View Full Version : Knights: How I fell out with Frawley
High Ryder
25 Nov 2007, 00:26
Thought this article might interest you guys...
Knights: How I fell out with Frawley
25 November 2007 Sunday Herald Sun
Jon Ralph
THE ugly rift between new Essendon coach Matthew Knights and former coach Danny Frawley during the former Tiger captain's last days at Richmond has been laid bare in a new book.
http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/imagedata/0,1658,5767591,00.jpg Fallout: Matthew Knights.
Knights was closing on his 100th consecutive game when he was dropped in 2002 and was encouraged to retire by Frawley later that year.
Knights had been stripped of the captaincy for the 2001 season and forcefully retired as many as two years earlier than he had hoped.
In The Tigers - A Century of League Football, compiled by Kevin Bartlett's son, Rhett, Knights speaks of his untenable relationship with Frawley.
"The only time I lacked confidence was in my last year," he said.
"That's possibly due to the relationship between myself and Danny fragmenting. Maybe the last year of that relationship wasn't great because Danny was thinking it was time I moved on.
"We had a tough year and I think the decision had been made that this was going to be my last year from the coach's point of view.
"The week I had been left out was going to be my 100th game for the second time around. It wasn't a scenario I looked heavily into, but for supporters of Richmond, who had followed my career from day dot, maybe they thought that that was a terrific achievement. Danny and I didn't agree on the decision."
Knights returned to the senior team the following week, but was soon told by Frawley he should retire that year, before eventually pulling the pin in Round 17.
"Danny and I had lunch at a cafe and he basically said, 'We think you should retire at the end of the year. It's not only my decision, it's a match committee decision'.
"I said to Danny, 'I disagree with you. I think I have another year or two left in me'. In my press conference I can still remember saying I am retiring, but it wasn't my decision."
Kevin Bartlett returned to Punt Rd this week to launch his son's book, but speaks candidly for the first time about why he shunned the club for almost two decades following his sacking as coach in 1991.
Bartlett said he believed the Richmond board was aware he was coaching with no money for players or support staff, but was mistaken.
"I was expecting to remain coach of the club because I honestly believed those close to the club knew the difficulties that the Richmond Football Club was facing," he said.
"The first time I knew I wasn't coach was when Neville Crowe and Cameron Schwab, the general manager, turned up at my home and told me.
"I felt disappointed someone could be involved for so long yet the club couldn't find the time to speak to its coach and talk about, one, his future; and two, the club's future."
Crumden
25 Nov 2007, 07:07
"Danny and I had lunch at a cafe and he basically said, 'We think you should retire at the end of the year. It's not only my decision, it's a match committee decision'.
Frawley as usual hiding behind the skirts of others. As coach he would have hd the most significant input - take responsibility for your own actions spud.:thumbsd:
Fishfinger
25 Nov 2007, 08:12
Frawley as usual hiding behind the skirts of others. As coach he would have hd the most significant input - take responsibility for your own actions spud.:thumbsd:
If it was his decision, I reckon it was one of his few correct ones.
I found it sad watching the great player Knights was hobble around and be more a liability than an asset in his last few games. Lost the great penetration he had kicking on the run, couldn't make the distance from a set shot at goal 30m out, applied zero defensive pressure on the rebound because he couldnt chase his opponent. His body was shot.
Time was up, for mine. A no-brainer decision, which would be right up Danny's alley.
As for dropping Knighter for his 100th consecutive game....:(
2011AndCounting
25 Nov 2007, 08:50
Knighter was my fave player as a kid.
I will always remember him as a Tiger great.
I wish him well in his new jod accept against us.
I hope he turns into a gun coach and then comes to coach us.
Danny The ace of dud frawley was a scerge on our club that set us back 10 years.
We have almost recovered from his stealth recruiting and will be able to look forward to a danny free zone next year.
Hyde , Shulz and Moore are the last 3 that need to go . i am happy with the rest of his remaining recruits.
Knights was a beloved player and one rare bright spark in a dim, dark, horrible period.
Frawley was a good-hearted imbecile who made everything up as he went along.
