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@tiger-tragic said in [Madge Maguire \- Mega Thread](/post/1348198) said:@rex2ce said in [Sack Madge](/post/1348185) said:@truetiger said in [Sack Madge](/post/1347176) said:If Madge goes,sobeit,we move on with a new coach and hopefully he has success that atm we are not getting...
However,if he has results the same as Madge,do we judge him the same way and demand he gets sacked after 2/3 seasons with no finals and nothing but whinging,moaning and bellittling him as we have Madge..where does that leave us...IN THE SAME PLACE...
Madge has developed the junior pathway,signed talented young players mixed in with older players..he is trying to mend a broken club left shattered by sacked coaches a coach who was "on the bus'' and spent ridiculous amounts on players he wanted that would suit his coaching style and then jumped off the bus mid stream to find something better which he always had..his son at Panthers..
I can understand the disappointment by many on here,I also see that Madge can coach players to become NRL level players,Harry Grant comes to mind,Laurie was a great get just as we needed a fullback and is doing well...
We have a very young immature roster with experience mixed in,Im more than happy to see the end result after this season before supporting the "sack Madge"squad..
We also have a number of origin players,Tamou,Joe O,Mbye,Roberts and they are maybe not coping with the youth surrounding them,who really knows what mentally is happening with the team who are under pressure to perform,the seasoned players must react positively to their performances so as the younger ones become tougher NRL performers playing with heart and soul for the jersey and understanding what it takes to play at this level...I just dont think its all Madges fault,his staff,players as well all contribute to the lack of success we are having.....
Elevate Maguire to coaching director, bring in Flanagan or Morris , everyone saves face
What's the go with Morris suddenly being mentioned as a competent NRL coach? It shows how desperate the WT lens at judging competence has become. And, his Sharks mate Flanagan is a drug-cheating bogan. I want neither of them anywhere near the Tigers thanks.
@telltails said in [Madge Maguire \- Mega Thread](/post/1348496) said:@851 said in [Sack Madge](/post/1348476) said:@spartan117 said in [Sack Madge](/post/1348460) said:@851 said in [Sack Madge](/post/1348442) said:@telltails said in [Sack Madge](/post/1348440) said:@851 said in [Sack Madge](/post/1348410) said:@hobbo1 said in [Sack Madge](/post/1348350) said:@jedi_tiger said in [Sack Madge](/post/1348336) said:@tilllindemann said in [Sack Madge](/post/1348330) said:@jedi_tiger said in [Sack Madge](/post/1348297) said:@pawsandclaws1 said in [Sack Madge](/post/1348211) said:@gnr4life said in [Sack Madge](/post/1348199) said:@tiger-tragic said in [Sack Madge](/post/1348198) said:@rex2ce said in [Sack Madge](/post/1348185) said:@truetiger said in [Sack Madge](/post/1347176) said:If Madge goes,sobeit,we move on with a new coach and hopefully he has success that atm we are not getting...
However,if he has results the same as Madge,do we judge him the same way and demand he gets sacked after 2/3 seasons with no finals and nothing but whinging,moaning and bellittling him as we have Madge..where does that leave us...IN THE SAME PLACE...
Madge has developed the junior pathway,signed talented young players mixed in with older players..he is trying to mend a broken club left shattered by sacked coaches a coach who was "on the bus'' and spent ridiculous amounts on players he wanted that would suit his coaching style and then jumped off the bus mid stream to find something better which he always had..his son at Panthers..
I can understand the disappointment by many on here,I also see that Madge can coach players to become NRL level players,Harry Grant comes to mind,Laurie was a great get just as we needed a fullback and is doing well...
We have a very young immature roster with experience mixed in,Im more than happy to see the end result after this season before supporting the "sack Madge"squad..
We also have a number of origin players,Tamou,Joe O,Mbye,Roberts and they are maybe not coping with the youth surrounding them,who really knows what mentally is happening with the team who are under pressure to perform,the seasoned players must react positively to their performances so as the younger ones become tougher NRL performers playing with heart and soul for the jersey and understanding what it takes to play at this level...I just dont think its all Madges fault,his staff,players as well all contribute to the lack of success we are having.....
