Gatland in making some "unfortunate comments" shocker!

[TRF Mr Fish]

He doesn't say anywhere that he'll limit the number of English players... He says the English media are ***** (basically) and will make a bigger deal out of anything, if given some bait - which is what the reporter is doing here. Obviously, the more English players in the squad, the more interested the English media will be. If anything Gatland defends the English players, saying others like to have a pop at them.

Why does everyone have to be so bloody PC? What he's said is completely true. Read the actual quotes instead of the stupid article writer's inferences...

 

[j'nuh]

ITT: people reading the first line and not the rest of the article. He clearly states himself that if England win the Six Nations "there will be a reasonable contingent of English players" and the article says "Gatland emphasised he will pick the best players for the squad".

 

[SelimNiai]

And as predicted people have made a mountain out of a mole hill.

Not sure about that 100% but it does seem to be another reason for everyone to slag the Welsh off. Doesn't help that the ill-educated seem to infer that "limit" means "none at all".

Does he not have a Press Liason who might occasionally say "don't say that you thrombosis"

 

[Taylo2]

I can understand where he is coming from, as negative press always sells more, and England has "previous" due to the RWC. Easy targets? yes....Relevent? probably not. Like has been said, the only player since RWC for England to get in any off the field bother is Care, so unless they put a foot out of line, they should be fine, and strong enough vharacters to not let it affect them.

For me, the Lions tour is not about nationality, it is about bringing the best players from Britain & Eire together for a showcase of the best we have to offer. The best players should be picked, ones that will get the important wins, regardless of nationality. Even if it had 1 England player in I would support them with pride, as its what the tour stands for that is important, the unification for a common cause.

 

[Jbobo]

As said above, he will pick the best players for the job. There will be a strong English involvement particularly in the forwards and 9/10 but don't be upset if you realise there are more Welsh or Irish players in the team because sometimes it is more important to pick the individual instead of the team.

 

[TRF_Cymro]

He doesn't say anywhere that he'll limit the number of English players... He says the English media are ***** (basically) and will make a bigger deal out of anything, if given some bait - which is what the reporter is doing here. Obviously, the more English players in the squad, the more interested the English media will be. If anything Gatland defends the English players, saying others like to have a pop at them.

Why does everyone have to be so bloody PC? What he's said is completely true. Read the actual quotes instead of the stupid article writer's inferences...

This ...

and

ITT: people reading the first line and not the rest of the article. He clearly states himself that if England win the Six Nations "there will be a reasonable contingent of English players" and the article says "Gatland emphasised he will pick the best players for the squad".

This.

Sums it up perfectly.

 

[Peat]

And as predicted people have made a mountain out of a mole hill.

No, there is a fairly substantial hillock there. His first task as Lions head coach is to get everyone united as quickly as possible. Saying anything that can be interpreted as having a go at one of the nationalities involved shortly before is picking up a big 12 gauge and pointing it squarely at his foot. Making a big issue of media attention is also a pretty stupid thing to do.

Also, he's basically wrong in a lot of elements, in that he's still going to be facing plenty of 'pressures' from the Media. Does anyone really think the likes of the Daily Telegraph, the Times, and the Beeb are just going to shrug and wander away if there's a limited English selection in the Lions? No. Not for one second. One, they can generate coverage by whipping up hysteria over 'Where be all the English'. Two, for all their English base and natural bias to the greater part of the British population, they are British institutions - the Times have an Irish edition to boot - and will look at something of interest to the whole nation. Exhibit A, Andy Murray. He attracts gigantic amounts of press coverage. The Lions, regardless of nationality, will sell papers in Britain and that is enough.

I know expecting Gatland to keep his mouth shut is a futile thing, but he should try it more often.

 

[TRF Mr Fish]

No, there is a fairly substantial hillock there. His first task as Lions head coach is to get everyone united as quickly as possible. Saying anything that can be interpreted as having a go at one of the nationalities involved shortly before is picking up a big 12 gauge and pointing it squarely at his foot. Making a big issue of media attention is also a pretty stupid thing to do.

Also, he's basically wrong in a lot of elements, in that he's still going to be facing plenty of 'pressures' from the Media. Does anyone really think the likes of the Daily Telegraph, the Times, and the Beeb are just going to shrug and wander away if there's a limited English selection in the Lions? No. Not for one second. One, they can generate coverage by whipping up hysteria over 'Where be all the English'. Two, for all their English base and natural bias to the greater part of the British population, they are British institutions - the Times have an Irish edition to boot - and will look at something of interest to the whole nation. Exhibit A, Andy Murray. He attracts gigantic amounts of press coverage. The Lions, regardless of nationality, will sell papers in Britain and that is enough.

