Apologies in advance if I've missed it in another post, but Gerard Whateley's reporting that we may have made a play for Clarkson:

http://www.abc.net.a...ort&section=all

Would've been huge if this is true.

This is great news if it's correct. Clarko is a long term Option, and IMO that would be good to go with. Offer him Big $$$.

At Hawthorn, Hodge is over 27 years with an aging body, & Mitchell is nearing 29 yrs. They have some rebuilding ahead.

I hope We can convince Clarko to see our future.

Excellent Point...Luke Darcy maybe speaking his Truth, what he saw.

It's my point about the Dogs, since '89 they have always had to worry about survival...however small that thought is, whilst the top clubs plan winning premierships.

I think your point is a + for Eade.

He managed to take a perennial struggler and take it to consecutive prelims, within a whisker of a grand final, on a shoe-string budget.

Personally I'd prefer Malthouse or Neeld, but I will be content that the club knows more than me from the selection process, and if we end up with Eade, I have no choice but to defer to their judgment.

I think your point is a + for Eade.

He managed to take a perennial struggler and take it to consecutive prelims, within a whisker of a grand final, on a shoe-string budget.

Personally I'd prefer Malthouse or Neeld, but I will be content that the club knows more than me from the selection process, and if we end up with Eade, I have no choice but to defer to their judgment.

No my point is Eade was not able to change that culture at the dogs....and he gave it his all i have no doubt.

But he came up short, and for that reason i do not think he should be our next coach.

So you attribute the club being cash strapped to Eade?

Because I certainly think that was a sizeable obstacle in their way to the top.

They didn't have a bad culture at the bulldogs.

Just one of being one of the smaller clubs (and the financial situation that comes with it) and one of poor leadership from the older players (like us).

I think leaders are born, so I don't blame the leadership chasm on Eade.

I don't think a man in his position could change any of that.

Anyway, I've just seen him on the footy show, and coaching aside, he is a very impressive man.

My first but not alone preference is Malthouse for obvious reasons.

However, I do remember when I thought Mark Williams was a fantastic coach at Port and would have loved him at the Dee's. No 1 at the time... Fire still burns.

Rocket! He is great to I think... Career coach!

My preference is Malthouse or Williams, but would be happy with the Rocket man too! Neeld for an untried coach.

What I think will happen.

- Malthouse too the Dee's.

- Eade too Collingwood as football director.

- Cameron to Bulldogs.

- Neeld to the Crows.

Apologies in advance if I've missed it in another post, but Gerard Whateley's reporting that we may have made a play for Clarkson:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-08-18/hawks-to-hold-clarko/2845846/?site=sport&section=all

Would've been huge if this is true.

The Footy Show tonight said that both the Crows and Dees had offered Clarkson a deal but he said thanks but no thanks to both.

Agreed.

BTW, interesting post.

Thanks mate Appreciate it. Just wanted to write..think i went on for a bit long though haha

No not Eade.

He is too old as is Malthouse. He has taken the Bulldogs to very strange (un?)mix of light pacy players who in their prime couldn't match with the stronger teams. He kept on Johnson at FF and so forth.

Mark Williams gives the appearance of being loopy and not of this earth.

Clarkson would be good if available which he won't be. His team play a good style of football (for the odd quarter or two).

So it looks like Laidley. He got North playing well for 92% of the money. He had the nouse and guts to walk away from a team that would be hampered by cash limitations. What a bastard (swoon!).

PS Hi Tony

They lacked the big key position player(s) and relied on speed and ball movement, which is so often smashed on Grand Final Day.

This line I agree with 100% .

I'm Torn .

Would love to get Malthouse but would settle for Eade .

Has had 14years experience in the top job , has made some mistakes but would have no doubt learnt from them .

Has the chance to reload with a young developing side to go again.

Was impressed with the half interview I saw last night on the FS .

Gotta take your hat off to the fellas with the fire in 'em to keep coming back for more .

I am cautious of the impression I get that he couldn't quite turn the Bulldogs basketcase culture around tho'.

Also of the fact his Bulldog side was very similar to what we like to build .

Skill over Power which leads me back to the very top of this post .

