Robbie Farah..Discussion Thread.....

[Tigermama]

I speak to the father of a current first grader and a favourite of many here from the 80s and 90s….he reckons Farah is an egotistical wanker

I had personal dealings with a host of the big name players of those eras and can tell you there were plenty of egotistical wankers amongst them - in fact most of them :laughing: (but not the one I think you're talking about- a truly nice bloke)

True. I thought the role of an NRL coach was to be able to coral and massage all the egos in the dressing sheds into a coherent and effective team. Sheens was excellent at it. Taylor does not possess people management or communication skills and this is a major deficiency, among many, in his "coaching".

You're right Paws. JT seems to be lacking in that department. But he's very good with PowerPoint Presentations. :mrgreen:

 

[Spartan117]

Taylor is still the way forward for this club at this point in time. At the very least he has should courage to make some big decisions that will result in the fortunes of this club turning around.

i.e. - Galvanise defense, Remove Deadwood fringe players, Allow players that are not interested in the long term to move on. Free up salary space if possible in relation to allowing RF to potentially move on.

Execution has not been perfect, Hindsight is always perfect.

 

[Tigermama]

All that the Robbie / Jason saga has really achieved, is turn fans against each other.
Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, and see it differently from their perspective.
No one is right or wrong.

The most evident factor from all this, regardless of whether Robbie or Jason are with the club, is that **we all want to see wests tigers succeed, and given the best possible chance to do so.** 😛ray:

100% Right TAH. :slight_smile:

 

[Tigermama]

Keep Robbie, get Cleary as head coach would be the most obvious option and the only way to turn this all into a positive! Only in dreams. Tigers are not that clever.

Agreed. The argument that it will cost too much to pay Taylor out is a fallacy. The truth is the cost of keeping Taylor in relation to the ongoing damage to the WTs' branch far outweighs the cost of paying him out.

One of them best and most accurate posts so far in this marathon thread .
Another year of him and the rescue of this basket case club will be a lot harder.
It seems that At least Pascoe is aware of that , and is keeping Taylor in check at the moment.

There's damage either way you look at it. One is a financial and PR disaster, the other is potentially a long term disaster.

Shaft Robbie: Get many fans offside, memberships drop (which financially isn't a significant issue considering how little membership revenue is compared to NRL money/sponsorship etc,) cap impact, negative publicity.

Shaft JT: Get some fans offside, but most importantly creating a perception that WT is a club that doesn't allow coaches to see out what they've started and that they cave into fan/player power. It will be near on impossible for this club to attract a well qualified coach while ever we're performing poorly on the field for this reason, we don't wait for results to present. I've seen Wests fans asking to sack JT for, wait for it, the Walker boys. It would take years for them to coach a team to their style of football where the majority of the players have been brought up in NRL coaching systems that require heavily structured football. We'd be calling for their heads after the first year. The point is that it's not conducive to long term success as the good coaches will give us a wide berth while we perpetually sift through second rate coaches who will not get the absolute best out of our squad, unless we jag a young coach looking for an opportunity to impress who happens to be willing to risk it on us because he can't get a start elsewhere. This is just as, if not more IMO, damaging to us than sacking a club great, particularly in the long term.

There's no winners in this situation at the moment. Good post CB.

 

[GNR4LIFE]

Wonder what our sponsors are thinking about this circus going on for this long,
Wonder if they had a refund clause added to their contract
They must love seeing the Coach trying to shaft the Captain, before he even found out if anyone could still afford to buy him.

Haha nice try. The deal was announced after the coach tried to "shaft" the captain. If it was that much of an issue, I'm sure they.'d have backed out.

 

[The_Tooth]

_It is believed Robinson’s main priority was always the **harmony of his squad**. While the move would have further strengthened the Roosters’ already powerful roster, the last thing the coach wanted to do was unsettle Friend, who has tremendous respect among his teammates._

Obviously something Taylor didn't pick up on during his time at the Roosters.
No mater if moving Farah is better for the team or not it was a DUMB DUMB move by Taylor and the club. Especially the timing leaving Farah with very few options.

In my opinion its Taylor that has to go. He doesn't have the full respect of the players that he needs. We are a sinking ship with him there, Farah gone or not.

