutes Barrow wanted more than Fax-and that hurt me. I could tell in the first 20 minutes we would lose by 30 odd and said that at the time as Barrow were offloading and we were doing loads of defending due to poor tackling and not stopping the ball getting offloaded. For me Fax looked very flat indeed and I cant understand that and wonder what MC is doing. We improved a touch 2nd half but we were still miles behind Barrow mentally and Physically. I hate it when people make excuses. Be honest with yourself and others and for me MC seems to have a list of excuses instead of admitting when he is wrong in picking players who are not fit, playing players out of position and getting tactics and the bench wrong. I have never seen him say-"Sorry I got it wrong with the Bench or Sorry my tactics were wrong"
OTHER THINGS I think Fax has a reputation of being a drinking club and MC comes across as one of the boys and then gets himself in trouble (Both in Town and Blackpool). The players need some discipline on and off the field. They need a father figure head. They need somebody who gives them direction on and off the field. I do not think MC is that kind of person. I do not mind players having a drink or two. However not 2 days before a game and certainly not during a 9s Comp. Where is the Professionalism off the field?
For me we have done well and credit to MC and everybody for 2nd Spot and our best year for over a decade. But I want us to kick on further. I love the club and want the club to be the best. I believe the club had the potential to win the League and the NR Cup. I see that as a small failure. I had hoped even if we got beat on thursday that we would take the game to Barrow and show them we are the best-but was bitterly disappointed by the attitude and display. I believe still that we can get to the GF and win it. However long term I do not feel MC can take us much further and things need to change in many areas for me to change my mind. If people do not like that then tough. I speak my mind and stand by my opinions. I respect others who think Calland has/is doing a good job. But I have given reasons why I do not think MC can take us further and hope people can understand why I have come to this decision without throwing a wobbly like Tony Fax for example.
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