Dean Richards - Master of Falcons or Leader of Seagulls

Giving the task of turning a club in turmoil back to the pride of rugby in the lad while the Geordies , Mackems , Sandancers , Monkey Hangers , Quakers and Smoggies all have interest of a more round balled nature was never going to be a easy one for the man put in charge of it all. 


But the man who took the job is known for doing this the hardway.


17 months on from his first game at the helm of the Falcons against the previous seasons HC surprise package Edinburgh in a convincing pre-season win i have decided to cast a eye over how things are going at Kingston Park.

On the field the club are where they want to be for now , but in Deano , Peter Russel and Semore Kurdi's millions Newcastle have ambitions of being a regular challenger in the top 4 come 2018. The task is made more impressive given that they want to do it with the bulk of the squad being home grown talent . 

A lot of Newcastle Fans however arn't too happy with the side this season , after all who turns up pays £25 to get in , £4 a pint and £2 a pie to watch one team try and scrum and maul for 80 minutes and driver the crowd away.

As a Falcons fan i think we're setting ourself up quite well.

I also have a interesting powerpoint from the Falcons if anyone would care to see it? Simply PM me your E-mail and i'll send it too you.

Think your being generous with the prices there Driver.

Mate id be very interested to see the email.

The rugby isnt pretty but he's building things slowly.

The pack is becoming powerful. We have England players now from U18's - Will Witty to Saxons - Brookes and Wilson.
We have Ireland u20's McGuigan, and Scottish U20's Glen Youngs aswell...

We have also blooded so many youngsters this season...from Hamersley, Penny, Nelson, Witty, Youngs, Harris, Harrison Collins, etc etc...

It takes youngsters a while to get to grips with the higher physical aspects and speed etc. But how much better will they be for their experiences this season. They know whats required.

Add in some seasoned pro's like Blair, Lawson, crackers like Barrow, Welch, Saull etc and we're on the right path.

The midfield 10-13 definately needs looked at  for more spark and creativity, but i think the tactics are a little restrictive aswell. But that may be to aid the youngsters.

Ill judge from the summer aquisitions and next seasons performances..as long as we stay up  

You're welcome to him.

Although he turned Quins into a better team than they were, "bloodgate" was a step too far.  I couldn't say whether or not Dean Richards has learned his lesson.... I hope he has.... but only he knows how much he is chastened by the experience of that shameful incident.

We don't know if, rather than being a reformed man, he may just be more devious.  His focus not being on playing fairly in the future, but making sure he doesn't get caught next time.

Perhaps I'm being unfair to him.  I have no personal axe to grind with Dean Richards, but Harlequins are an honourable club and to be associated with what he did is a dark stain that we didn't want and wasn't worth getting just to try to win a match (and don't forget, it didn't work.  We still lost).

Good luck with Dean Richards in charge.  He's a good coach, but beware the dark side of his nature.

In my opinion, we have to give him a couple of seasons and see what he brings - he has to build a side he believes in.

He's bringing back the emphasis on the academy - short term pain - long term gain (fingers crossed)

Holier than thou comments about his past record always makes me chuckle - as if all premiership sides were whiter than white.

He got caught, a lot of them took the hint and pulled back.

I notice there are a lot less games of unopposed scrums sine Deano got hung out to dry.

Think about it.

TrailApe wrote:In my opinion, we have to give him a couple of seasons and see what he brings - he has to build a side he believes in.

He's bringing back the emphasis on the academy - short term pain - long term gain (fingers crossed)

Holier than thou comments about his past record always makes me chuckle - as if all premiership sides were whiter than white.

He got caught, a lot of them took the hint and pulled back.

I notice there are a lot less games of unopposed scrums sine Deano got hung out to dry.

Think about it.

I somewhat balk at the allegation of a holier than thou attitude. Harlequins are by no means the purest of the pure. Any club that has had Jason Leonard, Brian Moore and Keith Wood packing down in the front row, not to mention more recent shy, retiring types such as Joe Marler, can't claim to be angels. And we don't.

But Deano was a class apart. He learned his trade at Welford Road, where the dark arts are perfected to a degree not seen anywhere else in the rugby world.

Hung out to dry..? If that's your interpretation, then that's fine.

I would call it a fair cop.

He's a bully who almost destroyed the career of few Professional people....however he has served his time and is a very good and successfull coach and probably the best possible one for falcons right now. Rome wasn't built in a day and if you have to stay up by playing 10man rugby to begin with then so be it. Newcastle academy has massive strength and can form the basis for success when the foundations are in place....personally though I can't forgive him for his treatment of tom williams and Wendy chapman.