nutbean

grrrr.....guessing - my pet hate. The amount of times you get pinged for not getting the ball out and it is actually no where near the player that gets pinged. guessing. grrrrrrr

Are you suggesting that Grimes kick the ball to no-one in particular/vacant ground 25 metres in from the boundary. As much as Roos wouldn't have liked the kick out of bounds on the full I'm damned sure he wouldn't like that idea at all.

No doubt in my mind that he can coach. I acknowledge the succession plan in all likelihood will be an assistant that hasn't coached an AFL team but I would feel more comfortable with a 2 times premiership coach following Roos. To keep Essendon up with all that has transpired shows the coaching ability he has.

Modern football - one extra in defense will always allow this to happen. What it should mean though is no matter how many times they chip it around the backline, the backmen should look further down the field and see their forwards manned up with our extra defender in the hole making it necessary for the defenders to go laterally again or do a 20 metre chip pass. What irks me is that sometimes we give up the 20 metre chip pass going forward too easily.

What frustrated the hell out of me is for the greatest majority of the game when a player took possession of the ball and was jumped on the umpire quickly blew the whistle and balled it up. But on four occasions he decided to sit and wait and wait and then ping for no attempt - each time it was against us. (there was one also against wingard - although he was just lying on it with no-one on top of him). Now maybe there was no genuine attempt to get it out but why did this happen only when we were on the bottom of the pack. The Viney holding the ball. No problem if you want to call that a free against but there were about 10 others that were identical that ended up in a ball up situation. It seems we really get the rough end of the "no genuine attempt" ruling. They umpires dont pay it all - except against us. As had been pointed out - if they want to pay that holding the ball against Viney - fine - pay others against the other mob which were no different - if they want to pay a free against Watts - then pay the same to Pederson at the other end. The problem with 3 umpires is that dont all interpret the same way and we end up with the rough end of the pineapple.

I see it all as fluff and nonsense. I keep repeating this but a succession plan is not ( or shouldn't be) an iron clad, set in stone arrangement, It certainly is not that way in business. Unless Roos picks an assistant already at the club, he will not know how the "annointed one" (Ling ? Kirk ?) will perform until he sees him close up, interacting with players and sees his match day strategies. So the best laid plans may be that an outsider is announced as a successor and after 2 more years gets the top job. Best laid plans often don't come to fruition and I have faith that Roos and the board will not carry forward with a succession plan that they are not confident will succeed. For this reason alone, I have no problem with a two year apprenticeship with someone like a Ling or a Hayes. I have always maintained and continue to maintain that we have zero idea how assistants actually perform. On the previous two years performances would we consider Rawlings a good assistant ? I leave those judgments to Roos as he is the only one in a position to gauge this.

What sort of club ? That's an easy question - our club. We have had years of complacency and setting the bar low. Misson came onboard and was horrified at the fitness levels of our players and intimated it would take 3 preseasons to get us to the level of the top clubs. The problem is that in the past 3 preseasons the other teams have gotten even fitter. The issue is not that we are not fit. The issue is that other teams are fitter and stronger.

I need to stress again that I see Frawleys flaws. I don't believe he is worth anywhere near $800K a year Certainly not worth $800K for 7 years. I believe if we get pick 5 or thereabouts we COULD come out in front. I believe he has probably made up his mind to go. However - he is NOT a passenger of the highest order. He is NOT playing for himself. He does NOT look like his mind is elsewhere. In fact his contribution this year has been far and away better than the last two years. read Scoop Juniors analysis (post 1017) of Frawleys game - absolutely nailed it.

Well put.

Welcome to my world !

I'm sorry to be the one to break this to you OD - you do have some fatal flaws.

Lets say he is worth $600K for 4 years - he would be looking for more than $342K for 7 years. I simply dont like paying a 7 year deal unless it is for the same you would pay for 4 years - it wouldn't be the case.

It is not clear his mind is elsewhere - he is not just playing for himself. He is playing some useful football albeit with the limitations as Scoop highlighted. Steve - compare your post to Scoops post. You continue to suggest you don't have hate issues but continually make these wild assertions that are clearly tinged with your dislike for him.

Not sure he is the one - but waaaayyyyy too early to count him out.

Surprised at you ! Go back through all Roos comments before he signed. Its like de ja vu ! I will move on from a candidate when Roos and Co say - we have moved on. All the talk in the press is fluff and nonsense and should be taken with a very large dose of skepticism.

You have serious hate issues for that man. Exactly what did he say in the interview that he "spoke before he thinks". And again letting your hate get in the way of rational thought. He is not a passenger of the highest order. He shanked a couple yesterday but most reporters/observers who dont carry the same hate had him in the top 5 or 6 for us yesterday. I get you question his commitment and refusal to sign and that frustrates you - I also believe that he in all likelyhood is gone but I don't let this cloud my thoughts - a passenger of the highest order ?

Very rarely have i seen marks that are touched by the man in front not paid. I dont doubt that it was touched- I never thought the umpire wouldn't pay it though

and... Average fitness base Our top end /older footballers are nowhere near the ability of Ports. ( hence bringing in the likes of Vince and Cross) And I think it is as simple as looking where we have come from last season as opposed to Port.

Please tell me this is a rhetorical question.

Grimes bashing ? There are the usual suspects that constantly get bashed no matter what they do. McKenzie, Bail ( who you pointed out played well) and Frawley being three others that constantly get a whipping on here.

Because that is how you judge coaches ? By your reckoning I'm surprised that Hawthorn under Clarkson is not a perennial cellar dweller Your raw ability ( which Ling probably had marginally more than Maxwell) is not how you judge someones coaching ability. Their strategic thinking and their ability to motivate and teach and overall leadership skills are what makes or breaks a coach. Maxwell is spoken about in glowing terms by all Collingwood people in the know. His captaincy, leadership and being a backline general compensated for his being a footballer with average talent. Hearing both Ling and Maxwell speak - they do seem like similar types to me but as we have learned with Neeld and Bailey - you don't know how they will drive until you get them behind the wheel of the car !

I know that all footballers should have this attribute but they don't - Nev doesn't get knocked off the ball or go to ground easily. A very underrated but essential skill.

OMG- umpires.

I don't have a problem with people suggesting his in THAT good. I can see his obvious flaws. Read through some of the posts on here though - he is not THAT bad. If indeed he is asking for a 7 year deal - he is definitely not that good.

That's how I feel exactly.