Give Brent a chance

Thread starter #1
I am really enjoying the hockey since Brent stepped in. It is totally different to watch, and there is real oomph on the ice now.

Even better, we seem to have grasped the concept of playing all 3 periods, not just the 1st and 3rd, and also of having a Plan B. Twice now I have seen a lousy 1st period and a different team has come out for the 2nd and we have won.

I would love to see Brent as our coach moving forward. Sometimes it's nice to see the doubters proved wrong.
 
#2
BBW said:
I am really enjoying the hockey since Brent stepped in. It is totally different to watch, and there is real oomph on the ice now.

Even better, we seem to have grasped the concept of playing all 3 periods, not just the 1st and 3rd, and also of having a Plan B. Twice now I have seen a lousy 1st period and a different team has come out for the 2nd and we have won.

I would love to see Brent as our coach moving forward. Sometimes it's nice to see the doubters proved wrong.
So are we playing well in all three periods of a game or are we lousy in the first period?? Not sure which you mean.

I have to agree tho, something has definitely changed for the better in the last 6 weeks or so, the style of hockey is much improved, the commitment can be seen from all the players, obviously losing LaCosta was a big hit but the boys have responded well. If this change in emphasis is down to Brent then yes he deserves a chance, if it is down to Faulkner for the way he is training the side then maybe he deserves the chance as player coach, but either way it certainly makes match night far more enjoyable at the BBT
 
Thread starter #3
That's where plan B is showing. If we dont play well, we sort it now.

different issue to flat 2nd, didn't make my self very clear there.
 

Temme

Well-Known Member
#4
Brent has said himself he is looking for a new coach next year.

I think everyone can see Brent brings a better brand of hockey, but if the man doesn't want to job then there's not a great deal we can do.
 
#5
Whatever has happened since Brent has stepped in has worked. I don't know why people are complaining so much, this is the team we were expecting more at the beginning of the season. Right?
 
#6
14th Oct Hill Gassed for 'under performing' looking to bring in new blood.
15th Oct. G benched to focus on coaching. Franny to the stands. quest for a on ice replacement of G begins.
26th/27th G plays one last game. Club announce no new players will be brought in.

30th G & Franny forced out. Pope takes over.
8th Kurka the highest paid Devil under the current management is announced.
12th Conboy is Gassed.
19th Joonas is announced.

So we have Gassed three players, a coach and a bench coach. We also lost Dan La Costa, and replaced him with Phil Cook within days with a NM that looks like he will keep us in games.

Surprising the difference support from the off ice team can make to the on ice.

But what is the point in discussing who will be coach, it will make little difference for the forcible future as they will be little more than puppets of R&P. As an onlooker it appears to me that if you are not a yes man/woman in this organisation you get shown the door.
 

Slartibartfast

Well-Known Member
#7
toy_car_uk said:
As an onlooker it appears to me that if you are not a yes man/woman in this organisation you get shown the door.
Or another less political and simpler way of looking at it is if you don't perform you are shown the door.
 

KaneDevils

Well-Known Member
#8
toy_car_uk said:
14th Oct Hill Gassed for 'under performing' looking to bring in new blood.
15th Oct. G benched to focus on coaching. Franny to the stands. quest for a on ice replacement of G begins.
26th/27th G plays one last game. Club announce no new players will be brought in.

30th G & Franny forced out. Pope takes over.
8th Kurka the highest paid Devil under the current management is announced.
12th Conboy is Gassed.
19th Joonas is announced.
Don't forget Adam Ross too.

During the demise of Adams and Franny I moved house, and what with one thing and another, I was without the internet for some time. My mobile contract is cheap and therefor don't use it to browse, so I rather lost touch with events.
I thought most people liked Brent? Where has the anger towards him come from? Do some blame him for pushing G out? Surely it's more than about his hat(s)?
But many wanted a change anyway didn't they? Quite a few fans were disgruntled under Adams' leadership. The awful PP, no plan B, etc.
Things are looking good, except our current league position, but that should improve the way things are going.
Many seem to think G was mistreated, as stated, my finger was off the pulse so i don't know. It is a results based business though, and at the time, we were quite awful, players underperforming etc. (later learned via the Inferno, word of mouth, etc)

So what exactly is the problem?
 
