Adam Simpson new WCE coach (now to end of 2019)

[Keys]

you are 100% on the money. its astounding how many supporters (on this forum particularly) are content to give simpson, and by extension the club as a whole, a pass mark for last season.

so many hugely disappointing results and signs of mental frailty throughout the team. the fact is, simpson needs to get his act together this year because another year without finals should be considered unacceptable for a club as powerful as ours.

some supporters seem intent on using woosha's cataclysmic 2013 as the benchmark for simpson and therefore viewing 2014 favorably in comparison

if someone hands you a dog s**t sandwich you don't eat it and say it's delicious just because it tastes better than the horse s**t sandwich you ate yesterday

I think that when looking at 2014 it's reasonable to make a distinction between Simpson and the club. Post 2007 the club has collectively made a series of decisions over time that resulted in a very poor period in our history.

Simpson was handed a list that wasn't of his creation and managed to improve on field results from the previous year and by the end of 2014 there were signs that his game plan was taking shape. There were lapses that in the end cost us a finals spot but in my view the team under Simpson is tracking in the right direction

So Simpson gets a pass mark for a solid first season but the club as a whole deserves criticism for the way the team has consistently under performed since 2007

 

[Shupe]

I think that when looking at 2014 it's reasonable to make a distinction between Simpson and the club. Post 2007 the club has collectively made a series of decisions over time that resulted in a very poor period in our history.

Simpson was handed a list that wasn't of his creation and managed to improve on field results from the previous year and by the end of 2014 there were signs that his game plan was taking shape. There were lapses that in the end cost us a finals spot but in my view the team under Simpson is tracking in the right direction

So Simpson gets a pass mark for a solid first season but the club as a whole deserves criticism for the way the team has consistently under performed since 2007

Pfft, accepting mediocrity.

 

[Eagle87]

I think that when looking at 2014 it's reasonable to make a distinction between Simpson and the club. Post 2007 the club has collectively made a series of decisions over time that resulted in a very poor period in our history.

Simpson was handed a list that wasn't of his creation and managed to improve on field results from the previous year and by the end of 2014 there were signs that his game plan was taking shape. There were lapses that in the end cost us a finals spot but in my view the team under Simpson is tracking in the right direction

So Simpson gets a pass mark for a solid first season but the club as a whole deserves criticism for the way the team has consistently under performed since 2007

The club not hiring Sumich is the only club based issue that upsets ndot

 

[QS]

I've seen this thread before

 

[Double the Fist]

you are 100% on the money. its astounding how many supporters (on this forum particularly) are content to give simpson, and by extension the club as a whole, a pass mark for last season.

so many hugely disappointing results and signs of mental frailty throughout the team. the fact is, simpson needs to get his act together this year because another year without finals should be considered unacceptable for a club as powerful as ours.

some supporters seem intent on using woosha's cataclysmic 2013 as the benchmark for simpson and therefore viewing 2014 favorably in comparison

if someone hands you a dog s**t sandwich you don't eat it and say it's delicious just because it tastes better than the horse s**t sandwich you ate yesterday

Pretty harsh. First year coach, new club, mediocre team with a new game plan. He did well IMO.

 

[i am a logo]

Pretty harsh. First year coach, new club, mediocre team with a new game plan. He did well IMO.

Well said. Brendan Mccartney did bad in his first year, Mark Neeld did bad in his first year, Simmo was alright. I mean they can't all be Neil Craigs or Brenton Sandersons in their first year.

 

[Carbine Chaos]

Well said. Brendan Mccartney did bad in his first year, Mark Neeld did bad in his first year, Simmo was alright. I mean they can't all be Neil Craigs or Brenton Sandersons in their first year.

Are we really comparing the list Simmo had in his first year with the Dogs and the Demons? The list Simmo inherited was capable of making finals, the other two were not. Last year goes down as slightly below average IMO.

Having said that I think Simmo is the man to lead us up the ladder and has my full support.

 

[Vin28]

WCE has the potential to make finals if the list is healthy but in recent years the list has been really shallow. After the best 22 the talent level in the squad drops off a Cliff. The drafting/development of players in 2007 and 2009 hasn't helped. Out of 7 top 30 picks we had in those 2 years the club has only held onto Masten, Selwood and Sheppard all players who haven't been recognised as A grade.

 

[i am a logo]

Are we really comparing the list Simmo had in his first year with the Dogs and the Demons? The list Simmo inherited were capable of making finals, the other two were not. Last year goes down as slightly below average IMO.

