As a Wigan fan i was shocked to see him linked with Leeds earlier this week


I personally dont rate him as a coach, but he has achieved silverware with Catalan. However, given the resources he's had at his disposal i think there should have been more. I think he's very much of the Noble mould, big boppers in all positions and bash your way to victory, and coaching has moved on now


I think Brad Arthur is doing a good job of getting you back into contention for silverware albeit he hasnt won anything yet, but if he leaves i dont think McNamara is the right person to continue that trend for you. We've seen over the last 15-20 years or so, that getting recruitment both from a coaching and playing perspective is crucial to ongoing success. Wigan got it wrong a few years back and more recently Saints and Leeds have done the same. If you get the succession planning wrong, it can be years in the doldrums (so to speak) and making up the numbers. Wigan let players go on too long by letting sentiment get in the way, and then you are left with someone who doesnt contribute as they used to, and struggling to find replacements. Saints are in this position now. They have let Walmsley, Lomax, LMS, Paasi, Hurrell and others stay at the club without having suitable replacements, and then they are now signing Sailor, Feldt, Cross (mid season cos of Salfords troubles), Mbye etc who arent good enough for Saints. Wellens is clinging on the by skin of his teeth at the minute, but it wouldnt be a surprise if he goes. Then its back to another rebuilding job for the next coach


So if Brad Arthur does go, its a big decision for Blease to find the right replacement for your club. It needs to be the right person, and one that can handle a club of the size of Leeds and expectations that come with it

He seems to speak well Langley but its a big risk him taking over if Arthur goes. I would feel much happier if he could work under Arthur for another year at least.

I wonder whether the compromise might be another year for BA with some kind of release clause trigger. I suspect the majority of the improvements that are now apparent were achieved pre season, and another dose of the same might take us to the next level. That approach might at least give us a flexible plan A and a plan B if required.

A good shout is this. It's likely that there will be a number of NRL opportunities for BA in the near future though, so timing may be against us even for that.  

I'm sure there will be, but the harsh reality from BA's point of view is that (as the Perth job proved) he's not the only coach who's looking for a job. If he was really desperate to get back to the NRL at all costs he could probably easily land a role as an assistant, but maybe he's been top dog too log to countenance that? One thing is for sure, personal stuff aside, he gives every appearance of loving his current job. That makes a difference in any walk of life. 

I think the Saints game underlines why we need at least another year of Arthur, or a top coach who shares his vision, to make sure that the changes of this season really bed in and become part of the culture. An appointment like McNamara could easily see this hard work being undone within 3-6 months of taking over, or even passing the reins to an unproven Langley (see Wellens/Woolf).