This is great news if it's correct. Clarko is a long term Option, and IMO that would be good to go with. Offer him Big $$$.

At Hawthorn, Hodge is over 27 years with an aging body, & Mitchell is nearing 29 yrs. They have some rebuilding ahead.

I hope We can convince Clarko to see our future.

Clarko and those two players are primed for another few years at the top and flags are likely. The Hawks have shown this year how much depth they have during the times that they were stretched with injury.

Clarkson has got his three year contract he wanted - case closed.

I'm not convinced an experienced senior coach is the answer either. I wish there was Scott triplets..

I'd love him in a 2 prong set-up.

He now has a small chip on his shoulder. A lot of the media have written off Rodney Eade but he is confident in his own talents. That is something you definitely WANT.

Tough and hard-nosed. Sacked Aker, and often seen losing his cool. I like passion at my club. For me again it's a WANT.

No doubt about his preparation and motivation skills. Supposedly also excellent with skill development. WANT.

Western Bulldogs consistently performed far beyond what was expected. They never had a Premiership or even Grand Final list. Yet, Eade still got them performing to that level. That's what a good coach does. WANT.

There are question marks over his ability to adapt to this press and to the modern game. Let's put Eade as coach and Dean Laidley as the director of coaching. He looks at these concepts.

I know the FD know more than me, but in my head that there is looking like a good set-up.

Welcome to the MFC Rodney Eade.

Clarkson every day of the week for me. I actually think Clarkson has jumped ahead of Malthouse in my wants.

There's just no way Clarko would leave the Hawks, he's got them back playing top footy again, and will go close this year and closer next year with Gilham, Roughead and Stratton coming back. As for Malthouse, pretty ambiguous. He's said he won't coach another team next year, but I doubt he'd stay at Collingwood with Bucks running the show.

I reckon Rocket's up there at the moment, we should chase Chocco Williams though, love his fire.

Some good perspective:

http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/why-the-myth-of-the-genius-supercoach-persists-20110817-1iy6q.html

This is a bit disturbing, you could be talking bout the Melbourne senior players.

The players who stay owe it to their club to commit like they never have before. The on-field leadership of the Bulldogs has been questioned for years. Too selfish, too individual, too easily satisfied. Murphy, Boyd, Giansiracusa, Lake, Ryan Griffen and Adam Cooney: the clock is ticking. It is hoped you realise that this will be your last chance at achieving something worthwhile out of your football careers. Eade's departure puts everybody on notice. It is a shame there has to be a fall guy, but that's football.

http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/right-call-but-eade-will-go-on-20110818-1j06r.html#ixzz1VOcfZKNO

One thing I've found interesting is that everyone is pushing for Clarkson to be our next coach because of his record at Hawthorn but is it that good? He's won a flag by a means that was outlawed the following year, against a cocky Geelong side who drank their own bathwater; but where else has he taken them? They have some super players in the side, players of real quality and I would imagine that any good coach would have achieved a good record with that playing list. They are about third in line this year behind the Pies and Cats and maybe even Carlton or West coast are better.

They beat west Coast at Aurora by 7 points, they've been beaten by both Collingwood and Geelong and haven't played Carlton, not all that impressive considering their lineup. This year they have had a few injuries but I don't know of any club that hasn't so you can't use that as an excuse.

Their record under Clarkson

2011 - ?

2010 - 7th

2009 - 9th

2008 - 1st

2007 - 5th

2006 - 11th

2005 - 14th

Bulldogs in the same period under Eade

2010 - 4th

2009 - 3rd

2008 - 3rd

2007 - 13th

2006 - 8th

2005 - 9th

Clarkson's winning % is 53.5 from 157 games

Eade's winning % is 53.8 from 314 games

Ross Lyon winning % 63.2 from 117 games

Clarkson may be innovative he may be a great thinker of the game but his results are not the sort that jump out and say "we must get this guy". He's been fortunate to have taken over a club that has a very proud history over the last 40 years and was down the bottom for a short period of time. He was lucky that Richmond have the worst record in modern time in the draft and gifted him some very talented players to incorporate in to the side. He was fortunate that North were so stupid that they exchanged draft picks for a couple of hacks that they saw as their key to a flag.

