Well done to the Blues for getting the losing bonus point. Weather conditions kept them in it.
Pulu’s play seemed a step down from Ruru’s.
Whilst not a great game for wide play, the backline combination for the Blues seemed non-existent. Whereas the Jags backs with limited opportunities did combine well.
Tana is either experimenting or has lost the plot on selections.
@taniwharugby said in Blues v Jaguares:
Apisai had a stormer for the B team last week!!
Haha said by no one who actually watched that game.
Can all the blame be placed on the Coach? What about the coach before him? Or Before him?
Even if those coaches are all incompetent, why were they placed into the position? Do they simply interview well?
At what point will everyone look to place blame higher up? Surely Auckland have the $$ for a proven coach?
My 2c..
Well, in the first half I felt a bit guilty about not heading down in the farking terrible weather. But then the Blues lost the Blues way - shit skills, terrible set piece, tactical ineptitude and just all round shitness.
Positives:
only 7 games left in the season.
Fark me, if this season doesn't drive a full blown cleanout in the organisation, I don't know what will. Coach must take responsibiltiy for the team being prepared for lineouts and scrums, and having some tactics that get followed. Effort was there at times, but it's just disjointed, and opposition just wait for us to fark up and then kill us. Damnit.
@siam said in Blues v Jaguares:
@african-monkey No one's defending anyone.
The truth is your shit club has been a fucking disgrace for many years now, long before umaga.
Fans continue to point with veracity always at 1 or 2 individuals as if that magic will fix it.
Highlanders were down a decade ago and pulled themselves out of it through genuine humility and change. The blues just lurch from new supercoach to fingerpointing.
Rinse and repeat
And they got out of it with a competent coach that set the culture, selected smartly and got the most out of their players.
Tana has taken an average side that lost some close games and turned them into a joke.
@stargazer said in Blues v Jaguares:
Yes, the Blues were awful, but I think we need to give credit to the Jaguares as well. They were the better team and played to the conditions well. They fully deserved that win. If they'd converted their penalties into points, they would have denied the Blues the bonus point.
I think if it was dry, the Blues defence would’ve been cut to pieces and the score would’ve been worse for them. That try the Jags scored down the left wing showed how poorly organised in defence they were (are).
Blues need to buy in a hardened career coach who has had to work his arse off for any success he’s ever had. I don’t know who that is, but get them and pay them what ever the hell they want.
Not a name.
@kirwan said in Blues v Jaguares:
Tana has taken an average side that lost some close games and turned them into a joke.
Tana is a reason we're losing, but he is far from the only reason. Changing him won't fix our problems. There is a shitload of change needed.
What shits me more than anything, is when we started going downhill, there was an outpouring from ex players and supporters to help and stem the tide. That goodwill has been killed off, and we're left with an absolute farking wreck of a team and organisation.
@pn said in Blues v Jaguares:
Can all the blame be placed on the Coach? What about the coach before him? Or Before him?
Even if those coaches are all incompetent, why were they placed into the position? Do they simply interview well?
At what point will everyone look to place blame higher up? Surely Auckland have the $$ for a proven coach?
My 2c..
We have been calling for the CEO and the board to go as well. They are the ones hiring celebrity coaches woefully out of their depth.
But that doesn’t excuse Tana’s crap selections, recruitment or coaching.
@siam said in Blues v Jaguares:
@kirwan No it started higher up in the organisation than that, and was most certainly not a magic fix of new coach, new dynasty
Coaches that succeed quickly, usually have a solid back office to work with.
@siam said in Blues v Jaguares:
@kirwan No it started higher up in the organisation than that, and was most certainly not a magic fix of new coach, new dynasty
See my post above.
The celebrity coaches are definitely a symptom of a bigger problem. That’s why we are talking about people like Gatland that can bully useless CEOs who want to hang out with ex-All Blacks.
@african-monkey said in Blues v Jaguares:
@siam We'll moan at whatever the fuck we want until things change we have every right to we don't need some anti-Auckland Highlanders fan telling us what we should and shouldn't moan at. Umaga is failing to deliver after 3 years in change and we're not happy.
