Which is exactly why fans should have no say in how a club is run... "he might be really good at his job but I want him replaced anyway"
I don't know why people want to rush it. Like several said when Cunningham was appointed, coaching Saints isn't a proving ground, it's one of the top positions the sport in this country has to offer. Whether he comes recommended by Millward and Anderson 15-20 years ago or not, head coach here would be a big step up from what he's done previously.
He's still young and there's plenty of time for him to coach Saints when he's ready.
Interesting thought though! Long you went to Quinn's on mega money compared to his Saints salary. I get in those circles you need a better income stream. However Widnes are now a part time operation run on a very tight margins. What would Sean earn at Widnes 40K perhaps at best. Just maybe the Quinn's has not worked for both parties and a compromise agreement has been done and dusted.
I think Wolfe is doing OK and if he thinks his assistant needs to move on that is in his gift with Marshall. I don't yearn for Longy has head coach at Saints. In time to come if you wanted a leader with a passionate assistant I would look at Scully as the leader with Wello the day to day workhorse.
We seem to have done quite well with Richard Marshall around.
Learned comment from The Don
Scully mentioned in a podcast couple of years back that he wasn't interested in being a head coach his ambitions was to be an ambassador for the sport instead of being tied down to one club. Longy-Marshall-Wellens could be a decent combination all feeding off each other, when Cunningham was in charge he isolated his assistants and ended up sat alone with those blinkers on the top of his head during match day.
Don't forget this is a forum that regularly has a thread mocking Wire fans for having a go at their coach.
Let's replace a coach that has beaten Australia & a respected understudy with a talented maverick.
I assume we couldn't afford Longy in an assistant role now & what a gamble it would be to give him the top job.
Long to Widnes (rumour 1.) to get head coach experience = good.
Long to Leeds (rumour 2.) as assistant = bad.
Would prefer him at Saints in some capacity rather than with a rival but times are tough and finances probably tight.
P.S. I still think our attack was better with him on board.
Last edited by Suttoner; 9th October 2020 at 09:40. Reason: PS
Wow rumour 2 Long to Leeds. I would be totally shocked if they would want him. Leeds have two very big egos at the helm. Agar suits the agenda, fall guy if needed and carrying out the wishes of Kev and double glazed if it all goes well.
I think most are thinking of Longy when Woolf finishes his contract and not with immediate effect. Since lockdown Woolf for me has done a good job in difficult circumstances in more ways than one.
Back to Longy, perhaps we should not think a maverick player will be a maverick coach, he comes across fairly mature these days in his game thinking and could be more technical similar to Millward. I hope he does get the Widnes job to use that as a stepping stone to a top club, his previous input to Salford and Saints has very much been a positive one despite Cunningham making him defence coach until Holbrook made him attack coach.
His interest in the Saints head coach position was one of bad timing with so many Oz assistant coaches being available but even then we didn't get our first choice. Woolf was given a very tough job on all fronts.
To throw some additional light on Marshall. Halifax where always scratching around for money and he took part time players into the top four twice. About 7 Championship clubs one of those seasons had a big core of full time players.
We also had an offer from Joynt to coach for free after KC finished until we got a new coach. That was turned down by E Mc
Long, Wello, Joynt.
Hope he goes to Warrington.
Agent Long.
It's a great thing that we have loads of ex-players that we love and want to remain part of the club. Personally I'd love Wellens to be Saints coach one day, it would feel right and I would trust him to know exactly what the fans wanted from the team. Long is the same to a slightly lesser extent, he gets us and would look at the game from an old-school half backs mentality.
But... do we want these lads to jump into the lions cage before they're ready? Wellens, Long, Joynt, etc don't have their statue outside the ground. The fella outside the ground is the one who we thought understood us more than anyone, our biggest icon, our talisman, the King, whatever else you want to call him. And some people have forgotten his outstanding contributions to the club because he was a dud as a coach. I don't want that to happen to anyone else, and so if we want to go down that road again I'd prefer it to be for one of our ex-players that's had time in another job first. Are Long, Wellens or anyone else going to be a sure-fire ready made developed coach in a year when Woolfe (we assume) leaves? Tough call. Maybe that generation is two steps away from the big job, not the one step that some assume.
I watched the quins vs wasps game on bt and longy wasn't in the coaching box then and I thought that was odd.
I'm sure he is an excellent attack coach (even though kc appointed him defence coach didn't he??) and millward said he had a superb brain for attacking rugby but as a head coach I'm not sure he'd do well.
He would be a great assistant for the national team so maybe he will end up there
On a side note Gleeson is wasps attack coach and they are playing some brilliant stuff, another one to keep an eye on
I don't think anyone has said they want him out, but what's the likelihood he will stay beyond his contract? I think most people are saying they would like Longy back in some capacity, or as a head coach later, probably after gaining experience elsewhere. I think it is obvious to all that our attack has been stunted since he left.
Not sure I get the experience argument. Cunningham failed miserably because he was clearly a crap coach who thought plodders like Owens and Lee were good enough for Saints. A couple of years at a championship team before taking the job here wouldn’t have changed that and I doubt he would of learned anything he hadn’t already learned in his playing career and whilst assistant coach. I don’t see what a couple of years at Widnes would do for Long either, he’s been assistant coach of a team that eventually went on and p*ssed a Grand Final. Either he’ll be a successful head coach or he won’t.