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The NZ Sunday Star Times sports writer, Greg Ford, has come out with some startling revelations about coach John Mitchell and the Western Force Super 14 franchise which, if true, indicate that there is an intense struggle between the coach and the majority of the players and staff over control of the club.
The implication in Ford’s account is that Mitchell is hanging onto his job, pending a review of his methods by a retired judge, mainly because his manager, the redoubtable John Fordham, has threatened legal action if his power of the team is not restored. And because paying Mitchell out of his contract will cost the cash-strapped franchise over $1 million.
Ford also claims that while Mitchell remains the coach of the Western Force ‘technically,’ the training of the team has been done by the assistant coach, John Mulvihill.
In his Sun-Herald rugby column this week, the former Queensland and Australian coach John Connolly, says that 30 out of the 36 and 10 of the coaching staff have signed a petition of complaint about Mitchell.
Connolly makes the point that Mitchell is in a ‘tough place’ because it’s easier to sack one coach than most of your players and coaching staff.
He might have noted that when the management of the ACT Brumbies were faced with a much smaller revolt by a group of senior players against their successful coach David Nucifora, it was Nucifora who was sacked.
The gist of Connolly’s article is that “how a coach handles the pressure is the key to how he survives.’ The implication in the article is that Mitchell is very poor at handling pressure. Connolly instances the fact that Mitchell ‘left the All Blacks under a cloud because of the way he supposedly handled issues.”
This Connolly attack comes a week after a similar sort of attack against Mitchell was made by Brendan Cannon.
Cannon’s argument was that it is alarming for the future success of a club when the majority of its players and coaching staff are in rebellion against their coach.
Cannon was a founding member of the Western Force, the first player recruited by Mitchell. He’s been the heart and soul of the club, even after he was forced to retire with neck injuries.
Journalists are inveterate conspiracy theorists, of course, but there seems to be something of a whiff of a takeover attempt in all the criticisms made against Mitchell.
And why is this so?
In my opinion, certain parties are interested in taking over Mitchell’s job if the review forces the board of the Western Force into sacking him.
This brings us back to Greg Ford’s article which was entitled, “The mystery of John Mitchell.”
Ford solves the mystery in a way by explaining that Mitchell appears to be a Dr Jeckyll and Mr Hyde character. He can be “the smiling, charming, successful, smart, athletic family man – or, the devious, scheming, ruthless, ticking time bomb.”
It’s now generally forgotten that Mitchell won the Western Force coaching job against an ARU directive by the then chief executive Gary Flowers that the job had to go to an Australian.
Fordham, who is also the manager of Ricky Stuart, another coach who has a tempestuous relationship with the media and sometimes with some of his players, lobbied brilliantly for his client, Mitchell.
The rugby media was subjected to a charm offensive on the part of Fordham and Mitchell which turned the tide in the favour of the New Zealander.
Here, I’ll make a confession.
During the lead-up to the appointment of Mitchell as the coach of the Western Force, I’d been critical of the attempt to give-up on the policy of appointing non-Australians to a Super 14 coaching job. My argument was that, first, there were plenty of competent Australian coaches who could do the job, and, second, that Mitchell was not so much better than any of the good Australian candidates that he deserved the special treatment a Robbie Deans might be given.
Thirdly, Australian rugby did not want to get into the same position as European rugby of giving away all the top coaching jobs to outsiders and, thereby, reducing the chances of a national coaching the national side.
Fordham must have read these criticisms.
He arranged for me to have a chat with Mitchell before he went across to Perth. I found him to be a very pleasant, intense, knowledgeable and family-oriented man. On the occasions I’ve contacted him about rugby matters, say what players and coaches look out for with certain referees, he’s been helpful and intelligent.
A perfect Dr Jeckyll.
But Ford reports that at North Harbour last season, when the Force were struggling against the Auckland Blues, the Force’s coach’s box was near the media benches and hard-nosed reporters were startled to hear that “the air was blue with profanities.”
The Force is not with John Mitchell, it appears, in more ways than one.
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Wally James said | January 20th 2009 @ 11:58am | Report comment
Spiro
It would be interesting to know the terms of the petittion. If it was to have Mitchelll removed there is little chance that he will have a good influence on the team for the rest of the season. They don’t want him. If the petition asks him to change his style, Mitchell will be walking on eggshells. He won’t want to get on the teams bad side again. Either way it leaves a team and management in disharmony. If he departs this close to the start of the season the team is in disarray and, presumably, Mulvihill will be left to pick up the pieces. None of the alternatives bode well. As you say, the Force is not with John Mitchell. Perhaps the force is not with the Force.