Hawthorn have a very talented side and the fact they've only won one flag and that they didn't even get in to the 8 the following year after 2008 may be the reason that Kennett wasn't keen to rush the re signing.

Eade has been coaching longer, has had less talent to work with, hasn't had the advantage of the Hawthorn tradition and money behind him, and hasn't got the Aroura stadium deal that guarantees hawthorn about 5 wins a year against weak interstate sides, yet his record of coaching wins is comparable.

Edited August 18, 201114 yr by RobbieF

Although the Cats were very cocky they were also very susceptible to pressure .

Most of their games were over after a 1st qr onslaught but if teams could withstand the ealy blitz and be close late in the game the Cats became very jittery .

Hawthorn were lucky to benefit from this after the Cats poor kicking early in the GF.

Eades win/loss ratio does stack up nicely but I do worry about his tendancy to build his side high on skill and like us low on pysical power .

His years of experience are a massive plus IMO .

Lyons win/loss ratio will always be skewed .

Took over a very promising side at the point of maturing .

Edited August 18, 201114 yr by Fork 'em

One thing I've found interesting is that everyone is pushing for Clarkson to be our next coach because of his record at Hawthorn but is it that good? He's won a flag by a means that was outlawed the following year, against a cocky Geelong side who drank their own bathwater; but where else has he taken them? They have some super players in the side, players of real quality and I would imagine that any good coach would have achieved a good record with that playing list. They are about third in line this year behind the Pies and Cats and maybe even Carlton or West coast are better.

They beat west Coast at Aurora by 7 points, they've been beaten by both Collingwood and Geelong and haven't played Carlton, not all that impressive considering their lineup. This year they have had a few injuries but I don't know of any club that hasn't so you can't use that as an excuse.

Their record under Clarkson

2011 - ?

2010 - 7th

2009 - 9th

2008 - 1st

2007 - 5th

2006 - 11th

2005 - 14th

Bulldogs in the same period under Eade

2010 - 4th

2009 - 3rd

2008 - 3rd

2007 - 13th

2006 - 8th

2005 - 9th

Clarkson's winning % is 53.5 from 157 games

Eade's winning % is 53.8 from 314 games

Ross Lyon winning % 63.2 from 117 games

Clarkson may be innovative he may be a great thinker of the game but his results are not the sort that jump out and say "we must get this guy". He's been fortunate to have taken over a club that has a very proud history over the last 40 years and was down the bottom for a short period of time. He was lucky that Richmond have the worst record in modern time in the draft and gifted him some very talented players to incorporate in to the side. He was fortunate that North were so stupid that they exchanged draft picks for a couple of hacks that they saw as their key to a flag.

Hawthorn have a very talented side and the fact they've only won one flag and that they didn't even get in to the 8 the following year after 2008 may be the reason that Kennett wasn't keen to rush the re signing.

Eade has been coaching longer, has had less talent to work with, hasn't had the advantage of the Hawthorn tradition and money behind him, and hasn't got the Aroura stadium deal that guarantees hawthorn about 5 wins a year against weak interstate sides, yet his record of coaching wins is comparable.

Great work Robbie! I listened to Eade last night and there is no doubt he can provide the hard edge we need. He will get noses out of joint, but over a long period time he has had fairly average sides playing deep into September. I think he could be the one!

Jarka, did you have a look a Darcy's article? My response would've been the same as yours until I read it. Of course it's just one view, but I doubt we are likely to read anything more insightful. Just proved to me what I had already known; most footy fans (me especially) wouldn't have a clue when it comes to these things.

I didn't read the article, Darcy is not someone who I respect as having a good footy brain in the media, I try to stay away from his stuff as much as possible.

I agree that the average mug fan doesn't have a clue about what happens in a footy club and I definitely fit into that category. It just seems to be a uninspiring choice due to his history. Effectively Eade has been 'sacked' by two clubs, at the Doggies he had an extremely good list to play with and then Roos turned the Swans around and produced a premiership. Ok, so was that coincidence or something else? What's happened at the doggies for them to come to this conclusion? They watch him every day, they know everything about him and they still decided to let him go. A club doesn't make these decisions just for the sake of change, what do they know that we don't? Of course I've heard a rumour for the reason and if true it may explain it and paint Eade in a much better light.