Yeah, fair enough mate, keep pissing and moaning. Fill yer boots. I mean it's worked well for 5 years now
@siam said in Blues v Jaguares:
@african-monkey said in Blues v Jaguares:
@siam We'll moan at whatever the fuck we want until things change we have every right to we don't need some anti-Auckland Highlanders fan telling us what we should and shouldn't moan at. Umaga is failing to deliver after 3 years in change and we're not happy.
Yeah, fair enough mate, keep pissing and moaning. Fill yer boots. I mean it's worked well for 15 years now
fixed that for ya
@kirwan said in Blues v Jaguares:
We have been calling for the CEO and the board to go as well.
Correct. As well as several players.
Yet the fiction about the coach getting all the blame keeps getting repeated
@donsteppa Yup. He's a fucking tool. If they actually want to take a long hard look at when the rot set in, look at the Blues before and after Redman took charge. I don't know how he can keep a straight face when spouting shit like 'progress is being made' when it's quite fucking clear to all and sundry that a once proud franchise with an enviable record is right down the toilet. And while I don't think Tana was anywhere near ready to take on a Super side, let alone one with such visible issues, it's not just his fault. Yes injuries. But also really rubbish recruitment and selection. Shit culture. Shit board. And double fucking shit CEO.
@siam said in Blues v Jaguares:
@african-monkey said in Blues v Jaguares:
@siam We'll moan at whatever the fuck we want until things change we have every right to we don't need some anti-Auckland Highlanders fan telling us what we should and shouldn't moan at. Umaga is failing to deliver after 3 years in change and we're not happy.
Yeah, fair enough mate, keep pissing and moaning. Fill yer boots. I mean it's worked well for 5 years now
What do you expect Blues fans to do after a night/season like that?
It reminds me painfully of when Kevin Schuler was in charge of the Steamers...
@mokey said in Blues v Jaguares:
And while I don't think Tana was anywhere near ready to take on a Super side, let alone one with such visible issues, it's not just his fault.
At least he had coaching experience at Toulon, and then Counties. Hammett pretty well went straight into the job I think
@duluth said in Blues v Jaguares:
@kirwan said in Blues v Jaguares:
We have been calling for the CEO and the board to go as well.
Correct. As well as several players.
Yet the fiction about the coach getting all the blame keeps getting repeated
Fiction??
So no posts about blaming the coach huh?
@booboo said in Blues v Jaguares:
Well. That's Tana fucked then.
Really poor looking team.
I fully expect him to be extended. Seriously, if you don’t quit after shipping 60 on Eden Park, you aren’t going to let a little disaster like this bother you.
And the Blues back office just don’t care.
@siam said in Blues v Jaguares:
@duluth said in Blues v Jaguares:
@kirwan said in Blues v Jaguares:
We have been calling for the CEO and the board to go as well.
Correct. As well as several players.
Yet the fiction about the coach getting all the blame keeps getting repeated
Fiction??
So no posts about blaming the coach huh?
Thats clearly not what I said
The whole "progress is being made, the players are growing" stuff is the same type of bullshit Canes fans were fed, right up until they installed an actual coach and we haven't looked back.
The ineptitude of the Blues management is something to behold. They really just have to not be total shit at their jobs, and the coach plus the players will take care of the rest. I'm far from convinced the Canes management is all that great, but in recent years they've had good coaches making the most of the talent available so everything has fallen into place.
At the risk of using corporate buzz words it's pretty obvious the number one issue at the Blues right now is a complete lack of ownership and accountability.
@donsteppa said in Blues v Jaguares:
@siam said in Blues v Jaguares:
@african-monkey said in Blues v Jaguares:
@siam We'll moan at whatever the fuck we want until things change we have every right to we don't need some anti-Auckland Highlanders fan telling us what we should and shouldn't moan at. Umaga is failing to deliver after 3 years in change and we're not happy.
Yeah, fair enough mate, keep pissing and moaning. Fill yer boots. I mean it's worked well for 5 years now
What do you expect Blues fans to do after a night/season like that?
It reminds me painfully of when Kevin Schuler was in charge of the Steamers...
Honestly Don, point out to us the weaknesses in the org.
Criticise constructively
Name names of underperforming administrators. Get the fluffybunnies googling their own name ( they all do!). Put some heat on
Demand accountability and answers to what are you doing to change this?
Question why nothing's changing except for the inevitable hope of a new celeb coach.