Having said that I think Simmo is the man to lead us up the ladder and has my full support.

And we almost did, although we just missed out thanks to a certain gutless, 280 game legend punching team from that 'Richmond' area in Melbourne (wherever that is!). I'm sort of glad we missed out on the finals, we would of gotten flogged by Port no doubt. In retrospect missing the finals in 2014 was like deciding not to bungee jump after seeing your friend die from doing so. All that missing the 2014 finals meant for us was that there would be no delusion that we are on the right track, which is less than can be said for Richmond right now

 

[Double the Fist]

And we almost did, although we just missed out thanks to a certain gutless, 280 game legend punching team from that 'Richmond' area in Melbourne (wherever that is!). I'm sort of glad we missed out on the finals, we would of gotten flogged by Port no doubt. In retrospect missing the finals in 2014 was like deciding not to bungee jump after seeing your friend die from doing so. All that missing the 2014 finals meant for us was that there would be no delusion that we are on the right track, which is less than can be said for Richmond right now

Hahahah, started my day with a good laugh! Nice!

 

[The Falcon Strike]

Are we really comparing the list Simmo had in his first year with the Dogs and the Demons? The list Simmo inherited was capable of making finals, the other two were not. Last year goes down as slightly below average IMO.

Having said that I think Simmo is the man to lead us up the ladder and has my full support.

We have a popgun midfield - who only look effective when NN runs riot.

Until that is rectified - our squad is at beast capable of being at the very bottom of the 8

Simpson isn't able to work miracles with that midfield.

 

[The Passenger]

No doubt this year is a big year for Simpson. Any coach that misses finals two years in a row and talk will start about the coach. That's the nature of it.

But we need big improvements from the guys in the midfield to really have any impact. The game is all about the midfield now. Unfortunately we are good at the two ends of the ground, but not so in the middle. But there is definitely guys who can go to that elite level, in particular Shuey and Yeo, and of course if NN gets back to 2012 then things became very different.

I hope the club will at least give Simpson to the end of 2016. History tends to suggest that successful coaches come out of successful set ups from both their playing and assistant coaching days, and that is exactly where Simpson is coming from. Mind you, it's not a guarantee for success, nor is it a requirement for success. If at the end of 2016 we have failed to move forward then it would be hard to offer a contract extension but lets get to that point first.

Midfield's can be built very quickly, and if ours can be we could have some very sharp improvement. The skills were improving in the back half of last year as was the cohesion in the game plan. We also butchered a bunch of games early in the season with poor goalkicking.

 

[RookiePick]

... We also butchered a bunch of games early in the season with poor goalkicking.

I caught the end of Todd, all of Malthouse, don't mention the Judge, all of Woosh and now onto Simpson.

Not one coach has been able to prevent us from doing the bolded above on a regular basis.

 

[The Passenger]

I caught the end of Todd, all of Malthouse, don't mention the Judge, all of Woosh and now onto Simpson.

Not one coach has been able to prevent us from doing the bolded above on a regular basis.

To be fair it probably happens to every club and we are no better or no worse than most. It's just you notice when it happens to your club, and you tend it ignore how other clubs goalkicking costs them games from over a season (unless the media explicitly puts the focus on a teams goalkicking) and you also tend to ignore the times when your own club benefit's from the opposition poor goalkicking.

 

[paran]

We have a popgun midfield - who only look effective when NN runs riot.

Until that is rectified - our squad is at beast capable of being at the very bottom of the 8

Simpson isn't able to work miracles with that midfield.

Midfields are supposed to be the easiest to fix, which is the perplaxing thing here. When was the last time you saw a time with a top backline, top forward line and unable to crack the 8?

 

[MIKE85]

Did he get an extension last year? Is he already contracted for 2016? I hope he is, I reckon he's done pretty well considering how bad we looked in 2013. We have no doubt improved our ball movement, and by the second half of the year we were using the ball much better and actually hitting up leading targets in the 50, rather than the old bomb it in. Those games against the crows and suns were perfect examples of this.

Having said that, if we fail again this year, he will be under pressure, although I don't think he should be, at least give him 3 years to see what he can do.

 

[The Falcon Strike]

Midfields are supposed to be the easiest to fix, which is the perplaxing thing here. When was the last time you saw a time with a top backline, top forward line and unable to crack the 8?

Says who?

