Pat Lams selections have been an utter disaster over his tenure.

i didnt say they shouldnt do anything, just that they probably wont - mid/during the season

lam needs to go, and will so next year, but incessantly blaming the coach for everything and calling for his head mid season is naive, certain factors are out of his control

4th.

I realise that certain factors are out of his control. But that's the reality of being a professional coach.

and the reality is that he'll most likely stay on until the end of the season

Indeed.

He seems like a nice enough person, and was a fine player, but that is not what makes a coach.

What was his coaching pedigree before taking over the Blues?

Would have got hauled off at school even if the pass had gone to hand.

Strength and aggression when he takes the line, me gusta...

couldnt bring myself to watch this game, have had enough of watching grown men without a brain between them try their best to offer a rendition of the titanic in its final lurches towards the abyss..

Was at the game.

Blues looked clueless, brainless, visionless and hopeless. They have no team ethic. Runners have no idea where their support is and if they did, would not know when and how to get the ball to them. Too many stupid mistakes gifting opportunities to a team that is the best in the comp for taking those chances.

Entertaining stuff from the canes who might deserve a bigger crowd. Perenara was excellent. Jane had his best game all year. Smith was a tyro. Vito was a monster with ball in hand and strong at the lineout.

Barrett ran well but needs some time aith the kicking tee at practice.

All in all, good first win at the caketin this year, and left me happy.

True, but the Canes did eventually win after spilling more pill than a ward of senile old men. oh sorry you're talking about the team pretending to be the Blues ... continue toward that iceberg by all means.

To be honest Lam is obviously 'dead man walking', but I see no point in canning him now. No coach is going to want to pick up this mob, they are damaged goods, I reckon they have to stick with where they are now and start working hard on recruiting coach and players for next year, I have never seen changing coach this far in season working, and I think Blues need to limit damage ie; don't ruin another coach by trying to get him to sort out this mess!!

He did win an NPC with Auckland, hence his promotion.

Penney won four.

Hammett won none.

He won a S14 title as an assistant. Or don't achievements as assistant coaches count in your book. Using that logic, Steve Hansen has never won a RWC? Is that what you believe?

Expect you mean something else, tyro means novice.

If Pat Lam is essentially a lame duck, a dead-coach walking, how are the Blues negotiating with players for 2013? Surely one of the first things a newly signing, or re-signing player wants to know is who will be coaching the team? By refusing to sack Lam and kick-start the search for a new coach the Blues board and NZRU are effectively leaving the Blues in limbo, and gifting other S15 franchises and NH clubs a massive opportunity to snaffle up disgruntled current Blues squad members. They are also making it impossible for the Blues to start negotiating with player managers until well into the off-season.

Agree with this.

Interesting to see the NZRU being criticised for keeping a coach onboard until the end of the season. The last thing I want is for our Super Rugby Franchises to turn into the circus that is European football, where coaches are sacked after half a season below expectation or, in some cases, because they 'win ugly'. Lam is certainly at fault but bringing in a new coach won't help matters at this stage. The season is a lost cause, let it go and start fresh next year.

Lam cannot hold complete responsibility for the Blues misfortunes. He declared that the Blues did not play to the gameplan provided last week (obvious to anyone watching) and no one was questioning his squad selection at the beginning of the year, so it's a bit rich to criticise him for selecting them now.

So you're basically saying the NZRU should do nothing? They should simply sit back and watch the Blues disintegrate as an organisation, and watch the team's support base disappear into nothing? All because you're worried about how a change in coach might look?

Pretty much. You need to stop assuming that a change in coach will immediately bring better results. It won't. If anything, it will hamstring the new coach who will get off to an inevitable poor start and his record will be tarnished at the beginning of next year. The problem at the Blues goes far deeper than Pat Lam (imo), so there's no point assuming that replacing him will make the problems go away. I personally think a lot of changes need to be made at the Blues, too many to do in the middle of a rugby season.

If I thought Lam was holding the team back, I would agree with you. But I don't. I think Lam is just one of many pieces that are causing the franchise to fall apart. I sincerely hope the NZRU currently planning a raft of changes for the franchise that will be enacted at the end of the season. That's what I would do.

