Sack Adam O'Brien

[ryan.a87]

The walk out was because they asked ponga about the lunch….he gave them nothing…..so other journos followed it up with about 4 questions in a row about his contract

walk out was justified, the questions were so dumb and frustrating

 

[Joel-22]

My issue is aside from being fitter and benefiting from playing and training together for the last few seasons - we are the same side Nathan Brown put together.
Do not buy the media narrative that Nathan Brown achieved nothing and that Adam Obrien came along and turned us from a reserve grade side into title contenders.
Obrien’s insistence on “defence wins games” line in every interview he does is made comical in light of a) our defence is at best inconsistent and b) everyone on this forum is in agreement our attack is absolute shithouse. Ponga hasn’t added a single string to his bow since his first game with us. Best is still being used as a battering ram. And up until Joey came on board our plan was 1 out, 1 out, 1 out, 1 out midfield chip-bomb.
Look what Fitzgibbon has done for Cronulla in 1 pre-season.
Watson, King and now Barnett (maybe Ponga) leaving makes me think… how many players who have been vocal about their commitment to the club have to leave before we realise they don’t want to play for this bloke? The last two games, everyone aside from Mann (bag his talent but he’s the most competitive player in our squad) and Friz have looked totally disinterested. Exhibit a = do the Saifitis plan on being regarded as first graders by the end of the year? Or do they plan on taking the Sharon Woods route.

 

[mozza91]

I don’t see the point of sacking him when there’s nobody better available. I detest Shane Flanagan and don’t want him near our club.
He’s had 2 years and 2 finals appearances which after 7 years of not making the finals is definitely a pass mark.

 

[Joel-22]

I definitely agree. But we need to be in the market now. In all of Australia and even pockets of the UK, there has to be a better option than O’brien. The man’s sole focus has been defence and we just got 30 points put on us in the wet by a Turbo-less Manly at home

 

[Joel-22]

Sorry didn’t read your entire post. Disagree with your appraisal of his accomplishments with us. Nathan Brown all but gift-wrapped a top 8 side to him. Say what you want, he inherited a strong squad

 

[Bensen]

Roughly 300 lads get to play NRL every weekend out of thousands that would give their souls to.

The talent pool cannot be that shallow.

The difference in my opinion comes down to coaching and club culture.

 

[mozza91]

Sorry didn’t read your entire post. Disagree with your appraisal of his accomplishments with us. Nathan Brown all but gift-wrapped a top 8 side to him. Say what you want, he inherited a strong squad

A squad that Brown wasn’t able to make the finals with and with far fewer injuries aswell.
Probably says more about Brown than O’Brien to be fair but I think O’Brien has done a decent job so far.

 

[Joel-22]

A squad that Brown wasn’t able to make the finals with and with far fewer injuries aswell.
Probably says more about Brown than O’Brien to be fair but I think O’Brien has done a decent job so far.

What you’ve said is true but I’m genuinely curious to hear your honest response to the following for the sake of argument; Nathan Brown arrives for the first time to Newcastle as head coach in place of Adam O’Brien’s arrival. He inherits the same squad, facilities and expectations that O’Brien inherited when he came here. Do you think we make the 8 that year? I tend to lean towards yes.
Just to be clear, Browny was never going to coach us beyond a side that makes up the numbers in the top 8. My point is just that O’Brien really hasn’t achieved much when you consider what had to happen for us to scrape into the 8 since he’s been here.

 

[Knight Tales]

I was genuinely surprised the club did not go with Woolfy. I think things would be handled a lot differently under him. While St Helens is a strong club to inherit, it is very obvious under Woolfy that they play a level above anyone else in that competition. They are ruthless.

 

[Knight76]

Aug 24 2019, I started a sack Obrien thread knowing this day would come.

Sacking Obrien now would be west tigersesque.

Obrien didnt drop the ball all first half against manly.

There are things I don't agree with but sacking OB now would be a mistake.

 

[The Axe of Druss]

If we sack AOB without lining up a better replacement, we can say goodbye to being a desirable destination for good players.

The more pressing need is to oversee a complete overhaul of our junior system. Developing skills is more important than winning games at junior level, because if we are to look at our current local players we’re failing miserably in that department.

Developing a consistent system across all grades is the key. Players coming from juniors through Cup and into first grade should know their roles and how to play within any of the teams. It's exactly what the successful clubs do and it starts with all of the coaching staff being on the same page, working off the same playbook

Not sure AOB is the guy to provide that playbook unfortunately

 

[Jono078]

I'm not in the "sack him right now" category because we have shown early signs that we've made improvements and have since been knocked around by injuries and suspension, which I guess that in itself you can question his roster management if you wanted to.

Would definitely reevaluate by mid-season though.

 

[Old dog]

He isn’t going bad enough to sack right now and depending on finish and how we go if we have all injured back then it will maybe considered but only if we have a suitable replacement. I am not a fan of Obi

 

[Sime_11]

who would you prefer to keep more - AOB or Ponga?

will Ponga be the million dollar player you all hope he will be?

 

[Seage]

But AOB is a good knockabout bloke that reminds us of the Newy community and Kalyn trains hard so they should both get upgraded and extended deals to ward off poachers. And we should announce that is our intention before we sit down to negotiate so they know we are a well run club.

 

[Knight Tales]

The issue is we are using the fact we made the 8 for 2 years running as some sort of success criteria. It is not.

 

[Yosh]

I don’t see the point of sacking him when there’s nobody better available. I detest Shane Flanagan and don’t want him near our club.
He’s had 2 years and 2 finals appearances which after 7 years of not making the finals is definitely a pass mark.

Let's say hypothetically, we lost one more game in each of those seasons and came 9th. Say we only lost that game by a point.

If AOB's record was 2 straight 9th place finishes, would you still defend him? Is it still a pass mark?

 

[9701]

Let's say hypothetically, we lost one more game in each of those seasons and came 9th. Say we only lost that game by a point.

If AOB's record was 2 straight 9th place finishes, would you still defend him? Is it still a pass mark?

The Tigers would poach him

 

[macavity]

Not sure what we need to "fix" our club. But a new coach from the available options probably doesn't do it.

Literally the only thing I can think of is offer Bellamy $5m a year to come here, but even then he probably has a heart attack a few games in.

 

[perverse]

I still think the town itself is the problem. The bubble, the special treatment/local stardom, etc. The reason why locals worked out in the past is they found motivation outside of and beyond that and were self-driven. The rest just get comfy in the bubble and enjoy a nice day at the beach or game of golf the next day after a loss.

I've written huge posts on it in the past... and nothing has changed my opinion. Newcastle is just an easy place to coast along in.