At the end of the day whoever Melbourne picks I'll 100% support, and if it is Eade then I'll probably start to see all the positives and forget about my concerns

The Grand Final Replay was a totally different game, the saints were empty..Collingwood were able to re group one more time.

Yes GF's are won on the day by the best teams,[Well done for misrepresenting what I said]

What you think would have happened is irrelevant to the fact the GFs are won by the best team on the day. And the difference between the two GF LY able demonstrates the different outcomes you can have on the day. There are so many variables that you just cant wipe a side as naively as you have done yet make the claims you do about St Kilda. Its completely illogical.

If Saints as the underdog in the LY GF could almost pinch one then a team that makes the PF and does not get blown away aint that far away from the trophy no matter what irrelevant floss you want to put in it.

I know a few doggies people whio thought it was fantastic to make 3 Prelims in a row...with their budget it probably was...

In '89 they were a Bee's Dike from not existing.

Knowing a few doggy supporters and claim their attitude reflected the attiitude of the broader club is not that smart. And you silly effort to try and create a sense of plausibility are laughable.

This discussion should go in your greatest hits file WYL together with debt discussions and batting first when you win the toss.

No not Eade.

He is too old as is Malthouse. He has taken the Bulldogs to very strange (un?)mix of light pacy players who in their prime couldn't match with the stronger teams. He kept on Johnson at FF and so forth.

Mark Williams gives the appearance of being loopy and not of this earth.

Clarkson would be good if available which he won't be. His team play a good style of football (for the odd quarter or two).

So it looks like Laidley. He got North playing well for 92% of the money. He had the nouse and guts to walk away from a team that would be hampered by cash limitations. What a bastard (swoon!).

PS Hi Tony

Agree that Williams gives the appearance of being loopy but then again Laidley gives me the same impression

Neither were very good in front of the microphone, but I couldn't give a fig about a coaches PR ability just his ability to turn a group of lazy uncommitted players into a professional winning machine

Agree that Williams gives the appearance of being loopy but then again Laidley gives me the same impression

Neither were very good in front of the microphone, but I couldn't give a fig about a coaches PR ability just his ability to turn a group of lazy uncommitted players into a professional winning machine

Me too DC

at the end of the day winning is all that counts.

Everything else follows.

Win games and memberships rise,

Game attendances rise

sponsership values rise.

People will even go to ES

And I will not feel like someone just shot my cat!

Edited August 19, 201114 yr by old dee

It is so hard to know as a mug supporter from the outside looking in.

Clarko looks great with flag to his name, and the ability to change his game plan to move with the times, and bring new kids in that work within that structure.

But he could so easily have been booted this year had the Hawks not fired as they have.

And the stats on Eade above are interesting..........again only perception, but game plan wise, he appears to be a little behind the top coaches at present.

Having said that, Eade is no dill, and would see what is happening around him, and I'm sure he could make the necessary adjustments to suit the modern trend.

He was a vastly different coach at the Dogs to when he left the Swans, and I think he would be different again were he to end up as our coach.

Clarko would be great, but I think Eade could still be a good outcome.

Sacked from two clubs for not being good enough, and has left the bulldogs with the one of the worst leadership cultures in the AFL. Bailey aside, I struggle to think of a worse candidate.

It is so hard to know as a mug supporter from the outside looking in.

Clarko looks great with flag to his name, and the ability to change his game plan to move with the times, and bring new kids in that work within that structure.

But he could so easily have been booted this year had the Hawks not fired as they have.

And the stats on Eade above are interesting..........again only perception, but game plan wise, he appears to be a little behind the top coaches at present.

Having said that, Eade is no dill, and would see what is happening around him, and I'm sure he could make the necessary adjustments to suit the modern trend.

He was a vastly different coach at the Dogs to when he left the Swans, and I think he would be different again were he to end up as our coach.

Clarko would be great, but I think Eade could still be a good outcome.

I agree with most of what you say RD

From where I sit if we need an experienced coach than I think Eade is the only realistic candidate.

Life is full of suprises but I do not think Clarkson or Malthouse are available.

Eade or an assistant from who knows where is my view