The issue here is this club and it’s fan base are now so starved for success, 5 years seems an eternity. But it really is the only way. There’s no quick fix for the mountain of ■■■■ we have to climb out of.
This rot runs a lot deeper than just the coach. I do believe a great coach can paper over a lot of cracks at a footy club, but Scott isn’t doing that.
Like some others I have no strong feelings one way or the other about B Scott. There are too many variables. The fact mgmt said they brought him in to get more from the list is just that - a statement from mgmt.
Truck did not get a fair go at it. Fact. But there was absolutely a noticeable improvement in on-field organisation and consistent effort when Brad came in. I think that has been sustained.
Of course, we all hoped that was a starting point, with better strategy and team set up building on that ability-to-organise and effort. Honestly, though, I think seeing the cattle up close, combined with injuries, has delayed everything in different ways.
This is not to say he’s definitely the coach we need.
Give the coach 5 years and stick to a plan
Will never happen fans will be asking for his head 3 years in the job
Actually feel bad for the next coach that comes in
Better run a process for that or blitz will have a KPMGniption.
Whilst this is true, it’s not always noticeable.
Malthouse is and was a fantastic coach across many decades. But failed at Carlton.
I don’t think he coached any different. But at previous clubs, everything around him worked to suit him. List management, club direction, etc. As soon as you throw a coach into an already made up environment that doesn’t suit him, he isn’t turning anything around anytime soon.
Even Clarkson has struggled to instil the confidence and belief in a club that bereft of any confidence and belief.
It takes time. And yes, players need to suit the coach and vice versa.
The issue with most clubs is they aren’t sure where they should be, but think they should be better. But assuming that one change will fix it all. Eventually, one appointment will change everything and that one change will get all the plaudits for it. What happened before that appointment will be largely ignored but is more of a reason why things are turning than the one change.
Our club has been poor at the absolute best of times in multiple areas for more than a decade. Coaching, recruitment & talent identification, fitness, injury management and it’s all contributed to where we are right now. It’s not just on the coach because ‘getting the best out of this list’ was probably 8th to mid table (even with a lot of luck). But that’s not good enough on its own.
We’ve changed a lot of parts of the club in the last 3 years and it’s now coming back around to the coach. Our problems won’t be fixed this year or next year and there will come a time where the coach is next to be sacked because we’ve changed every other part of the football department. That’s what comes to all coaches, regardless of their experience.
I’d expect Clarkson to have quite a bit of heat on his coaching job if they are bottom 4 and still getting 5 50+ point losses including a few 70+ point smashings. And North would be right in doing so. They would have expected better return 4 straight bottom four finishes in any coaches first 4 years. Even though there has been ‘marginal’ improvement.
Agree, except for accepting the Merrett deal.
I would’ve shopped and shipped him for less to another team, cause Hawthorn can FRO and Merrett can GF with how his camp went about it. Couldn’t set a precedent of a contracted player (and Captain) railroading the club into a single option.
Merrett would have just said no and not much we can do about it. Sooner AFL becomes like other sports and allows contracted players to be traded against their will the better but I doubt the AFLPA will ever allow it
Yep, hard agree on that.
Happy to trade contracted players against their will but they don’t get to pick which club to be traded to
They get sent to the club that has the best trade assets if they don’t want to go there tough luck.
Do you suffer with rsi
Are we watching the same team I’d say there is little to no difference in on field organisation and the same problems exist from when he came
It was horrendously bad in the last six months of Truck. As I said, he didn’t get a fair crack at it with the club helping players to undermine him etc. But so many games the effort evaporated, and players themselves have said there was regularly on field confusion. It was a particularly sht time.
I think in the Scott years we don’t have these problems. We have other problems.
Including that while players know where to go, and they crack in accordingly, they should be told to go somewhere different - @BakerWasAStar does a good job of detailing the poor coaching here around stoppages and turnovers etc. I’m hoping as the list improves the coaching will stretch them further and more dangerously. I have no particular faith, though.
Absolutely it was but even though players had downed tools to an extent we still won 3 of our last 7 games and our heaviest defeat was 84 points that season which was actually the biggest loss of Rutten’s tenure.
Brad has had 5 losses by over 90 points including 1 by 126 points yet somehow the club keeps making excuses for him
Those last 7 odd games of Truck were as bad as those last 7 odd games of Woosha and those last 7 odd games of Hird.
When the end is close it all unravels, Truck had a decent team so the way they fell away was no ‘better’ than any of the other collapses of previous sacked coaches as far as I can remember.
My memory of Truck, sitting lifeless and alone on the bench was indicative of the broader hopelessness of those times.
I think Truck in a great system could’ve been a decent coach. He wasn’t given full and unconditional support during his time as coach, something that is vital if a coach is to succeed at Essendon. He had no cachet or profile so in the end everyone walked on his grave.
FWIW
Woosha’s last 10 games we had 1 win, 1 draw and 8 losses
Ruttens last 10 games we had 5 wins, 5 losses
Maybe it was Trucks last 3-4 games. I remember I think shockers against Power, Tiges and Giants if my memory serves me..
Yeah we lost our last 3 but I always find it funny how our supporters constantly make out like Rutten was our worse coach ever and how dire we were yet I think we are actually worse now
It’s usually poor losses in a row. It just ends up being the straw that breaks the camels back.
Knights - 1 win, 4 losses (two losses by more than 70 points).
Hird - 0 wins, 5 losses (two by more than 80 points).
Worsfold - 1 win, 4 losses (two losses by more than 50 points).
Rutten - 1 win, 4 losses (two losses by more than 60 points).
Three of those had high levels of media scrutiny surrounding it through the last 5 weeks (if not earlier). The Worsfold one didn’t have anything because we’d already announced a coaching handover to Rutten in 2020.
All of those occurred later in the year.
A similar 5 week run by Scott and I’d expect he goes too. Especially if it’s towards the end of the year.
WHY NOT ALL 3?!?
Hard to compare given how many list changes there have been since then. I’m pretty off Scott as well and Rutten we absolutely shafted in the way it was handled but let’s not pretend everything was going peachy back then.
Rutten was the classic promoted before he was ready and then not given enough support once he was in the job. A total failing from the club.