Coaching Team Review - please make new plans for 2019

Surely D. Fletcher would have to come into consideration for the defensive coach especially when we recruit his son?

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So who keeps giving him more responsibility? Who asks for it and who approves it?

They are the ones who need to be held accountable, not neeld

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Unfortunately Neeld was the “best qualified” coach from outside the club, and fortuitously ( for him) walked into the vacuum of the “consigliere” role created by departure of Goodwin, Craig and McKenna . I suspect Harves has been kept down in the pecking order, being part of the former coaching regime.

I don’t disagree with the need to avoid “inbreeding” and get experienced coaching people from outside the club. As a compromise hopefully Kelly can advance in the organisation and move into that team performance coach role. That probably depends on how much he impresses and works in with Worsfold in his first year.

Mark Harvey May 9 2014 before rejoining Essendon as a line coach under James Hird.

“I’ve got a massive issue with the lack of physical demeanour,” he says. "Players have become indecisive. They’re less able to handle what’s thrown at them physically because it’s not as much, so then they become victims of a confrontation because they don’t know how to handle it.
“You can attribute it to all the rule changes over the last seven or eight years. The AFL is telling us the game is in good shape, and that this is the way to go. Well, they’ve gone too far, and I think they know it, too.”

Judging by our performances this year nothing much has changed. Players are very careful not to use their bodies forcefully and if they knock an opponent over, they ignore the play and go back to help them up, and if one of our players is KO’d not a red and black player can be seen.

just not well coached all round.

where is the discipiline and professionalism to turn up and provide an adequate minimum standard every time.( as in maybe not win every game but be bloody competitive)

You can never compare to other coaches/clubs as things are always different. But this myth that these 2 were effecitively disasters is just so wrong.

Dimma was able to make the finals 3 years in a row, and came 5th twice. He had something there - they went back and needed adjustment no doubt but this bloke didn’t run this team into the ground. When was the last time we finished 5th?

Buckley - man, this guy is a very very good game-day coach! Sure, they have made massive calls and decisions in list management/trading etc, but overall this club under Buckley has been ahead of the curve in creating a midfield built team and the reliance on talls was lowered well before most had woken up. So many of the list cant seem to kick, but he slowly working through that and I think they are potentially a team to watch in the coming seasons.

Sure, get the support right around Buckley but dont tell me he cant coach. He is a game day specialist and watching them (whilst not always winning) adjust and alter is sometimes a joy to watch.

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this is the backbone of our problem and hence why I started a thread on the inevitable club rebuild.

We obviously has underlying issues that go beyond poor coaching and poor recruitment.

Didn’t Bomber almost getting sacked turn Geelong around as well?

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It seems after the likes of Harvey, Thompson, Van der Haar retired, we’ve not had a reputation for being a hard, well-drilled, ‘do anything for the team’, club. J Johnson, Hardwick, Solomon and Hird are the exceptions, and others, but it could be close to 20+ years since we’ve had the rep that Hawthorn have had for awhile, the Tigers have now, Brisbane had, etc. We’ve been called marshmallows by North, who, for their lack of money and supporters, don’t ever get described as being lazy or soft. Yet we do, and I reckon we have been for most of the last 20 years… 2000,2001 we covered up a less than optimum culture with talent, but I reckon that culture remains.
Watson was interesting yesterday with his comments about Thompson in 93… said he wasn’t the most talented guy but he was the captain that instilled hardness, togetherness and do or die in the team, (massive paraphrasing going on there). It’s a shame that Hird and Thompson didn’t work out, they were cut from different parts of the same cloth.

That became a myth of epic proportions too. Thompson had gone through a marriage break up and there were rumours (at the time) that he was involved with other people etc etc. Also Geelong had been steadily climbing up the ladder, gotten a little taste of success and then slipped.

The club did a comprehensive review from top to bottom and identified some key issues, including Thompson, and rectified them. That is the same review that was the infamous… Gaz get fitter etc etc.

The report mainly identified that Thompson had become insular in his thinking, ie he was trying to do it all and that he was struggling to maintain clear lines of communication to the entire playing group. It was addressed by recruitment of some more staff, the adjustment of some roles and also Thompson got some assistance for his marriage breakdown etc etc.

One of the things they identified was that Thompson was preparing the training and analysis of opposition. They outsourced both those roles to different individuals and this allowed Thompson to have more time to focus on skills and tactics and overall game management. The rest, as they say, is history.

So several points of difference to our own situation. There was never a suggestion that Thompson couldn’t coach, just whether he was able to coach in the same manner to the best of his ability.

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If memory serves they also brought in Neil Balme.

Coincidently Richmond also brought on Neil Balme at the end of 2016.

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I’m gonna say it again.
Buckley can coach.
He got a side performing above its, for want of a better word, capacity.
Buckley is the complete opposite of the coaching here, and I would take him in a heartbeat.

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The thing is Buckley can only coach people he wants to coach. Should’ve easily taken that squad he inherited to multiple finals tilts.

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I like some of the names being bandied about, but unless they can actually teach the players to the level of understanding required, it doesn’t matter for sht how “experienced” or “tough” they are.

From the looks of the start of this season, no one on our coaching panel is able to actually teach the players what they are supposed to do. Either that, or the gameplan itself is trash.

My take - it’s a little bit of both.

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Very hard to see on television when you can’t see the whole ground. And of course the commentators who should be telling us what is going on are busy joking with each other with their “in” jokes, calling each by their nick names.

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They didn’t bring him in… he was there from the start. Cook, Balme and Thompson… the trifecta that built the empire.

Balme is very very very very good. We should have offered the sun and moon to get him.

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Sitting here after that 3rd quarter and I’m stewing…

Bring in the broom to te coaches box and get rid of all of them. The only one I’d keep is pops kelly.

Never seen the club so soulless, it’s time to bring in some Essendon people to spread what being a bomber is about.

If Caracella is considered to be the best available, get him! Surround him with dedicated Essendon people. Bring back Mark McVeigh, he is Essendon and with pops could put together a great backline. The captain that never was, inspirational, direct and fearless. A great example for our players.

Speaking of McVeigh, we should go get his brother Jarrod for our midfield coach. He’ll be just out of the game, from a successful and ruthless Sydney program.

Darren Bewick to coach the forwards. Eastern Rangers coach, know’s how to deal with kids, and knows how to play forward. A no brainer. He may even be able to teach them to kick straight. Boris had a beautiful kicking action.

Hell I’d even consider getting back Rob Shaw for gameday tactics coach. He did alright for us in 2000 and still seams to be up with the modern game. Neeld is fricken terrible.

/rant

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Please no.

We need to be better.

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It’s been so long since Essendon had a winning culture that any Essendon player who is not on an aged pension doesn’t know what winning games consistently is about. If anyone came from those successful days then the game has changed and left them behind.

We need some ex Hawthorn, Sydney, Geelong, coaches or players to come in to teach our players how to win.

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It’s not just about learning to win. It’s about playing for the jumper. GWS knows how to win, but they dunno how to play for the jumper. There is a difference.

Get that mix right in the coaches box and we’ll be on our way to showing a bit of pride on the field.

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