After today's latest in a long line of shambolic performances, the impending retirement of Michael Vaughan should be seen as an opportunity to start afresh. The present state of affairs cannot be allowed to carry on any longer otherwise the club is going to implode. The time has come to grasp the nettle.
Moxon's position is rapidly becoming untenable. According to the club's three year plan, we were supposed to be challenging this year; I suggest that the only thing we are challenging for this season abject humiliation followed by relegation. Instructing stewards to remove kids asking for autographs at today's game is the act of a man who has completely lost the plot and doesn't know what to do next. The coaching line up is all far to cosy, full of ex-players, none of whom inspired any confidence in their technical know-how and inspirational man-management as players, and I see little difference now. The captain must also shoulder a large amount of criticism; there is no imagination in team selection, field placing, bowling changes or the batting order. There is no plan B when things start going wrong. There is no composure when a couple of wickets fall quickly. I could go on... For the second time, it is time to remove the captaincy from him, and if that results in him taking his ball home and signing for Lancashire, then so be it.
There are a number of players who the club need to get rid of. Guy, Brophy (regrettably, as he has been arguably our best one day player this year, but if getting on and is injury prone), Hoggard, Naved (thankfully going anyway, but not a good idea to announce that he wouldn't be retained - hardly going to make him care) are not going to take the club any further. Sayers and a number of others haven't progressed and the club ought to be thinking carefully about their positions.
It's time for youth to have its day. If these kids don't get a go they will leave, and they couldn't be doing any worse than the current team. The only time in the last decade that Yorkshire has looked any good was under a hard nosed Australian coach who isn't afraid to ruffle a few feathers. In my opinion we should be looking in that direction again. Failing that, how about promoting Craig White, who has done a great job with the seconds; if anyone can, he might be the one to persuade Lehmann to come back, maybe as fitness coach.
Of course, none of this will happen, at least not until we reach our nadir, which can't be long coming. We'll win a few, lose a few more, and everyone will carry on about how great were and how we have to be patient because we are building for the future. We've been building for the future as long as I've been watching Yorkshire, over 35 years now.
Sayers did quite well in the field today with a couple of run outs, what didn't help today was Patterson getting tonked for 20 in one over. Very bad day, we have big problems but then again a win at Taunton would be a massive lift for everyone.
I thought Sayer's was terrible in the field and even worse with the bat.
Any win would be nice, but would only be papering over the cracks. We'll do just well enough during the rest of the season to justify preserving the status quo, and we'll be having the same discussion in another 5 years' time.
I would be delighted if Lehmann could come and coach Yorkshire. I know its only 20/20 cricket, but him and Gilchrist took a team from bottom to top in a year. But I don't think he's ever going to be a fitness coach!! Or do you mean Chalky being the fitness coach?
However why should Lehmann give up his job at Deccan in the IPL? Its well paid, 6 week long season meaning he can spend a lot of time with his family the rest of year. At Yorkshire he won't be paid as well, its a 5 and a half month long season and he'll have to deal with a load political bs at Yorkshire.
I actually hope Yorkshire can keep Hoggard, but I wouldn't blame him for moving on - Yorkshire's unwillingness to play him in one day games is ridiculous, admittedly on a flat deck at Chelmsford he's liable to go for a few, but as he proved in last years FP Quarter Final he can still do the business in one day cricket. How many FP games this year were played on flat decks? - only the Surrey game at the Oval, and when you consider they were all played in April and May he ought to have been selected for most of those games.
I agree that McGrath ain't a good captain, well lets just say he's far more of a captain who would rather try and stay in a game rather than one that goes for the kill - hence both Sussex and Somerset's tailenders getting runs. Imagine if Mark Taylor & Steve Waugh decided to have no close fielders for Warne or just one slip for McGrath??
