Matt Williams set to land Ulster job

Jigsaw · 20-12-2007 4:07pm #1

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_union/my_club/ulster/7152656.stm

So I see he used to manage Leinster. What is the general consensus on the guy? Is he the man to deliver Ulster from the rugby doldrums?

Stev_o · 20-12-2007 4:24pm

Jigsaw wrote: »

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_union/my_club/ulster/7152656.stm

So I see he used to manage Leinster. What is the general consensus on the guy? Is he the man to deliver Ulster from the rugby doldrums?

Short run no.......long term maybe get them back to at least winning one or two games.

He did alright with Leinster not fantastic though but that was the days of the birth of professionalism when no one had a clue what to do and he came in getting all these fitness plans, doctors etc

At least his style suits Ulster keep it going wide and live of broken play.

Better then no one i guess

toomevara · 20-12-2007 5:56pm

Stev_o wrote: »

Better then no one i guess

Not to be facetious, but 'no one' would be far better....Gorgeous Mattie is an absolute muppet. He was utterly useless during his tenure at Leinster, divisive with horrendous man and squad management skills, interested only in self promotion and covering his own ass.

His time in charge of Scotland was a catastrophe for Scottish rugby, nothing but gimmickry and posturing with a marked and unattractive propensity for shovelling blame away from himself and on to players heads. Ulster will rue the day if they do appoint the man....dark days ahead for the red hand I'm afraid....

Jigsaw · 20-12-2007 6:55pm

Was checking out the BBC website there and it seems to be a done deal. IRFU and Ulster branch bigwigs were meeting in a hotel in Belfast today. Seems they are just putting the finishing touches to the deal.

That does not sound encouraging Toomevara. Is he really as bad as all that? :eek:

toomevara · 20-12-2007 7:09pm

Jigsaw, you may have gathered I'm most definitely not a fan, but he does seem to be a guy who polarises opinion. People seem to love or hate him. I believe he is a relentless self publicist, a bit of a snake oil salesman, who talks the talk but doesn't walk the walk. He had initial success with Leinster but the wheels came off quickly enough and he left alot of rancour and bitterness in his wake especially among squad members.

Mention his name to any scottish rugby fan and you're likely to induce apoplexy. He is widely regarded as the man who set professional rugby in Scotland back 5 years, for a whole host of reasons, not the least of which was his demented 'fortress scotland' policy...

He left both Leinster and Scotland in ignominy, doesn't bode well for the Ulstermen imo....

Timothy Bryce · 20-12-2007 7:26pm

toomevara wrote: »

Jigsaw, you may have gathered I'm most definitely not a fan, but he does seem to be a guy who polarises opinion. People seem to love or hate him. I believe he is a relentless self publicist, a bit of a snake oil salesman, who talks the talk but doesn't walk the walk. He had initial success with Leinster but the wheels came off quickly enough and he left alot of rancour and bitterness in his wake especially among squad members.

Mention his name to any scottish rugby fan and you're likely to induce apoplexy. He is widely regarded as the man who set professional rugby in Scotland back 5 years, for a whole host of reasons, not the least of which was his demented 'fortress scotland' policy...

He left both Leinster and Scotland in ignominy, doesn't bode well for the Ulstermen imo....

I don't think Ulster could be doing much worse TBH....and I think a big name like MW might spur some players back to life. Boss, Wallace, all the Bests, Trimble etc seem completely disinterested - I'd love to know what went on during the RWC as it seems to have killed the passion from a lot of players

toomevara · 20-12-2007 7:41pm

Timothy Bryce wrote: »

...and I think a big name like MW might spur some players back to

I agree that Ulster need some serious help in the form of a big name coach who knows what he's doing. Unfortunately imo, the only place Matt Williams is a 'big name' is in his own head. He is most definitely not the man to rescue Ulster from their current woes...Also the RWC debacle doesn't seem to have impacted as negatively on the players of other provinces, I think the malaise in Ulster runs deeper than that....