Elevate Maguire to coaching director, bring in Flanagan or Morris , everyone saves face
What's the go with Morris suddenly being mentioned as a competent NRL coach? It shows how desperate the WT lens at judging competence has become. And, his Sharks mate Flanagan is a drug-cheating bogan. I want neither of them anywhere near the Tigers thanks.
Morris is unproven. We’re the last club that an unproven coach can make his name. Even premiership winning coaches are taking the club backwards.
As opposed to Maguire who is proven (at what)?
he has won a comp a long time ago but still has. The game has just passed him by now.
All these players didn't want to play for Madge
Matterson
Aloia
Latrell
JAC
they all talk, he is.obviously not a man manager
By the same logic, Bellamy isn't a man manager because JAC wants to leave. Robinson is a bad coach because Latrell left.
JAC wants to come back to Sydney
Latrell wanted fullback money and got it at souths
Trell got $300k less
We offered $1.1 million, he signed at souths for $600k, a ringing endorsement for Madge and the club
Only so South's could stay under the cap - significant upgrade after the first year.
Significant, it went up to $800k, still $300k a year under our offer, that is $800k over the last 2 years he has given up to not play here, and Madge was a big factor
Disagree,
Our club was shambolic at the time and didnt want to be the first one on the boat. Madge is known as being disciplined and a hard worker, Something Latrell (very talented) is rumoured not to be.
Were are in the middle of a rebuild.
We need a Ponga, or a David fafita to help bring us the street Cred we truly have never had.
The Sack Madge movement lacks true foresight
Madge can't attract elite talent, so there is plenty of cred in the oust him movement, poor team selections, poor or no game plan or structure, we stand too flat in attack, and too deep and passive in defence, we suck at all aspects of the game. More than enough foresight to send him packing, accountability needs to be shown
Cleary couldnt attract elite talent either @851 and maybe that's more about the club than the coach. DWZ - CNH both had relationships with Cleary and both decided to sign for other clubs. Did Cleary attract one talented player from the Penrith nursery when he was here?
It's evident Maguire is on borrowed time but he is not responsible for our recruitment problems. Can't see one player in this squad that other players would identify that they would want to play with. Whoever replaces him will have the same challenges, and will need to continue the rebuild that has started - while the club forks out 600k to get rid of him.
@telltails said in [Madge Maguire \- Mega Thread](/post/1348654) said:https://wwos.nine.com.au/nrl/wests-tigers-mess-michael-maguire-mark-levy-column/8ee89364-516e-48b4-a5a6-4da840a231ab
And another one.
@gallagher said in [Madge Maguire \- Mega Thread](/post/1348638) said:@spartan117 said in [Madge Maguire \- Mega Thread](/post/1348596) said:SMH **Why the Wests Tigers need to stop blaming coach Michael Maguire**
April 27, 2021 — 6.00am
https://www.smh.com.au/sport/nrl/why-the-wests-tigers-need-to-stop-blaming-coach-michael-maguire-20210426-p57mi0.html
Well, of course it’s all Michael Maguire’s fault. When isn’t the coach to blame at the Wests Tigers?
Tim Sheens. Mick Potter. Jason Taylor. Ivan Cleary. Now Maguire after the Tigers’ diabolical 1-6 start to the season.
At what point does chief executive Justin Pascoe, chairman Lee Hagipantelis and the rest of the board start taking ownership and accepting blame for the club stumbling about the NRL competition like the drunkest man at the party?
Is this club ever going to get it together?
The problem with joint ventures, much like St George Illawarra, is they’re as united as the Brady Bunch when the team is winning. When it is not, they leak like a waterfall and stab each other in the back.
Perhaps the greatest indication of what Maguire is up against is the leaking from within the club of a get-out clause in his recent contract extension, which was signed in December last year and takes him through to the end of 2023.
It’s been presented as outstanding management from the club; that it can sack Maguire if it wants and only pay him a paltry sum.
In reality, as confirmed by three separate sources, it’s a standard termination clause found in most contracts, in all forms of business and in most coach contracts these days.