As for sacking Wayne Clark, two trophies in two seasons yet he still got sacked. I know in the Championship Yorkshire were terrible in 2002 but I'm pretty damn sure if Clark had stayed we'd have come straight back up comfortably and not have waited 3 years before limping over the line at Derby in 2005.
If everyone on here can see the shortcomings what is Regan doing about it? He is supposedly the chief executive. The buck stops with him. Or is he teflon coated?
Let's sack Regan as well as Moxon, the coaching staff, the captain and the cosy comfortable coaches. In fact, let's do it mid-season and create absolute chaos on top of the shambolic performances on the pitch! That would be such a Yorkshire thing to do.
Personally, I don't hold Regan responsible for what goes on on the pitch. He and the rest of the gang appointed Moxon to take charge of the playing side. What I would hope is that he and the board take some positive action to arrest the slide into oblivion, even if I don't agree with it. I'm not aware of anyone suggesting that a 'night of the long knives' is appropriate at the moment, but this is the time when plans should be being made for next year.
Maldon Tyke - i could not agree more with your opening post above and you have hit the nail on the head exactly with what is wrong, what should be done etc
Didn't they crop up at Glasto?
Darren was a fantastic player but a dreadful captain - I see no evidence to suggest that he'd be a successful coach in the long term. Although I'd love to be proved wrong.
Something is indeed rotten in YCCC, and at the moment I'm just not sure what the solution is. I only fear that things will get worse before they get better.
I only advocated a White-Lehmann dream ticket as a more palatable alternative to some kick-arse Australian. However, I'm not convinced that he's as bad a captain as suggested. I don't think it's fair to judge on what we saw here, given the disintegrating team and turmoil in the background. His record for South Australia isn't too shabby, and he did ok as a coach in India.
perhaps Lehmann is improving with time and experience in his coaching career and his poor captaincy exerience with us was more due to him carrying the team with his batting as well?
as a coach he only has to worry about coaching and not playing.
its time the old boys network was broken up at YCCC on the coaching staff - none of them were winners as players and we need someone without the loyalty to old playing mates to be more involved
We've always been too inward looking - which is why i was initially so pleased about the Chris Adams initiative. What about someone like Dermott Reeve...
Before we get too carried away with successors we need to remember that there isn't currently a vacancy. I would just like to see a new face from outside the usual circle of suspects.
I like the idea of someone radical like Reeve but not sure he would be supported by Boycs on the committee - don't think they have seen eye to eye in the past.
Just because there is no vacancy at the moment it does not stop us speculating who we would like to see as our next coach - whenever that opportunity may arise.
we could extend further and speculate who our overseas player might be next season as well.
Grayson, Rhodes, Giles, Bracewell, Adams, Fletcher (Duncan not Keith), Ford, Moores, Newell, Robinson - not sure any of them jump at me as overly appealing options.
If we agree we need to look beyond the old boy network then we need to look overseas for someone decent. Bracewell is best of those at other counties but i suspect he would ruffle some feathers and why would he leave Gloucts.
As long as Sky pay more than the counties we will always struggle to see ex test players coaching instead of commentating.
Good to speculate about what will happen in the winter, and surely something must if only because Rana needs replacing as overseas player.
What will no doubt restrict us is money in the kitty. Who can we afford to sign if Moxon and co are shown the door? How much would we have to pay Moxon and co to walk through the door?
I doubt the likes of Fletcher, Bracewell, Wright would come cheap.
Have we the money to sign a top quality overseas player and top quality county player? Can we even afford to keep what we have?
Mr Regan will have the figures no doubt but last season's kitty was full enough to sign a Surrey reserve to play in our reserves so I doubt there will be enough this winter to sack a full backroom staff and coach, sign a new backroom staff and coach, sign a top quailty overseas player for the season, sign a top quality county player and keep what we want to keep.
That's why it's so important to be ruthless about the pruning the dead wood. Removing Hoggard, Brophy, Kruis, Guy et al from the wage bill would save a lot. Rashid will get a England contract in the not too distant future. What we should be left with is a nucleus of experienced quality and fit players, surrounded by fresh faced, keen, hungry, technically correct, fearless and most importantly cheap youngsters.
