Is it OK USA for Team GB?

Today Doug Christiansen, Head Coach of the Sheffield Steelers, was named as Head Coach of the GB Mens Ice Hockey Team. Christiansen who I will refer to as DC for the rest of this blog seemed like the natural and accepted choice of the fans throughout the league. However I ask myself is it the right choice?

Straight off the bat I have to say I am one of those people who is of the belief that wherever possible a GB coach should be coaching a GB team. This applies to any sport. I don't really care how successful coaches Capello and Ericsson were, in my opinion you cannot substitute the pride of managing your own country and the extra 10% I think you can get out of players as a result. That's why, despite the clear problems, I was happy when Tony Hand was given the job. A Scotsman coaching a GB Team makes good sense. Unfortunately this is where my belief starts to cause a problem. Not one of the 10 Elite League teams has a Head Coach from GB. As far as I can see, the closest we get is Neil Francis, bench coach at the Devils who is Welsh. There are more GB coaches in the Premier League but you could argue that after Hand's display, coaching at that level is not of a good enough standard to take the national team forward.

So if the selectors have decided that there isn't a good enough GB coach to take the position then regrettably we have had to turn to a foreign coach and DC seems a popular enough choice. I was a fan of DC whilst coaching at the Capitals however it seems to have been overlooked that in the past 3 seasons whilst with the Giants he has only won 1 trophy. In that same period Corey and the Panthers have won 7. The Sheffield Star seem to suggest that DC pipped Corey to the post but to me that can only be on the basis that he was Hand's assistant previously and not much else.

I have never fully understood why the GB role has never been a full time position, I can only assume it's a financial thing and if I was a Steelers fan I would be a little worried. I would want my Head Coach giving the job 100% of his attention and focus and the Steelers can gloat about how prestigious having the GB coach on their bench is all they like and how they have 'got one over on us' but I think it could end up backfiring come the end of the season. DC's assistants are to be named tomorrow and I hope that Corey isn't one of them as I want his focus to be on the Panthers all season, all the time.

So what is the solution to the GB problem? The answer is probably far above my knowledge level but I do have a suggestion. Neil Francis at Cardiff. He ticks alot of the boxes. Firstly he is GB. Secondly he would have gained a great deal of coaching experience from Adams and will have been used to dealing with big players in Cardiff. Thirdly he has come through the ranks as a junior and will have experience in nurturing younger players. My preference would be a full time appointment over a number of years so that the GB team can build a foundation with which to build on throughout the years but if the finance or option isn't in place a dual role would also work. Whether or not this is something that Neil is interested in though is another matter!