The 3:00 at Watford - The Blame Stakes

Not Sarrie's fault
By Large
February 28 2006

Sarries are in a mess and don't we know it. But instead of pulling together and sorting out the problems, the club is divided and people are looking to shift the blame. So roll up and place your bets on the runners in the 3 o'clock at Watford - The Saracens Blame Stakes.

A couple of years ago I was heading home on a Silverlink County train which stopped at a red signal just outside Hemel Hempstead. After a delay of about 10 minutes, the senior conductor spoke to the passengers on the public address system and said that the delay was due to a Virgin train breaking down further up the line and that Railtrack had not yet given permission for Silverlink to send their train back to the previous set of points so it could switch to the other, unblocked line.

So that was alright, then, if you were Silverlink. Any compensation claim submitted due to the delay could be passed on to Virgin Trains and Railtrack who, undoubtedly, would accuse one another for not getting me and a few hundred others to the dinner table on time. The blame stakes is a convenient game to play in the world of de-nationalised rail. It’s also one that’s being played at Saracens right now.

Let’s look at the runners and riders:

1. Nigel Wray - By Deep Pockets out of Numerous Business Interests

Supporters are questioning Our Nige’s sanity now that Sarries are on the longest skid since Thrust 2 applied the brakes. Once again, despite a rousing speech at last season’s Awards Dinner, his words appear to have fallen upon deaf ears as his appointees have delivered nothing other than a quick run home (Nige seems to leave most games early nowadays) and an increase in his grey hair count. Is our Nige at fault, argue some fans, for placing his trust in so few who cannot deliver to so many?

2. Mark Sinderberry – By Nigel Wray Appointment out of Contract in March?

I interviewed Sinderberry on his appointment in March 2003 for Rugby Times. In it he said that he was there to look after the balance sheet and make Saracens a viable financial prospect by the time his three year deal was up. Since then it’s been a rocky ride for the former professional basketball player and CEO of the former Super 12 Champion ACT Brumbies. The fans have turned against him this season; not least for the closure of the Members’ Bar which was turned into a Corporate Lounge. Disenfranchised supporters think that the business side takes precedence over the bread-and-butter requirement of staying in the league: winning rugby matches. It is known by many that the ultimate arbitrator when it comes to spending money is the big fella on the top floor. All staff must submit business and spending plans which must be ratified, even the coaches. The question is whether blame can be laid at the CEO’s door because he can’t see the rugby wood for the corporate trees?

3. Senior Players – By Lack of Leadership out of Possible Disinterest

Francois Pienaar said it. Wayne Shelford was very vocal about it. Now Mike Ford has come out and said the same: The senior players are not performing to their capabilities. It is a way for Ford, lumbered with a sinking ship after Diamond was made to walk the plank, to deflect attention from his own shortcomings as a coach? It is true, however, that a few of the late-twenty-early-thirty-somethings in the squad are not pulling their not inconsiderable weight. And as some will not be here next year, either through retirement or moves elsewhere, could we supporters not question their level of commitment?


4. Glen Jackson – By The Nature of His Position out of Favour With the Fans

Outside halves are an easy target for nay-sayers. It is the one position that can make or break a game. It’s pressure all the way, moreso if you have to double up as the main goal kicker. It’s true that Jacko has been as inconsistent as the team itself and that some of his misses – like the one from 22m out in front of the posts against Bristol – have been almost risible. But spare a thought for a player who has been given three different half back partners, many different centre partnerships and conflicting game plans this season. Poor Glen doesn’t know whether he’s coming or going with all these changes and it’s no surprise to me that his performances have reflected this.

5. Player Power – By Not Liking to be Shouted At out of Narcissism

If I am bawled at by the boss, I am big and ugly enough to take it on the chin and carry on regardless; not take my teddy home and plot his downfall. Did the players have a say in removing Steve Diamond by covering their ears every time he let rip and then claming he had “lost the dressing room”? If they did, what better way to repay the fans and by taking charge of training and still managing to lose at home to a team in as much trouble as they are? If rumours of a dressing room coup are correct, what were they thinking?

6. Mike Ford – By Assuming the Role out of Steve Diamond’s Promotion

Brought in as a defensive guru following a successful time with Ireland, Ford was handed the Head Coach’s job when Diamond was made Director of Rugby (I still, after following the game for over 30 years, don’t know what a DoR is supposed to be doing). Questions have been asked about Ford’s credentials as a head coach. After helping the Lions dirt-trackers to an unbeaten run of games in an otherwise dismal tour, some think he didn’t enough technical knowledge from the likes of Ian McGeechan et al to become successful in a game he didn’t play.