 

[angry_ant]

_It is believed Robinson’s main priority was always the **harmony of his squad**. While the move would have further strengthened the Roosters’ already powerful roster, the last thing the coach wanted to do was unsettle Friend, who has tremendous respect among his teammates._

Obviously something Taylor didn't pick up on during his time at the Roosters.
No mater if moving Farah is better for the team or not it was a DUMB DUMB move by Taylor and the club. **Especially the timing leaving Farah with very few options.**

In my opinion its Taylor that has to go. He doesn't have the full respect of the players that he needs. We are a sinking ship with him there, Farah gone or not.

Absolute Nonsense! Farah's manager knew of this on 31st July. There are plenty of players (including paid higher than Farah) whom have managed a contract for the next season much later than after July. e.g. Sam Burgess 2016, Michael Jennings in 2013.

It is just an excuse that the media and some supporters have blindly latched onto to try to explain why no other club is interested in Farah! If he was good enough and was wanted by a team, clubs would release players to sign him. Look at Manly with Taupau etc, look at Brisbane last year with Blair, Milford, Boyd, hell both these teams managed to change half their squad in a few months of signing a new coach.

I was a big fan of Farah prob up until the "stress" leave incident with Tallis. After everything that has been said and done over the last 4 years I just want him gone and the sooner the better, so the sniping stops and we get out of the press.

 

[ghost]

The thing I liked about Cleary was that he encouraged the Riff to use the ball and attack.

He could be a win for us.

But what if he doesn't want Farah? He has a history of moving club legends on.

People are advocating Cleary as a saviour, and hey, I think he's the most underrated coach of the last decade, but it's a 2 way street. Who says he even wants to come here? Why would any coach, especially one of the quality of Cleary want to come here if we discard Taylor in the next 6-9 months? I'm sure he'd see the way we behead coaches at the first sign of trouble a comfort I'm sure.

Im assuming he would take pretty much any first grade job,there arent too many on offer and i agree he is very underrated.

 

[Sabre]

You gotta laugh at the fact the club in it's original press release on the matter said:

The Club intends on treating Farah with the upmost respect during this process and will make no further comment until his playing future is decided.

 

[Eddie]

Some fans and media like Paul Kent have tried to paint Farah as someone who is unpopular among his team mates. Which looks like it could not be further from truth from quotes from a number of players and reactions in the last 2 games.

Although I did like Benji's honest insight into the type of character Farah could be in his younger days. To be honest, it made me like Farah more. While the boys club were hanging out and moving on after another loss Farah wouldn't talk to them for 2 days. It was a soft culture under Sheens and thats where the boys club began.

In some respects its poor leadership but I still think if we had more characters like Robbie over the year we would be better off not worse off. Guys like Chris Lawrence are worshipped on here but he has played about 10 good games since 2011 and spent half the time on the sideline. But he's a good bloke.

Rowdy is a better "Bloke" than Farah - That is my definite opinion.

Whether he has played 1 good game and Farah has played 200.

Thanks for proving my point!

 

[GNR4LIFE]

I don't think he's the kind of coach who will take anything on offer. He's proven, he can afford to wait for the right time and club.

 

[larrycorowa]

No-one wants Farah…..ayoub is now conducting a media circus to hide this fact.....dragging our club through the mud.

Play him in nsw cup and then he might think twice about limiting his option to Syd based clubs with title credentials. He is a great fit for Gold Coast or warriors, Knights, raiders. We are under no obligation to play him in first grade....if his soo aspirations expire early watch him scurry to England. He doesn't give a rats about WT it's all about robbie.

 

[jirskyr]

_It is believed Robinson’s main priority was always the **harmony of his squad**. While the move would have further strengthened the Roosters’ already powerful roster, the last thing the coach wanted to do was unsettle Friend, who has tremendous respect among his teammates._

Obviously something Taylor didn't pick up on during his time at the Roosters.
No mater if moving Farah is better for the team or not it was a DUMB DUMB move by Taylor and the club. Especially the timing leaving Farah with very few options.

In my opinion its Taylor that has to go. He doesn't have the full respect of the players that he needs. We are a sinking ship with him there, Farah gone or not.

Oh you mean the harmony of their team, in terms of working behind closed doors to try and secure a rep-level hooker, then pulling the plug when your current hooker gets wind of it and starts his own internal club power-play.

How is Jake Friend's "harmony" right now?

Basically they have a very competent player and they decided not to rock the boat too much by buying another one. But team harmony would have been of lower concern if we were talking about Jake Friend in the first year or two of his career.

