Thompson Choice ‘Safe’, Underwhelming

Sheffield may have brought to a close one of the clumsiest coaching changes in EIHL history, but it’s hardly the ground breaking appointment the Steelers PR machine might have hinted towards.

Bringing Paul Thompson in to the fold is a ‘safe’ move. He knows the lie of the EIHL land, and has had success here before.

It also means the insular nature of the British game remains insular – bringing back one of its own rather than pushing the envelope.

Why Not Speak Up Before?

It’s rare to hear anything majorly ‘controversial’ from the upper echelons of the British game. So when Craig Summerton (@block15blaze) spoke to former Coventry Blaze coach Paul Thompson for On Fire magazine, the line “And drop the god damn import limit. Just do it” was bound to catch people’s eye.

You can read the full interview here – but the long and the short of it is Thompson, now Head Coach of Troja-Ljungby in Sweden, said what a number of people within the British game have been saying for years – something has to change.

Various ‘pats on the back’ have been doled out for telling it like it is. What bothers me is that this is someone who held a prominent position within the sport, and yet only now seems to speak up?