He has to go... I dont' think he's up to bringing a side up?
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It's Leigh... (including resignation rumours)
- Thread starter Tim the Toolman
- Start date
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Grimreepah
BigFooty One Armed Man
Re: It's Leigh...
I find it interesting that some people think that we have rebuilt very quickly and others don't think we have at all.
My opinion is that the best system of hiring coaches is to recognise that building premiership winning teams is a long process and to give the coaches every opportunity to go the journey. If we look at Melbourne for example, they may say their time under Daniher was wasted, but I think at least they gave themselves an opportunity of success by backing a guy to complete the job. Compare that to St Kilda and Richmond who have gone through a procession of coaches and IMO have denied themselves the opportunity of being successful. Now it didn't work out for Melbourne with Daniher, but it did work out for Geelong with Thompson, and now they are reaping the benefits in a big way.
But go back to 2006 and many people would have said Thompson was literally the worst coach in the league. IIRC correctly he had the worst winning % of any of the coaches at the time, he was in his 6th year at the club, and they seemed to be going nowhere fast. So what changed? Did Thompson suddenly discover how to coach or did his team reach a level of maturity that allowed them to start overpowering other teams?
I think we are still in the stage of putting together a premiership list and Leigh has recognised that by continuing to blood new players. But a consequence of that is performances are going to be up and down, and that will be the case no matter who is at the helm. Has Leigh failed in rebuilding the side? I would say only if you have unrealistic expectations of what a coach can do in the modern game. Can Leigh bring this side up? I would say we don't know yet because it is still a work in progress.
I find it interesting that some people think that we have rebuilt very quickly and others don't think we have at all.
My opinion is that the best system of hiring coaches is to recognise that building premiership winning teams is a long process and to give the coaches every opportunity to go the journey. If we look at Melbourne for example, they may say their time under Daniher was wasted, but I think at least they gave themselves an opportunity of success by backing a guy to complete the job. Compare that to St Kilda and Richmond who have gone through a procession of coaches and IMO have denied themselves the opportunity of being successful. Now it didn't work out for Melbourne with Daniher, but it did work out for Geelong with Thompson, and now they are reaping the benefits in a big way.
But go back to 2006 and many people would have said Thompson was literally the worst coach in the league. IIRC correctly he had the worst winning % of any of the coaches at the time, he was in his 6th year at the club, and they seemed to be going nowhere fast. So what changed? Did Thompson suddenly discover how to coach or did his team reach a level of maturity that allowed them to start overpowering other teams?
I think we are still in the stage of putting together a premiership list and Leigh has recognised that by continuing to blood new players. But a consequence of that is performances are going to be up and down, and that will be the case no matter who is at the helm. Has Leigh failed in rebuilding the side? I would say only if you have unrealistic expectations of what a coach can do in the modern game. Can Leigh bring this side up? I would say we don't know yet because it is still a work in progress.
Re: It's Leigh...
Leigh's partly to blame for playing spuds like Copeland, but it's also our recruiters.
Stop ****ing recruiting tall KPPs and flankers and start recruiting some genuine ball-winning midfielders.
Leigh's partly to blame for playing spuds like Copeland, but it's also our recruiters.
Stop ****ing recruiting tall KPPs and flankers and start recruiting some genuine ball-winning midfielders.
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Re: It's Leigh...
The question has to be asked. Leigh regularly is being out-coached. I have always been of the belief that he is a reactionary coach. He reacts to the opposition’s moves. More often than not it is too late as the game has slipped away and the initiative has been taken by the opposition coach. IMO very rarely is he innovative or initiator of new ideas. When he does initiate something out of the box, such as moving Brennan in to the centre, he finds astonishment his own move worked.
My beef is that I find it incredulous that Polkinghorne would get selected ahead of Dalziel, Hawksley and Proud. The fact that these players do not get a look in is a crying shame. I can foresee the same mistake we made with Gram repeating. These players may well blossom at another team. Except this time the "cant get a game in a triple premiership team" excuse can not be used.
Two years ago he stated we needed to recruit running-type skilful players. Subbsequently the club drafted Schmidt, Hawksley, Tayler. They have hardly been sighted. Yet he keeps persisting with Copeland, Selwood, Rischitelly and earlier in the season even Polkinghorne got three games ahead of the above mentioned players. Polkinghorne FFS, who has leg speed of an intoxicated turtle.
