Madge Maguire - Mega Thread

[TigerWest]

If Madge has indeed survived, he will be under enormous pressure next season. **If we lose a couple straight to start the year,** I would say he is gone. I dare say we will hire an experienced assistant just incase the side fails to fire and can take over if Madge is sacked

That would depend who we lose to, if we lose, surely, e.g. this year we were beaten in the first 4 games by 4 of the top teams, then we had a mid season (just after 1st SOO) where we played the 4 best teams in the comp? We are not going to beat those teams with the players we have? You need to be realistic?

 

[yeahcaz]

So who do we throw cash at to be out new assitant coach's


Who do we sack? Considering a couple have only just joined in 21.

Wests Tigers 2021 Football Department
Adam Hartigan — General Manager – Football
Michael Maguire — NRL Head Coach
Shane Millard — NRL Assistant Coach
Wayne Collins — NRL Assistant Coach
Andrew Gray — Head of Performance
Matthew Jay — NRL Performance Coach
Aaron Sculli — NRL Performance Coach
James Wright — NRL Football Manager and Leadership Consultant

Wayne Collins. Goodbye

 

[Tiger5150]

I’d take Flanagan as an assistant if he is keen

NOpe nope no no nope

Why not Flanagan worked Wonders at the Dragooons under Mary...Oh...

I know you are kidding, but Ill answer anyway.

Firstly obviously the bloke has proven himself to have zero principles based on what he did at Sharks, but he has also been part of an obviously organised media agenda tohave Madge shafted for him. Cant imagine what the media mess would be with him inside the tent let alone the impact on the squad.

 

[Tiger5150]

So who do we throw cash at to be out new assitant coach's


Who do we sack? Considering a couple have only just joined in 21.

Wests Tigers 2021 Football Department
Adam Hartigan — General Manager – Football
Michael Maguire — NRL Head Coach
Shane Millard — NRL Assistant Coach
Wayne Collins — NRL Assistant Coach
Andrew Gray — Head of Performance
Matthew Jay — NRL Performance Coach
Aaron Sculli — NRL Performance Coach
James Wright — NRL Football Manager and Leadership Consultant

Wayne Collins. Goodbye

Agreed. I wonder how much $$$ would be required to drag Ciraldo over?

 

[kiwitiger]

So it’s the assistants fault we went so bad this season .Player support was high imagine how we whould of played if support for Maguire
Was not high

Agree. Gee if those 17 players that played against the dogs where playing for madge, I will hate to see what it is like if he ever loses them

 

[tony soprano]

This review is taking as long as Australian post at the moment.

 

[yeahcaz]

So who do we throw cash at to be out new assitant coach's


Who do we sack? Considering a couple have only just joined in 21.

Wests Tigers 2021 Football Department
Adam Hartigan — General Manager – Football
Michael Maguire — NRL Head Coach
Shane Millard — NRL Assistant Coach
Wayne Collins — NRL Assistant Coach
Andrew Gray — Head of Performance
Matthew Jay — NRL Performance Coach
Aaron Sculli — NRL Performance Coach
James Wright — NRL Football Manager and Leadership Consultant

Wayne Collins. Goodbye

Agreed. I wonder how much $$$ would be required to drag Ciraldo over?

There isn’t enough money in the world.

 

[twentyforty]

This review is taking as long as Australian post at the moment.

Apparently it’s finished, Madge looks like staying. We’ll hear more on Wednesday.

 

[TIGERPOWER]

Typical tigers. Nothing to see here, everything is hunky dory. How do we all stay on the pay role and keep riding the gravy train.

 

[yeahcaz]

Review has been completed & will be presented to the board by Wednesday. Madge appears to have survived the cut, not so much his assistants. The support staff will not be in Madge's complete control but more or less club appointed, with the review under lining that they are well past the current game.
Player support was high & will be a major supporting factoring in Madge staying.

Got stuff wrong before and I hope it’s the same with this.

Long, dragged out circus of a review with one outcome and that’s just to save face with the media. Expecting assistants to come in and improve this rabble is like asking the common man to turn water into wine. Madge will get sacked anyway so why are we choosing to delay the inevitable

 

[hobbo1]

Does that mean we get some new tales from Tiger town nxt yr?

9 part trilogy …
Spoiler .. Madge is Mandalorian

 

[Aceshigh]

You Beauty Madge , i for one am happy for him and think he can turn this rabble around .obviously not going to please a lot of the coaches we have here on the forum

 

[jirskyr]

The current strategy has failed. So we need a new strategy in any case, and new players to fit that strategy, so your point is mute.
The point is we need to develop a strategy that will work, and get players who will help us achieve that strategy. This can be done by any coach, who works in partnership with the football department who would ultimately define our strategies and goals.

It's not moot at all. Your comment, that I quoted, was we would have a "clean slate" if we got a new coach ahead of the upcoming pre-season. You said changing coaches "will make no difference". I disagree with that comment and I explained why.