The decision to retire Knights was clumsy but correct. He never had pace or accountability. He relied on his smarts and kicking. When he was struggling to get the ball and kick it he was a liability. He needed to be the designated playmaker free to do his own thing - when that role was taken from him he was rubbish on a flank or wing.
The tragedy of the whole saga was that Knights didn't know when to go and had to be pushed. I also think the team thing to do from an ex-captain would have been to contribue to the reserves finals campaign, instead of declaring himself above that level and quitting on the spot.
Knights was my fave player and probably fave player of all time to date. Frawley = ****wit
nugget_12
25 Nov 2007, 10:21
Yeh i was shattered when Kinghter retired, easily had 2 years left!
Frawley seems to have buggered up our side a fair bit over his 5 years.....
i think its fair to say that just behind his "top-up" policy after 01 this is probably his biggest stuff up!
Knighter was a champion of the club and a fantastic captain.
Weaver says it was probably the one decision he made that was right.
I ask,how can a ****wit make any right decisions?
That article just proves how much Frawley ruined this club, I would have loved Knighter to play on for as long as he wanted, the problem with what Frawley did to Knighter was that he forced him to retire not under a youth policy like what happened with Andy Kellaway - which in turn helped Luke McGuane show his colours this year - but Frawley did it just so he didn't end up looking stupid should the club have gone downhill more after our great 2001 season.
Frawley will forever be hated by Richmond supporters and I hope he is banished from the club forever because of this and his many other doings that plunged our great club further into the dark ages.
Bojangles17
25 Nov 2007, 18:31
I loved Knighter but Ithere always remain serious questions over his ability to captain, galvanise the playing group toward a common goal...it was No co-incidence that the side peaked follwing a baton change on the captaincy...Cambo had far greater command over the group than knighter ever managed...wever was right, sloppy but a right decision:o
tigers71
25 Nov 2007, 19:01
That article just proves how much Frawley ruined this club, I would have loved Knighter to play on for as long as he wanted, the problem with what Frawley did to Knighter was that he forced him to retire not under a youth policy like what happened with Andy Kellaway - which in turn helped Luke McGuane show his colours this year - but Frawley did it just so he didn't end up looking stupid should the club have gone downhill more after our great 2001 season.
Frawley will forever be hated by Richmond supporters and I hope he is banished from the club forever because of this and his many other doings that plunged our great club further into the dark ages.
The people here are right I could never understand why and how we can justify the decisions of Spud the dud. I for one thought Knights could have played on for acouple of more years. But as we all know Spud upset the supporter base and I for one do not recognise anything Spud says especially on triple MMM. How can a guy who could not coach be a special comments on a radio station is beyond me. He could not even coach the under 10's. The players fromm the dud era are basically all gone from the Richmond Football Club. So thanks dud for putting five to ten years back with inept recruiting.
Frawley as usual hiding behind the skirts of others. As coach he would have hd the most significant input - take responsibility for your own actions spud.:thumbsd:that w@nker has not taken one iota of responsibility for any of the carnage he laid down upon Punt rd. Crum ....
Hence my total disdain and lack of respect .
Until the day he does what Jonny Howard could never do and come out and say "Sorry" ... he can f..k off for all time
I also think the team thing to do from an ex-captain would have been to contribue to the reserves finals campaign, instead of declaring himself above that level and quitting on the spot.Gaspar board ....
How would anyone react to Frawley telling them thier time was up ?... thats the sad thing about it ... Frawley commanded so little respect i would think anyone would find it untennible to continue in those circumstances
Knighta -champ.
I have him here on my limited Edition "Knighta" RFC coffee mug.
Never forget those goals in the 95 semi.
Gaspar board ....
How would anyone react to Frawley telling them thier time was up ?... thats the sad thing about it ... Frawley commanded so little respect i would think anyone would find it untennible to continue in those circumstances
No wonder the whole team didn't give a stuff back then.
Gaspar board ....
How would anyone react to Frawley telling them thier time was up ?... thats the sad thing about it ... Frawley commanded so little respect i would think anyone would find it untennible to continue in those circumstances
Well public enemy number 1 (Libba) kept reacting to being told he should retire by reinventing himself, working harder and forcing his way back into the team.
