Davidson hits back

[leicsfoxes1]

Looks like Boon will be on his way very shortly:icon_conf

From cricinfo

Leicestershire chairman Neil Davidson has accused coach Tim Boon and captain Matthew Hoggard of setting a poor example to the younger players at the club after the pair led calls for his resignation.

As Cricinfo exclusively revealed, Boon and Hoggard, backed by the playing, ground and administrative staff allege that Davidson interferes in team affairs and has made the club unattractive to new players. However, following an emergency board meeting at Grace Road on Monday, and a private meeting with Hoggard, Davidson denies the charge and believes the actions have set a bad precedent.

"I think really the way the senior coach unfortunately got the captain into this and the senior players is setting a very poor example to our fine young players about how they should behave at a cricket club," Davidson told Sky Sports News. "I like Matthew immensely it but I don't think he's thought this one through. I think Matthew has found himself in a very difficult position. The current situation is unsustainable so we'll see how it all pans out."

Leicestershire finished bottom of the second division of the County Championship last year and though they have fared better in first-class cricket under new captain Hoggard this season - winning five matches - Davidson believes the poor performances in limited-overs cricket demands his attention.

"I don't interfere on a week-to-week basis, day-to-day basis, it's when we lose matches we should win and we lost all our home games in Twenty20 this year bar one which was rained off. We've won two CB40 games so far this season and we've lost twice to Scotland.

"The performances just aren't good enough and these are revenue-generating areas of the club and for a small county we can't afford to underperform. We've got one of the best set of youngsters in the country and I'm raising questions about the ability of the management to get the best out of those players."

 

[fox58]

Shambles

 

[glyn]

Looks like Boon will be on his way very shortly:icon_conf

Worried about what he says about Hoggard. We need him in our attack, if not as captain, but he probably won't stay if he's not captain

 

[Redditch Fox]

Looks like Boon will be on his way very shortly:icon_conf
"

I certainly hope so.

On the wider issues, I really find it difficult to choose between Davidson and Smith. As has been highlighted in this row, LCCC membership has collapsed over the last few years and for the first time I hear members commenting widely on the poor facilities (an issue highlighted in Mike Turner's letter).

The cricket is non-competitive in the financially rewarding formats of the game and team selection looks dodgy - with signs of favouritism e.g. the selection of Wayne White and the use of Boyce (a marginal in terms of meriting selection) as effectively deputy Captain.

I think Davidson is well justified in asking questions about performance and selection. However, I don't like the way he has attempted to avoid an SGM - and question whether that approach provides the sort of leadership that's needed to sort this mess.

I think it needs a fresh start with different leadership both in terms of club strategy and coaching. But it would be a tremendous challenge.

 

[leicsfoxes1]

I certainly hope so.

On the wider issues, I really find it difficult to choose between Davidson and Smith. As has been highlighted in this row, LCCC membership has collapsed over the last few years and for the first time I hear members commenting widely on the poor facilities (an issue highlighted in Mike Turner's letter).

The cricket is non-competitive in the financially rewarding formats of the game and team selection looks dodgy - with signs of favouritism e.g. the selection of Wayne White and the use of Boyce (a marginal in terms of meriting selection) as effectively deputy Captain.

I think Davidson is well justified in asking questions about performance and selection. However, I don't like the way he has attempted to avoid an SGM - and question whether that approach provides the sort of leadership that's needed to sort this mess.

I think it needs a fresh start with different leadership both in terms of club strategy and coaching. But it would be a tremendous challenge.

Totally agree with all of this Redditch

 

[glyn]

Hoggard is saying he is disappointed the letter has been made public. He has a point that this whole murky business of doing it through the media has been damaging, although I think all sides can take blame for that.

He also denied any idea that they were going to instigate a protest on the field

 

[Redditch Fox]

Hoggard is saying he is disappointed the letter has been made public. He has a point that this whole murky business of doing it through the media has been damaging, although I think all sides can take blame for that.

He also denied any idea that they were going to instigate a protest on the field

Really???

National press reports indicate that no protest took place because of advice given to the players by the PCB. This suggests that advice was sought - which would be consistent with the reports in the Telegraph etc on Tuesday.

I also think that sympathy with the players is at a fairly low ebb anyway given their generally poor performances.

The fact that Scotland did the double over us in the Pro40 has made an impact with the faithful. This has underlined how poor we are and also highlighted the poor selection policy.

I wouldn't have any confidence in team selection by Hoggard and Boon, but neither do I think that Davidson has handled things at all well.

The talk is that the Chief Executive's salary level at LCCC is circa £90,000 and this is justifiable based on comparison with other 'small' counties. Currently, I don't think we are comparable with any other county except possibly Derbys and I bet they have a bigger membership and somewhat better attendances.

 

[slyfox]

My daughter has Cerebral palsy and one of the lady stewards at the football who looks after her,told me ,she also stewards the county games and has not been paid since the Notts 20/20 game.

That says a lot about the finances if staff are not getting paid.

Im with redditch on this one it needs a total clear out...the team has been in decline for years..the corporate side is non-existent and it really does require fresh blood.

Tim Boon should resign he has had a smooth passage for ages,not expected to do well he has had no pressure on him.

Did we not have 4,000 members at one time and now 1200..says it all really.

 

[Redditch Fox]

Did we not have 4,000 members at one time and now 1200..says it all really.

It appears that it's only a few years since we had 5,000 members.

Going back to the point made by Glyn about the absence of a players protest on Tuesday. This had been predicted and indeed it was also reported that no action would be taken unless the players left the field of play.

Obviously, the players would have sought advice from the PCA and it was interesting that during the first session on Tuesday Boon appeared on the boundary and spoke with one of the Leics fielders...I cant remember who it was. Now, this is unusual because any communication is normally by the physio or a 12th man. So one might draw some tentative conclusions as to the process leading to no players' protest.

I'd go further than Sly Fox's view that Boon gets an easy ride because of low expectations. Based on his comments to the local media, he always appears to think that the playing side is full of promise. No matter how disastrous the results, the man clings to positives. This might or might not be a good approach if he were a Sports Pyschologist but as a head coach of a long time failing team!!

I actually think that some good may arise from this mess based on the view that I doubt if they can all just make up and carry on as before in preparing for next season.