God forbid the club ever makes any decisions that not all the players like.

 

[The_Tooth]

_It is believed Robinson’s main priority was always the **harmony of his squad**. While the move would have further strengthened the Roosters’ already powerful roster, the last thing the coach wanted to do was unsettle Friend, who has tremendous respect among his teammates._

Obviously something Taylor didn't pick up on during his time at the Roosters.
No mater if moving Farah is better for the team or not it was a DUMB DUMB move by Taylor and the club. **Especially the timing leaving Farah with very few options.**

In my opinion its Taylor that has to go. He doesn't have the full respect of the players that he needs. We are a sinking ship with him there, Farah gone or not.

Absolute Nonsense! Farah's manager knew of this on 31st July. There are plenty of players (including paid higher than Farah) whom have managed a contract for the next season much later than after July. e.g. Sam Burgess 2016, Michael Jennings in 2013.

It is just an excuse that the media and some supporters have blindly latched onto to try to explain why no other club is interested in Farah! If he was good enough and was wanted by a team, clubs would release players to sign him. Look at Manly with Taupau etc, look at Brisbane last year with Blair, Milford, Boyd, hell both these teams managed to change half their squad in a few months of signing a new coach.

I was a big fan of Farah prob up until the "stress" leave incident with Tallis. After everything that has been said and done over the last 4 years I just want him gone and the sooner the better, so the sniping stops and we get out of the press.

Fair enough but why does the club wait until round 25 to announce their intentions. DUMB!
The players you mentioned, can't be compared to Farah, they all have plenty of years left in the game. We all know Farah is a one or at best 2 year option. Just about every club in the comp would have been interested in securing them - long term.

I'm not saying that moving Farah on isn't best for the long term of the team, nor do I think he's worth the coin, but the way our club has handled this is not well planned or thought out. They must have realised there wouldn't be much interest in him at his age and it was always going to be us paying the majority of his contract if he's at another club. "You'll be playing NSW cup" speaks volumes of the way it was poorly handled - that in its self is one of the most disgraceful things I've heard said to a player of such standing and services to our club.

My concern is how this has affected the rest of the team in regards to respect for the coach and the harmony front the boardroom down to the players. I wouldn't blame players for wanting out first chance they get.

I'd be fine with both Farah and Taylor leaving but even if Farah goes this issue will always be lingering whilst Taylor is there. It cannot be repaired imo without a new coach.
Not to mention the board and Marina Go. Heads need to roll there too. I'm all for backing the head coach with his player roster but again, why didn't somebody stop and think for a second about the ramifications. I assume they think this was just going to happen with ease. DUMB!
It should have been sorted out in house with the sort of options they are now offering Farah - 1 more year, then another club and back in some ambassador role.

Pascoe is the only one that is making sensible decisions (not in the best interest of the club to release him = bad financial decision). I feel for the bloke becuase he is left to put the house back in order, through decisions made before his time. Lets just hope he can sort it out, otherwise we might see another Brian Smith review.

Its not ideal and I see the argument for letting Taylor see out his long term plans, but a new coach ASAP is the only true fix imo for team harmony. Taylor's living on borrowed time in any case.

 

[Cultured_Bogan]

I don't think he's the kind of coach who will take anything on offer. He's proven, he can afford to wait for the right time and club.

That's if he hasn't already inked a deal that we don't know about, hence his surprisingly hasty exit from Penrith.

 

[hammertime]

I'm not saying that moving Farah on isn't best for the long term of the team, nor do I think he's worth the coin, but the way our club has handled this is not well planned or thought out. They must have realised there wouldn't be much interest in him at his age and it was always going to be us paying the majority of his contract if he's at another club. "You'll be playing NSW cup" speaks volumes of the way it was poorly handled - that in its self is one of the most disgraceful things I've heard said to a player of such standing and services to our club.

The way I saw that is that it was said ONLY after the whole thing was leaked to the media. Farah brought the club into major disrepute by doing that and probably deserved everything that was said to him.

The club has always had held the high ground here and have bit their tongue constantly as far as I'm concerned. Have they ever mentioned anything that Farah said to them? NO. Going on history, what he said about Potter was far worse! To denounce the coach is horrendous compared to telling a player that Reserve Grade is looming if they don't smarten up. Both were said behind closed doors. I have no idea how Robbie comes up smelling like Roses.

and do you really think they wouldn't have threatened that off the cuff? Taylor is nothing but positive in any interview I've seen.

