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- Nov 12, 2015
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If Burt is available and willing - then absolutely grab him; and offer him HC or DoR as he wishes, and whoever he wants to work with.
Otherwise, I'm not ready to call time on Hooper just yet; I'm never comfortable firing a HC with less than 2 years (for rugby reasons anyway), and a non-coaching DoR surely gets a little longer. Yes, he's been involved for a while, but Hooper has only been making the decisions for 18 months, whilst Hatley has been there for less than a year (and doing too many jobs at once). Of course, there's also the element of my bias as those calling most loudly for his head, were also calling for his head before he was appointed, and mostly calling for his head as a player - I question their objectivity here (there's also that they keep referring to Baxter whilst *****ing about Hooper's career trajectory, Baxter had an almost identical career trajectory and was blatantly the model used when appointing Hooper). Beyond that, I think back all the way to a few months ago, when Hooper and Hatley had Bath playing the best rugby they have since Ford's reign came crashing down; and rugby I loved watching - so I know that they have the capacity.
Ultimately, Bath have been less than the sum of their parts for 5 years, and yes, I'm getting tired of it. But Hooper and Hatley managed the best spell of rugby in that period, and deserve a chance to turn things around (IMO). If there's an obvious upgrade willing and available, then yes, let's get them (regardless of current form). AKA "We're always on the lookout for an upgrade to any member of our team"
If we're still playing like drains by the end of this season, then start seriously looking for options (but only hiring someone with a proven track record). AKA "We're not happy, and are looking at our options"
If we're still playing like drains 3 months into the 2021-22 season, then fire them. AKA "/ok, you need to get the **** out of here"
NB: I'm usually on the conservative end of these things; and I haven't actually watched any rugby this season (Bath or anyone else) so don't have the emotion of watching us play badly.
Otherwise, I'm not ready to call time on Hooper just yet; I'm never comfortable firing a HC with less than 2 years (for rugby reasons anyway), and a non-coaching DoR surely gets a little longer. Yes, he's been involved for a while, but Hooper has only been making the decisions for 18 months, whilst Hatley has been there for less than a year (and doing too many jobs at once). Of course, there's also the element of my bias as those calling most loudly for his head, were also calling for his head before he was appointed, and mostly calling for his head as a player - I question their objectivity here (there's also that they keep referring to Baxter whilst *****ing about Hooper's career trajectory, Baxter had an almost identical career trajectory and was blatantly the model used when appointing Hooper). Beyond that, I think back all the way to a few months ago, when Hooper and Hatley had Bath playing the best rugby they have since Ford's reign came crashing down; and rugby I loved watching - so I know that they have the capacity.
Ultimately, Bath have been less than the sum of their parts for 5 years, and yes, I'm getting tired of it. But Hooper and Hatley managed the best spell of rugby in that period, and deserve a chance to turn things around (IMO). If there's an obvious upgrade willing and available, then yes, let's get them (regardless of current form). AKA "We're always on the lookout for an upgrade to any member of our team"
If we're still playing like drains by the end of this season, then start seriously looking for options (but only hiring someone with a proven track record). AKA "We're not happy, and are looking at our options"
If we're still playing like drains 3 months into the 2021-22 season, then fire them. AKA "/ok, you need to get the **** out of here"
NB: I'm usually on the conservative end of these things; and I haven't actually watched any rugby this season (Bath or anyone else) so don't have the emotion of watching us play badly.
