rossie wrote: As a limerick man i do!
But im not too disappointed to see him go. Last season they played some of the worst rugby i have ever seen played by a Munster team and the loss to Quins in thomond was just unforgivable imo.
Things have improved a lot this season but some of the credit for that must go to Axel. Im not giving Axel all the credit like some of my brethern but there has been a definate return to the Munster ethos which i for one am very happy about. I dont think Mcgahan ever really got that and he needed Axel to bring that back.
Credit goes to him for the acadamy and the development of the youngsters, some whom we havent seen much of yet, but they are coming. By all accounts it was poorly run until he took over so he has that as part of his legacy as well as 2 leagues. Unfortunately the league doesnt earn you much credit in Thomond so if he wants to be considered a Munster Legend he will have to deliver the Heineken. That will be very tough to achieve but the red army are mobilised now and everyoneto a man, supporters included, are focused now so dont right us off.I know a few supporters who have registered(and are going to buy) season tickets for ulster for next season so they can get a ticket for the quarter final from there. We havent heard stories like that for a few years now so the hunger is back and Munster players always feel it.
For the record my dream team would be Axel as Boss. I went to school with him and he has lived the game since i met him as a 12yr old boarder in Munchins.Forwards coach id bring back Seamus who aus have let go.Scrum coach id have the Bull, and Backs coach id have dougie n a player coach role.
McGahan copped a pretty ridiculous amount of abuse from the
Greatest Fans in The World (inc.) mainly because he's not native, hadn't worn red and so didn't get the grace period that that provides, and especially given he had the unenviable task of trying to refresh a squad that was frankly past it and one left with no succession plan in place, something King Declan didn't bother his hole with before jumping for the Ireland gig. He knew he'd maxed the squad he inherited with the second HEC win and bolted after O'Sullivan finally committed Hari-Kiri...
All this "Axel is the man" stuff that you see being shouted on MF.com will go pretty quiet if he actually does get the reins, it's all hope rather than evidence based. McGahan has put a structure in place that future coaches will bear the fruit from (but only if the right replacement is chosen), and that despite Munster Schools & Youths being at their lowest ebb for a couple of decades over the last three or four years....
After all the crap he copped last year from a lot of supporters who frankly couldn't find their arses with both hands (
and could easily be equated with the current generation of Man Utd supporters who suddenly appeared when they started winning stuff). I'm not surprised he decided to leave, they have completely unrealistic expectations especially when you consider the money that was made available to Kidney and Gaffney to sign players that has dried up since Thomond Mark 2 was completed and MR try to pay off the loans asap, he was forced to make more modest signings on the back of getting some expensive elder players off the payroll...
I'll tell you this though if Axel's master-plan is to go back to the same 10 man rugby game-plan Kidney had then he'll be following McGahan out the door quicker than he thinks. his ligind status will evaporate PDQ if he can't deliver wins and silverware. A third Leinster HEC win would add unbelievable pressure on him that's for sure, if they do go on to win it I'm not sure I'd want to be the man in the hot seat that's for sure....
Topic Author