Before Robbie and Ayoub decided to go to the press, it all could have been handled behind closed doors (Like Lawrence) and we wouldn't have had this massive thread!! They are the ones at fault and deserve far more said to them than a random threat of playing reserve grade.

 

[The_Tooth]

There sure is a split between us fans on this topic. Each to their own and although I'm probably favouring the Farah side i do understand he is somewhat of a problem as history proves this.

That said, whoever is to blame its been terrible for the club and shows a lack of foresight in this decision. It will forever leave Taylor on the outer with Farah's loyal teammates imo (especially the younger more impressionable players).

Talk back radio has been going nuts and I've never heard our club being bagged so much. I truly fear for the future of our club as we are dead set front runners for culling or moving interstate if that becomes an NRL discussion.

Its a no win situation with Farah and Taylor at the club. I don't see it working out without Farah gone and Taylor still there as the respsect for him by the players will have diminished.

Ideally they both go and Cleary comes in, but financially we lose out no matter if Farah goes as we'll be paying him to play for another club. Sure it will cost us paying out Taylor too, but this would have to be a better financial option. I'm confident that a player pole would have the majority wanting Cleary to replace Taylor. It just seems they dont respsect his gameplans or his man management. Pretty sure thats the first two things a successful coach ticks off. Taylor failure on both parts so far.

Only time will tell I guess.

 

[batboy]

I'm not saying that moving Farah on isn't best for the long term of the team, nor do I think he's worth the coin, but the way our club has handled this is not well planned or thought out. They must have realised there wouldn't be much interest in him at his age and it was always going to be us paying the majority of his contract if he's at another club. "You'll be playing NSW cup" speaks volumes of the way it was poorly handled - that in its self is one of the most disgraceful things I've heard said to a player of such standing and services to our club.

The way I saw that is that it was said ONLY after the whole thing was leaked to the media. Farah brought the club into major disrepute by doing that and probably deserved everything that was said to him.

The club has always had held the high ground here and have bit their tongue constantly as far as I'm concerned. Have they ever mentioned anything that Farah said to them? NO. Going on history, what he said about Potter was far worse! To denounce the coach is horrendous compared to telling a player that Reserve Grade is looming if they don't smarten up. Both were said behind closed doors. I have no idea how Robbie comes up smelling like Roses.

and do you really think they wouldn't have threatened that off the cuff? Taylor is nothing but positive in any interview I've seen.

Before Robbie and Ayoub decided to go to the press, it all could have been handled behind closed doors (Like Lawrence) and we wouldn't have had this massive thread!! They are the ones at fault and deserve far more said to them than a random threat of playing reserve grade.

Same when the crap came out about what he said about Potter…. Somehow it was all twisted around like it was the CEO's fault and the CEO should have made a statement to defend him...

HOW?

How does he garner such support? Why should the CEO or anyone else have to defend something that is said by the club captain to a media personality? And then Farah has the front to get on TV and say he felt he was hard done by from the club...
And he still has supporters who think he is hard done by again?

it beggars belief....

 

[Pawsandclaws]

You gotta laugh at the fact the club in it's original press release on the matter said:

The Club intends on treating Farah with the upmost respect during this process and will make no further comment until his playing future is decided.

Yes, I'm glad you mention this because the news.com.au article on the previous page states this -

"Tigers coach Jason Taylor recently said he and Farah had worked through the majority of their issues. While that might be Taylor’s take on their relationship, it is hard to see how Farah could possibly view that as the case **given the disrespect the club has shown him in recent months**."

No doubt Pascoe has considered moving Taylor sideways into a lesser position, sort of like Farah giving up the captaincy, so a new coach can be appointed.

 

[goldcoast_tiger]

Tactically Cleary gave Taylor a complete bath when we played them!

He saw a weakness early and exploited the hell out of it while Taylor just let it happen,again and again.

Completely schooled.

No, give Taylor credit where it's due.
Taylor was about to Spring a master stroke by plugging the weakness with our big tackling Hooker, then got snarky , when said injured Hooker pointed out ,that as his hand was broken, (which kept him out of several games ) it might be a mistake to be placed at centre in defence.
Ahh, it's comforting to have such a innovative , observant coach.
That's why other clubs are so envious of us having a coach that is so "special".