To sell it as smart management is signature arse-covering for a club that’s had to cover its arse quite a lot of over the past decade. It reeks of something out of the Broncos’ playbook last year with Anthony Seibold.
Maguire isn’t without fault in the way things are developing at the Tigers – we’ll get to that in a minute – but it’s near impossible to coach a side when there’s so much chatter coming from above, whether it’s public or not.
You can set your clock to when the Tigers are playing the Panthers because you can guarantee Pascoe will make a comment about how Cleary disrespected and walked out on the club, stuffing up the salary cap.
As for Hagipantelis, he’s on speed dial for every almost every reporter in the business because he always talks. (That said, he didn’t return this columnist’s call on Monday to answer some hard questions).
Earlier this month, Hagipantelis let go with a stream of consciousness about besieged halfback Luke Brooks, saying he “will not partake in that narrative whatsoever” before partaking in an extraordinary narrative about Brooks and his future and what people are saying about him and what the club thinks of him …
The smart chairs know when to shut up. Hagipantelis doesn’t have an off switch.
In fairness, he’s only been chairman since November 2019.
Pascoe has been chief executive for just under six years. Sure, he cops it from angry members via social media and email, but he’s a darling of most league roundsmen/women and has barely been fingered for the malaise that’s infected this great club.
The Tigers have so much going for them, not least a $75 million centre of excellence and platoons of resources the NRL team has never really had. But the team hasn’t soared whatsoever on his watch.
The problem at the Tigers is their roster, pure and simple, and for that a whole stack of people need to take responsibility.
The abject lack of experience explains why they are drifting in and out of matches; why they can trail the Cowboys 28-6 at halftime, then come screaming back into it in the second; why they can appear to have Manly’s measure for 20-or-so minutes then fold like a cheap suit for the remaining 60.
Consider their spine.
Fullback Daine Laurie, 21, has played 10 matches. Hooker Jake Simpkin, 19, just two. Five-eighth Adam Doueihi has played 56 matches but is also just 22 and still finding his feet in the halves.
Maguire facing the axe as pressure mounts at Wests Tigers
Then there’s Brooks, 26, who has played 155 matches but hasn’t developed into the playmaker many of us expected after watching him carve up the Dragons on debut at the SCG all those years ago.
Roster management is about keeping the players you want. The best clubs do it with shrewd aplomb.
The Tigers will be eternally paying the price for letting the best player in the game, James Tedesco, walk out and join the Roosters.
Because it’s so painfully clear this side is in desperate need of a superstar. Or half a superstar. But which superstar would want to join the Tigers unless it’s on enormous money?
Instead, the Tigers have had to recruit whoever they can get and this is where Maguire must shoulder some of the responsibility.
James Roberts was signed on very little money. So were BJ and Luciano Leilua.
The problem is they are completely not Maguire-style players, only sometimes seeming interested.
Players like Corey Thompson and Paul Momirovski are Maguire-style players, ripping in at training and never giving up in matches, yet they are no longer at the club.
Interestingly, the former players I spoke to on Monday thought these types of departures have hurt the club more than that of Benji Marshall.
It’s too simplistic to say Maguire and the Tigers got it wrong with Marshall. He’s revelling in a well-established team at Souths, surrounded with international- and Origin-standard players, having been given a roving commission to do whatever he wants.
What Maguire did miscalculate was the fallout that came when he dropped Marshall early last season. The veteran playmaker was one of his biggest allies. It didn’t take long for the sentiment to swing the other way.
The other criticism of Maguire is he can only “coach one way”. In other words, with the intensity of an SAS officer, not happy until someone or all them are vomiting lactic acid.
To be honest, that’s a copout – something that’s also been acknowledged by former players.
Because what they notice from some members of this Tigers squad is that some care deeply about the result (like Doueihi who was in tears after the Cowboys’ loss), and others (like the ones who are posting on Instagram less than an hour after another defeat) do not.
Those who can’t dance blame it on the music. Too often at the Wests Tigers, players who don’t care enough and officials who aren’t doing their job, blame it on the coach.
If Michael Maguire goes, will life be any different under the next poor soul who comes along?