Our team is probably the least skilled in the league. Statistics provide glaring evidence of this fact. Someone has to take responsibility for this. The accountability almost always stops at the top. In spite of my rant I am not advocating for Leigh’s removal, however what I want to see is some pro-active coaching and low skilled, clanger kings such as Riska, Copeland, Selwood not be given such a free ride in the 22.
The question has to be asked. Leigh regularly is being out-coached. I have always been of the belief that he is a reactionary coach. He reacts to the opposition’s moves. More often than not it is too late as the game has slipped away and the initiative has been taken by the opposition coach. IMO very rarely is he innovative or initiator of new ideas. When he does initiate something out of the box, such as moving Brennan in to the centre, he finds astonishment his own move worked.
My beef is that I find it incredulous that Polkinghorne would get selected ahead of Dalziel, Hawksley and Proud. The fact that these players do not get a look in is a crying shame. I can foresee the same mistake we made with Gram repeating. These players may well blossom at another team. Except this time the "cant get a game in a triple premiership team" excuse can not be used.
Two years ago he stated we needed to recruit running-type skilful players. Subbsequently the club drafted Schmidt, Hawksley, Tayler. They have hardly been sighted. Yet he keeps persisting with Copeland, Selwood, Rischitelly and earlier in the season even Polkinghorne got three games ahead of the above mentioned players. Polkinghorne FFS, who has leg speed of an intoxicated turtle.
Our team is probably the least skilled in the league. Statistics provide glaring evidence of this fact. Someone has to take responsibility for this. The accountability almost always stops at the top. In spite of my rant I am not advocating for Leigh’s removal, however what I want to see is some pro-active coaching and low skilled, clanger kings such as Riska, Copeland, Selwood not be given such a free ride in the 22.
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Re: It's Leigh...
The players cop their fair share of blame, so eventually the coach is going to be questioned, whether that is right or wrong. It is purely an personal opinion.
We can sit here and rip the crap out of players until we are blue in the face, but some people ask more questions, like "Why are they out there in the first place?" or "Why are they playing in that position?" etc etc, and that is the coaches responsibility. Absolving him from any responsibility is reckless and naive.
The players cop their fair share of blame, so eventually the coach is going to be questioned, whether that is right or wrong. It is purely an personal opinion.
We can sit here and rip the crap out of players until we are blue in the face, but some people ask more questions, like "Why are they out there in the first place?" or "Why are they playing in that position?" etc etc, and that is the coaches responsibility. Absolving him from any responsibility is reckless and naive.
Re: It's Leigh...
I think we're building towards something big. The last few years of KPP has seen that the Clark, Henderson, Leuenberger types, will be established, confident footballers.
Assuming we draft a few mids decent mids this year, two years of development will see those mids at roughly the same stage as the KPP we have been developing.
Of course this is just a theory, and as we all know theories can often fall to bits, but this is the light at the end of the tunnel that is keeping me going after last night!!
I think we're building towards something big. The last few years of KPP has seen that the Clark, Henderson, Leuenberger types, will be established, confident footballers.
Assuming we draft a few mids decent mids this year, two years of development will see those mids at roughly the same stage as the KPP we have been developing.
Of course this is just a theory, and as we all know theories can often fall to bits, but this is the light at the end of the tunnel that is keeping me going after last night!!
mpal6
Norm Smith Medallist
Re: It's Leigh...
I always thought Clouston will play ahead of Copeland.
Copeland is a utility but letting him keep his place till JMac returns instead of giving Clouston a run beats me.
I always thought Clouston will play ahead of Copeland.
Copeland is a utility but letting him keep his place till JMac returns instead of giving Clouston a run beats me.
Re: It's Leigh...
He doesn't move quick enough on occasions, like last night something needed to be done to stop the bleeding out of the centre and it wasn't. He isn't responsible for our poor disposal efficiency all season though, nor our poor kicking at goal. I don't think he can be held responsible for the teams playing in bursts either. We play periods where we look great and then we go to sleep.
