Cheesy D. Pun

Am I misreading this or are you talking about yourself in the third person? Awesome.

Nothing has changed. This is where the team is at. Predicting how much we will lose by is actually a pretty easy gig which says to me that effort is not an issue. We're a 6 goal worse team than St.Kilda. Some were furious after the Gold Coast game but the reality is we are a 10 goal worse side than GC who were 5 goals worse than Hawthorn - to whom we lost by 15 goals. A new coach might be able to find a way of limiting the bleeding short term but personally I don't think there's a motivation problem at all. They're trying, but they simply aren't good enough at this stage.

Chip is probably our best player. I'd be shattered if he left.

This is part of the coach argument that doesn't sit well with me. Williams, Roos, Malthouse etc. didn't scale any mountains. They were at clubs that won premiership/s. It takes a lot more than a coach for success and its important to acknowledge that when selecting a new coach. The coaches who are perceived as the best are not just good coaches but good career planners. The perfect case in point is Ross Lyon - He jumped off a sinking ship. He's a good coach but he knew that he had no chance of success with St.Kilda, so he moved on. If he had stayed, he'd likely be another coach on the scrap heap right now. We should be looking at coaches that have achieved in the situation we want them to achieve in. Rodney Eade fits the bill - has had success with two troubled clubs. Anyway, the example is not important. I'd hate to see us neglect the right person because we were intent on getting a 'premiership' coach, who might not have the experience of helping drag a side out of the rubble.

Compelling.

Off topic but that article just reminded me how good Rodney Eade's record is! 314 games with a 55% winning record at Swans and Bulldogs - both clubs struggling when he took over. Pretty damn impressive.

You're telling us something about the way you view the world. Doesn't mean it's the same for all of us.

I like how they do it before the St. Kilda game. We are likely to be somewhat competitive against them regardless of our coach. They could have at least allowed Neeld the dignity of being removed before playing one of the stronger teams.

In what way?

Yep, who will likely be chosen in exactly the same manner as the last few - by the presentation they make to the club and there record in lower leagues or as assistants. There's three coaches with previous coaching experience in the AFL at the moment. One is on the bottom of the table. Another (Malthouse), thus far, has a worse winning record than his predecessor and the final one is tracking well. The chances of us getting some one who has coached at AFL level before, let alone one with a successful record, are very slim - so the reality is that we are on the same train we were on after Daniher and after Bailey. Another untried coach is likely to be signed (and fired) by a club unwilling to stand up to story chasers with a vested interest in the failure of coaches.

Yeah but, as they say, too many VC's spoils the....oh hang on. You may as well go for it.

I'd like to see us pick a team and let them play for a few weeks. So on that basis, I'd bring in Chip if he's fit - probably for Pederson or perhaps Dunn.

Right on Johnny - I switch off when reading any comment that has the words, the most, the best, the worst etc.

It seems to me to grow exponentially. We start out with confidence in each other, to get outside and forward of the ball but with every little mistake that faith gets tested. I don't doubt for a second that these players are working hard but they lack faith in each other and that has a huge effect on their ability to make the split second decision to transition from defence to attack and vice versa.

Half of our problem? You've got to be kidding me. Jamar was better than Jolly today. He was the best player in his position on the ground. Not every team has Dean Cox or Nic Nat.

Good point. Deep analysis.

What would you change if you were coach? What moves don't you like? We're not good enough, that's clear but what are the specific game plan issues you have?

Come on. I know we all want someone to blame but Mark Jamar is competitive in the ruck, even on a bad day. Plenty of other places we can look to improve.

I wouldn't use the word dejected at all - I would say passionate. Loved his effort today. He worked hard all the way to the final siren. Dejected players don't do that.

Wtf? He's engaged in the discussion and providing information that others might not know. Probably much like the kid in your class.

Yep. He has a fair bit to answer for. Held onto players for far too long, presumably to prolong his own tenure. Then we lost most of them around the same time. Made no investment in the future.

Ross Lyon inherited a sub-par team and seems to have made them a solid team. Mark Neeld inherited a club in crisis. However, let's run with your summation. So you've decided based on the evidence you've provided that Neeld is useless - What next?? Do we fire our coach and hope Ross Lyon or someone similar wants to commit career suicide? What's the plan of attack?

I don't mind Francis Leach and I think you're over reacting to the comments. I'd like to see our club stand on its own two feet as well. If we get help from the AFL, shouldn't all the other clubs?? You can't be bailing clubs out because they're no good or have failed to manage themselves efficiently. Seems a bit odd to me. There's not many good sports journos out there but Francis Leach is one of them. His belief that clubs should fend for themselves is certainly debatable but calling him a 'disgrace' or a '[censored]', without putting your name to the comments is 'over the top, and verging on cowardly.

Totally agree on minimising the changes. We need to start solidifying the line up. The effort against Hawthorn was good. We just weren't good enough.

What club do you support then?