Andrew Webster is Chief Sports Writer of The Sydney Morning Herald.
Thats a fantastic column.
@wt2k said in [Madge Maguire \- Mega Thread](/post/1348672) said:@gallagher said in [Madge Maguire \- Mega Thread](/post/1348638) said:@spartan117 said in [Madge Maguire \- Mega Thread](/post/1348596) said:SMH **Why the Wests Tigers need to stop blaming coach Michael Maguire**
April 27, 2021 — 6.00am
https://www.smh.com.au/sport/nrl/why-the-wests-tigers-need-to-stop-blaming-coach-michael-maguire-20210426-p57mi0.html
Well, of course it’s all Michael Maguire’s fault. When isn’t the coach to blame at the Wests Tigers?
Tim Sheens. Mick Potter. Jason Taylor. Ivan Cleary. Now Maguire after the Tigers’ diabolical 1-6 start to the season.
At what point does chief executive Justin Pascoe, chairman Lee Hagipantelis and the rest of the board start taking ownership and accepting blame for the club stumbling about the NRL competition like the drunkest man at the party?
Is this club ever going to get it together?
The problem with joint ventures, much like St George Illawarra, is they’re as united as the Brady Bunch when the team is winning. When it is not, they leak like a waterfall and stab each other in the back.
Perhaps the greatest indication of what Maguire is up against is the leaking from within the club of a get-out clause in his recent contract extension, which was signed in December last year and takes him through to the end of 2023.
It’s been presented as outstanding management from the club; that it can sack Maguire if it wants and only pay him a paltry sum.
In reality, as confirmed by three separate sources, it’s a standard termination clause found in most contracts, in all forms of business and in most coach contracts these days.
To sell it as smart management is signature arse-covering for a club that’s had to cover its arse quite a lot of over the past decade. It reeks of something out of the Broncos’ playbook last year with Anthony Seibold.
Maguire isn’t without fault in the way things are developing at the Tigers – we’ll get to that in a minute – but it’s near impossible to coach a side when there’s so much chatter coming from above, whether it’s public or not.
You can set your clock to when the Tigers are playing the Panthers because you can guarantee Pascoe will make a comment about how Cleary disrespected and walked out on the club, stuffing up the salary cap.
As for Hagipantelis, he’s on speed dial for every almost every reporter in the business because he always talks. (That said, he didn’t return this columnist’s call on Monday to answer some hard questions).
Earlier this month, Hagipantelis let go with a stream of consciousness about besieged halfback Luke Brooks, saying he “will not partake in that narrative whatsoever” before partaking in an extraordinary narrative about Brooks and his future and what people are saying about him and what the club thinks of him …
The smart chairs know when to shut up. Hagipantelis doesn’t have an off switch.
In fairness, he’s only been chairman since November 2019.
Pascoe has been chief executive for just under six years. Sure, he cops it from angry members via social media and email, but he’s a darling of most league roundsmen/women and has barely been fingered for the malaise that’s infected this great club.
The Tigers have so much going for them, not least a $75 million centre of excellence and platoons of resources the NRL team has never really had. But the team hasn’t soared whatsoever on his watch.
The problem at the Tigers is their roster, pure and simple, and for that a whole stack of people need to take responsibility.
The abject lack of experience explains why they are drifting in and out of matches; why they can trail the Cowboys 28-6 at halftime, then come screaming back into it in the second; why they can appear to have Manly’s measure for 20-or-so minutes then fold like a cheap suit for the remaining 60.
Consider their spine.
Fullback Daine Laurie, 21, has played 10 matches. Hooker Jake Simpkin, 19, just two. Five-eighth Adam Doueihi has played 56 matches but is also just 22 and still finding his feet in the halves.
Maguire facing the axe as pressure mounts at Wests Tigers
Then there’s Brooks, 26, who has played 155 matches but hasn’t developed into the playmaker many of us expected after watching him carve up the Dragons on debut at the SCG all those years ago.
Roster management is about keeping the players you want. The best clubs do it with shrewd aplomb.
