Simpson has got one thing right

[wolmeister]

Maybe it is too soon to make a call on Simpson. I dont think so. Hasn't set the world alight with his selections or game day, more importantly I cant see him developing the offield pull to turn take on the establishment and reform this list. I reckon Sumich would have been much btter.

Absolutely too soon to make a call on Simpson. Give the man some time to make his mark at the club. The club has dropped the ball for quite a number of years now in terms of drafting, trading and player development. How can you expect a new coach to come in and change that overnight?

 

[Xsess]

Absolutely too soon to make a call on Simpson. Give the man some time to make his mark at the club. The club has dropped the ball for quite a number of years now in terms of drafting, trading and player development. How can you expect a new coach to come in and change that overnight?

Nothing personal. We need a proven coach with a proven record to try to unravel the mess this club is in. We dont need a guy who's second guessing everything, doesn't know exactly where he's going. Club needs decisive leadership.

 

[Miguel Sanchez]

Well I'm not interested in hanging about for a couple of seasons while we decide if he can coach or not. If we aren't sounding out better credentialled senior coaches then we suck.

So the club should be white-anting him 9 months into a three-year deal?

Dont care. We need a proven coach with a proven record to try to unravel the mess this club is in.

A proven coach like Sumich you mean?

 

[Xsess]

So the club should be white-anting him 9 months into a three-year deal?

Nah no need to white-ant him. Support him right up until we get the signature of a decent coach.

 

[Miguel Sanchez]

Nah no need to white-ant him. Support him right up until we get the signature of a decent coach.

So just publicly support him while quietly looking around for a replacement? After giving him not quite a full season to try to do something with "the mess the club is in", which was pretty much what he's been handed when he got here?

Which decent coaches do you see as being potential replacements?

 

[Xsess]

A proven coach like Sumich you mean?

Fact is our list is bottoming out, weve lost all semblence of a playing culture and onfield leadership. Turning that around will take an enormous effort. I dont trust an untried coach to do it, much less a "nice" guy without runs on the board. Moreover I'm not inclined to wait three years while he works out what coaching is about. And yes, if we cant pull a Bomber Thomson type out of our arses I'd back Sumich, at least we know what we'll get.

 

[Xsess]

So just publicly support him while quietly looking around for a replacement? After giving him not quite a full season to try to do something with "the mess the club is in", which was pretty much what he's been handed when he got here?

Which decent coaches do you see as being potential replacements?

Not just publically. Back him to the absolute hilt with everything our organisation has. But also be smart enough to keep every option open. You have run an impassioned defence of Simpson which is great, I hope he turns this all around. But bottom line is his record doesn't back you up. Its been a s**t of a year and I suspect we might be the furtherest from a flag than any other club. All I'm saying is if a seasoned coach comes up then we need to take it.

 

[wolmeister]

Fact is our list is bottoming out, weve lost all semblence of a playing culture and onfield leadership. Turning that around will take an enormous turnaround. I dont trust an untried coach to do it, much less a "nice" guy without runs on the board. Moreover I'm not inclined to wait three years while he works out what coaching is about. And yes, if we cant pull a Bomber Thomson type out of our arses I'd back Sumich, at least we know what we'll get.

Is Bomber Thomson available? I reckon he will still be a Essendon next year. So the next cab off the rank is Sumich. Wow, he has a lot of experience rebuilding an AFL club doesn't he? In fact you could argue he was around when it all started going to s**t.

 

[Miguel Sanchez]

Fact is our list is bottoming out, weve lost all semblence of a playing culture and onfield leadership. Turning that around will take an enormous turnaround. I dont trust an untried coach to do it, much less a "nice" guy without runs on the board. Moreover I'm not inclined to wait three years while he works out what coaching is about. And yes, if we cant pull a Bomber Thomson type out of our arses I'd back Sumich, at least we know what we'll get.

We'd get a long-time assistant who unsuccessfully applied for the top job at Essendon, Richmond, St Kilda and West Coast (of those that I can remember). We'd get someone who had a long association with the previous coach we had for 12 seasons, during which time we fell to the position you describe as having "lost all semblence of a playing culture and onfield leadership". We'd get someone with exactly as many runs on the board in a senior job as Simpson had at the time they both went for the job - i.e. none.

And we'd have completely thrown away all the work done in 2014 to attempt to develop Simpson's style and game plan. All because you think he's too nice.

 

[Miguel Sanchez]

Not just publically. Back him to the absolute hilt with everything our organisation has. But also be smart enough to keep every option open. You have run an impassioned defence of Simpson which is great, I hope he turns this all around. But bottom line is his record doesn't back you up. Its been a s**t of a year and I suspect we might be the furtherest from a flag than any other club. All I'm saying is if a seasoned coach comes up then we need to take it.

I'm not running an impassioned defence of Simpson, I'm saying he should be given an opportunity to prove himself. He hasn't even had a full season in charge, he hasn't had an opportunity to cut out any of the dead wood he was left with, he's had one offseason to try to bring in a handful of new players.

As I've pointed out, six weeks ago you said he should be given a full term to prove himself. The about-face you've done since then is frankly extraordinary.

 

[Jarlcorbz]

Well I'm not interested in hanging about for a couple of seasons while we decide if he can coach or not. If we aren't sounding out better credentialled senior coaches then we suck.

Can you agree that he needs time in the role to prove his worth?

 

[Xsess]

Can you agree that he needs time in the role to prove his worth?

Six weeks ago that was my thinking, its still valid. The slip side of that equasion is the opportunity cost of sticking with a rookie coach over other options. Dont worry, I'm of the opinion Simpson will be a good coach one day. I'm just not sure he's the guy for our current predicament.