Wally James
Wally James said | January 20th 2009 @ 12:19pm | Report comment
And on another issue, I applaud your thoughts on state coaches coming from the ranks of Australians. As a youth I recall vividly the passion with which Queensland played under Templeton, Connolly, McBain, Slack and Miller and the similar passion with which Queenslanders supported them. Should this not stretch to the Australian team? There is little doubt that Robbie Deans is a hardworking decent man with a vast store of rugby strategy, law and lore. But to be honest, when he was appointed, I felt just a bit betrayed. I wanted an Australian team coached by an Australian who has passion for Australia. I don’t doubt for an instant that Deans has Australia’s interests at heart all the time. But he wore a black jersey not a gold one. By that I mean no criticism. The decision having been made by the ARU that we have foreign coahes, it would be churlish to attack a man of Deans’ integrity. But it is appropriate to attack the principle under which he was appointed. The same arguments you correctly raise as to the state coach appointment seem to me to apply at a national level. Its all old hat now but in 3 years another appointment need be made. I hope its an Australian.
Remy said | January 20th 2009 @ 12:45pm | Report comment
Spiro
Nice article. I enjoyed reading it.
Something clearly is going wrong within the Western Force. Actually, to be more precise, there seems to have been a lot going wrong within the Western Force for a number of years now.
And we really need to ask, why?
How could this ‘group’ start with a membership base of 20,000 odd people and a sound team, only to see it slip in to the depths of turmoil. And if you think a halving of that membership, sacked players, players fighting, a crooked sponsor and a CEO that admits to breaking rules isnt turmoil, then what is it? Clearly something is wrong out West and something needs to be done to steer this broken ship back on course.
But back to the matter at point.
I’ve read and watched with amusement the way John Mitchell has been treated. And this is not meant in any way to defend this individual as I too believe he has much to answer for and probably needs to fall on his sword.
What amuses me the most is the fact that the vast majority of Force players, and many administrators, signed a petition that, apparently, doesnt support Mitchell remaining in Perth but, then, when publicly quizzed, have jumped to his support. I must say the bizzare comments made by Nathan Sharpe and a few other players in support of Mitchell is quite amusing. Are they trying to say that the ‘do support him (genuinely) and didnt sign the petition’. Or are the following the long established protocol of media management at the force of constant and sustained contradiction at all times? Please guys, try some honesty. The spin has spun out and its plain to see communication doesnt work well out West.
Whilst the terms of the petition arent publicly known (officially) one can only draw an assumption that such drastic action wasnt an act of support for Mitchell. And if most players signed this, how can they now jump up and declare a pledge of some form of alliegence?
Its time for the Force to show some leadership and honesty and get on with things and perform – on and off the field..
Will someone please put their hand up to volunteer first?
Harry said | January 20th 2009 @ 1:13pm | Report comment
Spiro I would have thought rugby journalists would have been very wary of John Fordham after the way he orchestrated a campaign against Jeff Miller about the ARU’s -correct – decision not to sign Fordham client Joey Johns to a lucrative long term rugby contract, when it was fairly obvious that Joey was on his last legs – champion player though he undoubtedly was.
As to the Force and Mitchell, whatever happens its bad news for Australian rugby – the Brumbies were allowed to sink into mediocrity after giving “player power” full reign and installing an ineffecutal coach. From reading your article I presume your saying Cannon is leading the push?
Spiro Zavos said | January 20th 2009 @ 2:32pm | Report comment
You are right Harry. In fact after my opposition to Andrew Johns being signed on by the ARU (in my opinion he was too injury prone and also an icon of RL should not defect late in his career to another rugby code, in the same way that the Pope can’t convert to Islam) John Fordham sent me a letter stating that Johns on one leg was better than the RU talent on two legs. The letter was marked ‘private and confidential.’
I published the letter in the SMH. When Fordham objected, I told him it may have been ‘private and confidential’ as far as he was concerned, but it wasn’t as far as I was concerned. As he’d accused me in the letter of being a lackey of the ARU, I reckoned that he was trying to put pressure on me and the rugby public should know what his tactics were in protecting the interests of his clients.
When he offered me a chat with John Mitchell, after he had been appointed the coach of the Western Force (an appointment I’d also opposed on the grounds that Super 14 jobs should go to Australians and that his record wasn’t that great either), I took it up.
