Official Club Statement

#43
OK, confession time: I haven't been to games for a couple of years, but I still follow the club and have an emotional attachment after first going to games in 1990.

The whole situation is really messy, and it doesn't look like anyone is innocent. But I can see why PR wants to make a change; he is financing a club (that really shouldn't be competitive due to its facility) with a view to challenging for honours, and that isn't even close this year. The start has been not far short of disastrous, and LaCosta's injury aside, that must come down to the coaching and/or the players.

I can understand everyone's affection for G, he's been magnificent for the club over the years, and he doesn't deserve the messing about. But think about it: PR could have just sacked G and sent him on his way, killing the testimonial dead. They've at least come to an agreement that prevents that.

There is a hugely militant group amongst the fans - much to their credit, I might add, where campaigning for the new rink is concerned. But let's be honest, it is PR's club, not the fans', and as such he will do what he sees fit, whether the fans like it or not. In many ways he's caused his own problems by promising a team that will really challenge when the circumstances make that really difficult. He would almost have been better off saying 'we're not going to be as strong as Sheff/Nott/Belfast, but we're going to be competitive and hard-working and hopefully entertaining' and anything else is a bonus until the new rink and increased income are available. But he's made that statement and the the team aren't delivering.

I'm not an apologist for PR; I don't know him other than what I read on here or in the Echo, and he's obviously got some things wrong, but it's his club - not the fans, not G, not Pope or anyone else.
 
#44
Its not good the way adams has been treated in last couple of weeks but results havent been good so did expect this decision to come any other sport he would have gone weeks ago.Time to move on and support the DEVILS as fans have always done.
 
#45
Its a known fact that Brent Pope has a very lucrative deal with the BBC for the winter Olympics and Paralympics, a lot more than a devils salary pays him, so what happens when January comes and he leaves to cover the Olympics?????? It WILL happen!

The Devil Himself
 

wildthing74

Well-Known Member
#46
Struggling to even begin to describe my feelings about all this.Which ever side you sit on the arguement to back G or feel change is right one thing for sure a good man has not been treated with dignity for a long time and if change was tas to come then do it right.
How many changes and shifts of personell has there been this month?Its making the club we love look like we have no idea what to do next and we are just alienating ourselves and annoying our own fans.
God knows what kind of team we can expect to have in the future when agents and players are trying to come to our league.I fear our name will be damaged for a long time over all of this.
 
#47
Absolutely shocking way to behave ,Pope now in charge and cant see him really doing much but to have cudd as asst is laughable ,he has only carried on a job done by many before him at enl and isnt the best they have had ,was away from the club for years yet only came back in through being brought back in to the club to play .Typical devils who give JOBS TO THE BOYS rather than get in a good coach with a good assistant ,how can our players take criticism off a guy who has never played professionally and was a poor player even at enl standard.
This club is becoming a joke .
 
#48
My car has it's mot today I'm just hoping ragan doesn't own that garage as well.

A joke is exactly what we are and it's not april fools tomorrow its halloween! Maybe there's a few more ghosts to come from this "club" yet would love to see the players take a stand against this but if rumours of old are true it's not the team G wanted to sign anyhow and was all ragan/pope.
 

ASHIPP

Well-Known Member
#49
Gaz G said:
As has been said by someone else, I now expect to see G coaching elsewhere next year, maybe Coventry as they are poor at the moment too. I would also expect Faulkner and a couple of others to follow him.

Shambles.
Including senior British players. Yes catastrophic fallout next season and a complete rebuils.
 
#50
You all have my sympathies and I think you've just lost a good coach who I think will thrive on a decent budget and left alone to run the team.

So happy Ragan has nothing to do with Sheffield any more. One big bullet, well and truly dodged.
 
#51
Need some help here.
In the Press Release, Pope claims to have been on the bench the last time we won a championship.

I can only find him on the bench during the 07-08 season. Which wasn't a great season
We won the Knockout cup(!) in 06-07 season, when he was player coach at Romford.

