I don't feel sorry for the guy at all. After working as a lower grade coach in the Dragons system for about 5 years and then as assistant to Bennett for three years, Price decided he would turn everything up-side-down to stamp his ideas of a new more entertaining 'offense' system. He did this without considering the skillset of the cattle he had and with the knowledge that players like Hornby, Young, Cooper and Fien were all very close to the used by date of their career.
All that was needed from a rookie coach was to recruit to ease in and replace the retiring players and those who were leaving the Club. So what did Price do instead?
1. He created a less strict environment for the players.
2. He took the focus off the 'brick wall defence' that the Dragons were so famous for.
3. He recruited fringe players 'with potential' without consideration for the players who were approaching their used by date, who were leaving the Club and/or the weaknesses in the roster.
4. He stubbornly persisted with his 'new attaching style plan? even though his squad were not up to it and the plan itself was nothing special.
5. Most significantly, he persisted with all of these changes even though it was very clear his plans were floored and key players in his squad did not have the required skillset to carry it out.
Maybe if the Club went for an aggressive recruitment plan for 2012, Price could have justified a progressive incremental change to the attacking structure however, there were no moves to ease in quality replacements for Hornby, Young, Boyd, Gasnier, Cooper etc. This was the time for renewal of the roster and instead the Club chose to scrimp on spending and direct funds to other priorities.
I don't attribute all the blame for this on Price. As a rookie coach - even with the best preparation any rookie could hope for - a great deal of the poor recruitment decisions has to be ponted towards Craig Young and Peter Doust. There were plenty of suitable recruits available to beaf up our roster over the past two seasons and for whatever reason, Price, Young and Doust have not delivered.
So it's time. It's time now for those who have failed to step aside and make way for someone else to have a go. The Board should now facilitate the replacement of Doust, Young and Price and if the members of the Board can't see their way clear to do this, then maybe they should resign as well.
Ideally, Price should be replaced this week by an older, more experienced coach who is capable of turning things around. If this is not possible, then I suggest the Club appoints a credible coach to take on the responsibility for the remainder of the season and at season end, the Club appoints either Tim Sheens or Brian Smith on a two year contract for the purpose of re-building our roster and re-shaping our playing style.
Steps should also be taken to separate the responsibilities of CEO and Football Manager. If the right Football Manager was hired, I believe the task of rebuilding would be made so much easier. The proposed Football Manager would be in charge of things like recruitment, coaching and player development. He would report directly to the Board and have to operate within a budget/salary cap.