So what would this raft of changes be? You don't want to sack the coach before the season is over, but you seem to be advocating much broader changes once it is complete. What are these changes, and do they include a complete overhaul of both on-field and off-field employees?

Call me old fashioned but I believe a coach is ultimately responsible for the way a team performs. The Blues dire 2012 record is certainly not all his fault, but he is ultimately responsible for it.

Yep, that's exactly what I would do, but I think a lot of work needs to be done around identifying the weak links and who could stay and improve in a new structure before names are mentioned. You don't remove people from positions without a thorough look at what went wrong and you need both information and time to do that. I have neither. That said, it would be a complete overhaul, of both on and off-field employees. Every single person's importance must be questioned.

I would agree that Lam is ultimately responsible for the team, and for that reason he needs to go. I just think the Blues problems are too severe at this stage and bringing in a new coach, near the end of the season, with a group of divided and disinterested players would do more harm than good.

Sacking Lam would be bad for the image of NZ rugby. No one wants to see a coach cry on TV..................again!

I think every loss is further damaging the Blues, and doing nothing seems to be a rather passive way of responding.

I agree. However, as I said earlier, I think the Blues would keep losing and that would do even more harm by hamstringing the new coach. I can't see any coach getting results from this team at the moment. Lam is drinking from the poisoned chalice, he's already dying, let him finish.

You don't half talk some shit.

His ball carrying was excellent - again. He was the only forward that looked likely to bust the Canes open - which he did with a clean line break. One of only 2 for the Blues that I recall...

He had no chance for Perenara's try, and worked his arse off once again. No doubt he topped the tackle count.

You should stick to talking about how Thomson is better than Kaino, and Williamson should be dropped from the Black Caps...

I would rather have Jason Eaton in the AB's right now than Ali Williams

Why would you dump Lam now?

What coach would want to take over this mess?

What could they gain from it? Experience in getting shat on?

Let Lam finish the season out. Then let the culling begin.

S15 runs till the end of August. I am very uncomfortable with the NZRU and Blues boards simply doing nothing for 4 months, and allowing the team to exist in a state of limbo for that entire period. I think sacking Lam and appointing a caretaker coach would at least send a message to the Blues fans that the two boards do not accept a 1-8 start from NZ's most populous franchise base.

The ideal time to start a new job is after your predecessor has been a total royal undiluted fuck-up, as things can hardly get worse while you get the credit for any improvement, even minor.

A quality coach who believes in himself would take the job mid-season

There's only 6 games left for the Blues...

I just don't see the point in soiling another coach with this rabble.

I disagree. In any other professional sport Lam would have lost his job by now. 1-8, see you later, thanks for coming. Especially if the team in question was the pre-season favourite for the title. I'm talking about in the EPL, NFL, MLB, AFL, NRL you name it. Teams are not left to simply rot on the vine of mediocrity for months once it has been decided that a coach has past his use by date. What makes you so certain that the NZRU has it right, and team boards from all these other vastly more successful competition have it wrong?

See my post above yours. A really good coach would be happy to take this 'rabble', believing in his ability to effect change and knowing that he is not responsible for the disastrous situation in which the team finds itself.

Which coach then guys?

Names please...

Was listening to a post-game interview with Luke Braid last night.

As a captain, he has to be the least intelligent media speaker I have ever heard. In any sport. Without being disrespectful, he sounds like he is borderline intellectually impaired. He's obviously a very talented young player but surely the Blues can do better when selecting a player as captain whose media interviews represent NZ's largest and most wealthy city.

Any of the many talented Kiwi coaches currently overseas trying to raise NH teams to some sort of decent level

Am listening to radiosport. A steady stream of Blues fans announcing that they will stay away from Blues games until Pat lam is sacked. You clearly feel that retaining a dead-coach walking like Pat Lam for another few months is worth losing all these fans?

As for names of potential caretaker coaches? Keep it local. Interview the top 2-3 club coaches in Auckland, and give the job to the best candidate.

No one else is worthy of being captain until Kev comes back.

Ali doesn't even deserve to start.

Nonu? Weepu? No thanks. They'll do well to keep their spots after last night.

Benson can't hold down a spot either...

Braid is pretty much the only choice.