You can't simply add talent or speed overnight.

 

[paran]

Says who?

You can't simply add talent or speed overnight.

Hmmm... I cbf'd looking for the articles tbh... what's harder to build - forward line, back line or midfield? In out history as a club this is pretty much the only period where we've had a poor midfield.

 

[The Falcon Strike]

Hmmm... I cbf'd looking for the articles tbh... what's harder to build - forward line, back line or midfield? In out history as a club this is pretty much the only period where we've had a poor midfield.

Whilst I largely agree (Late 90's to early 00's as well) - the lack of quality in the midfield isn't the current coaches fault. Truth be told it isn't completely the previous coaches fault either. The blame for that lies largely with recruiters - who seem to pick diamonds out of coal with the talls, yet haven't got many right with the smalls.

 

[Snivellus]

No doubt this year is a big year for Simpson. Any coach that misses finals two years in a row and talk will start about the coach. That's the nature of it.

But we need big improvements from the guys in the midfield to really have any impact. The game is all about the midfield now. Unfortunately we are good at the two ends of the ground, but not so in the middle. But there is definitely guys who can go to that elite level, in particular Shuey and Yeo, and of course if NN gets back to 2012 then things became very different.

I hope the club will at least give Simpson to the end of 2016. History tends to suggest that successful coaches come out of successful set ups from both their playing and assistant coaching days, and that is exactly where Simpson is coming from. Mind you, it's not a guarantee for success, nor is it a requirement for success. If at the end of 2016 we have failed to move forward then it would be hard to offer a contract extension but lets get to that point first.

Midfield's can be built very quickly, and if ours can be we could have some very sharp improvement. The skills were improving in the back half of last year as was the cohesion in the game plan. We also butchered a bunch of games early in the season with poor goalkicking.

This. His ruckwork in 2011/12 made our midfield look like superstars.

 

[The Passenger]

If you look to regenerate internally and through the draft, you will usually be able to fix a midfield quicker than fixing your KPP's. But the process of fixing your small blokes is still a 2-3 year prospect, so there was no way it was gonna be up and firing last year. And even then it's no guarantee that all will be sorted in 2-3 years - that's really a best case scenario. There should be some good improvement in the midfield this year, particularly in the second half of the year. If there isn't, then it's time to start getting a little nervy because 2016 becomes even more important.

 

[paran]

Whilst I largely agree (Late 90's to early 00's as well) - the lack of quality in the midfield isn't the current coaches fault. Truth be told it isn't completely the previous coaches fault either. The blame for that lies largely with recruiters - who seem to pick diamonds out of coal with the talls, yet haven't got many right with the smalls.

I would say it's less a matter of talent and more a case of development and structures. I do agree that blame for things should fall mostly on the previous regime, but the staff need to structure the mids to maximise our strengths and minimise our deficiencies. There were some good signs last season, but too often when the going got tough we went missing.

 

[Dark Sharks]

Most of us on here have said from the get go Simmo should get a few years to prove himself.

Last year, as expected we didn't amount to much as Simmo inherited a list full of potato's and had to juggle Glass and Cox's retirement.

2015 i expect us to improve, but nothing major. We should start having expectations of Simmo to show improvement in some areas (ie midfield)

2016 he should be well and truly under the microscope as he's had 3 seasons at the helm as well as at least 2 trade periods and list turnover.

I've got full faith in him.

 

[flamingEMBERS]

Assuming Simo is doing everything right and the boys are competitive, I don't think not making the finals this year is the be all and end all for him. I believe he is there to set up a winning culture determined for long term success.

 

[Eagles Feast]

If you look to regenerate internally and through the draft, you will usually be able to fix a midfield quicker than fixing your KPP's. But the process of fixing your small blokes is still a 2-3 year prospect, so there was no way it was gonna be up and firing last year. And even then it's no guarantee that all will be sorted in 2-3 years - that's really a best case scenario. There should be some good improvement in the midfield this year, particularly in the second half of the year. If there isn't, then it's time to start getting a little nervy because 2016 becomes even more important.

Problem is we had a chance in '13 to nab a gun midfielder at 6 (Aish, Scharenberg), instead we swapped it for 11 and got Sheed. This year we got Duggan at 11. While unfair to judge them so early in their careers they don't strike you as match winners, no doubt will have long serviceable careers but pretty much more of what we already have.

Easiest fix for our midfield is poaching a JOM or Bennell from Gold Coast.