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Foley Dumped
Western Force dump Michael Foley as coach after three seasons
- 12 minutes ago
- by EXCLUSIVE JAMIE PANDARAM
- Source: The Daily Telegraph
MICHAEL Foley has been dumped as coach of the Western Force after a lacklustre three seasons.
Players have been called into a meeting today to inform them of the decision, which comes a fortnight after the ARU formed an alliance with the Force to run the club amid serious financial difficulty and inability to recruit high-quality players.
The Force are the worst-performing side in the Australasian conference, having won just two games and with a competition low 21 tries from 12 games.
http://cdn.newsapi.com.au/image/v1/4...1040?width=700Michael Foley has been dumped as Western Force coach. Picture: Daniel WilkinsSource: Supplied
Foley has been under significant pressure after last year’s poor showing, when the Force were handed the wooden spoon after managing just three wins.
Foley had one more year remaining on his contract but it has been decided mutually that he will not be employed beyond this season.
Foley’s impending departure follows his acrimonious stint as head coach of the Waratahs in 2012, when he led the franchise to its worst season on record, finishing with eight consecutive losses, before signing with the Force.
http://cdn.newsapi.com.au/image/v1/6...5ccd?width=700Western Force coach Michael Foley addresses his players during a recent match.Source: News Limited
Several high profile Force players made the decision earlier this year to sign with overseas clubs for 2017, while there are other off-contract stars including Kyle Godwin and Nathan Charles who have yet to decide their futures.
Australian rugby needs the Force to become competitive again to turn around its financial situation and public appeal, and the club will begin the search for a new coach immediately.
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Oh no :-(( That makes me very sad :-( I think he did the best he possibly could with the circumstances he inherited.
Good luck for the future Foles
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Nice guy in a difficult situation. Wish him all the best in the future, and I'm perfectly happy to buy him a pint if I ever see him down the pub.
Does this mean Dave Wessels gets the gig for the last 3 matches, or will Wessels and Foote share it like the Reds? (Don't think they'd bring in anyone from outside for 3 matches)
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I can only assume that their are several candidates already being interviewed before this action was taken.
Thanks to Michael for his dedication to the team and fans and best of luck with future endeavours :cheers:
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Was a fait accompli really.
Hope we already have pencilled someone in an are talking to them. Schmidt is available is he not? done good things with Ireland. Rennie?
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Well, we wanted the ARU alliance to do stuff to improve the Force's performance.
This certainly counts in the "doing stuff" column, but it remains to be seen what impact it has on the Force's performance.
Don't get me wrong, it's the logical first step, because it sends a clear message to members and sponsors that poor results are no longer acceptable at the Force, but the effectiveness of the action depends entirely on who replaces him and how much backup the next guy has.
I'm going to go with thumbs up for the moment, since it at least is an indicator that we won't have the status quo, but my thumbs are poised to rapidly turn downwards upon announcement of his successor and also the first couple of games that successor has control over.
The one great piece of news here is that Foley probably needed his contract paid out before he got sacked, the key factor which IMHO was keeping him in the job, and the money to do that seems to have appeared.
so (with reservations) :thumbsup:
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Oh this is sad for him.. He certainly did seem a lovely person. I wish him all the best. Any suggestions who might even be in the running??
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Michael Foley Departs Western Force
RugbyWA and the Western Force has today announced that Western Force Head Coach Michael Foley has vacated his role with immediate effect.
Foley's departure will see current Senior Assistant Coach Dave Wessels assume a caretaker role for the team's final three matches of the 2016 season while the club will immediately commence a process to appoint a new Head Coach for 2017.
RugbyWA CEO Mark Sinderberry thanked Foley for his contribution to the organisation over the past four years. "Michael is a fine Coach and has done a good job in his four years with the team considering some of the obvious challenges he's faced.
"We would have liked to have had more success during this time but the Western Force also had its most successful season under Michael in 2014. With the team out of contention for finals, it was appropriate timing for both parties to look to the future and that's why we have agreed to part ways.
"We wish Michael all the best for the future and will commence a process together with the ARU to appoint a new Head Coach for the 2017 season."
Foley took over the reins at the Perth-based team in late 2012, becoming the team's third full-time Head Coach after inaugural Coach John Mitchell (2006-10) and Richard Graham (2011-12).
The Western Force failed to reach the finals in his four seasons at the helm but had its most successful season under Foley in 2014, registering nine wins to finish in 8th position on the ladder.
So in the East Coast press he has been dumped and from RugbyWA he vacated his role.....
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I wonder why he couldn't have seen out the season? Would it be to assist contract negotiations?
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Well as much as I might have bagged Foley I think this could have been handled better.
I would have liked to have seen him finish the season even if a 'new' coach was found before then.
It seems to be to be a bit of a slap in the face for a man who really did do his best for the team.
I suspect that the ARU already have someone lined up to take over and that person wanted as clean a break as possible.
So the ARU high performance unit controls who the coach is and the coach controls who the players are.
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I don't know how but the UK Media reported the Force were going to part ways with Foley before the Japanese game .. and Blackadder was in discussions, not sure what you make of that, I suppose time will tell if the other piece of the puzzle is correct.