Official Club Statement

Chris

Chris

Administrator
#2
#2
The Smart Solutions Cardiff Devils announce that Gerad Adams will be fulfilling the remainder of his 2013/14 contract expiring on April 15, 2014 as Head of Player Development.

Current Managing Director Brent Pope will become ‘Caretaker Club Coach’ until the end of the season supported by NIHL1 Head Coach Mark Cuddihy as ‘Bench Coach.’

Paul Ragan commented, "It’s been a difficult few weeks for the club and I would like to thank the fans for being patient. Unfortunately, we have been unable to make a statement earlier as we have been working with Gerad to meet our contractual obligations until the end of the season.

We would also like to apologise to the fans for the confusion over Gerad returning to the Ice last weekend, but the club was only adhering to the advise given to Gerad to meet his contractual obligations as “Player Coach”.

Ragan continued, “I would like us all to thank Gerad and recognise the commitment and hard work that “G” has shown over the past several years. We look forward to working with him and hope and urge all fans to support all of Gerad Adam’s Testimonial Events this season. It also goes without saying, but I would especially like to thank all the players and staff for their patience in what has been an uncertain few weeks for us all.”

Brent Pope has already been on the bench for 3 games this season when the club narrowly lost to Belfast, and then went on to secure two wins against arch rivals Coventry Blaze in what has already been quoted as the best home/away performance this season. Brent Pope, brings a wealth of experience as a Player, Former GB International, Coach and Analyst and was the last Devil’s Bench Coach to win a Championship with the Club in 2007. Devil’s Fans should be excited about the rest of this season and the opportunity for a new direction and approach.”

Regarding Neil Francis’ resignation, Ragan continued, "We would like to thank Neil Francis for his tremendous service to the Club during the past 6 seasons, we have valued his knowledge and experience greatly. We understand his decision to not wish to work with anyone other than Gerad, and we respect his decision, albeit disappointed. That said, often change is a good thing and with what has been a very poor start to the season for the Devils, a new dynamic was most definitely needed to get our season back on track.”

Further good news is that the Club is resuming their search for an impact replacement defenseman for Gerad Adams immediately. Brent Pope commented “We have never stopped looking , but the market is quite limited at the moment. We are looking for a quality signing that will make us a better team.”

Pope continued, "As professionals we simply need to perform better and work smarter to be successful. The Club is hugely ambitious and the time for change has come and to prepare for a strong team performance tomorrow night against the Hull Stingrays in the Challenge Cup. We also have a huge weekend in Northern Ireland in the league in back to back games against the Belfast Giants on Saturday and Sunday. We draw a line and move forward, no more changes, no more controversy or uncertainty. We need to just concentrate on performing well for 60 minutes and to our potential and the rest will take care of itself.”
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mazza03

mazza03

Well-Known Member
#6
#6
Does this mean G is no longer coach and is going back to playing? Sorry to be a bit dense. Sad to see Neil going and wish that it was different but I just hope that we can now get back to the game of hockey.

Good luck Neil. ;:|
 
M

martynh

Member
#9
#9
Looks like he's been shifted sideways until his contract expires then he will leave. Not sure Brent is the right long term replacement but I do think Adams had taken the devils as far as he could. Let's see what happens for the rest of the season
 
G

Gaz G

Well-Known Member
#12
#12
Caretaker boss my butt. No mention of what will happen at the end of the season regarding a replacement for Pope. Also what championship did we win in 2007?
 
J

J.B

Member
#13
#13
Had to chuckle at the use of 'further good news' ....

Didn't rate Adams as highly as some people but he didn't deserve to be treated like this but as always, when a coach and owner fall out, there is only one winner.
 
R

RJLightning

New Member
#15
#15
its unbelievable to see G pushed out of his coaching role like this. this week has been a shambles for the club and i really feel sorry for the players who are being messed around by drastic changes. No wonder their performances are not good.
 
ASHIPP

ASHIPP

Well-Known Member
#16
#16
Match programmes and press statements as recently as 4 weeks ago indicated that Pope had no ambitions to go back to coaching. What hypocrisy.

They got what they wanted - G sidelined in a new role. Pope installed as coach. Wonder who will be blamed when the team lose games now?

With Franny's resignation I doubt G will be back next season. Be prepared to lose some of our best players too.

Disgraceful situation.
 
Have Hope#35

Have Hope#35

Well-Known Member
#17
#17
djc7 said:
A bit confusing for me - is G playing until the end of his contract or not ?
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No, from above statement: Gerad Adams will be fulfilling the remainder of his 2013/14 contract expiring on April 15, 2014 as Head of Player Development Also if as mentioned we still plan to replace him with a New Import D'man then he couldn't play anyway!
Sounds like a made up job for him to avoid paying him off :DWD
 
Finny

Finny

Well-Known Member
#18
#18
From the statement:
We draw a line and move forward, no more changes, no more controversy or uncertainty. We need to just concentrate on performing well for 60 minutes.....
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So we're going to solve our penalty shoot-out form by not even bothering with overtime?
 
D

discountedawaytravel

New Member
#19
#19
forgive me if im wrong but:

Pope is new coach - sorry temporary coach
Francis has left the club
Adams is head of player development
Adams won't be playing i assume as pope talks about the club still looking
Cuddihy is assistant
there will be further good news
we are urged to support adams' testimonial events

;:|
 
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