He doesn't move quick enough on occasions, like last night something needed to be done to stop the bleeding out of the centre and it wasn't. He isn't responsible for our poor disposal efficiency all season though, nor our poor kicking at goal. I don't think he can be held responsible for the teams playing in bursts either. We play periods where we look great and then we go to sleep.
lionbear
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Re: It's Leigh...
I think the main thing here is not to panic.
Basically we are a little further off being a contender then what we were at the start of the year. Collier, Leuenberger, Henderson, Clark and others, we are getting games into these young legs and we will be able to build a side around them.
We have a very young side, we are not capable of playing 4 quarters this year, as we get another Pre Season and games into our younger players 4 quarters of footy will naturally happen.
If we draft a couple of Mid fielders with Pace in October I think we will have a very strong side to really push top 4 in one or two years.
Lets be patient it wont happen overnight but it will happen
I think the main thing here is not to panic.
Basically we are a little further off being a contender then what we were at the start of the year. Collier, Leuenberger, Henderson, Clark and others, we are getting games into these young legs and we will be able to build a side around them.
We have a very young side, we are not capable of playing 4 quarters this year, as we get another Pre Season and games into our younger players 4 quarters of footy will naturally happen.
If we draft a couple of Mid fielders with Pace in October I think we will have a very strong side to really push top 4 in one or two years.
Lets be patient it wont happen overnight but it will happen
Re: It's Leigh...
I was gutted by last night's loss - this season is becoming a series of 'if only' moments
I agree that no-one, no matter how great a performer in the past, is beyond scrutiny so I have no problem with people asking questions of Lethal's future
however, there's a difference between decontsructing a coach's performance and throwing around vague and sweeping statements such as 'not up to bringing a side up' (what does that really mean anyway TtT?)
sure, I wonder why some players haven't had much of a run yet but I don't have the arrogance to assume I know better than the selection committee on the basis that I made some junior 'rep' side or the 'passion' to personally abuse 'my' team when they play poorly
so let's take a step back here before we all get accused of being a bunch of 'knee-jerkers'" and try to look at it with some perspective
where are we at right now?
despite a horror month, we're still in 7th place, and will probably yet limp into the finals.
are we contenders?
if we find our early form again, we will possibly have some impact in September...if we don't, then no, we are simply making up the numbers
last night was an example of a side uncertain of how to bury its opposition
where have we come from?
four years ago, we came to the end of the most amazing winning streaks in the AFL's history and it was openly acknowledged that there would be a fall akin to Australin cricket's loss of Lillee, Marsh and Chappell
many speculated that Leigh would return to Melbourne to coach the Hawks or this team or that team...
many others speculated he was not a 'rebuilding' coach (though I often suspected that, because his sides had always been successful, no team he ever coached stayed down for long enough for him to be considered a 'rebuilder')...
in any case, it was expected to take years and years given the enormity of the task and, as it turned out, all those speculators were wrong
Lethal stayed in the frontier state and has undertaken one of the most challenging rebuilding programs of any club in modern times with very little to work with by way of draft picks; a reluctance by our own Gary Ablett-like top shelf father/son pick (Murphy) to leave Melbourne; and a desperation by some of our former greats to move there
it's all happened very quickly when compared to long-term rebuilding efforts by St Kilda, Western Bulldogs, Richmond, Hawthorn, Geelong, Carlton
so where are we at on the development cycle or 'premiership clock'?
i'd say we're at about 7 o'clock - maybe 8
how did we get there?
despite the unique challenges that exist in a frontier state, Leith has guided us to final eight contention in 2007 and now 2008 after losing some of the biggest names in the modern era in very quick succession
recycled players, mature rookies, late-draft gems, a clever trade and the trademark Lethal toughness have all contributed to us being in a position a month or so ago where we were being considered a premiership 'contender'
was that a reasonable expectation?
no, just like last year, things fell apart a bit once we started thinking beyond the dreaded cliche of 'one game at a time'
remember when Scott Harding said the f-word (finals) last year and everything went to pieces from round 7-12?