#9
1) A lot of people seem to confuse results with performance. This season we have had a number of great performances, with poor results. We have also had a good number of good results with poor performances.
2) If G had been given the resource to sign Kurka would we be where we are?
3) If a better NM had been brought in to cover Dan La Costa while injured the first 2 times he was injured would results have been better?
4) If R&P had supported G like Pope is getting supported now, and not undermined him both publicly and privately at every possible opportunity would we be even discussing this now?
 
#10
Adam ross didnt know what a check was. Hill didnt know where the net was. Hills points were shocking. Hes worse for shuff too. No brainer for me. Conboy was a joke. Shame really. So we lost ross for Morissette and hill for joonas and conboy for kurka... as a fanl im happy with that !!
 
#11
You know what?...I don't care who or why or when or whatever....

The Devils right now are playing how we want them to play. Come down the BBT and see it in action. Forget the politics...watch the team!

Go Devils!
 

DevilDom

Well-Known Member
#12
toy_car_uk said:
1) A lot of people seem to confuse results with performance. This season we have had a number of great performances, with poor results. We have also had a good number of good results with poor performances.
2) If G had been given the resource to sign Kurka would we be where we are?
3) If a better NM had been brought in to cover Dan La Costa while injured the first 2 times he was injured would results have been better?
4) If R&P had supported G like Pope is getting supported now, and not undermined him both publicly and privately at every possible opportunity would we be even discussing this now?
Spot on Baz.
 

Ocko

Well-Known Member
#14
toy_car_uk said:
1) A lot of people seem to confuse results with performance. This season we have had a number of great performances, with poor results. We have also had a good number of good results with poor performances.
2) If G had been given the resource to sign Kurka would we be where we are?
3) If a better NM had been brought in to cover Dan La Costa while injured the first 2 times he was injured would results have been better?
4) If R&P had supported G like Pope is getting supported now, and not undermined him both publicly and privately at every possible opportunity would we be even discussing this now?
I'd be interested to know what games you thought we had great performances with bad results. I can't think of any under G. Poor performances and poor results.

If Adams had the resources for Kurka he wouldn't have signed anyone near that ability. His eyes eyes are fixed firmly to the western side of the globe; he only signed one European player in his entire time as coach (Petriko, who was already playing here) so he wouldn't have got that value for money. Also, Adams firmly believed we needed a stay at home D man at the time, not offence, so chances are we would still have the boring hockey we had at the beginning of the season. We probably wouldn't have had the funding either, while he was still signing his mate Phil Hill on top wages we would never have been able to sign Morrisette and Kurka. Phil hasn't got it anymore (some question whether he ever did), he is a 4th liner at Sheffield and barely gets a shift and we were paying him top wages - that surely wasn't for the good of the team or club?

Lacosta's injury wasn't long term under G, just temporary. We aren't a club with finances to pay import net minders - only a very small amount of clubs can. I don't think there is anything more the club could have been expected to do. It's all hypothetical; while Lacosta was out with Pope in charge we only lost 1 game against Braehead which was already lost. It's like arguing Pope had better tactics when Myers was in - which I'm sure you don't want to hear.