The Tigers will be eternally paying the price for letting the best player in the game, James Tedesco, walk out and join the Roosters.
Because it’s so painfully clear this side is in desperate need of a superstar. Or half a superstar. But which superstar would want to join the Tigers unless it’s on enormous money?
Instead, the Tigers have had to recruit whoever they can get and this is where Maguire must shoulder some of the responsibility.
James Roberts was signed on very little money. So were BJ and Luciano Leilua.
The problem is they are completely not Maguire-style players, only sometimes seeming interested.
Players like Corey Thompson and Paul Momirovski are Maguire-style players, ripping in at training and never giving up in matches, yet they are no longer at the club.
Interestingly, the former players I spoke to on Monday thought these types of departures have hurt the club more than that of Benji Marshall.
It’s too simplistic to say Maguire and the Tigers got it wrong with Marshall. He’s revelling in a well-established team at Souths, surrounded with international- and Origin-standard players, having been given a roving commission to do whatever he wants.
What Maguire did miscalculate was the fallout that came when he dropped Marshall early last season. The veteran playmaker was one of his biggest allies. It didn’t take long for the sentiment to swing the other way.
The other criticism of Maguire is he can only “coach one way”. In other words, with the intensity of an SAS officer, not happy until someone or all them are vomiting lactic acid.
To be honest, that’s a copout – something that’s also been acknowledged by former players.
Because what they notice from some members of this Tigers squad is that some care deeply about the result (like Doueihi who was in tears after the Cowboys’ loss), and others (like the ones who are posting on Instagram less than an hour after another defeat) do not.
Those who can’t dance blame it on the music. Too often at the Wests Tigers, players who don’t care enough and officials who aren’t doing their job, blame it on the coach.
If Michael Maguire goes, will life be any different under the next poor soul who comes along?
Andrew Webster is Chief Sports Writer of The Sydney Morning Herald.
Thats a fantastic column.
They love reading their names in the press when things are going great. Not so much when going bad. Hopefully media keep the pressure on, only hope of some change imo
@851 said in [Madge Maguire \- Mega Thread](/post/1348669) said:@telltails said in [Madge Maguire \- Mega Thread](/post/1348496) said:@851 said in [Sack Madge](/post/1348476) said:@spartan117 said in [Sack Madge](/post/1348460) said:@851 said in [Sack Madge](/post/1348442) said:@telltails said in [Sack Madge](/post/1348440) said:@851 said in [Sack Madge](/post/1348410) said:@hobbo1 said in [Sack Madge](/post/1348350) said:@jedi_tiger said in [Sack Madge](/post/1348336) said:@tilllindemann said in [Sack Madge](/post/1348330) said:@jedi_tiger said in [Sack Madge](/post/1348297) said:@pawsandclaws1 said in [Sack Madge](/post/1348211) said:@gnr4life said in [Sack Madge](/post/1348199) said:@tiger-tragic said in [Sack Madge](/post/1348198) said:@rex2ce said in [Sack Madge](/post/1348185) said:@truetiger said in [Sack Madge](/post/1347176) said:If Madge goes,sobeit,we move on with a new coach and hopefully he has success that atm we are not getting...
However,if he has results the same as Madge,do we judge him the same way and demand he gets sacked after 2/3 seasons with no finals and nothing but whinging,moaning and bellittling him as we have Madge..where does that leave us...IN THE SAME PLACE...
Madge has developed the junior pathway,signed talented young players mixed in with older players..he is trying to mend a broken club left shattered by sacked coaches a coach who was "on the bus'' and spent ridiculous amounts on players he wanted that would suit his coaching style and then jumped off the bus mid stream to find something better which he always had..his son at Panthers..
I can understand the disappointment by many on here,I also see that Madge can coach players to become NRL level players,Harry Grant comes to mind,Laurie was a great get just as we needed a fullback and is doing well...
We have a very young immature roster with experience mixed in,Im more than happy to see the end result after this season before supporting the "sack Madge"squad..