this year a few people started to pump up our tyres in the press and then...bang! we lose the focus on hardness and attacking the football which got us into that position
it's true that I, like others, were guilty of getting a little ahead of where we're at as many of our wins were at the Gabba and hid our woeful form on the road and generally poor skills
there's no coincidence here - the competitive edge Lethal brings to the program is exactly that - a competitive edge
without it, we are just a young team well behind other clubs in the skills and instinctive nous that years of top 5 and priority picks tend to deliver
that said, here we are...in the 8 and bemoaning the 3-4 frustrating losses that could have seen us in outright 4th spot
I believe that our expectations are artificially high considering where we've been for the past 4 years and Leigh is now suffering (on this thread at least) from comparison to heightened expectations
so what is a reasonable expectation this year?
making the 8 was the goal this year from most reasonable judges and I think we're on track to scrape in
and next year?
to make an impact in September
how does that break down?
here are some obvious things we need to focus on in 2009:
a) reduce the brain fades which have cost us 4-5 games this years...brave wins vs Collingwood and Port Adelaide have been more than lost in losses to Melbourne, Essendon and Richmond
b) we can't rely on our elite players to drag us over the line all the time...the boys we've invested time and money in recently need to come on and, happily, our player development history indicates there's every chance they will
c) we need consistency from the same names we always discuss in that 'next' tier topic: Notting, Brennan, Corrie, Stiller, Hooper, Shermo, Riska, Adock, Selwood...Ash looks to have turned this corner (sadly some of the others have gone backwards)
d) we need to look at pruning the squad ever so slightly to allow for fresh growth - i still belive there is an upside to Bunno worth gambling on but i agree with others that Copes might be nearing the end; jusry's still out on Harding but i'd say he's not getting paid a huge amount and is worth another year at the least
In summary
Lethal is doing fine in terms of job security...John Worsfold - there's a coach who's output is down
once we put all the knee-jerk emotions to one side, it becomes clear that Lethal and the team have had a bad month like many young sides have - the Tigers, the Blues, the Bombers all had shyte starts to their seasons and have recently found some form...we're the other way round I guess
the cycle will continue and it would be good if we could avoid automatically calling for the King's head every time we lose a game...
...no matter how heart-wrenching the loss
peace
I was gutted by last night's loss - this season is becoming a series of 'if only' moments
I agree that no-one, no matter how great a performer in the past, is beyond scrutiny so I have no problem with people asking questions of Lethal's future
however, there's a difference between decontsructing a coach's performance and throwing around vague and sweeping statements such as 'not up to bringing a side up' (what does that really mean anyway TtT?
)sure, I wonder why some players haven't had much of a run yet but I don't have the arrogance to assume I know better than the selection committee on the basis that I made some junior 'rep' side or the 'passion' to personally abuse 'my' team when they play poorly
so let's take a step back here before we all get accused of being a bunch of 'knee-jerkers'" and try to look at it with some perspective
where are we at right now?
despite a horror month, we're still in 7th place, and will probably yet limp into the finals.
are we contenders?
if we find our early form again, we will possibly have some impact in September...if we don't, then no, we are simply making up the numbers
last night was an example of a side uncertain of how to bury its opposition
where have we come from?
four years ago, we came to the end of the most amazing winning streaks in the AFL's history and it was openly acknowledged that there would be a fall akin to Australin cricket's loss of Lillee, Marsh and Chappell
many speculated that Leigh would return to Melbourne to coach the Hawks or this team or that team...
many others speculated he was not a 'rebuilding' coach (though I often suspected that, because his sides had always been successful, no team he ever coached stayed down for long enough for him to be considered a 'rebuilder')...
in any case, it was expected to take years and years given the enormity of the task and, as it turned out, all those speculators were wrong
Lethal stayed in the frontier state and has undertaken one of the most challenging rebuilding programs of any club in modern times with very little to work with by way of draft picks; a reluctance by our own Gary Ablett-like top shelf father/son pick (Murphy) to leave Melbourne; and a desperation by some of our former greats to move there
it's all happened very quickly when compared to long-term rebuilding efforts by St Kilda, Western Bulldogs, Richmond, Hawthorn, Geelong, Carlton
so where are we at on the development cycle or 'premiership clock'?
i'd say we're at about 7 o'clock - maybe 8
how did we get there?
despite the unique challenges that exist in a frontier state, Leith has guided us to final eight contention in 2007 and now 2008 after losing some of the biggest names in the modern era in very quick succession
recycled players, mature rookies, late-draft gems, a clever trade and the trademark Lethal toughness have all contributed to us being in a position a month or so ago where we were being considered a premiership 'contender'
was that a reasonable expectation?