Of course Pope is going to get support off Ragan, any new manager would off the owner initially and would continue to do so providing they had results. PR obviously thought that Adams wasn't producing the goods, which he is entitled to do he is the owner after all and lets be honest the fan base was divided on this too. Growing numbers of people thought that G has taken us as far as he could've and I'm sure a vast number of people would have done the same, not in the same manner (which was a dark time for the club) but the show goes on. G is gone and isn't going to come back. He isn't our future anymore, we need to move on. G did have the support of PR while he was successful, its when results took a turn for the worse did that support die off. This is a professional sport, there isn't room for the level of sentiment that some fans want - it's a results business.
 

drainage

Well-Known Member
#15
Tried hard not to post but ...... What happened happened it may have been handled badly but I paid £400 to watch a team that hopefully wins more than it loses

I am and remain a G fan but I was a Devils fan a long time before I heard the name Gerard Adams .... I wish him all the luck in the world but I also wish the team well

Things were handled badly all the posts and tweets in the world will never change that but we are at the moment pulling off results and I for one want to look forward not backwards and wonder what if

I will also support Gs testimonial events .... He was a strong servant of our club but our club will and needs to move on
 

BostonBart22

Well-Known Member
#17
I agree with ocko, good post. phil hill was our downfall from the start, top wages for a big boy with lightweight checks, his time in eihl is up imo, may get more ice time swindon, basinstoke etc .
 

KaneDevils

Well-Known Member
#18
I'd be interested to know what games you thought we had great performances with bad results. I can't think of any under G. Poor performances and poor results.
Spot on Ocko, great performances bad results? Codswallop.
Maybe they ran out of patience with G? How many seasons was he given?
Pope is new to the job, has done well so far, so deserves the support.
And the team deserves ours!
 
#19
For the record I attend every game I can. I would wager only one fan (red_red_raz) has been to more games this season than I as I can not some of the away games due to work commitments. Because I do not support some of the actions of R&P. Does not mean I do not/can not support the team. In fact quite the opposite. I give my all to the boys on the ice, frankly I feel they deserve no less.
It really riles me when I see comments like 'not a real fan' or 'superposed fan' because people voice differing opinions to others by official and unofficial representatives of the club.

The most shocking example of the team performance not reflecting on the result would be the 7-0 game against Dundee. No way was that a 7-0 game.

Re G not signing anyone near Kurka's ability, does the name Weller ring any bells? as for VFM remember Kurka was announced as the most expensive player under the current ownership.
Morrisette was announced on the 17th of September, not sure Hill being gassed on the 14th of October is directly linked to paying Morrisettes wages. Did Hills wage along with G, Frannys and Conboys go towards Kurka? Kurka is currently 15 points from 13 games, Hill was 9 points from 12 games.(VFM?) Craig Weller was 52 points from 41 games in D

Did Joe Myers benefit for extra ice time?
Did Dan La-Costa help him improve his game?
Did the boys in front adapt the systems to limit shots to those that he is better at dealing with?
Was this down to pope?
Would G have reached the same point given the time?

Is the fact that we didn't provide cover for Dan while he was injured a fault of the coach at the time?
Are some people comparing results of the games when G was coach to Pope in a like for like fashion?
Is that a balanced comparison?

PR publicly stated that he is sorry he did not sack G sooner. There have been rumblings how bad things have been the past seasons before all this came to ahead. This should give people an idea how that coach has been treated in the back ground. The hockey community is a close knit one. The out cry from players past, the comments from players about Pope. Just who is going to want to come to Cardiff as a coach or a player for that matter of fact? Is this why we have been unable to recruit a coach for the remainder of this season, that was announced as the plan not so long ago remember? How many of the current players are we going to retain beyond this season? How will the recruiting go next year? We might actually be stuck with Brent or as I stated before Brent will likely put on his puppeteers hat. I feel some are looking very short term as to what has gone on at the Devils in recent times . Players, Owners, Coaches and Fans are all transient in this sport. There comes a time when the good and the bad must come to an end but right now when I look to the future it depresses me because the I can not see a point past the bad times. The way things are I see another bankruptcy or a team that will struggle to compete at EPL level on the cards.
 

Sheincar

Well-Known Member
#20
+1

In addition how many games was G given to just be a coach & I don't mean with Brent stood at the other end of the bench to supervise?
 
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