I know expecting Gatland to keep his mouth shut is a futile thing, but he should try it more often.

You'd have to be really gormless to interpret what Gatland's said as what half the posters in this thread seem to believe. Just read his words, don't read the reporter's crap, it's as simple as that. If people did that more there wouldn't be so much crap spoken.

 

[Peat]

You'd have to be really gormless to interpret what Gatland's said as what half the posters in this thread seem to believe. Just read his words, don't read the reporter's crap, it's as simple as that. If people did that more there wouldn't be so much crap spoken.

I did and it's still bloody stupid. It's also amusingly ironic, as a lot of it is Gatland talking about his fear of adverse media attention drawn to the English, when he's already got it from shooting his mouth off.

edit: And yes, some people haven't read it and have overreacted as a result. No more in the wrong than anyone who thinks it was all ok though.

 

[TRF Mr Fish]

He initially said:

There would probably be a “reasonable England contingent†in the squad but added that it brought “a certain element of â€" how do I say it â€" other pressures that come with selecting a lot of English players. It becomes a much greater media focus from the English papers; potentially a negative focus from the Australian papers ... English players are targeted by other countries. They are not always the most popular with other countries because of the history. People like having a pop at them. It’s just being aware of potential issues that may arise. We all know what happened with England at the World Cup and the circus that was created. I’ve just got to be aware of the possibilities that, if there are a number of English players on the tour, the same sort of things could be instigated, through stings through the media or set-ups trying to create controversy.â€

And followed it up with:

“I am extremely disappointed that anybody should try to misinterpret what I said and try to say that will count against English players, that’s absolute bollocksâ€

“The last thing I would ever do is limit the number of English players. There is absolutely no limit to the number of any players from any nation we will pick if they are worthy of a place on the tour. And I would happily pick 15 English players in the first Test at Brisbane if I though they were the best 15 players for the job.

“The only consideration for a Lions coach is to get the best 15 on the park to do the job. That’s paramount, I’m not remotely bothered which country they come from. When I first started at Wales I remember I once picked 13 Ospreys for one of my early Tests in charge.

“Hand on heart I would never be able to look myself in the mirror if we didn’t pick a player who deserved to go on Tour because he was English. I just couldn’t do that to any individual. Morally it is just wrong.

“I have been hugely impressed with the professionalism of the England boys under Stuart Lancaster and the way they conduct themselves on and off the pitch, but I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t point out that certain other pressures come into play. I think we are all aware there are certain outlets who at some stage will try and wind up the English.

“I thought I was only really stating the obvious, what everybody has known from the past.â€

I honestly can't even see where someone would find fault with what he said? An absolute huge deal was made out of what the English team got up to at the World Cup, and naturally Gatland is a bit cautious about what they'll say come the Lions tour.

 

[TRF Mr Fish]

I did and it's still bloody stupid. It's also amusingly ironic, as a lot of it is Gatland talking about his fear of adverse media attention drawn to the English, when he's already got it from shooting his mouth off.

edit: And yes, some people haven't read it and have overreacted as a result. No more in the wrong than anyone who thinks it was all ok though.

What exactly do you disagree with, about what he's said? What lies did he tell, do you mind pointing them out?

 

[Largejanner]

What exactly do you disagree with, about what he's said? What lies did he tell, do you mind pointing them out?

It`s not what he said, it`s the fact that he said it!
I`d rather have a media savvy Aussie in charge, than this Kiwi idiot!

 

[nickdnz]

It`s not what he said, it`s the fact that he said it!
I`d rather have a media savvy Aussie in charge, than this Kiwi idiot!

So it's not what he said, but the fact he said it? Let me break this down.

It's not the content of what he said. It's the fact that he said the content.

It's not what he says, but that he says stuff?

Mhmm, good point. Kiwi idiot...

 

[Teh Mite]

It's like 2002 all over again. Any excuse for a good old fashioned bit of Englander bashing...

The crucial point is Gatland needs to be careful not to alienate anybody by keeping his gob shut and thinking before speaking. He won't, because he's an idiot and an attention whore, but he should.