We also have a number of origin players,Tamou,Joe O,Mbye,Roberts and they are maybe not coping with the youth surrounding them,who really knows what mentally is happening with the team who are under pressure to perform,the seasoned players must react positively to their performances so as the younger ones become tougher NRL performers playing with heart and soul for the jersey and understanding what it takes to play at this level...I just dont think its all Madges fault,his staff,players as well all contribute to the lack of success we are having.....
Elevate Maguire to coaching director, bring in Flanagan or Morris , everyone saves face
What's the go with Morris suddenly being mentioned as a competent NRL coach? It shows how desperate the WT lens at judging competence has become. And, his Sharks mate Flanagan is a drug-cheating bogan. I want neither of them anywhere near the Tigers thanks.
Morris is unproven. We’re the last club that an unproven coach can make his name. Even premiership winning coaches are taking the club backwards.
As opposed to Maguire who is proven (at what)?
he has won a comp a long time ago but still has. The game has just passed him by now.
All these players didn't want to play for Madge
Matterson
Aloia
Latrell
JAC
they all talk, he is.obviously not a man manager
By the same logic, Bellamy isn't a man manager because JAC wants to leave. Robinson is a bad coach because Latrell left.
JAC wants to come back to Sydney
Latrell wanted fullback money and got it at souths
Trell got $300k less
We offered $1.1 million, he signed at souths for $600k, a ringing endorsement for Madge and the club
Only so South's could stay under the cap - significant upgrade after the first year.
Significant, it went up to $800k, still $300k a year under our offer, that is $800k over the last 2 years he has given up to not play here, and Madge was a big factor
Disagree,
Our club was shambolic at the time and didnt want to be the first one on the boat. Madge is known as being disciplined and a hard worker, Something Latrell (very talented) is rumoured not to be.
Were are in the middle of a rebuild.
We need a Ponga, or a David fafita to help bring us the street Cred we truly have never had.
The Sack Madge movement lacks true foresight
Madge can't attract elite talent, so there is plenty of cred in the oust him movement, poor team selections, poor or no game plan or structure, we stand too flat in attack, and too deep and passive in defence, we suck at all aspects of the game. More than enough foresight to send him packing, accountability needs to be shown
Cleary couldnt attract elite talent either @851 and maybe that's more about the club than the coach. DWZ - CNH both had relationships with Cleary and both decided to sign for other clubs. Did Cleary attract one talented player from the Penrith nursery when he was here?
It's evident Maguire is on borrowed time but he is not responsible for our recruitment problems. Can't see one player in this squad that other players would identify that they would want to play with. Whoever replaces him will have the same challenges, and will need to continue the rebuild that has started - while the club forks out 600k to get rid of him.
Madge was coach when DWZ opted to go to the Dogs over us, and maybe CHN as well
@gallagher said in [Madge Maguire \- Mega Thread](/post/1348638) said:@spartan117 said in [Madge Maguire \- Mega Thread](/post/1348596) said:SMH **Why the Wests Tigers need to stop blaming coach Michael Maguire**
April 27, 2021 — 6.00am
https://www.smh.com.au/sport/nrl/why-the-wests-tigers-need-to-stop-blaming-coach-michael-maguire-20210426-p57mi0.html
Well, of course it’s all Michael Maguire’s fault. When isn’t the coach to blame at the Wests Tigers?
Tim Sheens. Mick Potter. Jason Taylor. Ivan Cleary. Now Maguire after the Tigers’ diabolical 1-6 start to the season.
At what point does chief executive Justin Pascoe, chairman Lee Hagipantelis and the rest of the board start taking ownership and accepting blame for the club stumbling about the NRL competition like the drunkest man at the party?
Is this club ever going to get it together?
The problem with joint ventures, much like St George Illawarra, is they’re as united as the Brady Bunch when the team is winning. When it is not, they leak like a waterfall and stab each other in the back.
Perhaps the greatest indication of what Maguire is up against is the leaking from within the club of a get-out clause in his recent contract extension, which was signed in December last year and takes him through to the end of 2023.
It’s been presented as outstanding management from the club; that it can sack Maguire if it wants and only pay him a paltry sum.
In reality, as confirmed by three separate sources, it’s a standard termination clause found in most contracts, in all forms of business and in most coach contracts these days.