Seems like all pressure on admin gets dissolved with a new saviour coach, the administrators seem to be faceless
Demanding that the coach is the main blame didn't work with Lam or Kirwan
It's a fiction to claim that there hasn't been a discussion about the board, or that there has not been a significant amount of blame placed on the board.
Serious question here.
Who owns the Blues?
NZRU? Private Investors?
Provinces I know have a slice.
If the NZRU have any brains they’d step in and get rid of the muppet show, and just put an end to this continuous failure.
The guys running the place now clearly just have no clue what they’re doing.
@gunner said in Blues v Jaguares:
Serious question here.
Who owns the Blues?
NZRU? Private Investors?
Provinces I know have a slice.
Partially owned by Auckland, NH and Northland, with an equity stake by private investors. Not really sure after that - I don't think the NZRU have a direct stake, but who the fuck knows any more.
The answer I wanted to write was:
@siam Yep we will thank you very much. The way you carry on about your team you'd think they've won more than the 1 title.
But seriously, where do we go from here? Do we give Umaga one more year (as painful as it sounds)? Who are the other viable options? I always felt that an assistant coach was the way to go for him before jumping into a head coach role and he has been somewhat found out at this level. I don't think the guy is a terrible coach, I just feel that he has taken one of the toughest gigs in the world too early in his career and has been exposed badly this season. Everyone wants to be a top level coach, but coaching the Blues is not a job for rookies and Umaga has probably ruined his coaching career by jumping into this role.
It's very important for us to employ someone who has done the rounds as our next coach, not an ex AB looking to get into the coaching game if we move on from Umaga. I've heard Tom Coventry mentioned and I personally could live with an appointment like that but knowing our board, well go with another celebrity type name and have someone like Keven Mealamu take over,
NZR seems pretty hands-off don't they. They were very involved when the Highlanders were in trouble.
With privatisation perhaps they have little direct input now but you would hope to see some leadership from HQ.
@gunner said in Blues v Jaguares:
Serious question here.
Who owns the Blues?
NZRU? Private Investors?
Provinces I know have a slice.If the NZRU have any brains they’d step in and get rid of the muppet show, and just put an end to this continuous failure.
The guys running the place now clearly just have no clue what they’re doing.
It was discussed here
Private ownership (Bolton Group) 40% the unions 60%
@african-monkey said in Blues v Jaguares:
I've heard Tom Coventry mentioned and I personally could live with an appointment like that but knowing our board, well go with another celebrity type name and have someone like Keven Mealamu take over
Carlos!
[edit] I better add that this is sarcasm. Some people are a little slow [\edit]
@bovidae said in Blues v Jaguares:
NZR seems pretty hands-off don't they. They were very involved when the Highlanders were in trouble.
With privatisation perhaps they have little direct input now but you would hope to see some leadership from HQ.
Yep fuck all. Their biggest market. NZRU have a lot of blame.
@duluth said in Blues v Jaguares:
It's a fiction to claim that there hasn't been a discussion about the board, or that there has not been a significant amount of blame placed on the board.
Cool.
Do more of it
Lots of us only know about the blues/Auckland rugby from you guys.
Spread the word, inform.
There's not a non Blues supporting kiwi rugby fan that doesn't slightly feel amused by your team at the moment- historical dominance will do that- but 5 strong franchises is desired.
There are a lot of case studies of super clubs coming good to utilise and it's rewarding for a fan when your team innovates and succeeds.
The whole Blues club need some innovation, but when?
@duluth said in Blues v Jaguares:
@gunner said in Blues v Jaguares:
Serious question here.
Who owns the Blues?
NZRU? Private Investors?
Provinces I know have a slice.If the NZRU have any brains they’d step in and get rid of the muppet show, and just put an end to this continuous failure.
The guys running the place now clearly just have no clue what they’re doing.
It was discussed here
Private ownership (Bolton Group) 40% the unions 60%
NZRU need to buy it back (undoubtedly at rock bottom price), clean it out, then make every single employment appointment themselves. And then ride the buggers for however long it takes to make the place at the very least respectable.
@african-monkey said in Blues v Jaguares:
@siam Yep we will thank you very much. The way you carry on about your team you'd think they've won more than the 1 title.
Nah, more the highlanders are a good example of being utter shit to finals contenders with a large scale organisational change and some patience and realistic vision.
I'd enjoy seeing the blues come good, but a new coach alone won't do that
