May the Force Be With You, John
It’s no surprise that John Mitchell has ended up in a spot of bother at the Force.
Now let’s acknowledge that on the surface he appears to have done a great job bringing a new franchise into a competitive competition.
He also managed to get the AB’s to within one game of the RWC Final which compares favourably with the current coach!
But it is also obvious that that Mitch may have some nous when it comes to rugby and rugby tactics but not when it comes to dealing with people.
In many respects, even allowing for the end of the world scenes we saw in 2007, Mitchell got treated worse than Henry.
“Mitch-speak” and an unwillingness to suck up to the sponsors and supporters torpedoed his AB career.
And it looks like he will be working over-time to keep his current job based on the issues that have emerged in WA.
As rugby becomes more professional, there is a growing expectation that those who are paid to do the job are more professional.
Mitchell’s treatment of sponsors and supporters was deserving of the sack – afterall, in a professional environment, it is the punters and sponsors who front up with the money that ends up in the back pockets of the players and the coaching staff.
The failure of the players to live up to reasonable expectations of professional behaviour is a separate issue!
The jury appears to be out on Mitchell at present. What is clear is that there are still issues and at the very time when players and coaching staff should be focusing on the upcoming season, other issues will be tearing them apart.
The question would then have to be – who would employ Mitchell based on his CV?
