People have called for his head after another insipid Super League performance. We do have a weak squad, and we really do miss our best players when they are unavailable, but there doesn't seem to be any changes in the squad after poor performances. Powell has acknowledged his mistakes for this after the Wigan game, but I do feel it may be the best thing for him to demand the club actively look for a scrum-half who can kick long, something they should have done in the summer, or look for a new head coach.

I am broadly supportive of Powell, and want success under Powell, I just see him as someone that obviously lacks the experience at any playing level, and he does seem to lack the ideas to move us away from the same issues we had under Brian Mac. I floated the idea of a director of rugby in another post and it got mixed replies. In football sacking a manager is an expensive change, and sacking Powell would be relatively inexpensive, but this is an avenue I am not really advocating. I do however support a sideways move for the former Lebanon coach, he seems pretty good in that position, and given a further chance to learn from a coach, be he English or Australian, Powell could return once he has done more to earn his chance, rather than being bungled into the role through circumstance.

The biggest change at the club was the promotion of Powell, as there were scant few additions to the permanent playing staff at the Stoop in the summer. Unfortunately he has not been able to change the mentality and attitude of the core players that seemed to be so mentally brittle under the latter months of BMD.

A Challenge Cup victory over Leeds may redeem Powell, but defeat really only leaves two options that the club should take; move back to be an assistant and bring in a new head coach, or bring in a Director of Rugby to give Powell some help.

As I have said several times, lets start having a go at the blokes on the park!!! They need to get there heads round the basic concept, white oval thing size 5 called a rugby ball, try to keep hold of the bloody thing, a coach should not be having to teach that!!
How many time did we drop it yesterday??

Making just a head coach "accountable" after a consistent decline the past 5 years in squad numbers, money spent on the squad, the quality of that squad, and big name signings is solving the wrong problem I think. 3 years ago at home to Wigan our scorers were Gafa, McLinden, Hill and Paul in losing by 20. Now you're talking Pryce, Gale, O'Callaghan and Kouparitis. Who in our squad would get a run for anyone but the bottom four? Who would get a run for Wigan? We have much much bigger problems as a club - and I don't mean crowds - than Powell or his coaching crew, surely.

Very true. This club has been in decline for a number of years - with no disrespect to David Hughes, or indeed anyone else, and it needs to be reversed somehow.

When we have all our players fit we can beat anyone. Results have shown this. Our problem is not the coach. The problem is a squad with no depth and no money to bolster it.

Sorry, but if DH is throwing between 1 million and 1.5 million at the club, with 450k from attendances, 1.2 million from SKY and 500k from residuals (beer/shirts etc) then there's nearly 4 million a year


What is this money being spent on? Seriously? 13 home games a year so I would suspect no more than 400k to the Union lot....a few back office staff and a threadbare squad are hardly worth 3 million?


I voted for a Director of Rugby.....Nobby should have been approached...if Fax can afford him even we could have.

But would Nobby want to come to London Town?

Under McDermott we went backwards, I don't think we've been quite as bad this year despite some poor recent form. Ultimately we have a very week squad, we're short of a top quality prop, a top quality centre and a top quality halfback (our regular halfback this season is a middle of the road hooker). With three top quality additions we might just be good enough to finish in 9th position, but as it is we'll be somewhere between 12th - 14th. To get into the playoffs we probably need 6 top quality players.

As a club we surely spend money in hiring Community Coaches and putting on festivals and training over the year. Also, money will be spent on marketing (admittedly so far it hasn't reaped many rewards). Transport to get us to each away game over the year - hotels if necessary. Pre season training camps - plus training location over the year....it adds up to some (probably not the remaining balance), but unfortunatley nothing is free in this world anymore....

Rob Powell doesn't have the top level experience, I think we should stick with him for atleast the remainder of the season - I mean, there was no way we'd finish in the top 8 anyway. Give him a chance to learn more and evaluate in the close season. I still think a thin squad with little decent depth and the fact we have such a small pack is causing us no end of problems at the moment.

I posted the initial post and pretty soon after decided that it was a step too far. Looking at our squad many fans expected us to finish second bottom, and we are currently exceeding that.

Rob Powell was given the job in the summer, and we are not in free-fall, we just need to show a little more than we are giving at the minute. The mental brittleness that seemed to affect the players under the latter months of Brian Macs tenure seems to have returned along with the tries being run in against us without a hand being laid on the attacker. I've got no major issues with our squad, I realise we have budgetary constraints, but I think that the minimum that they should do is fight tooth and nail to the bitter end.

I had the feeling at the start of the season that we were a little weak in the brains trust department, ie Brian Mac leaving and no additional coaches coming in can only weaken the collective rugby thinking. Hopefully Rob Powell has good contacts that he can give a telephone call or two because I do feel that he does need a little help, if only in the form of a few words of sage advice from someone experienced at the top level.

Mellowed out now and not demanding changes, but hopefully RP is not left to take the burden on his shoulders alone, and perhaps Latham Tawhai is doing something positive that goes unseen.

I think Powell is do an adequate job with the resources available to him.

The same as McDermott then.

Pretty much, actually I think Powell is doing better. He has less to work with.

And therein lies the real problem. Year on year, there is less to work with.

I believe the RL's powers that be have two choices; they either decide that they want a top-flight team in the Capital and either back it financially or find someone else to back it financially, or they just terminate the Club at the licence announcement.

