Re: Jimmy has a new job : Wed Jan 11, 2017 7:51 pm  

el red wrote:

and Ferres has got off scott free.

He may have left but a lot of people put the failure down to him as well. He firstly bought a massive squad (some of which never even pulled on a Bulls shirt) Then this year,after saying we were going with a smaller squad, he did the same. And all this after being installed by the RFL as a safe pair of hands to guide MG who had no rugby knpowledge whatsoever. And it should be remembered that MG was given the Bulls at the 11th hour after the RFL bumped an approved scheme to take control of the Bulls by Moore, Calvert and Watt

Re: Jimmy has a new job : Thu Jan 12, 2017 10:31 am  

Bulls Boy 2011 wrote:

Terry Price's knee wrote:

Not sure if I'm the same person you refer to - there were others near me shouting abuse. Lowes marched over to confront a guy who was indeed red faced - he then turned his attention to me and I gave him my opinion when he then threatened me. I'm not going to get into a debate about this (we have bigger things to worry about!) but I think the 2015 team underperformed massively due to his lack of coaching ability. His mate Karl Harrison's comments when he left the club spoke volumes about Lowes as a coach.

It wasn't a direct swipe at you but if the shoe fits! It was more of a general observation, I wasn't at the Shay but I was at a few games where people I know have shouted abuse at the players (Ferguson most notably) and Lowes. Only to be met with a similar reaction from Ferguson and Lowes (it shut them up) but then after the game played victim which really vexed me off.

I thought the 2015 team performed well throughout the season. 1 defeat in the first 19 games. When top 4 was secure and injuries set in we lost to Fev, Sheff (by 2) and Fax (by 4). Finished 2nd behind a quality Leigh side. When we got to the middle 8's we hammered Salford but struggled to maintain the intensity against SL sides due to not playing at that intensity week in week out. In all fairness the Widnes and Hull KR squad of that year were quality! Hull KR were CC runners up! Then we secured our place in £1mill match which rendered the Fax game a dead rubber (rested a lot of players).

Even in the £1million game we were within two points with 4 mins to go. Just was one of those games. All in all a quality season. Granted Lowes selection of Baile at hooker and playing Mendieka throughout the season were questionable but even the likes of Noble and other top coaches have made selections errors before.

Harrison did have a few choice words about Lowes. He's probably right too about his arrogance and attitude as a coach, I always loved how he was honest and spoke his mind in interviews, no nonsense, it was brilliant. But the on field results are what counts. And we were inches off being promoted at the first chance under Lowes (he wasn't helped by Ferres or the off field going ons). On the field Rohan failed to deliver last season, he coached us to 5 losses during the season including a nilling against Fev where he made a bigger coaching error than Lowes ever did by not selecting O'Brien. He essentially cost us the top 4, more money and a shot a promotion. And even in the Champ Shield he coached us to a loss against Workington for the first time in 20-30+ years. Yet people bag Lowes and love Rohan?

For the record I absolutely love Rohan and have huge optimism for him and what he has done and what he will do (hopefully) at the Bradford club. But to say Lowes was a bad coach? For me he needed a free reign without Ferres hovering over him. Plus it was he first proper coaching gig in RL. As in over 20 games coaching for one club. So really still learning.

We can argue about Lowes merits as a coach until the cows (or preferably the Bulls) come home. Personally I felt with the resources he had at his disposal we should have been more consistent - and arguably wouldn't be in our current predicament. At times the team in 2015 and 2016 loooked clueless. Yes I agree that Rohan has also has his difficulties - noticeably at Featherstone, but he hasn't had the time the Lowes was given to put things right yet.
The thing that Rohan does posess in abundance, and to me is essential for a modern day head coach, is an ability to stay calm and level headed, especially when dealing with the media and supporters. I had the good fortune to work within the professional game for a spell and was able to observe some of the top coaches at close quarters. None of them would have dreamed of getting involved in verbal skirmishes with fans at the end of a game, but simply shaken their heads and walked away. Lowes' hot headedness may have endeared him to some, and undoubtedly was an asset on the field of play, but in my opinion will always be his undoing as a head coach.

[Bulliac]

Re: Jimmy has a new job : Thu Jan 12, 2017 10:47 am  

Bulls Boy 2011 wrote:

Interesting that people these days like to play the victim without recognizing their actions and how that might have contributed to the situation.

And so he shouldn't. These players are getting paid a lot to play. They shouldn't need a arm around them, okay if they have played really well and been beaten then fair enough an arm around them, but at times we played poor. Lowes approach to not putting his arm around them is right, if players need that then maybe they are in the wrong profession. I know a lot of our bosses wouldn't be like this if we did our jobs poorly. Lowes main problem was that he acted more like a friend to the players, rather than a boss.

That's fair enough, in some ways BB, and I know RL isn't a game for 'shrinking violets', but that is really just the physical side of it, and, to be right, let's be honest, over the years there have been any number of really skillful players who never really 'fancied' getting too 'involved'.

Being a coach or manager [in any job] is as much about man management as it is about imparting knowledge. Man management, means getting the best out of your charges and treating them individually, in such a manner as to get them to give their best. You can't treat everyone alike, except in the sense that you treat all of them in the best way to get the best from them. Some people need a rocket up their backsides to get the best out of them, some need gentle encouragement, some may respond better to simply being told they've let you down, and, yes...some may well need an arm around their shoulder from time to time. It goes without saying that you also need a coach who knows the difference.

Re: Jimmy has a new job : Fri Jan 13, 2017 9:02 am  

HamsterChops wrote:

I will continue to remember Jimmy as the best hooker I've ever seen in a Bradford shirt. I choose to pretend he never went into coaching.

We do the same thing with Karl Harrison