[el-capitano]

I'm not sure how bitter Ewan is- but it makes a good story!

New Queensland Reds coach Ewen McKenzie, recently sacked by French Top 14 club Stade Francais, has slammed his former employers, accusing them of prioritising the recruitment of good-looking players for the club calendar.

''Stade Francais is the best team in the world in terms of marketing,'' McKenzie told French sports daily L'Equipe. ''It's an international brand. But on the level of their sporting approach some things are shocking. Paris are verging on amateurism.''

He went on to accuse club president Max Guazzini of ''only seeing two things - his calendar and the [team's home ground] Stade de France''. The popular Stade Francais calendar ''Dieux du Stade'' (Gods of the Stadium), features nude and semi-nude photographs of team members.

''He has a marketing outlook which is not always in the best interests of sport,'' McKenzie said. ''For example, Max could recruit one player over another just because he has a better look for the calendar. I had players in my squad who I never chose. Others were requested to leave the club because they didn't want to pose for the calendar any more.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/sport/stu...405389205.html

[urtel]

Half way through the season and SF are 5th in the league and 9 points from the top spot. I think McKenzie has a point, the boys aren't a championship calibre team.

On the other hand, they had some good looking kits last year. Now they just like tacky Ed Hardy shirts.