Have I missed a championship?
 
#52
As I said yesterday, Think we were in need of a change. We need a Top Quality Coach to come in now, not Brent Pope, he's not the answer going forward.
 

Finny

Well-Known Member
#53
For those of you who think it was correct to sack G as coach...

... we've won 5 of the last 6 points on offer! A win tomorrow would guarantee us 2nd place in the Challenge Cup group and a favourable draw for the Quarter-Finals.

This has absolutely nothing to do with the team's form. I'm amazed anyone with a grain of intelligence can think that.
 
#55
Ejercito Rojas said:
We can all blame whoever we like for whatever we like, but ultimately it was the results and performances that did for G and Francis.

We must now move on.
You are correct in the fact that results probably cost him his job BUT why did we have to put up with crap PR from the club ?? I have no problem with G being taken off the bench as with any sport if the results are not good the coach is the first one to go. Maybe it was a season too far for him, maybe it was circumstances BBT/injuries etc....we will never know but the whole thing could have been handled a lot better especially as due to other things that have happened since PR took over he must have understood fans didn't trust/like him.

As for the 'we must now move on' absolutely. When you strip it all back it is the TEAM we support and they have done nothing wrong in all of this. As for the damage it will do to the future of the club, no-one can predict how it will affect the club.

For me I am still a Cardiff Devils fan and will remain so.
 
#57
Finny said:
For those of you who think it was correct to sack G as coach...

... we've won 5 of the last 6 points on offer! A win tomorrow would guarantee us 2nd place in the Challenge Cup group and a favourable draw for the Quarter-Finals.

This has absolutely nothing to do with the team's form. I'm amazed anyone with a grain of intelligence can think that.
I don't think anyone thinks it's just about the team's form. But there's obviously been a breakdown somewhere, and when the breakdown is between the coach and the owner, there's usually only one winner...
 
#58
I would like to wish G all the best and thank him for giving it his all,I believe he took the club as far as he could with the tools he had. Excuse my ignorance, Has Pope ever coach before? (Apart from the 3 games where we looked pretty decent)
Anyways, Looking forward to tomorrows game with Pope and Cuddihy in charge, Onwards and upwards! :Banana (Sorry I've always wanted to use a banana!)
 
#59
Sheincar said:
So I wonder how many of us would have bought a ST with Dope as coach & Cudds as bench. Not me for sure.
And if they are successful through the rest of this year, and are in place for 2014/15, will you still not be getting a ST next year?
 

Paul Sullivan

Well-Known Member
#60
SINCE1986 said:
Absolutely shocking way to behave ,Pope now in charge and cant see him really doing much but to have cudd as asst is laughable ,he has only carried on a job done by many before him at enl and isnt the best they have had ,was away from the club for years yet only came back in through being brought back in to the club to play .Typical devils who give JOBS TO THE BOYS rather than get in a good coach with a good assistant ,how can our players take criticism off a guy who has never played professionally and was a poor player even at enl standard.
This club is becoming a joke .
That is grossly unfair to Mark Cuddihy.

Cudds is a good man and a well repsected coach and figure in the NIHL as a whole. Aside from supplying and developing a huge amount of playing talent for the EIHL team (7 players last year alone) he performs miracles with the constraints he has faced both financially and logistically. There's a decent amount of players on the EIHL bench that were brought through by Cudds.

Added to this he puts in a huge amount of both work and finance to keep the NIHL1 team afloat and he deserves the thanks and respect of the EIHL fans for that.

As for time away from the Club? Apparently that is a good thing, as it has no doubt crafted the strength of experience in today's statement of Brent's resume.

Thought Cudds went away, came back and has run a great setup under his remit. I am not sure we could say the same for our MD right now.

All that said, I cannot support his appointment to the EIHL bench, even though I am personally thrilled for him he should have that opportunity. He has become embroiled in this ugly mess and does not deserve to be slated or accused of puppetry as a result.
 
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