Perhaps Knights could have put 2-3 gems together for Coburg and finished the season strongly enough to win another season.
Make no mistake I loved Knights as a player - but by the end it was all about rights, and what he'd earned and how he should be treated etc. Now he is a coach he will have to live with some very tough decisions over the next 2-3 years - and he might have a different perspective. Perhaps Mark Johnson had earned another season as well?
deliberate!!
25 Nov 2007, 22:58
There was no need for Knighta to re-invent himself to stay with the club.
(Hadn't he already done that after damaging his ankle out at Waverley early in his career - he learnt to forgo the pace and use his head in traffic after he'd lost a yard and developed that gait)
The state the team was in when Knighta was given the bullet, meant that we could have carried Knighta for another couple of years. Couldn't have hurt the club anymore. But Spud thought.....something.....whatever....lol ????
Knighta just happened to lose the lottery and come up against an inferior, short sighted coach.
I hate Essendon, but I want Knighta to succeed.
That's the real sad story surrounding M.Knights.
(And I love the fact, he seems already like one of those coaches you don't **** with - you play for his respect. Whether he has coaching ability, only time will tell)
Well public enemy number 1 (Libba) kept reacting to being told he should retire by reinventing himself, working harder and forcing his way back into the team.
Perhaps Knights could have put 2-3 gems together for Coburg and finished the season strongly enough to win another season.
Make no mistake I loved Knights as a player - but by the end it was all about rights, and what he'd earned and how he should be treated etc. Now he is a coach he will have to live with some very tough decisions over the next 2-3 years - and he might have a different perspective. Perhaps Mark Johnson had earned another season as well?
Or maybe he just shirked the challenge of getting the best out of Knights. Plenty of coaches have moulded talented players into new positions when age starts to catch up with them.
The Knights decision has to be put in the context of what decisions Frawley was making on othe players?
Who would have been better on our F/HF line. Knights or Hudson?
Who would have kicked more goals: Knights or Krakouer?
Who recruited a washed up midfielders like Sziller and King who couldnt kick the ball 20 metres.
Easy to make a tough decision on an RFC champion, but cried like a baby when Gaspar and Holland were offered more money and begged them to stay.
Dont give me this right decision rubbish. It was only the right decision if we had kids like Lids and Foley screaming for their chance.
In the context of recruiting Paul Hudson
Bojangles17
26 Nov 2007, 12:23
The Knights decision has to be put in the context of what decisions Frawley was making on othe players?
Who would have been better on our F/HF line. Knights or Hudson?
Who would have kicked more goals: Knights or Krakouer?
Who recruited a washed up midfielders like Sziller and King who couldnt kick the ball 20 metres.
Easy to make a tough decision on an RFC champion, but cried like a baby when Gaspar and Holland were offered more money and begged them to stay.
Dont give me this right decision rubbish. It was only the right decision if we had kids like Lids and Foley screaming for their chance.
good points 1980, that does put it into a clearer perspective , I responded earlier to knighter being dumped as captain...his playing career was 12 months too short, how old was he 30? FFS
good points 1980, that does put it into a clearer perspective , I responded earlier to knighter being dumped as captain...his playing career was 12 months too short, how old was he 30? FFS
He knifed Knighter because he knew Knighter thought he was a joke.
Campbell used Frawley's lack of coaching smarts and ability to his own selfish purposes. So did gaspar.
Knights felt he didnt have to.
The rest is just noise. These are the facts
Wally Matera
27 Nov 2007, 01:00
Knights was a beloved player and one rare bright spark in a dim, dark, horrible period.
Frawley was a good-hearted imbecile who made everything up as he went along.
The decision to retire Knights was clumsy but correct. He never had pace or accountability. He relied on his smarts and kicking. When he was struggling to get the ball and kick it he was a liability. He needed to be the designated playmaker free to do his own thing - when that role was taken from him he was rubbish on a flank or wing.
The tragedy of the whole saga was that Knights didn't know when to go and had to be pushed. I also think the team thing to do from an ex-captain would have been to contribue to the reserves finals campaign, instead of declaring himself above that level and quitting on the spot.