It sounds harsh, but I seriously don't think that seeing a poor team watched by poor crowds does the sport any favours. I speak as someone who went through those days at Crystal Palace, Chiswick etc buoyed by the hope that if we were in the top division and sufficiently funded to be competing for honours then it would be to the benefit of the sport as a whole. Unfortunately watching this club go through a slow decline makes me less optimistic now than I was then.

I'd like to emphasise that I don't mean this as critical in any way of anyone connected with club, it's just too big a job.

....may as well pack up then.



I have read more defeatist drivel on these boards recently than I would normally find on the bulls forum.
London RL has recieved about $16,000,000 in SKY TV money since SL started......another $8,000,000 in ticket sales and probably another $8,000,000 in residual revenue.......and has spent less money on Marketing than my wife spends on shoes.

It isn't the stoop.
It isn't the Harlequins Union tie in
It isn't because the team are cack at the moment
It isn't any of the other billion excuses rolled out.......

$32,000,000 + whatever various owners threw at them........and less than 1% of that spent on marketing I'd guess......

Yes, throwing a shed load of money at marketing might just persuade a load of people to come in. What happens then is that they see a team that is cack, then tell their friends how cack it so so that they don't make the same mistake.

The point is that somehow enough money needs to be put into a team that people might actually want to watch, playing attractive and successful rugby league that people will want to watch. Then you market it.

I believe my first rant about the lack of marketing was on here was in 2003.......we made the play-offs that year and again in 2005. Not ripping up trees, but a successful team all the same.

As friggin usual with the club, they rolled up to the Stoop in 2006 with expectations of full houses for little or no marketing spend........NOW, 6 seasons later we are faced with a drab boring team, falling crowds and little prospect of it getting any better....I have no crystal ball, but I do have a list of clients since 1999 (I think that's when I First pitched to the club...they were at the stoop and the Marketing person was a South African Lady) who will all tell you that I do what I say I will...........or bust a gut trying. I wasn't even a fan in 1999....but I could see the potential.....but alas, there was "no marketing" budget....at all



But hey, because I bang on and on and on and on about it.....I must be a bitter nutter who resents being shunned by the club. Maybe I am, but I wouldn't swap where I am now for where the club are now......

At least you have entusiasm.

The point is product awareness. The product being Quins RL. How many times have we heard "I didn't know..."? Product awareness is generated by marketing.

I think you'll find a lot of people support a club not because the team is successful but they want to a sense of belonging and to be able to indentify with something other than what they have already.

Slight edit in first part, spot on with your second.

Thanks...now I know why I set my alarm clock for 3am at weekends to fight with the BBC on-line radio service and Kiwi's version of ulta-fast broadband to listen to the regular massacres

I know this will get shot down, and maybe deservedly so but what about Shaun McRae as Football adviser, a technical consultant or just a few days a week sounding board for Powell and Tawhai.

McRae seemed to be in good spirits on the SOO coverage with Brian Carney and Jon Wells. I know things may have ended badly with Salford but McRae has been on the coaching staff of Australia, NZ, GB, NSW and Canberra as well as having the top jobs at St Helens, Gateshead, Hull and South Sydney.

Lots of coaches seem to want to keep links to the game and a consultation role with Quins could allow him to do any media work he may wish to do. And if it's a question of cost, I see the Skolars can afford one, hopefully our budget is a little larger than theirs.

The idea of a consultant/adviser coming in is not a bad one, but i am not sure tha McRae is the answer - he doesn't strike me as a guy who would turn things around really.

One thing i have started to think however (and this could be something that the Broncos could implement under Powell) is as follows.
-Modern Rugby League is, in my opinion an increasingly simple game. This isn't a good thing, but could work in favour of a team like Quins.
-I honestly feel that athleticisim, power and strength are attributes that take teams ahead of others. Warrington demolished Leeds at Headingley tonight, and a comment on southstander tonight refers to Wire as 'too big, to fast, too enthusiastic'. In short, they were not necessarily better Rugby League players.
-I feel that a well drilled team of excellent athletes marshalled by 1 (or better 2) skillful experienced pivot men should be enough to compete in the SuperLeague.
-SO... if Broncos were able to concentrate on signing a 'certain type' of player (big, fast, athletic but perhaps technically a bit limited) they could get players with those attributes relatively inexpensively.
- Many SuperLeague sides lack size and physicality in their backline - a mixture of guys with real pace (Riley etc) or real size (a motivated K Pryce etc) would imo get you past a lot of these teams.
- A relatively inexperienced coach such as yours could then play a very limited game plan, but using 17 very fit, athletic players within those limitations. Emphasis on winning collisions on both attack and D, set completion, good kick chases and an aggressive, bullying defensive line. None of this is rocket science.
- Strength and conditioning should be priority number 1 - your access to the union club resources could surely be exploited here. (piggybacking training staff, gym facilities, supplement sponsors etc where possible)

For a club of really limited resources like the Broncos, that would be my strategy. A good mate of mine played for your academy alongside L Bryan, Clubb etc etc. He has told me that Michael Worrincy was by far the most athletic player he has ever come across. The guy was ridiculed at Bradford, but obviously some people can see his attributes. I'm not saying re sign him specifically, but players like him would be the sort of players i would target.

Any thoughts?

Who are these Broncos you speak of?

i always think of harlequins as the Broncos. Apologies if this offends you - it was only meant affectionately. It was the name your team played under when they were good, and had fans.

OUCH!!!!!!!