.........but the first piece of dead wood is Regan. He has overseen one calamity after another, one debacle after another. Yet no blame ever seems to be attached to him. His driving force seems to be to have his face in as many pictures as possible. The pruning should start with him as he has overall responsibility for the running of YCCC on and off the field.
perhaps you could list the things you see as 'calamities on and off the field' Samtheman.
I think its quite easy to make a sweeping statement and I am sure Stewart will be the first to admit he has not got every decision right, but last time I looked he was not tossing the coin at the start of the game or opening the batting...
>>>That's why it's so important to be ruthless about the pruning the deadwood. Removing Hoggard, Brophy, Kruis, Guy et al from the wage bill would save a lot....
I've no objection to removing Brophy, Kruis, Guy and probably even Hoggard, but I do worry about what we will replace them with.
"We probably won't make an approach for Davies" was what some senior figure quoted the other day, no doubt influenced by the expected wage demand. Giving the gloves permenantly to Bairstow next season will make or break his career and I hope the coaches/moneymen come to the correct decision. Even if the decision to go with Bairstow is decided, who takes over when he breaks a finger first game of the season? One of the cheap youngsters, I guess?
I just worry that nothing will be spent, everything will be saved and the usual line about us having the best set of youngsters coming through will be used to placate us once again.
Sorry Triple C, but if I hear that line for the 30th consecutive season then it will be much more of the same next season.
My own personal opinion, and I want no accusations of sycophancy, is that Regan and the board have done an excellent job in all aspects of running the club apart from the one that we really care about. Indeed, I don't think that there wouldn't be a club as we know it without Colin Graves putting his hand in his pocket. Apart from the odd cock-up, the club is infinitely better run than it has ever been, and is financially viable for the first time in I don't know how long. These are business people and the club is now being run as a business. Regan and friends' influence on the club has been almost completely positive, even if I don't always agree with what they do. As far as I know they don't interfere with the cricket side of things, and a good thing too. The director of cricket, or whatever the job is called, the coaches and the players are the ones responsible for the current situation.
"Samtheman." Referring to Yorkshire's CEO as a "complete idiot" and "dead wood" is both unfair, disrespectful and unsupported in fact. Indeed, most of Yorkshire's travails these days are on the field and/or in the dressing room. As far as I know the captain and Director of Professional Cricket are most directly involved in the team's performance, whereas Mr. Regan deals with the financial and administrative side of the team's operation.
We appreciate your opinion at the WRF, but unless you have some verifiable evidence to support your strident assertions, may I suggest you move on to another topic?
I don't understand why people are so keen on getting rid of Brophy, unless he has an injury that is never really going to heal. His keeping and batting have both improved since he's been at Yorkshire. He's averaging 48 in the championship this year and played a key role in some of the early season one dayers.
Surely Guy should go before Brophy.
There are 3 teams to fill: 1st XI, seconds and the academy. If, as some suggest, Bairstow has a year or two as a batsman, how is that going to work. Chadwick, who has taken over the gloves at the academy for the last couple of games is 15.
Maybe we go for Davies, maybe not, but surely we have to get someone to replace Guy. How about James Pipe - Derby's Yorkie.
If we swing the axe too energetically we might end up with Chalky keeping, or begging Blakey to make one last hurrah.
Brophy has been one of the few successes of the season - when he plays, but he's in his mid thirties, and seems to have spent more time injured than on the field this year. He certainly wouldn't be the first keeper out of the door for me. I suppose it all depends on who the club thinks will be the keeper in five years' time. I'm sure that Brophy and Guy's combined salaries would allow them to put in an attractive bid for Davies, although I don't believe for a minute that he'd come to Yorkshire. If the answer to that question is Bairstow jnr. then we might as well get him in there and see.