The great Tony Hand debate.

So, I'm sure most of you who frequent the official Phoenix forum will have seen the debate over the past few days about the ability/suitability of Tony Hand as our coach, and whether he is able to take the club forward or not? If not, I'm sure some of you will have heard people talking about it at the games.

There seem to be 3 camps developing:

1: Tony is the right man. Things are good.
2: Tony could be the right man, if he changes certain aspects of his coaching (this is the camp I am in)
3: Sack Tony.

Now, I am definately part of the 2nc camp there. Tonys coaching has its flaws. He is too offence minded, lacks conviction in his 3rd line Brits, and places to much emphasis on his own ability to drag the team to a positive result. All of this is in my opinion of course.

For me, the best way for Tony to take the club forward, and one I feel we probably will get to see is he hangs up the skates, and becomes a full time coach. Take away the worry about his own on ice performance and he will be free to concentrate on the other palyer 100%. This would in turn remove the temptation to play the '2 Line Hockey' he is now synonymous with. As well as this, he needs either a dedicated Defence coach, or a veteran D-man, who wants to move into coaching and is willing to be Tonys AC.

Now some folks would like to see him carry on as we currently are. This is certainly a viable option, but one I fear will not yeild the results that a certain section of our fanbase seem to be demanding (more on this later).

And finally some poor deluded folks seem to be suggesting that we ditch Tony altogether. Yeah, that would be a smart move, fuckwits. Seriously, anyone who thinks the club would be better off without the single most skillfull player in the EPL has a major issue, and should seek help. Tony is without a shodow of a doubt still more than capable on the ice. He is averaging 2.1 points per game, for fucks sake! Why the hell would we gas him?

Anyways, the reason this debate seems to be picking up steam is that some filks are now panicing because we might not win the league! OH NOES!

Funny thing is, I'm pretty damn sure that the clubs intentions for this season did not include winning the league. Making the playoffs for sure was one of them. Being competative was another. And last time I checked, we were doing just fine in those regards.

Being in the EPL is a long term situation. We shouldn't be assuming we are good enough to win it at the first time of asking just because we 'dropped' from the EIHL. We are an inexperienced club at this level, as the roster selection has shown. Its a damn good roster but not quite in the same overall class as Milton Keynes or Guildford, who have seasons of experience to draw upon. We will get ther for sure, but it will take time for the players and coach to adjust. Next years roster should eb more balanced with a better sense of depth to it. Thats when the title might come. Or maybe the season after. People need to realise this, and quick.

The EPL isn't an easy league, and it isn't an instant success league. Its a development league, and thats what we are doing. And long may it continue.