no, just like last year, things fell apart a bit once we started thinking beyond the dreaded cliche of 'one game at a time'
remember when Scott Harding said the f-word (finals) last year and everything went to pieces from round 7-12?
this year a few people started to pump up our tyres in the press and then...bang! we lose the focus on hardness and attacking the football which got us into that position
it's true that I, like others, were guilty of getting a little ahead of where we're at as many of our wins were at the Gabba and hid our woeful form on the road and generally poor skills
there's no coincidence here - the competitive edge Lethal brings to the program is exactly that - a competitive edge
without it, we are just a young team well behind other clubs in the skills and instinctive nous that years of top 5 and priority picks tend to deliver
that said, here we are...in the 8 and bemoaning the 3-4 frustrating losses that could have seen us in outright 4th spot
I believe that our expectations are artificially high considering where we've been for the past 4 years and Leigh is now suffering (on this thread at least) from comparison to heightened expectations
so what is a reasonable expectation this year?
making the 8 was the goal this year from most reasonable judges and I think we're on track to scrape in
and next year?
to make an impact in September
how does that break down?
here are some obvious things we need to focus on in 2009:
a) reduce the brain fades which have cost us 4-5 games this years...brave wins vs Collingwood and Port Adelaide have been more than lost in losses to Melbourne, Essendon and Richmond
b) we can't rely on our elite players to drag us over the line all the time...the boys we've invested time and money in recently need to come on and, happily, our player development history indicates there's every chance they will
c) we need consistency from the same names we always discuss in that 'next' tier topic: Notting, Brennan, Corrie, Stiller, Hooper, Shermo, Riska, Adock, Selwood...Ash looks to have turned this corner (sadly some of the others have gone backwards)
d) we need to look at pruning the squad ever so slightly to allow for fresh growth - i still belive there is an upside to Bunno worth gambling on but i agree with others that Copes might be nearing the end; jusry's still out on Harding but i'd say he's not getting paid a huge amount and is worth another year at the least
In summary
Lethal is doing fine in terms of job security...John Worsfold - there's a coach who's output is down
once we put all the knee-jerk emotions to one side, it becomes clear that Lethal and the team have had a bad month like many young sides have - the Tigers, the Blues, the Bombers all had shyte starts to their seasons and have recently found some form...we're the other way round I guess
the cycle will continue and it would be good if we could avoid automatically calling for the King's head every time we lose a game...
...no matter how heart-wrenching the loss
peace
Re: It's Leigh...
Grim that post of yours is exactly why we made you a mod. Well said!
Grim that post of yours is exactly why we made you a mod. Well said!
Re: It's Leigh...
Re: It's Leigh...
Re: It's Leigh...
MushroomRocket
Club Legend
Re: It's Leigh...
sydney have similar problems, dont worry you wont be alone in the coming years.
sydney have similar problems, dont worry you wont be alone in the coming years.
Re: It's Leigh...
Well said Beatnik.
Young developing teams take a while to perform consistently. Although we lost last night at least it was a much better performance away from the Gabba.
Tall KPP's take a while to get going whereas midfielders perform better at a much earlier stage. It's been a good move to select Luey, Hendo and Clarke to give them more time to mature and develop.
So we've lost a couple of games that may be we shouldn't have, but all teams go through that stage. Whilst Geelong are now the team to beat, it wasn't that long ago they were losing those types of games.
As for last night, 7 more scoring shots to lose by 3 points.....
Two moments from the last 1/4, although you cannot hang your hat on them. Lukey Power kicking out from a behind... what the????
Was Browny's shot from outside 50 touched ??? the Tiger defenders didn't react as though they had......
In the end I would much rather have Lethal as coach, who else is there?
Well said Beatnik.
Young developing teams take a while to perform consistently. Although we lost last night at least it was a much better performance away from the Gabba.
Tall KPP's take a while to get going whereas midfielders perform better at a much earlier stage. It's been a good move to select Luey, Hendo and Clarke to give them more time to mature and develop.
