With Paul Cullen leaving Warrington on Monday, the club are now coach-less and are in need of a permanent replacement. Speculation surrounds who will take over with the front runners being Steve Folkes of Canterbury and Ellery Hanley of Doncaster. But according to the Warrington Guardian today (Thursday) the board are considering another option, which is most likely to be the permanent appointment of assistant James Lowes. However I cannot help but feel Lowes is not ready for such a big role within Super League.
“Jimmy” is a Grand Final and Challenge winner, former international and he has the winning mentality. He knows how to succeed and is able to cope with a limited but high amount of pressure. But since hanging up his boots and donning the JL tracksuit as assistant, he cannot possibly have learnt enough about how to coach a team judging by his past mentors. Karl Harrison and Paul Cullen do not; to me at least, suggest he has the ability to fulfil the team’s potential. He could possibly take over a lesser SL side and even a NL club, but with previously proven quality players such as Michael Monaghan, Matt King and Adrian Morley, Lowes is just too inexperienced to pick the side up and do their best for the remainder to the season. I’ll be quite happy for Jimmy to carry on as assistant, but until he has been mentored under a world class coach he will not be able to take the reigns of a team worth a lot of money.
So who is this world class coach we want? Well if you are looking outside Australia you may struggle. I’m not saying that because all the world class coaches may come from Sydney or Brisbane, I’m saying it because they do. Out of the current crop of British coaches in Super League, I’d only consider Brian Noble to be world class. And even then I’m pushing my luck. Richard Agar has only just been appointed his first head coach job; Steve McNamara has not won anything, let alone represented his country at any decent level; and as for Jon Sharp, not only does his current run of form poor but his past achievements at club level are worse than most. But not as worse than Brian McDermott, but to be fair he has only been in the Quins job for twelve months or thereabouts. As for John Kear, well you might as well shoot me now. While he has tasted success twice in the Challenge Cup (1998 & 2005) his league form is not quite as good. After Sheffield he was left as an assistant to Shaun McRae until he took the reins. After that he never improved the Hull league form but merely maintained it. And he is doing the same at Wakefield today. I’ll be disappointed if my club were to be tied with his in a Challenge Cup game, but as for the league, Kear’s form is average but consistency is excellent. In that I mean Wakefield are brilliant in being average, which is not what we’re looking for.
And if you want to shoot me if Kear becomes coach, I’ll let you perform the most in-humane act imaginable on me if Karl Harrison is appointed. Enough said.
Well as that rules out anyone British, the scouts must look in the land of convicts and across the ditch. I can think of four coaches that are respected highly enough in Rugby League to be considered world class. Wayne Bennett is one of them for obvious reasons. He has guided both Brisbane and Australia to success and is able to stamp his authority in any club he takes charge of. But however, he has signed on the dotted line at St George for the 2009 season so that rules him out. Ricky Stuart possesses similar characteristics and is currently the Australian national coach. I doubt he would give up that job any time soon, especially with the World Cup approaching. Craig Bellamy is an up-and-coming world class coach who is potentially the next national team coach but is also the current New South Wales coach, added to the fact he is earning success in Melbourne he will defiantly not be giving that up just to visit former Melbourne player Matt King. However my final world class coach is currently retired from the wonderful stress of coaching. In fact I cannot see him ever coaching in Super League if he were to make a return as the impression he makes in the media is that he hates our version of the sport. However he set up the regime for Sydney to become one of the biggest clubs in the early part of the decade and is currently the most successful NSW coach ever, having had two stints at the job. He is the least likely name to appear at Warrington but would be an enormous coup if he arrived. I seriously believe with the money at the clubs disposal that we at least try to persuade him to leave Australia and coach over on this side of the world. If he became head coach at Warrington there is little doubt the club would be instantly be challenging for honours. This mans name, is not Graham Murray.
When the news broke that Graham Murray had left North Queensland the same day as Peter Sharp, it seemed fate had thrown Hull an obvious candidate. Both were out of a job and both wanted to get back in the game, or did they? Graham Murray might have been NSW coach and a former Sydney coach, but he is by far not the best. In fact when Murray left Sydney, he left the club in such a mess Ricky Stuart couldn’t find a cure. But was it worth it for that one moment of success? The same has been done in Townsville. Murray dragged a poor side into a Grand Final in 2005 and has since seen them go so far downhill fast they even beat Jack and his broken crown. Albeit, Jill was a little disappointed to see her man come second, but North Queensland fans haven’t been too happy lately either with their position in the NRL and run of results. So it seems Graham Murray can take a side to success, but then leave them stranded when more work needs to be done. In affect, he is a short term solution. Getting him rid of after winning a trophy might seem suicide, but trust me with this man; it’s the way to go forward. Just as well he has gone into retirement since last week, leaving Hull with Agar, and Warrington with two front runners.
Ellery Hanley and Steve Folkes seem to be the bookies favourite. Both have had careers playing the sport at the highest level, and both have won Grand Finals in separate top flight competitions whilst coaching. But despite the similarities, one is a rather controversial character than the other. Ellery Hanley was never liked at St Helens by the board of directors and would rather do things his own way than anyone else’s. This makes me wonder if he is the right man to take control of a club that has been under the control of a coach with a democratic coaching style. While it would be a good for the first team squad who would get a kick up the backside after six years under loose control, would it be good for the development of youth players if Hanley were to come in and demand instant changes? Would he be more likely to look overseas for a short term fix to an injury crisis rather than closer to home? If he does things his own way, how many people would he upset before team cohesion breaks down and is eventually sacked? Whereas Hanley is a “I demand respect” person, Steve Folkes comes across as more of another Paul Cullen, only better and with a record of two Grand Finals and one Premiership. (Three GFs if Canterbury hadn’t broken the salary cap in 2002) He is the only coach to have publically came out to the media and said he wants the Warrington job. And with performances on the slide with Canterbury after over ten years in charge, a change in personnel would no doubt be good for the Canterbury club and the coaching individual himself. And having coached some of the best players currently in the game in Sonny Bill Williams, Hazem El Mazari, Steve Price and Willie Mason, he no doubt will earn respect of the current Warrington squad having worked with big named international players beforehand.
So, Steve Folkes it is then? Well he is the most likely person to take over the reigns apart from James Lowes. But what about that remaining world class coach I failed to mention? The one with many Premierships and is the most successful New South Wales coach ever. Is there any chance Warrington can bring Phil Gould out of coaching retirement?
Short answer; probably not. Long answer; not a cat in hells chance, go back home you pommy git. But remember, this is a club that dared to sign Andrew Johns on a temporary basis. This is the club that has had ambitions to succeed for a very long time. Warrington are currently like a racing car. They have the carbon fibre bodywork (stadium and facilities), they have the suitable parts to compete at the front of the grid (players), but are lacking a suitable driver (coach). For the past six years they have been driven by Jenson Button. Good to begin with but slowly drifted off to the back end of the pack. Now we need a Michael Schumacher, someone who will take us there to major finals and will do so consistently. I believe Phil Gould will do so a thing and do it with style. I don’t care who lifts that trophy at the end of the day, so long as the person doing so is wearing the primrose and blue of Warrington Wolves.
To summarise, I would love for our next coach to be Phil Gould. But realistically out of the possible contenders, for me it has to be Steve Folkes. Ellery Hanley is too much of a risk of blowing the club apart and James Lowes is too inexperienced to handle such a high profile role with plenty of pressure.
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