As I say, we had an interesting conversation. Mitchell promised to be accessible to people like myself (unlike his behaviour with the All Blacks), and by and large he was.
He is clearly in deep trouble at the Western Force and the protestations of loyalty from some of the players don’t cut much ice. But whether he will be sacked remains an issue that will be resolved when the review comes out.
Who Needs Melon said | January 20th 2009 @ 3:38pm | Report comment
Geez who’d be a coach eh? It’s a bloody tough job. You seem to need an obsessive personality but to also avoid some of the character traits that often accompany this personality type – arrogance, aloofness, intransigence.
To be a top, TOP player I think you need to be of the same mould. Putting more than one of such types in a room together can spell trouble. I think, like siblings, one is assumed to be the more responsible (the senior, the coach) and cops the blame when there’s fireworks.
I’ve never been a top player – just a high school plodder – but I’ve played for some FANTASTIC coaches – guys you’d do anything for. How they inspire such devotion is hard to put your finger on. Then again maybe I’m more easily able to get on with such coaches because I’m not such an obsessive personality.
I suppose the point of all my rambling is that we sometimes need to forgive people for not being TOTAL machines and having normal human failings, making mistakes, etc. So the guy sometimes flies off the handle, swears and storms out. There’s the implications in these articles that he likes a drink. So what? Do we really expect all of our sportspersons to be pure as driven snow?
Exile said | January 20th 2009 @ 6:07pm | Report comment
Spiro,
Congratulations on putting together 3 other writers articles and then claiming the story as your own. Disappointing to say the least, but I guess at the end of the day you are still an employee of a proud sponsor of the Waratahs. Its a shame to have brought across your blue tinted goggles to the allegedly independent ROAR.
One Question I hope you could answer for me – if RugbyWA declared an operating profit of a million dollars and the Waratahs had to go cap in hand to the ARU for a handout, could you please define the term cash strapped?
Whilst my goggles are a shade of blue, I guess mine are a darker shade then yours.
Even looser said | January 20th 2009 @ 7:17pm | Report comment
What the??? “But Ford reports that at North Harbour last season, when the Force were struggling against the Auckland Blues, the Force’s coach’s box was near the media benches and hard-nosed reporters were startled to hear that “the air was blue with profanities.”
A coach that uses bad language in the coach’s box when his team keeps on stuffing up. What a complete bastard!
Westy said | January 20th 2009 @ 8:41pm | Report comment
Tha same article by Conolly also highlighted the membership of the Force has dropped by 20%. and basically have a home oval not suitable for rugby. The Force have been finrd and reprimanded for breaches of ARU regulations , have players a little under the weather at training and official functioncs , perform acts of cruelty on quokkas and have players who king hit a team mate and a coach on restricted duties under investigation by a judge. If they could have got Ben Cousins or Greg Bird it would have been perfect. There are some sporting clubs who have been worse but it is typical of a relatively new and as yet unsuccessful franchise.
Exile said | January 20th 2009 @ 11:28pm | Report comment
Westy – allow me to respond.
Yes the Western Force paid membership has dropped by 20% and yet, we still have more members then any other Australian Team in the Super14. I would like to say that the Western Force has more paid up members then all Super14 Franchises, but I cant say for certain.
Yes the Western Force got fined and reprimanded for breaches. Exactly how long will this continue to be used against the Western Force?
2 Players failed their own imposed alcohol restrictions – the limit by the way is 0.01%
The act of cruelty that you refer to was to pick up and then put down the Quokka – yes this is against the law, and a fine was paid.
And yes Matt Henjack punched Haig Sare in the jaw.
In all these incidents the fans of the Western Force have not wavered, nor have we quit. The Fans of the Western Force continue to attend an oval that is so unsuitable to watch Live Rugby but they continue to support their team. They have become the Sea of Blue that is quickly becoming world famous. In all the incidents and the poor venue to watch Live Rugby – the crowds continue to average greater then 20,000 per match.
The Fans of the Western Force believe that their team is worthy of a rectangular stadium that 8,832 that were enrolled to vote in Western Australia signed a petition to demand a rectangular stadium, not just for the Western Force, but for the Perth Glory and the WA Reds Rugby League side as well.
The East Coast press can continue to write all of the bad news stories they like, but the Sea of Blue is strong. Tho its very difficult to stomach or take that criticism seriously from writers of The Roar or Rugby Heaven when the employer of these writers is a Sponsor of the Waratahs. Some would call that a conflict of interest.