Perfect response... it was clumsy, but Knights never took any responsibility for how the match committee came to that decision. It was Knighters blinkered view that actually would concern me if he became coach of us. I can understand him being disappointed that his career was brought to an end, but he has sulked far too long about it.
Outside of that, he was great servant to the Tigers.
Loved the Little General with a passion. He was our best player in his final game. Had another year left in him. Good players still get games for shit teams.
Frawley was a **** and still is and will remain a **** for eternity.
deliberate!!
27 Nov 2007, 11:24
Perfect response... it was clumsy, but Knights never took any responsibility for how the match committee came to that decision. It was Knighters blinkered view that actually would concern me if he became coach of us. I can understand him being disappointed that his career was brought to an end, but he has sulked far too long about it.
Outside of that, he was great servant to the Tigers.
But Wally, it's blinkered, focused coaches that coach Premiership teams....i:e 'Bomber' Thompson as the most recent example. We should be afraid, very afraid. One of the next great coaches MAY HAVE BEEN given the flick early by Spud.
I don't give a shit about losing a player like Rodan who eventually comes good, but I couldn't stand another Tiger Boy becoming a great coach for decades somewhere else!!
Donstuie
27 Nov 2007, 15:53
He'll learn from that
GhostofJimJess
8 Dec 2007, 23:42
Knights was a beloved player and one rare bright spark in a dim, dark, horrible period.
Frawley was a good-hearted imbecile who made everything up as he went along.
The decision to retire Knights was clumsy but correct. He never had pace or accountability. He relied on his smarts and kicking. When he was struggling to get the ball and kick it he was a liability. He needed to be the designated playmaker free to do his own thing - when that role was taken from him he was rubbish on a flank or wing.
The tragedy of the whole saga was that Knights didn't know when to go and had to be pushed. I also think the team thing to do from an ex-captain would have been to contribue to the reserves finals campaign, instead of declaring himself above that level and quitting on the spot.
I agree wholeheartedly. We shouldn't allow our unanimous love of Knighta as a Tiger to cloud the fact that he was finished as a senior AFL footballer.
That Frawley chose to replace him on the list at the end of 2002 with the likes of Fleming and Nicholls was the real crime here.
Weaver says it was probably the one decision he made that was right.
I ask,how can a ****wit make any right decisions?
Even John Howard managed to implement a reasonable gun control legislation early in his reign.
What do they say about a broken clock?
that w@nker has not taken one iota of responsibility for any of the carnage he laid down upon Punt rd. Crum ....
Hence my total disdain and lack of respect .
What you are overlooking here, ID, is the fact that a complete idiot like Frawley simply does not have the capacity to display such self-analysis.
It's a bit like why dog owners have to put those lampshade things around their pet's neck to stop them from chewing their own limbs or genitals off - the dogs do it instinctively without any ability to see that it is actually self-defeating behaviour. They need to be assisted in avoiding such actions by others who know better. They need to be told or curtailed.
Unfortunately we had nobody at Tigerland during Frawley's tenure to act as the lampshade.
Harvey Leadpipe
10 Dec 2007, 09:25
Unfortunately we had nobody at Tigerland during Frawley's tenure to act as the lampshade.
Which is why I hold a great deal of responsibility of the whole Knights-sacking saga on Clinton Casey as well Ghost.
Knighter was loved by all and sundry, however even I concede he was getting on. It's not necessarily the point that he was moved on, but the fact that he was made to move on by a buffoon, without a great deal of dignity, and without any care from the guys at the top.
Weaver has made a mention in another post in another thread, that we have 4 blokes on board now that actually want to see the club improve. That definitely wasn't the feeling during that period, and the impression that these twits were on board with alternative agendas is what probably leaves more of a sour taste in the mouth than the way a club champ should bow out.
duckboy
10 Dec 2007, 21:29
Unfortunately we had nobody at Tigerland during Frawley's tenure to act as the lampshade.
LMAO at the vision of Frawley trying to lick his own nuts with half a bucket tied to his empty moronic head. :D