The press and the Dragons

Andy Howell of the worst paper in the world has been having a snipe at the Dragons again. According to Andy Dragons fans are
Already unhappy at the failure of the board of the Rodney Parade outfit to hold serious talks with an alleged consortium, fronted by former WRU chief executive Steve Lewis...
In the best traditions of the Western Mail (a paper that doesn't believe in wasting its money on journalism) Andy appears to have got his story here. All Andy appears to have added is the description of Steve Lewis's group as an 'alleged' consortium. It's a curious tale that Dragons fans have agonised over for months, trying to work out whether there was any serious intent on Lewis's part to bring some money to the table. Since Lewis never did make a financial offer or a statement of intent we'll never know.
Back in May, when this story first started to run a chap called Andrew Lambert popped up and acted as spokesperson for the consortium. He told the BBC

"The key aim is to develop rugby in the area.

"The people involved, certainly from a rugby spectator's point of view, have got the right motives.

"We're well on with our discussions but it is a complicated issue and a matter that we must get right.

"The goal is to improve the situation, both on the pitch and in terms of the facilities."

Along the way Andrew vanished, and the ubiquitous Steve Lewis came to the fore. Lewis has been an articulate critic of the current Dragons board, keen to promote his own commercial interest in the Dragons, even if it means undermining the current side in the process. Along the way he has had an unwitting (if one is being generous) ally in Dragons coach Paul Turner. Here's Paul talking about the Dragons squad in close season.

"We've got to look for some investment to try to bring the right sort of players here.

These kinds have well done this season in the Challenge Cup, but Heineken Cup is a totally different kettle of fish.

Having lost Ian Gough, Gareth Cooper and the two Brew boys [Nathan and Aled], we need to dip into the market."

I'm all for a touch of realism, but telling your squad they're not good enough is probably taking it a bit far. Paul has a curious relationship with his club via the press. For over a year he's been criticising the board of the club for not doing what he tells them. It's an interesting way to do one's job, and smacks of excuse making; anything good that happens on the pitch is Turner's doing, and anything bad is the board's fault. He's found a willing ally in Robin Davey of the South Wales Argus, a journalist so thin skinned and popularly derided he's taken to answering his critics back through his columns. Here's Robin talking in his column about the demise of the 'alleged' consortium (one day Andy Howell will explain to me how you can be an alleged consortium).
Without in any way being smug, I can't help but feel that constant pressure from these columns has at least forced the Dragons board to act in some way. But the website brigade who accused me of shying away from the Rodney Parade revelations last week because of the risk of egg on face over the consortium collapse' when, in fact, I was on holiday in the south of France will convince themselves otherwise.

Robin enjoys a strong relationship with Paul Turner; once the Dragons coach started his bandwagon about the Dragons needing new facilities Robin was on board and pursuing his cause with a fervour he never brings to his rugby reports. The perfect example of this came in 2006, when Ben Breeze wrote an article in the match programme calling for more investment in facilities, and was praised for his vision in an Argus article written by Davey and quoting Paul Turner.

How long the Dragons baod should tolerate this open rebellion by an employee is for them to judge, but it does seem odd to me that Turner is allowed to criticise the club and its directors openly and freely, yet suffers no sanction. The lack of a Chief Executive at Rodney Parade is undoubtedly an issue, but you have to ask if it isn;t time for Paul to shut up about the ground and the finances, and stick to what he's supposed to do which is coaching the rugby side.