To sell it as smart management is signature arse-covering for a club that’s had to cover its arse quite a lot of over the past decade. It reeks of something out of the Broncos’ playbook last year with Anthony Seibold.
Maguire isn’t without fault in the way things are developing at the Tigers – we’ll get to that in a minute – but it’s near impossible to coach a side when there’s so much chatter coming from above, whether it’s public or not.
You can set your clock to when the Tigers are playing the Panthers because you can guarantee Pascoe will make a comment about how Cleary disrespected and walked out on the club, stuffing up the salary cap.
As for Hagipantelis, he’s on speed dial for every almost every reporter in the business because he always talks. (That said, he didn’t return this columnist’s call on Monday to answer some hard questions).
Earlier this month, Hagipantelis let go with a stream of consciousness about besieged halfback Luke Brooks, saying he “will not partake in that narrative whatsoever” before partaking in an extraordinary narrative about Brooks and his future and what people are saying about him and what the club thinks of him …
The smart chairs know when to shut up. Hagipantelis doesn’t have an off switch.
In fairness, he’s only been chairman since November 2019.
Pascoe has been chief executive for just under six years. Sure, he cops it from angry members via social media and email, but he’s a darling of most league roundsmen/women and has barely been fingered for the malaise that’s infected this great club.
The Tigers have so much going for them, not least a $75 million centre of excellence and platoons of resources the NRL team has never really had. But the team hasn’t soared whatsoever on his watch.
The problem at the Tigers is their roster, pure and simple, and for that a whole stack of people need to take responsibility.
The abject lack of experience explains why they are drifting in and out of matches; why they can trail the Cowboys 28-6 at halftime, then come screaming back into it in the second; why they can appear to have Manly’s measure for 20-or-so minutes then fold like a cheap suit for the remaining 60.
Consider their spine.
Fullback Daine Laurie, 21, has played 10 matches. Hooker Jake Simpkin, 19, just two. Five-eighth Adam Doueihi has played 56 matches but is also just 22 and still finding his feet in the halves.
Maguire facing the axe as pressure mounts at Wests Tigers
Then there’s Brooks, 26, who has played 155 matches but hasn’t developed into the playmaker many of us expected after watching him carve up the Dragons on debut at the SCG all those years ago.
Roster management is about keeping the players you want. The best clubs do it with shrewd aplomb.
The Tigers will be eternally paying the price for letting the best player in the game, James Tedesco, walk out and join the Roosters.
Because it’s so painfully clear this side is in desperate need of a superstar. Or half a superstar. But which superstar would want to join the Tigers unless it’s on enormous money?
Instead, the Tigers have had to recruit whoever they can get and this is where Maguire must shoulder some of the responsibility.
James Roberts was signed on very little money. So were BJ and Luciano Leilua.
The problem is they are completely not Maguire-style players, only sometimes seeming interested.
Players like Corey Thompson and Paul Momirovski are Maguire-style players, ripping in at training and never giving up in matches, yet they are no longer at the club.
Interestingly, the former players I spoke to on Monday thought these types of departures have hurt the club more than that of Benji Marshall.
It’s too simplistic to say Maguire and the Tigers got it wrong with Marshall. He’s revelling in a well-established team at Souths, surrounded with international- and Origin-standard players, having been given a roving commission to do whatever he wants.
What Maguire did miscalculate was the fallout that came when he dropped Marshall early last season. The veteran playmaker was one of his biggest allies. It didn’t take long for the sentiment to swing the other way.
The other criticism of Maguire is he can only “coach one way”. In other words, with the intensity of an SAS officer, not happy until someone or all them are vomiting lactic acid.
To be honest, that’s a copout – something that’s also been acknowledged by former players.
Because what they notice from some members of this Tigers squad is that some care deeply about the result (like Doueihi who was in tears after the Cowboys’ loss), and others (like the ones who are posting on Instagram less than an hour after another defeat) do not.
Those who can’t dance blame it on the music. Too often at the Wests Tigers, players who don’t care enough and officials who aren’t doing their job, blame it on the coach.
If Michael Maguire goes, will life be any different under the next poor soul who comes along?