So we've lost a couple of games that may be we shouldn't have, but all teams go through that stage. Whilst Geelong are now the team to beat, it wasn't that long ago they were losing those types of games.
As for last night, 7 more scoring shots to lose by 3 points.....
Two moments from the last 1/4, although you cannot hang your hat on them. Lukey Power kicking out from a behind... what the????
Was Browny's shot from outside 50 touched ??? the Tiger defenders didn't react as though they had......
In the end I would much rather have Lethal as coach, who else is there?
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Re: It's Leigh...
What moves can Leigh make?
Putting Brown and Bradshaw into the centre and backline respectively is basically going to negate any possibility of scoring goals for the rest of the game. Consquently, Richmond defenders are going to zone off and push forward to provide an attacking option. Leigh most likely reasoned that kicking goals was going to win the match in the 4th quarter, Richmond ambushed us in the 4th quarter and were in touch in no time, Leigh tried to negate the centre clearances by pushing Johnstone into the middle, we then got a clearance or 2 and some goals. However, obviously it wasn't enough to hold on.
Brennan should start in the middle permanently, he still fades in and out and this position would allow him a chance for play on the ball. I'd like to see Power go forward as a crumbing player or small target. We have to learn to stand on our own 2 feet without Power and Black doing the hard yards all the time.
There seems to be so much space behind our mids and our back line, the other team just run into this and crucify us. Id like to see block this space somehow, maybe pushing the half backs into this area. THis may open up the forward line but it is a chance that may have to be taken.
What moves can Leigh make?
Putting Brown and Bradshaw into the centre and backline respectively is basically going to negate any possibility of scoring goals for the rest of the game. Consquently, Richmond defenders are going to zone off and push forward to provide an attacking option. Leigh most likely reasoned that kicking goals was going to win the match in the 4th quarter, Richmond ambushed us in the 4th quarter and were in touch in no time, Leigh tried to negate the centre clearances by pushing Johnstone into the middle, we then got a clearance or 2 and some goals. However, obviously it wasn't enough to hold on.
Brennan should start in the middle permanently, he still fades in and out and this position would allow him a chance for play on the ball. I'd like to see Power go forward as a crumbing player or small target. We have to learn to stand on our own 2 feet without Power and Black doing the hard yards all the time.
There seems to be so much space behind our mids and our back line, the other team just run into this and crucify us. Id like to see block this space somehow, maybe pushing the half backs into this area. THis may open up the forward line but it is a chance that may have to be taken.
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Re: It's Leigh...
Its not Lethal, its the players. Although they are physically strong they are unfortunately mentally weak. When your confidence is down, so is your skill level and decision making ability.
Being in front with minutes to go against the Demons and the Tigers they should have iced the clock. They know exactly how much time is left, yet a decision like 'bombing' the ball into a packed forward pocket with a couple of minutes to go is silly (sorry Drummo, u should know better than that). Thats not Leigh's fault.
Its not Lethal, its the players. Although they are physically strong they are unfortunately mentally weak. When your confidence is down, so is your skill level and decision making ability.
Being in front with minutes to go against the Demons and the Tigers they should have iced the clock. They know exactly how much time is left, yet a decision like 'bombing' the ball into a packed forward pocket with a couple of minutes to go is silly (sorry Drummo, u should know better than that). Thats not Leigh's fault.
Re: It's Leigh...
For last night's match I was on the wing and I noticed that. For me, when the ball was hit out towards Richmond's end we had no one in a defensive position to either win the ball or pressure a Richmond midfielder into rushing a quick disposal. If Simmonds had a clean win in the ruck the ball inevitably fell into Richmond's favour and, because they are so much quicker than us, they got too many easy Inside 50's from the centre square. I felt that when Richmond even felt the slightest bit of pressure they panicked or when they had to kick it around they inevitably turned it over. Once our defensive pressured dropped even in the slightest (both in the midfield and in the forward line) Richmond, Essendon and Melbourne ran all over us.
I simply refuse to believe that it's solely Lethal's fault. My hope for the remainder of this year and for the coming years in front of us, is that we continue to fight until the death and, until the fat lady sings at the end of the match, we continue to put our head over the ball and win contests from go to woe. The likes of Shermo, Riska, Adcock and whoever else are still young so it will take a little longer until they are able to find the mental ability to keep going until the end no matter how tired they are.
