The Coaching team

plus ca change . . .      

At least Davis admits he's disappointed, that it's "not ideal" and "does not make things easy".

Quite a different tone from what the idiotic Dobell told us last night , that "Sussex are understood to be phlegmatic".

So was that "understood" not in traditional lobby terms meaning off-the-record background briefing from the club, but "understood" as in 'I can't be bothered to speak to anyone at Sussex so I'll make it up'?

I'm glad s&f has raised Robinson's shouting and swearing at the Durham players in full hearing of spectators. I inquired informally from those 'in the know' if Robinson was disciplined or warned by the club over his completely unacceptable behaviour that day, which set his players a terrible example. The evasive answer suggested he hadn't even been spoken to over the matter and we weren't to mention it ever again.

Good for Steve Hollis. A proper journalist. Have they stopped his tea and cake?

Yes, the Robinson Legacy is unravelling fast. Davis has picked up a poisoned chalice.

You can take what these people say at face value, but you are a fool if you do.

Luke Wright is the only one who seems to tell the unvarnished truth. The rest of them just spin and twist.

Have a listen to Luke here:

 audioboom.com/boos/4483846-sussex-captain-luke-wright-on-injury-possible-loans

He says his chances of playing  v Leics are "very slim..it's too soon" and that he's "hopeful in another week or so I can start picking up a bat again". He goes on to say he's aiming for a return either away v Derby (May 8) or away v Worcs (May 15). My bet is that it will be the latter. Either way, the earliest we are going to see him leading the team out at Hove is May 28.

Compare that to Davis saying he is  "possibly slightly doubtful" to play v Leics in five days time!

ffs, I said Wright is the only one who tells the unvarnished truth. The rest are spinners and twisters  and Dobell is the dodgiest, most contemptible  seamstress of  them all because his commitment is to embroidering his 'story' rather than telling the unvarnished truth, which is so often less interesting.

At least Davis and company are trying to do their best for Sussex cricket, even when they try to screw us with weasel words and we have to rely on Wright to tell us the truth in the face of thier  dissembling. They're not a blot on the coaching profession in the way that Dobell is a stain on good journalism. There. Does  that satisfy you?

Time to revise this thread following the embarrassment of the run chase against Hampshire in the T20 and the numerous comments about the need for change. Vithushan Ehantharajah has some interesting comments to make in cricinfo and one intriguing Twitter quote www.espncricinfo.com/county-cricket-2016/content/story/1035117.html

In reply to a Tweet from a supporter Matt Prior replied "I would love to help and have offered my services but it's up to the powers that be to make that decision" and on being further pressed as to why he and Adams weren't part of the management team "not really sure. Oh well I'm sure they have it all under control". They, of course being S ussex CCC.

Vithusan finishes his analysis, pointing out that promotion in the championship is still mathematically possible but would require enormous luck with the weather as well as sustained achivement through every game, by assessing the T20 chances which now rely on winning the last four games as "They are still in control of their own destiny to a point but have lost all wiggle room."

Yet wiggling is all that has happened since last autumn. Faced with relegation and Robinson's departure, Sussex decided it was either too costly to look elsewhere or were too fearful of change and so wiggled in Mark Davis, a likeable and intelligent deputy into the senior coaching spot. They then took away power from him by wiggling and appointing the nondescript Keith Greenfield as overall Director of Cricket. The details of what he does and what relationship he has to Davis and the first team's performance have never been published, but I'm sure there is a lot of wiggle room there.

Then there was a lot of wiggling over the batting coach. Robinson's wiggle had been that there was no need for a batting coach; no other side had one. When that canard was exposed an impressive JD was posted for a Batting Coach and Second Team Manager. By the time Murray Goodwin had been wiggled in for a half-season's contract the Second team responsibilities had been wiggled off onto another ex-player. We never quite worked out what effects Goodwin had on the players under his aegis before he had wiggled back to Australia a month earlier than publicised.

Next and best wiggle has been Mustafizur. What a splendid deal for Sussex to acquire such a promising young international! How fortunate were we to be thoroughly hoodwinked by Bangla coaches and officials and how completely they ran rings round the efforts of Davis to find out what was going on and whether, rather than when, he would have his not very secret weapon ready to deploy.

There has been too much wiggling and no signs of a coherent management structure that has a plan and sticks to it. Everything smacks of amateurism and sentimental reliance on a strength presumed to exist because the coaching "team" were all involved, peripherally for the most part, in the successful years of the 2000s and the hope that some of the strengths of that era will magically be translated into purposeful and imaginative management of a new squad, facing different challenges in a daunting new environment. Endless Twitter messages with hashtags of sharklove and GOSBTS are no replacement for professional direction.

The current squad has some exciting talents coming through. Garton, Archer and Whittingham all look to be proper fast bowlers and we could have one of the best new ball attacks around within a year if they are properly handled and have some support. Ollie Robinson could become the all rounder we desperately need: not the mythical figure of a top 6 batsmen who bowls like a dream, but a good 7 or 8 who bowls stock pace. Phil Salt and Harry Finch both have great talent and need a good coach to nurture it properly and guide them through the bad patches they make, helping them to make the decisions that will shape their careers. Others have more to contribute and one or two astute imports - not necessarily overseas players - could turn this side from being hopefuls and also rans into consistent champions. What is required is someone to impose their vision on to this squad, to encourage and to lead, to be the diplomat sometimes, and the tyrant occasionally. To do this that person needs to have a clear brief outlining what they are responsible for, a budget for which they alone are accountable, and the ability to bring in others, whether players or coaches, who will benefit the restoration of Sussex as a force.

If it is necessary to wiggle, then recast Greenfield's role as Head of Community Cricket and encourage him to join the new Director in providing input on potential players from the clubs and youth sides. Give Mark Davis a role as spin coach and second XI manager. Use the expertise of the former players, the Goodwins and the Priors as advisers but do not confuse that occasional recourse to past experience with the more complex set of skills that are needed for continuous development of new talent.

Above all, look outside the magic circle of the glory years. Look at what Leicestershire are achieving with a dynamic CEO and an overseas coach. They have the community involvement that Sussex desires, the network of local sponsorships, and on the playing field they have astutely brought in a few experienced senior players to blend with local talent. There are no wiggles there, just careful planning and good, positive decision making. That is the model for a non-Test ground county.