I have to say that I have personally been reluctant to advocate for another coach change, after having done so with both Moss and Walmsley, primarily due to the upheaval that brings with it but I now see no other option.
Here are a few things for those that are still on the fence to ponder.
There is a drinking culture at play with a part of the playing group that Okon has utterly failed to deal with despite knowing about it and in one case, it may allegedly be even more serious than that. How can those players possibly deliver their best for the team and us as fans?
Neither he or Jolic allegedly make any effort to develop or even relate to any of the players outside of the starting group of 11-14 and they are simply left to sit on the fringes until they find a better offer like Ascroft. Even a talent like DDS has arguably gone backwards under our current coach, which should never have been allowed to happen.
He allegedly will not follow the recommendations of his strength and conditioning coach and then wonders why the team can’t remain focused and competitive in games like last night. For example he and Jolic are understood to have flatly refused to allow double training seasons in pre-season, as many other HAL clubs were doing, thus meaning the team were behind the curve from the outset. Apparently this was due to him being concerned about overloading the players hmmm.
By firstly dumping Hutch (without even actually speaking to him) and then sidelining Monty, he removed the last of the real Mariners’ cultural reference points, with the result being the team capitulating more often than showing the sort of spirit our teams of old possessed in spades.
When we are at the wrong end of the table, with our finals hopes hanging by a thread, he gives the players three days off, despite having only recently bemoaned the lack of time to work on the tactical aspect of games. If the team were second from top of the league not second from bottom, I think we could all accept them being given the reward of an extended break but that is not the case is it? When things aren’t going well, I always thought that was when it was time to work even harder to produce an upturn but I might have got that wrong it seems.
His tactical inflexibility and/or naivety has been there for all to see week in week out. Whilst the players must accept some of the responsibility for the team’s collective failures in certain areas, in many cases, their perceived lack of cohesion/ability is a direct result of their instructions from the coach.
For all of the above reasons and a whole lot more besides, I am sorry to say that the Okon experiment is a failure in my opinion.
I know that some folks will defend him for various reasons but the stark reality is that he simply isn’t up to scratch and to be frank, SFC are welcome to him.
The fans’ patience is all but used up and there clearly needs to be a fundamental shift in the way the team is managed going forward. Perhaps it is time to ask someone who truly knows what it means to be a Mariner to take the reins? If so, I would suggest that someone like Monty and/or even Hutch should be approached, as surely there would be no doubt about the reinstatement of our cultural values should that come to pass.
Note to Shaun & MC, there can be no more false dawns or moneyball gambles. The very fabric and future of this proud club is at the edge of the abyss and you need to take drastic steps to address that, or all will be lost. If that sounds dramatic, then it is but the situation facing us is dire and decisive action is needed. There is no more latitude, you have no more collateral to burn. Now is the time to show that you know how much we are all hurting and bloody well do something about it that will inspire us fans to believe that better days are truly ahead, not paper over the cracks with mealy mouthed political spin and mistruths. You have reached the bottom of the pit and we are now all looking to you to show us the way to climb out of it.