Any new coach who has "new strategies" and gets "new players to achieve that strategy" still has to deal with the incumbents and the pre-existing culture / style. There's no such thing as a clean slate with a new coach.

You could just as easily argue that Maguire is in the process of getting players that will help him achieve his strategy, and that it's a workable long-term strategy. For example, Madge's best 3 players (Doueihi, Stefano, Laurie) have been at the club 2 years or less and are all 23 years old or younger. The counter-argument is obviously that he's had 3 years and that's enough to see what Madge is capable of.

But it's not a clean slate, it's messy and we need to acknowledge that.

 

[coivtny]

Six weeks ago I would have given anything to see Maguire punted but, unusually for me, I changed my mind and I'm prepared to let him have one more year. I think he's probably the best coach currently available with the exception of Bennett and Flanagan. I'd love Bennett but don't think he'll come back from Queensland and I rate Flanagan as a coach but, with the baggage he brings, he may be just too divisive for us. So it's Madge for 2022 but he rises or falls on results.

 

[jirskyr]

I don’t disagree with what you’ve said. However there will be more pain in 2022 and 2023 with a new coach. Think about some of the players who haven’t had a good year but are on long contracts with WT: Musgrove, Nofa, Brooks, Joffa etc. If the next coach doesn’t rate them, who’s to say they don’t become the new Packer, Reynolds, Mbye players who are either being shuffled around or playing reserve grade while taking up a chunk of the salary cap?

I agree that's the risk. That's what the club is currently weighing up - known risks of sacking of the coach vs proven bad performance. People love a cliché in here, things like "Blind Freddy" and "where there's smoke", so the cliché that applies here is: "better the devil you know".

Maybe a new coach better engages the existing roster, or maybe the new coach upsets/dismisses a portion of the existing roster and you need to wait out another few contract cycles to clean out the (new) dead wood. There is a lovely fantasy that new coaching energy turns a non-finals roster into a finals roster - personally I think it would be a stronger argument if we finished closer to the Top 8 in 2021, but it's a nice fantasy nonetheless. I had that fantasy when Ivan and Madge joined.

But hiring a new new coach means we need to accept known risks associated with Wests Tigers:
* The club has not played finals footy in a decade and that cannot be just down to any one coach, manager or roster snapshot.
* There are inherent issues within the club that a new coach almost certainly cannot overcome alone. Maybe a top top coach can just ride over the bumps, but we aren't in the market for a top top coach.
* Tigers have a significant number of players who simply may not ever be good enough, not under any guidance.

 

[hank37w]

Punt the chairman

I live how fitter has not been ripping into us this time round. Coincidence he stop since blues no 1 sponsor joined our board?

Mate, he is waiting for a job.

How does everyone think Fittler would go as an NRL coach?

I may be wrong, but I think Bare Foot Freddie would be a dud.

 

[jirskyr]

Player support was high … of course there is no ramifications for there failures on field and will continue to earn massive money .

I wouldn't accuse Madge of not dropping players - he's arguably the most pro-drop coach since and including Sheens. Doueihi didn't survive untouched, Brooks has been benched, Stefano was given a breather.

Also personally I think it's still a big risk for incumbent players - if the coach undergoes a review and survives, that means he's emboldened to cut into the playing roster. The Board will have spoken - they back the coach first and foremost. Look at what Sheens did to try and save his career circa 2012.

The real question you have to ask is - if the support for the coach was high, why weren't we seeing that translate into consistent performances on the field? I think many folks would rightly have assumed that the consistently ordinary output meant the players weren't putting in for the coach / club. Or maybe it simply means they just aren't a good enough side, even if they wanted to with all their hearts, to play consistent tough footy.

 

[JC99]

Sure glad we are sticking with a coach who is SO BAD tactically that the excuse being trotted out is the he needs high quality assistants next to him

If the tactics aren't his fault, and he can't keep the players happy what exactly does he offer? Halftime speeches that none of the players listen to?

Do you think the players would of lied about how they felt about him?

If asked by the media of course they would've. No player is publicly scrutinising their coach

 

[JC99]

Sure glad we are sticking with a coach who is SO BAD tactically that the excuse being trotted out is the he needs high quality assistants next to him

If the tactics aren't his fault, and he can't keep the players happy what exactly does he offer? Halftime speeches that none of the players listen to?

I dont think cleary could coach panthers defence without ciraldo as his assistant...

Assistants do play a big role in todays game IMHO

Having good assistants is for sure an advantage but people on here seem to blame only the assistants for our failings as if Madge isn't the guy who has the last say on everything

 

[Guest]

If it's Madge how about we all just support him and the team.
If it isn't how about we support the new guy and the team.
Fresh start for whoever it is.
The rest of the speculation and negativity is just tiresome now.
Personally I won't be making any comment on the coach until September.