Robinson replacing Gleeson

[Shugs]

I know what you mean. If I have it right the situation currently is:
Blackett
Attack: Robinson (proposed)
Defence: Everard
Scrum : Fowkes
S and C : Atkinson
It's sort of crying out for an experienced campaigner. I suppose that's a difficult sell as they'd clearly be under Blackett.
That said I don't think we've got is too far off. I'd love to see Jimmy in the transition role. His experience and general enthusiasm would really rub off.

[baldpaul101]

so how much premiership experience did Baxter & McCall have?
how about the guys at Quins?

last season everyone on here were praising the coaching team, now they're no good?
we are reaching expert levels of fickle here

[Steve from Cov]

so how much premiership experience did Baxter & McCall have?
how about the guys at Quins?

last season everyone on here were praising the coaching team, now they're no good?
we are reaching expert levels of fickle here

+1

[wasps]

so how much premiership experience did Baxter & McCall have?
how about the guys at Quins?

last season everyone on here were praising the coaching team, now they're no good?
we are reaching expert levels of fickle here

For me, this is the period where you actually learn about your coaching team. They've now endured a bad run, they have to prove they have the ability to turn it around.
If things aren't improving a few months into the new season then I think they'll likely have some very difficult questions to answer.

We had a great restart in 2020 which led to us getting to the final. Lee, the coaches, and the players received so the plaudits for that.
We then had a ridiculously short off season and have followed it up with a poor season. This is the first time Lee will have had to deal with this scenario at the top level so it's right that some are tentatively asking questions.
Fixing anything during a season is difficult, but there will eventually come a time when we need to look like a cohesive team again.
After a proper off season, I'll be wanting to see some improvements before Christmas


As for the references to McCall and Baxter, for every one of those there will be many more who stepped up from playing days and didn't handle the coaching transition as well.

[NellyWellyWaspy]

We are where we are. Perhaps you could suggest some available coaches or DOR that would be a good fit to Wasps?

I doubt any are out there. For experience read time spent. The job spec would not add up.  When you can't afford a lot (and we can't), you make do with what is cheap and hope to build and gain experience. Whether we like it or not, we do not have, nor will we get, international quality DOR or coaches. We have to make our own.

It might work out. This year has shown that something was not right. One can only hope that the coaches realise:

1. They got it wrong.
2. What the players and the coaches need to do to put it right.

My guess, watching and not being privy to the changing room conversations, is that the players rely far too heavily on the coaches for a game plan, and try to stick to it, regardless of what is in front of them. The coaches try to impose a game plan, rather than encourage the players to look at what is in front of them, and train them what to look for and what to do when they see what they see. It's a two-way street, and I am far from sure whether the players or the coaches have the right mindset and approach. They don't appear to be working as a team, more like, we tell you what to do, now do it, where the players seem to acquiesce to that mantra.

[backdoc]

I know what you mean. If I have it right the situation currently is:
Blackett
Attack: Robinson (proposed)
Defence: Everard
Scrum : Fowkes
S and C : Atkinson
It's sort of crying out for an experienced campaigner. I suppose that's a difficult sell as they'd clearly be under Blackett.
That said I don't think we've got is too far off. I'd love to see Jimmy in the transition role. His experience and general enthusiasm would really rub off.

Richard Blaze is still here. His experience is mixed but includes the Premiership in 2012/2013 with Tigers as forwards coach.

[Raggs]

Blackett has also been around for ages, has championship head coach/dor experience, and could have easily been looking for a head coach role had he not got it at Wasps, and we'd have all been saying that it's the next sensible step for him. So why not with us.

Blackett came to us and did good things, so no reason why Robinson couldn't either.

[baldpaul101]

As for the references to McCall and Baxter, for every one of those there will be many more who stepped up from playing days and didn't handle the coaching transition as well.

But the point being made was that our coaching set up lacked premiership experience, my reply was that the two most successful DoRs in the prem (yes I know Sarries cheated) had little or no prem experience. I'd also suggest Sean Edwards didn't have any, technically neither did McGeechan, Gatts or Dai, or Pat Lam although they had plenty of wider experience
Would it be good if Wasps had some? Yes, of course, but just having had someone who's been round the block won't guarantee success.

The difference between last season & this is down to the players IMO. Last season, no one expected anything, they won a few games, got confidence & enjoyed themselves. Quins seem to be doing the same.
The are many reasons for the drop in performance, they've been debated on here ad nauseam.
There's not going to be influx of star dust in the off season (that's either a great long term strategy or a terrible thing depending on the posters view point!)
So the current crop of players & coaches will need to sort it out themselves.

[Rossm]

Everybody's got to start somewhere.

[Shugs]

I'm quite happy with the current set up but can equally see that it could be enhanced. I don't think anyone's expecting a renowned DOR or anything remotely of that ilk. I think Blackett is doing a good job as DoR and I trust he'll pull the right coaching team together.

[Vespula Vulgaris]

so how much premiership experience did Baxter & McCall have?
how about the guys at Quins?

last season everyone on here were praising the coaching team, now they're no good?
we are reaching expert levels of fickle here

I have no idea how much experience Baxter or McCall had, but let's write McCall off because he wasn't playing with the same deck as everyone else.  Baxter, well maybe he's someone to emulate, but as I remember it he started by simply surviving and then gradually improved the results year on year.  That is not a parallel for what happened to us.  We were one messed up throw away from winning the title last year and barely scraped 8th place in the league this year.

And as to praising them last season, they deserved praise. This season they did somewhat less better, and next season it seems we have swapped what experience we had for less experienced coaches.

We know we have good players with the ability to do well, can we say the same about our coaches?  It is what it is, and I'll continue to cheer them on every step of the way, but I remain as yet unconvinced this was the best strategy to generate success.

[Vespula Vulgaris]

We are where we are. Perhaps you could suggest some available coaches or DOR that would be a good fit to Wasps?

I like to think I am allowed to express a little apprehension about the current set-up without first having had to submit a list of possible coaches who might be willing and able to come to Wasps along with their salary expectations.