To suggest Leigh should go after a month of bad football is rubbish. As far as I can remember, no one was calling for his head in the first half of the year but once things go a bit sour, all hell breaks loose. What a load of crap.
For last night's match I was on the wing and I noticed that. For me, when the ball was hit out towards Richmond's end we had no one in a defensive position to either win the ball or pressure a Richmond midfielder into rushing a quick disposal. If Simmonds had a clean win in the ruck the ball inevitably fell into Richmond's favour and, because they are so much quicker than us, they got too many easy Inside 50's from the centre square. I felt that when Richmond even felt the slightest bit of pressure they panicked or when they had to kick it around they inevitably turned it over. Once our defensive pressured dropped even in the slightest (both in the midfield and in the forward line) Richmond, Essendon and Melbourne ran all over us.
I simply refuse to believe that it's solely Lethal's fault. My hope for the remainder of this year and for the coming years in front of us, is that we continue to fight until the death and, until the fat lady sings at the end of the match, we continue to put our head over the ball and win contests from go to woe. The likes of Shermo, Riska, Adcock and whoever else are still young so it will take a little longer until they are able to find the mental ability to keep going until the end no matter how tired they are.
To suggest Leigh should go after a month of bad football is rubbish. As far as I can remember, no one was calling for his head in the first half of the year but once things go a bit sour, all hell breaks loose. What a load of crap.
Grimreepah
BigFooty One Armed Man
Re: It's Leigh...
Irel, I think the problem with having a developing list is there are no easy solutions. We would all like ready made skillful running mids that can fix our problems but it's not that easy as most young players have their faults or weaknesses.
It can become a case of being damned if you do, damned if you don't. If Leigh picks elite runners like Selwood and Stiller then you get criticised for picking a team that lacks skills. If Leigh picks skillful players like Proud and Polkinghorne then you get criticised for picking a team that lacks run and gets smashed in the possession tally.
Selectiors tend to look less accomplished when there is less to choose from. Young players are more of an unknown quantity and selection becomes more a case of trial and error to see who sinks and who swims and who may be a good swimmer down the track.
Irel, I think the problem with having a developing list is there are no easy solutions. We would all like ready made skillful running mids that can fix our problems but it's not that easy as most young players have their faults or weaknesses.
It can become a case of being damned if you do, damned if you don't. If Leigh picks elite runners like Selwood and Stiller then you get criticised for picking a team that lacks skills. If Leigh picks skillful players like Proud and Polkinghorne then you get criticised for picking a team that lacks run and gets smashed in the possession tally.
Selectiors tend to look less accomplished when there is less to choose from. Young players are more of an unknown quantity and selection becomes more a case of trial and error to see who sinks and who swims and who may be a good swimmer down the track.
Hollow Knight
Imperfect vessel
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Re: It's Leigh...
Nothing fixes poor disposal like the sacking of a coach.
Nothing fixes poor disposal like the sacking of a coach.
KungFooSing
All Australian
Re: It's Leigh...
Agreed TBD. And while we're at it, lets delist Riska, Charman, Notting, Sherman, Corrie, McGrath, Hooper, Adcock and Brennan. Too inconsistent to be AFL footballers. We'll be a much better outfit next year when we've done that.
Agreed TBD. And while we're at it, lets delist Riska, Charman, Notting, Sherman, Corrie, McGrath, Hooper, Adcock and Brennan. Too inconsistent to be AFL footballers. We'll be a much better outfit next year when we've done that.
Re: It's Leigh...
Up until round 13 v. Adelaide (except round 1) we had won what we should have won, and lost what we probably had to lose, so to start calling for heads by round 17 is not only a little premature, it is also irrational. I would advocate a change by round 17 2009 if we are still losing to cellar dwellers, and throwing away supposed match winning leads 3 times in one match. Don't you think we owe Leigh something?
Up until round 13 v. Adelaide (except round 1) we had won what we should have won, and lost what we probably had to lose, so to start calling for heads by round 17 is not only a little premature, it is also irrational. I would advocate a change by round 17 2009 if we are still losing to cellar dwellers, and throwing away supposed match winning leads 3 times in one match. Don't you think we owe Leigh something?