 

[Miguel Sanchez]

Six weeks ago that was my thinking, its still valid. The slip side of that equasion is the opportunity cost of sticking with a rookie coach over other options. Dont worry, I'm of the opinion Simpson will be a good coach one day. I'm just not sure he's the guy for our current predicament.

But what are the other options?

 

[Keys]

Six weeks ago that was my thinking, its still valid. The slip side of that equasion is the opportunity cost of sticking with a rookie coach over other options. Dont worry, I'm of the opinion Simpson will be a good coach one day. I'm just not sure he's the guy for our current predicament.

What are our other options then?

Sumich who we passed over last year presumably because we though Simpson offered more and Sumich is no more proven than Simpson as a head coach.
Rule a line through any other untried assistants as there'd be no advantage in that
Experienced head coaches that might consider moving to West Coast as senior coach -
Voss - didn't set the world on fire at Brisbane
Ratten - Would be a good senior assistant but you'd be asking him to takeover from a guy he coached at Hawthorn with
Mark Williams - loose cannon. Might shake things up but could also tear them down
Mark Thompson - seriously doubt he wants to be a senior coach again and even less likely to move across the country

Simpson needs a chance to mould our list so they are capable of playing the game style he wants. It's going to take a bit of time to rebuild a list that had structural defiencies.

 

[Eaglemaniac]

I'm not running an impassioned defence of Simpson, I'm saying he should be given an opportunity to prove himself. He hasn't even had a full season in charge, he hasn't had an opportunity to cut out any of the dead wood he was left with, he's had one offseason to try to bring in a handful of new players.

As I've pointed out, six weeks ago you said he should be given a full term to prove himself. The about-face you've done since then is frankly extraordinary.

To be fair though Fivey he also thinks McGinnity is our best player and that we need a whole team of him to win a Premiership..

 

[Xsess]

To be fair though Fivey he also thinks McGinnity is our best player we need a whole team of him to win a Premiership..

No I dont. And whats remotely controversal about anything I'm saying about Simpson. We've had a poor season and he's the coach.

 

[Eaglemaniac]

No I dont. And whats remotely controversal about anything I'm saying about Simpson. We've had a poor season and he's the coach.

Mate you were blathering on about McGinnity bring the greatest thing since sliced bread after a few decent tackles a week ago, when everyone else knows after 5 years on the list that he is not good enough to be best 22.
You going on about Simpson being no good after half a season shows you have no idea about what it takes to build a list or turn one around when it's bottoming out either.

 

[Eaglemaniac]

No I dont. And whats remotely controversal about anything I'm saying about Simpson. We've had a poor season and he's the coach.

Your words:

↑

McGinnity has come in and immediately embarrassed the rest of the squad with his fierce attack on the ball and man. His intensity stands out like a shining light. Thats why Simpsons highlighted him and too right too. We have a squad chock full of candy arse fairies who would be well served taking a leaf out of McGinnity's book. At this rebuilding stage a warrior like him who leaves nothing on the park and takes up the fight - would be one of my first picked.

 

[Xsess]

Your words:

↑

McGinnity has come in and immediately embarrassed the rest of the squad with his fierce attack on the ball and man. His intensity stands out like a shining light. Thats why Simpsons highlighted him and too right too. We have a squad chock full of candy arse fairies who would be well served taking a leaf out of McGinnity's book. At this rebuilding stage a warrior like him who leaves nothing on the park and takes up the fight - would be one of my first picked.

Correct. And?

 

[Keys]

No I dont. And whats remotely controversal about anything I'm saying about Simpson. We've had a poor season and he's the coach.

No doubt we've had a poor season but whilst I've been disappointed in some aspects of Simpsons coaching I also recognise that he inherited a dysfunctional list and should be given an opportunity to have an influence on the structure of our list.

I'm definitely interested in seeing what he does at the end of the season in terms of who he retains on the list as this will give us fans a pointer of the players he values and whether he sees the list with as many problems as we do

I don't think Simpson should be protected from criticism but I think you calling for him to be replaced after less than a year is very premature

 

[Ian Dargie]

Not just publically. Back him to the absolute hilt with everything our organisation has. But also be smart enough to keep every option open.

This is an obvious contradiction.

 

[Eaglemaniac]

This is an interesting take on what I've written.

You're calling for him to be replaced after 6 months when he's already shown an aptitude to change things up and get more out of some if our list than we've seen before (Shep, Bennell etc), and when he's had little or no chance to influence the make up of the list. That shows you have no concept of what it takes to rebuild a list from the bottom of a sporting competition. The one decision Simpson made in relation the list was to convince Ellis to sign. I suppose you see that as a failure too..

 

[Eaglemaniac]

Correct. And?

So first you say you didn't say McGinnity was awesome and now you say "and" when it's pointed out to you like you're now admitting you think he's ace. You might need to start your own thread so you can argue with yourself.

 

[Xsess]

You're calling for him to be replaced after 6 months when he's already shown an aptitude to change things up and get more out of some if our list than we've seen before (Shep, Bennell etc), and when he's had little or no chance to influence the make up of the list. That shows you have no concept of what it takes to rebuild a list from the bottom of a sporting competition. The one decision Simpson made in relation the list was to convince Ellis to sign. I suppose you see that as a failure too..

Terry Wallace showed an aptitude to change things up.

 

[Xsess]

So first you say you didn't say McGinnity was awesome and now you say "and" when it's pointed out to you like you're now admitting you think he's ace. You might need to start your own thread so you can argue with yourself.

I said he " immediately embarrassed the squad with his attack on the footy and man". This is correct.