Marcelo GONE. Its official.

[Pete]

Now that Loffreda has been dispensed with after discussions with coaching staff and players, neither Cockers nor Backie could be fully trusted by any new head coach, internal or external.

We need a new head coach from outside the club - even Pat Howard learnt his rugby and developed his ideas elsewhere. Then the new coaching team must be chosen by the new head coach as it is vital that it is fully supportive of him.

There is no point in promoting an internal candidate that has no high level coaching experience elsewhere. We do not want to continue with only the same old styles of play. We need new ideas to go with some of the best of our old ones.

[Bill W]

Now that Loffreda has been dispensed with after discussions with coaching staff and players, neither Cockers nor Backie could be fully trusted by any new head coach, internal or external.

We need a new head coach from outside the club - even Pat Howard learnt his rugby and developed his ideas elsewhere. Then the new coaching team must be chosen by the new head coach as it is vital that it is fully supportive of him.

There is no point in promoting an internal candidate that has no high level coaching experience elsewhere. We do not want to continue with only the same old styles of play. We need new ideas to go with some of the best of our old ones.

Concur

[pat howard fan club]

The pair of them should have been picking up their P45's as well. For one of them to be mentioned in the same sentence as the job itself is unbelievable.

[CharlesStuart]

I just read at the Daily Telegraph the following article: « The decision to get rid of Loffreda was unanimous. Leicester chairman Peter Tom and chief executive Peter Wheeler had concerns as long ago as January that the man who coached Argentina to third place in the World Cup was not up to the job. "Basically, he had lost the dressing room. There was a leadership vacuum," said a Leicester insider.

« Players complained that Loffreda's coaching methods were 20 years out of date and that his success with the Pumas was predicated on him managing some remarkably gifted players rather than providing innovation and direction. The final issue was that Loffreda's English was not colloquial enough to convey the emotion and passion of the final team talk. Players are said not to have known whether to laugh or squirm with embarrassment as the Argentine addressed them before kick-off »

I just arrived back from Rosario, Argentina where Los Pumas had beaten the Scottish team 21 to 15, was a wonderful match, Santiago Phelan and Fabian Turnes said to the press, that they were extremely sad for the sacking of Marcelo Loffreda as head coach of Leicester, Marcos Ayerza was so shock since he knew the outcome of the executive board’s meeting from The Tigers, nobody wanted to discuss this appalling situation, which I consider completely unmerited and against al sense of justice. Marcelo did not have enough time just in six months to organize the team as he did it with San Isidro Club in Argentina in the late 90’s and with Los Pumas ever since he was appointed his head coach. Loffreda methods are not 20 years out of time, if not Los Pumas and SIC wouldn’t be winning many matches until these days. But in all these cases Marcelo was granted with time to know each player better and how to coordinate both teams, which were extremely successful after six months of Marcelo’s coaching. Bill and others, most of us here in Argentina have a great deal of respect for The Tigers, but under the present circumstances, nobody from us will continue to support a team, which had sacked in such shameful and degrading way our national hero Marcelo Loffreda, I had read too many insults against him in this and other English forums, like in the English press as well. Nevertheless, I should recognize that many people in this forum had defended Marcelo with passion and honour. Agustin Pichot and many other Pumas were not only disappointed for this mistreatment, but also extremely upset and furious.

We never thought that he was going to be sacked as a third class employee who never worked well, in most jobs you have more than six months to show your skills and abilities. But in our opinion, many board members, players, fans they never wanted ML as head coach in first place. I am extremely angry with those who said that his English was not colloquial enough; did they know just recently that his English was not good enough? Marcos said that he was struggling to improve his English day by day. These arguments like that he was out of fashion are quite ignoble. “Out of fashion” as Phelan said today, ML is the one who organized the team that had beaten Scotland once more, and taking into account that most Pumas were not allow by the French teams to play today. The Tigers’ board has the legal right to make their own decisions, but I ask you, were they utterly mistaken six months ago when they decided the hiring of Marcelo? This is a bad joke; worst an attitude without any decent excuse, not coming from gentlemen. You cannot play with someone’s honour and integrity in such a way, as a great admirer of the English style and good manners, I find this decision and the comments by many of The Tigers, including board, players and others, quite ruin and outrageous. I imagine that Leicester will pay a big reparation in money, which is the language that the board understands much better, if we take into account that in certain English milieus money comes first, perhaps and thanks to God not for all.

This may be my last thread in this forum (I publish in two different places so most can read them), I am deeply sorry and I feel a great deal of distress for Marcelo but for my friends in the forum, quite especially this wonderful gentleman who is Bill. W. I must say to all of you farewell my good friends and Bill I will call you as soon as I arrived to England with my wife. I send a big hug to many of you, and I am thankful to all those who were encouraging in Marcelo’s case, and for all the knowledge that I had acquired about English rugby, again thanks to you.

[G.K]

Charles Stuart - As you can read on this forum probably over 90% woud agree with you to some extent.

Unfortunately concepts such as honour and integrity seem to have no place in professional rugby at Welford Road.

[dailywaffle]

I have just been watching a programme on S4C about Welsh rugby and the sacking of Gareth Jenkins and Mike Ruddock, amongst others. Talk of player power, no support from the top etc. Sounds very similar to what is going on here

Jenkins was also a genuinely nice man who was, sadly, out of his depth in the role.

Does the similarity include that?

[westwinds31]

Gloucester, Bath and Wasps were better than us last season and played better rugby. Was our inability to keep pace with those 3 clubs down to Loffreda ?

...I look forward to the novel and the film !!

[dailywaffle]

Yes it did. Also said that Ruddock did not leave for "family reasons" as was stated at the time. The more I watched, the more familiar it seemed!

Yes, some of the 'family reason' stuff (re Ruddock) was particularly unpleasant as I recall.

[Pete]

One thing's for sure - if Tigers continue the same old Tiger ways under Cockers and Back, then several more clubs will be in front of us soon.

[G.K]

And from me - two Tigers fans, at least.