I reckon that Boss, Wallace and Trimble (especially) have all been chronically over rated...never delivered on the hype...

Timothy Bryce · 20-12-2007 8:39pm

toomevara wrote: »

I agree that Ulster need some serious help in the form of a big name coach who knows what he's doing. Unfortunately imo, the only place Matt Williams is a 'big name' is in his own head. He is most definitely not the man to rescue Ulster from their current woes...Also the RWC debacle doesn't seem to have impacted as negatively on the players of other provinces, I think the malaise in Ulster runs deeper than that....

I reckon that Boss, Wallace and Trimble (especially) have all been chronically over rated...never delivered on the hype...

Personally I think the RWC has affected *all* of the players however the leaderships in the various provintial camps have been different in how they've dealt with it. Kidney seems to be the only one who's dealt with it as the players you're talking about who don't seem to be negatively affected are the Munster players. O'Gara, Flannery, Leamy, Wallace et al seem to be fine while O'Driscoll, D'Arcy, Horgan etc appear to be still stuck in a rut.

On that point, the 'future Irish stars' i.e. Heaslip, Jennings, Cullen, Sexton & Co, on the surface it would like they're sensing this negativity and seeing their own potential gain from this fallout. I reckon it has alot to do with why we're seeing them take a step up in their performances. It's almost as though the 'invincibles' aren't as invincible after all.

I could be way off the mark but from being at every Leinster home game this season you can almost sense this going on.

I do completely agree that the Ulster boys with the exception of Neil Best have been entirely overhyped and were never in a position to deliver anything other than a mediocre performance at international level

Shan75 · 21-12-2007 3:25am

toomevara wrote: »

I agree that Ulster need some serious help in the form of a big name coach who knows what he's doing. Unfortunately imo, the only place Matt Williams is a 'big name' is in his own head. He is most definitely not the man to rescue Ulster from their current woes...Also the RWC debacle doesn't seem to have impacted as negatively on the players of other provinces, I think the malaise in Ulster runs deeper than that....

I reckon that Boss, Wallace and Trimble (especially) have all been chronically over rated...never delivered on the hype...

Totally agree regarding Williams.His record shows him in a bad light.His time with Scotland was a disaster.I think part of his problem was he was trying to get the team to play in a style they were unable to do.Basically the type of game he wants to play needs highly skilled individuals.The fact that he was unable to adapt his ideas to the players at his disposal shows that he is a poor coach.Ulster can only get worse with him at the helm.

On the point about the three players mentioned I think:
Boss is too slow and I think even the Ulster fans are starting to realise this
Wallace had potential I believe but has been messed around for far too long to realise it.The World Cup episode is surely the last straw.Any confidence he may have had left must have been destroyed.O'Gara had a nightmare by anybody's standards and still he was not asked to come on.
Trimble still has potential to be a decent player.He made a few mistakes, no doubt, defensively but at least showed an interest in trying to create something which sadly the majority of the team were unable to do(except for BOD who ironically has looked in worse form than anybody since the end of the world cup)He is really a centre anyway but will never get a chance to show if he is up to it for Ireland unfortunately.

Santa Claus · 22-12-2007 5:03pm

Will MW be bring his ever present right hand man from leinster and scotland, Willie Anderson with him ? It'd be good for the fans to have a nordie involved in the Ulster management again !

toomevara · 30-12-2007 7:23pm

Old mattie-boy just signed a two and a half year contract....God help 'em...well i suppose they can't get any worse....or can they?

daveirl · 31-12-2007 1:43am

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toomevara · 31-12-2007 9:56am

daveirl wrote: »

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Hope I'm completely wrong...time will tell I s'pose.....

smackbunnybaby · 31-12-2007 12:11pm

daveirl wrote: »

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cus he never managed munster and ireland? or douglas....?

daveirl · 31-12-2007 1:23pm

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Matt Williams set to land Ulster job

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