This Lions tour will likely be a disaster. Assuming all the Oussie players don't OD before it begins.

 

[Mrs. Peter Quinn]

Cymro - I don't agree that people over overreacting. Most people have acknowledged that Gatlands said he'll still probably pick based on form. What I personally resent is that we should be made to feeel like OUR lions coach, who has the task of uniting four nations worth of players, is already pre-disposed against one particular nation. In many ways the only way him as lion coach could work would be if he doesn't constantly remind us that he is also/has been the Wales coach, which he keeps doing, frankly. When you add this instance to the earlier one of him saying "Yes, I'd pick 15 englishman if I had to...", hes' building up this sense of reluctance against English players, and in doing so going against the very spirit of the lions tours, where literally all that matter is that you're good enough. Its supposed to be one of the few times that we all get behind each other and don't have to squabble over nationality! Also, as Peat said, If Gatland really cares about avoviding media attention, then he wouldn't stay stuff like this.... or things like "I'd rather face Australia than the other big 3"... In other words Gatland has always liked to make a splash, and these comments are both hypcritical and contrary to what the Lions are all about.

 

[TRF Mr Fish]

Cymro - I don't agree that people over overreacting. Most people have acknowledged that Gatlands said he'll still probably pick based on form. What I personally resent is that we should be made to feeel like OUR lions coach, who has the task of uniting four nations worth of players, is already pre-disposed against one particular nation. In many ways the only way him as lion coach could work would be if he doesn't constantly remaind us that he is also/has been the Wales coach. When you add this instance to the earlier one of him saying "Yes, I'd pick 15 englishman if I had to...", hes' building up this sense of reluctance against English players, and in doing so going against the very spirit of the lions tours, where literally all that matter is that you're good enough. Its supposed to be one of the few times that we all get behind each other and don't have to squabble over nationality! Also, as Peat said, If Gatland really cares about avoviding media attention, then he wouldn't stay stuff like this.... or things like "I'd rather face Australia than the other big 3"... In other words Gatland has always liked to make a splash, and these comments are both hypcritical and contrary to what the Lions are all about.

Gatland's response of "I'd pick 15 Englishmen" came directly as a reply to the fact that people said he'd limit the number of English players. He hasn't said he dislikes the English, he's said their actions will be scrutinised more. I really don't see why this is so hard to comprehend.

 

[Mrs. Peter Quinn]

Gatland's response of "I'd pick 15 Englishmen" came directly as a reply to the fact that people said he'd limit the number of English players. He hasn't said he dislikes the English, he's said their actions will be scrutinised more. I really don't see why this is so hard to comprehend.

I understand that perfectly. Is it so hard to comprehend that theres no reason why Englands actions should be scrutinised any more than other other nations? Simply on the back of a world cup where there were many different players. The point that your missing is that theres no really legitimate, or lets say, productive reason, to single out one nation, when the evidence is that there's no reason to think that anything like the world cup scenario will occur with this group of players.

 

[McTallshort]

Would Geech have come out with this? the answer is no, the press are making a meal of this but its easy to make a meal of. The pressure the team will face in Aus will be bad enough with their one eyed partisan press corps, making comments like this and the ones he made about Robshaw are just not helpful. Like Mite said the guy seems to be an attention seeker but this isnt Big Brother its a Lions tour and he isnt getting things off on the right foot.

 

[Peat]

So it's not what he said, but the fact he said it? Let me break this down.

It's not the content of what he said. It's the fact that he said the content.

It's not what he says, but that he says stuff?

Mhmm, good point. Kiwi idiot...

While I sense heavy amounts of sarcasm in your post, you're more or less there.

He should not be saying anything that can be spun by the press as being divisive or being pejorative to one country. A big part of his job is not saying such things. But the tour's not even started and he's saying crap like this.

If he really thinks there is a problem here, it should not be in the public domain. It should be dealt with in private, and not through the offices of the British media. This is unprofessional, it's putting needless pressure onto the England players.

The accuracy of the content is nearly irrelevant once you consider that. The fact that he seems to be exaggerating the case is just the cherry on the cake.

 

[Largejanner]

Gatland mentions that English players come with the "baggage" of being English (?), what about the baggage of his much vaunted Welsh team being whitewashed three-zip by the Aussies last year, a more pertinent observation in my view if we`re going to talk about the individual nationality of any Lions team.
This Lions tour has the potential to be a joke