7. Gameplan – By Messing About out of Knee Jerk Reaction

Sarries started the season with a positive, forward-thinking idea on how to play the game. Bonus points against Leeds, Sale and Worcester came out of an ambition to play with the ball seeing a lot of air. This changed in a few short minutes when Northampton stung Sarries with two early tries back in November and they reverted to playing the up-your-jumper football that saw them climb to fifth place last season.
All well and good, you might think, but since then it’s been neither here nor there. The ball is being thrown around when it should be kept tight – take the first half against Bath at home for proof – and not seeing the light of day when it should be out to the wings quicker than a Fezboy heading for the bar – as it was in the Bath away game back in November. I’ve heard stories that Mike Ford would tell the side to play in a particular way, only for Steve Diamond to tell his forwards to ignore the instructions and keep the ball to themselves. Not good. Are Sarries a running side, a mauling side, or a kicking side? Nobody seems to know any more. Not even the players.

8. The Supporters by Voting With Their Feet out of Losing the Faith

A piffling 5,216 witnessed a relegation scrap at Vicarage Road that, although it was short on quality, still had that small number on their feet in the final quarter. As Premiership crowds continue to grow and the “Sold Out” signs are permanent fixtures at some other grounds, Sarries are bucking the trend with attendances that are dwindling. Why? Because some fans have had enough. Enough of the poor results. Enough of players not showing desire and passion to win. Enough of the spin from the club when things are obviously going down the tubes. Enough of being taken for granted. There are a few hundred die-hards who’ll follow the side wherever, be it Wasps, Cardiff, Bucharest or even National League One. When the club and the team need them the most, some are no longer willing to part with their hard-earned. Fewer people in the ground can’t be helping the Sinderberry balance sheet or the players out there on the pitch.

9. Vicarage Road by Moving From Bramley Road out of Having Nowhere Else to Go

A good friend of mine and a Sarries fan since the Bramley Road days is always having a go at the ground. So are supporters of other clubs who think that Watford is just one stop on the line from Hell itself. With bars being turned into shops and corporate lounges, the quick-fix village not managing to paper over the cracks and 10,000-plus empty seats, it’s easy to dislike VR. Empty seats mean less atmosphere and more voids to fill with what little noise Sarries fans make nowadays. Those that turn up, anyway.



Non-runner

10. Steve Diamond by Going Back Up North out of Losing His Job

The fans loved his no-nonsense approach and the way he dragged the team from the relegation zone in to this year’s Heineken Cup. But while the supporters gave him unconditional backing, the players and the board were less than happy with his northern grit. Rumours of rifts with just about everybody from the players right up to Nigel Wray surfaced in the weeks leading to his dismissal, but he can now escape the blame because he’s no longer at the club.

And they’re off!

Nigel Wray passes the blame onto Mark Sinderberry who passes it down to Mike Ford. Mike Ford jostles with Senior Playres for not performing and they throw Gameplan back in Mike Ford’s face. Glen Jackson looks a bit wayward because doesn’t know what he’s supposed be doing or who he’s supposed to be listening to. Mike Ford now comes back and blames lack of leadership from the players who now complain that The Supporters don’t make enough noise. The Supporters are staying on the outside of Vicarage Road because that the rugby and ground are so bad as Mark Sinderberry takes away two bars without prior consultation. Gameplan is still nowhere to be seen as Player Power and Senior Players take over the running. Mike Ford is now under pressure from Nigel Wray and Mark Sinderberry while Glen Jackson is getting a good beating by The Suppoters. Vicarage Road is staying but can’t make an impression on The Supporers as the field heads into the final furlong. Mike Ford now presses his case with Gameplan with Senior Players, Nigel Wray and Mark Sinderberry, while Player Power is still neck-and-neck with Glen Jackson as they try to find their way to the front. The Supporters are tiring still inside Vicarage Road.

At the line it is…..a photo finish between all nine runners.

And it won’t need a Steward’s Inquiry to decide the outcome. Everyone is to blame.


In all seriousness, the club finds itself in its current predicament due to all of the above and shifting blame between all factions might make individuals feel better about themselves, but it doesn’t do anything to right the wrongs.

With just six games left against six teams, all but one of whom have beaten Sarries this season, it’s going to take a lot of out everyone associated with the club. What’s needed now is for everyone to put in that little extra; Nigel Wray’s commitment, Mike Ford to put together a game plan that works, the players to realise that they’re in danger of the drop and consequently to buck up their ideas, the supporters to provide unquestionable loyalty, Mark Sinderberry to get his hands into his pockets to fund some travel to Leeds for what many see will be the relegation decider on 9 April.