Mersey Tigers: The sick pet of the BBL?

The last time I wrote an article about the Mersey Tigers, I got into trouble for it’s content.
The last time I tweeted about the Mersey Tigers, I described them as a sick dog whose owner refuses to put them down despite it being in everybody’s best interest.

These types of comments make me the bad guy. These types of comments also make me the perfect person to argue why I think the Tigers should take a trip to the animal doctor and not come back.

Fighting the Tigers corner and the side of the argument that says the vet bills should be paid and everyone should keep the faith, is new Tigers Head Coach, Tony Walsh, who was generous with his time in replying to my questions after his team’s opening night loss. His answers have been used to create the below balanced argument.

KF (Side of the argument: Put the Tigers to sleep): In the opening 2012/13 fixture the Mersey Tigers get blown out by 61 points, 106-45.

Tigers Head Coach, Tony Walsh (Side of the argument: Don’t give up – One day the Tigers will have a glossy coat and be running around healthy and happy in your back garden again): “It’s a young squad. we’ve gone out there and we’re still missing our big fellas and it’s showed tonight with the rebounding.

“It was a good first showing for quite a few of the players and other players now know what the standard is and what to step up to.

“Some of these lads have come from third division, fourth division EBL, it’s a major step up. Some of them shone: 18 year old Jack Hudson showed that he can match these lads. He’s not that big in physique but he’s got the skill to step up to it.

“Sometimes they looked like scared rabbits in the headlights, other times they looked like BBL players. This is what we’ve got to work at to get them to understand: Play with the confidence they play at every other level. Even though it’s the BBL, it’s another game and they should take it as another game and step up to that level and be there.”

KF: Limited announcements of player signings leading into the season and only 12 points away from recording the largest margin of defeat in BBL history in your first game. Why should fans think this team, this season is worthy of their support?

TW: “We’ve got three more players coming in who are from the States – two bigs and one point guard. They will give us the height that we lack at the moment. We’ve got three outstanding players who will give their experience, their knowledge over to the young lads.

“Point guard is an outstanding prospect. At the moment we don’t want to tell anyone who it is but I think he’ll shine and show the league what he can do.”

KF: In the 2010/11 season, the Mersey Tigers won three pieces of silverware and were runners-up in the other domestic competition. An impressive haul. The club has been in decline ever since – how is that going to change?

TW: “We’ve got a development plan for three years. We’re looking at bringing in the local, young North West players and developing them so that they can understand that this is the level you can play at, you can achieve this, you don’t have to go abroad, it’s on your doorstep at a high level.

“Some will make it and some will fall down but that’s good because within the programme that we’ve got there will be spots for them so they’ll go back down to the EBL, maybe for a couple of years to get themselves ready for it and then bring it up.

“So what we’re looking at is a 3-5 year development plan where, in five years time, the fruits of the labour that we’re doing with development and youth squads will come through to the BBL and that’s what Merseyside Tigers has lost over the years. It hasn’t had that type of programme. Now we’re developing it, we’re getting there and we’ve giving the opportunities to these kids.

“It’s a learning curve for me. I’ve come from a lower division but I’ve coached for 25 years but at every level I think you should learn, adapt and push forward.”

KF: The Essex Pirates had an experienced, quality coach in Tim Lewis (now GB Men’s assistant coach and lead performance analyst), they were building a core of UK talent and could run out players like Zach Gachette, Colin Sing and Jamell Anderson. They even had a plan to be in Europe in 2015. In their final season in the BBL, they had a solitary victory.
Your plan and the Pirates plan seem very similar, what’s to say you don’t end up the same way?

TW: “This year is going to be a development year. In the beginning we will look at loses but I guarantee by Christmas, people will see a different Mersey Tigers and it will be my job to do that.

“I guarantee we will not be winning one game during the season. We will be winning games or at least challenging these teams.

“The owners are very supportive of the team. They’re actually there knowing what our vision is; both mine and theirs is the 3-5 year development plan. They’re (the owners) for it, the community are for it – as in the city council are fully backing us – we’re here to stay.

KF: How are you going to keep the club around when, only a couple of years ago, players left the team despite winning trophies only the season before?

TW: If you look at the players brought in (during the trophy years) they were the top players within the country at that stage. Financially, we’ve got to look at that: Can that be supported over the years? No, no-one can throw as much money at that and keep it going all the time.

“We’re going to do a lot more community based work: Going out into the local people so they will see the players. Last year, I felt a lot of the people didn’t actually see the Mersey Tigers so no-one knew who they were. Now, these guys will be out there, in the community, getting to know the community and people will come and watch them.

“What you’ve got to look at is a big, huge community programme such as Newcastle have got, aim for that type of thing where the community involvement feeds into the BBL.

“We’re merging with quite a lot of local clubs that have been in the EBL for 25-30 years, so for us to actually be with them; Liverpool basketball clubs, Sefton basketball clubs, for us to actually be their focal point is a major coup within Merseyside.

“As I said after 3-5 years you’ll be looking at young guys coming through who now can be offered University places, who can stay in this country and develop the sport. And that’s the way forward.”

After hearing both sides of the argument, what do you think: Should the Tigers be given the chance to follow through with their development plan or do we instead tell the kids that the Tigers ‘have gone away on a really long holiday and probably won’t be coming back’?