Maybe its their way of waving a white flag well ahead of time, but still, this news just astounds me.
After a complete and utter disaster of a World Cup, where France was only just pipped by England as the worst side in the competition, the French Rugby League have decided to replace John Monie with….get this….
Bobby Goulding.
I shit you not!
I had questions when John Monie was first announced to take over as coach of France a few years ago. A bloke that has been out of coaching for a long time, a guy that’s won competitions in Australia and England and yet who’s reputation is not flash, even with the easily impressed Poms.
It was as though someone in France was reading an Old Rugby League Week, recognized his name and thought it would be a good idea to sign up up, not realism that riding coat tails or having a the GB side bought for you doesn’t qualify you as a great coach.
Of course, it failed, and Monies name was added to the long list of people who come from Australia or England who put there hand out for cash from a developing nation, and fucked everything up.
Now, they somehow got Bobby Gouldings name.
Goulding in my opinion was the last British halfback ever to play the game. I hated him, all Aussies did, so he must have been good. He gave us a few problems in the early 90’s but he wasn’t around at Test level for all that long.
He has tried a number of coaching jobs in England and they have never worked out. He’s had off field issues (I’m trying to be kind Bobby!), although even in the world of British Rugby League were players run riot across Northern England, Goulding is seen as a new level or unexplored mayhem.
So why would France want to get him to coach their national side?
One of two reasons in my opinion.
Firstly, French Rugby League is very political and you find that the the guy that has the power at any point in time likes to make big decisions to show just how big his small French dick is. If one of these types get it in his head that he wants a certain guy to coach the national side….it will happen, whether its good for the game, whether the bloke is qualified or not, it doesn’t matter.
The second reason is, you get a lot of sub standard hangers on in developing nations, all telling the locals “I know whats right for you”. They have Aussie, Kiwi and Pommy accents. Sometimes they have Scouser accents though, but I don’t know if that’s an accent or a language all of its own.
Anyway they’ll say “This bloke would be great for you guys” and the poor old locals don’t know any better. What the hanger on doesn’t tell the locals is that this guy is a good mate of his who has been pestering him for a year about getting a well paid cushy job for him that he isn’t qualified for.
Now, I’m not sure whats happened in this case, but you can bet your bottom dollar one of those two things has happened.
Its all expected to be announced very soon.
