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Pat Lam Leaves Connacht For Bristol

Big shame for Connacht but I'm guessing they were paid BIIIIIIIG bucks to release Lam one and a half years early. They had no obligation to release him, but I always believe that if its what the player want and you're getting fair compensation releasing the coach is the right thing to do. Letting your coach resent the organisation he's heading up is very dangerous. Honestly if you want to turn around a crap team with too much money for its own good like Bristol, Lam is the one to do it. He can build a culture of success and confidence that these big money teams with no experience at achieving results need.
Giving up a Champion team just dipping their toes into top flight european rugby for away days in Rotherham is pretty...... ambitous for Lam.
 
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Tigs Man said:
Wow Aki just tweeted

"Feeling ****** :mad:"
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Working with Lam was probably one of the biggest reasons Aki just signed a new contract. He seems to thrive in the culture Lam has built. Whatever else about Connacht they would put it all on the line for each other on and off the pitch.
 
Bad news, apparently Saints came calling too, I would have respected Lam a bit more had he gone there and not a **** club like Bristol who'll be in the championship next year.

He did great work at Connacht but could have achieved more had he played out his contract.

Aki deservedly ****** as I imagine Lam was one of the main negotiators convincing him to stay!
 
TBF Bristol is a club with a big history and a nice city.

I can see the draw in being the one to try and turn them back into a European team.

Obviously loads of £££££££ will help as well.
 
Tigs Man said:
TBF Bristol is a club with a big history and a nice city.

I can see the draw in being the one to try and turn them back into a European team.

Obviously loads of £££££££ will help as well.
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I think their history is firmly that though, they don't have much identity these days other than overpaying mediocre players.

Money is the short term draw obviously and the potential to look like a genius yet again the long term draw, Bristol's owners won't be content with the slow start he had at Connacht though so I hope he's prepared to hit the ground running over his first two seasons.
 
I'm not sure if Bristol will have the patience for Lam to implement his structures over time like at Connacht. They also have such a high turnover of players due to prom/relegation. I don't know if it will do much for Lam as a coach but he should get a good pay day nonetheless!

Aren't there still rumours of Lancaster coming on board as well? A bit weird having two guys who are comfortable in a DOR role.
 
welshglory said:
I'm not sure if Bristol will have the patience for Lam to implement his structures over time like at Connacht. They also have such a high turnover of players due to prom/relegation. I don't know if it will do much for Lam as a coach but he should get a good pay day nonetheless!

Aren't there still rumours of Lancaster coming on board as well? A bit weird having two guys who are comfortable in a DOR role.
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No Lancaster rumours shot down by this.
On patience bit. He will have it easyish in Lower division with superior players to implement his plan
 
Don't think you pay 1 million bob plus his salary for slow results. Bristol can't keep throwing money in every direction only to keep appearing nothing more than a Championship side out of their depth in the Premiership.
Due to his rep and pedigree Lam will probably be given the respect he's due, but Bristol are so far away from being decent, and if they wanted a guy who will turn things around immediately it may not be Lam, especially if there's a big turnover in players with them ping ponging between divisions and splashing money on new signings. His system at Connacht was mind and heart into the gameplan, total commitment and bringing in only guys who fit the side.
I'll say this for the appointment though. Lam is an outstanding recruiter and brings in the opposite of flops. Of he could bring in gems for Connacht I wonder what he can do with a budget of Bristol's size.
 
Difference between slow results and patience though.

I imagine that Bris expect them to go straight back up and TBH they should rightly do but i reckon that they are willing to wait once back in the prem. (As long as not relegated again).

TBH it can be great for a coach to have a season in the championship if they have a strong squad it allows you to play more promising youngsters without the intensity of the Prem something that Irish, Quins and Saints have all done. Bristol should on paper have a great academy due to the schools around it, Robinson failed to use it i reckon Lam will bring a good balance to it.
 
Nigel Carolan and Bernard Jackman have the best odds on Paddy Power for taking the gig. Carolan has the benefit of being able to pick up where Lam left off and has pushed some guys considered below the grade at other provinces into excellent top level players.
Jackman has Head Coach experience, albeit his team is now crap and going to be inevitably relegated.......
Bit of a throw up there to be honest. Hope they open the job up to the public and pick the best possible rather than just choosing the best Irish candidate. Can't think of who'd be looking for a job, unless Lancaster wants to head west.
 
The Alpha Bro said:
I think their history is firmly that though, they don't have much identity these days other than overpaying mediocre players.
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On the playing front, things have been rocky since the Shoguns days, but I disagree that they lack identity. They have a good support base (better than some AP sides while they were still in The Championship) many of whom are very passionate about everything to do with the club, despite the move away from the Mem.

The Alpha Bro said:
Money is the short term draw obviously and the potential to look like a genius yet again the long term draw, Bristol's owners won't be content with the slow start he had at Connacht though so I hope he's prepared to hit the ground running over his first two seasons.
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Comments I heard from within the camp suggest that the culture was terrible under Robinson - perform or we'll bring in someone who will. The question is, where did this come from? If it left with Robinson, then Lam could be on to a good thing. If it came from Lansdown and his people, the cycle will continue until they change their attitude or give up.

Assuming Bristol are relegated, Lam will be in a slightly stronger position that Robinson was assuming the club have learned some lessons from being promoted this time. Namely that getting promoted (which is likely to be as simple as beating Leeds in a two legged final) then trying to assemble a side capable of AP survival at short notice isn't going to work. I believe that you need to win promotion with an AP quality side then strengthen it just in case. Those players who now have AP experience will stand them in good stead to this end.

If Lam is more of a DoR than a coach, this will be a positive too. My impression is that Robinson was always more comfortable in a tracksuit than a suit.
 
RedruthRFC said:
Comments I heard from within the camp suggest that the culture was terrible under Robinson - perform or we'll bring in someone who will. The question is, where did this come from? If it left with Robinson, then Lam could be on to a good thing. If it came from Lansdown and his people, the cycle will continue until they change their attitude or give up.
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I was going to comment along the same lines.

I get the feeling that it does come from the top, unfortunately - you just have to recall the comments about signing Nonu/A N Other for a million quid, to see why.
 
Disappointing, but winning it all last year, a poor start to this year and losing one of your best players to Leinster is a combination that probably makes an offer of a extra money quite an easy one to make. Aki won't struggle to find a new club if that's what he wants, though he might have to give up on being "Irish qualified".
 
Bruce_ma_goose said:
Disappointing, but winning it all last year, a poor start to this year and losing one of your best players to Leinster is a combination that probably makes an offer of a extra money quite an easy one to make. Aki won't struggle to find a new club if that's what he wants, though he might have to give up on being "Irish qualified".
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He signed a 400k a year contract this year so he might struggle greatly!
 
Bruce_ma_goose said:
losing one of your best players to Leinster
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This was bound to hurt. Pat Lam thought he was... and he was building something - but to see it undermined like that must have hurt big time. Yeah, Robbie Henshaw *might* have had fairly legit reasons with the gf in Dublin, but would that have happened in NZ? Doubtful. The AJ McGinty saga also wouldn't have helped.
 

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