Andrew Webster is Chief Sports Writer of The Sydney Morning Herald.
Thats a fantastic column.
@avocadoontoast said in [Madge Maguire \- Mega Thread](/post/1348528) said:@bigsiro said in [Sack Madge](/post/1348520) said:@avocadoontoast said in [Sack Madge](/post/1348503) said:@tiger_scott said in [Sack Madge](/post/1348502) said:Before the season began, we were predicted to finish towards the bottom of the ladder.
A lot of people thought we'd challenge for the 8, including myself. Our roster isn't as bad as our results suggest.
Our roster IS that bad.
For the last 10 years the same people (mostly) are in denial of this and predicted we would be top 8, often top 4!
It's as unrealistic as Bulldogs fans who thought they would make the 8.
Heart over head, or something like that...
I'm pretty realistic about us as a team and haven't been confident of making the 8 for years. In saying that, I think our roster is a lot better than our results suggest. It's the best roster we've had in quite a few years imo.
@telltails said in [Madge Maguire \- Mega Thread](/post/1348654) said:https://wwos.nine.com.au/nrl/wests-tigers-mess-michael-maguire-mark-levy-column/8ee89364-516e-48b4-a5a6-4da840a231ab
And another one.
@eyewondertwo said in [Madge Maguire \- Mega Thread](/post/1348540) said:No daly m points for any wests tigers player over the past two weeks is evidence of the poor form players are in.
@tigerdave said in [Madge Maguire \- Mega Thread](/post/1348694) said:@telltails said in [Madge Maguire \- Mega Thread](/post/1348654) said:https://wwos.nine.com.au/nrl/wests-tigers-mess-michael-maguire-mark-levy-column/8ee89364-516e-48b4-a5a6-4da840a231ab
And another one.
Good article up to a point.
Cleary and Teddy were not chewed up and spit out by the club.
Benji left us in 2014 and by his own admission got fat and lazy the previous 2 years. He may be dirty after not being given another year at the end of last season, but his form didn't warrant it.
@facepalmer said in [Madge Maguire \- Mega Thread](/post/1348695) said:The media coming out in support of Madge feels agenda-driven. He must be one of the boys.
@tigerwest said in [Madge Maguire \- Mega Thread](/post/1348705) said:@facepalmer said in [Madge Maguire \- Mega Thread](/post/1348695) said:The media coming out in support of Madge feels agenda-driven. He must be one of the boys.
Or, it’s the truth?
@izotope said in [Madge Maguire \- Mega Thread](/post/1348576) said:Roster isn't even relevant in these discussions
The effort they are putting is is abysmal.
@facepalmer said in [Madge Maguire \- Mega Thread](/post/1348695) said:The media coming out in support of Madge feels agenda-driven. He must be one of the boys.
@tigerwest said in [Madge Maguire \- Mega Thread](/post/1348687) said:@avocadoontoast said in [Madge Maguire \- Mega Thread](/post/1348528) said:@bigsiro said in [Sack Madge](/post/1348520) said:@avocadoontoast said in [Sack Madge](/post/1348503) said:@tiger_scott said in [Sack Madge](/post/1348502) said:Before the season began, we were predicted to finish towards the bottom of the ladder.
A lot of people thought we'd challenge for the 8, including myself. Our roster isn't as bad as our results suggest.
Our roster IS that bad.
For the last 10 years the same people (mostly) are in denial of this and predicted we would be top 8, often top 4!
It's as unrealistic as Bulldogs fans who thought they would make the 8.
Heart over head, or something like that...
I'm pretty realistic about us as a team and haven't been confident of making the 8 for years. In saying that, I think our roster is a lot better than our results suggest. It's the best roster we've had in quite a few years imo.
Agree, just hard to explain why they are not having a go at least?
@hobbo1 said in [Madge Maguire \- Mega Thread](/post/1348715) said:@izotope said in [Madge Maguire \- Mega Thread](/post/1348576) said:Roster isn't even relevant in these discussions
The effort they are putting is is abysmal.
Agree
They don’t even put up a fight ..
Heads go down ... limp mode