Roast The Chronicles of Alan Richardson

[st_trav_ofWA]

Hickey didn't look overly happy being sent back on the ground with a dodgy hammy either.

he asked to go back on... the club held him back and when they did finally let him back on it was on strict instructions to not push it to hard and blow up the injury ... so again totally wrong observation

 

[st_trav_ofWA]

sure poorly worded on my part. my apologies. my intention was not to undermine the volunteer work people do.

i think understanding and i do mean truly trying to understand why people are unhappy will be much more productive than labelling supporters soft, weak (i know you didnt do this) or detrimental to the clubs success.

i do understand why ... seriously im as gutted and as angry as you with the results and we have made some howling mistakes but at the heart of it all this is still my club , theres a reason i do work for this club and its not cause their history of success ... i dont begrudge anyone wanting out , me personally im too emotionally financially and spiritually invested in this club to let it push me out the door but i get not everyone is the same as me but if you are walking out the door please for the sake of our club lets not try and drag others with you

 

[st_trav_ofWA]

my self personally, i just feel like i'm watching a car accident in slow motion. i feel genuinely powerless to do anything about it. the only thing i can do is contact the club and not renew/contribute to the bad decision making. i am just one person. i am not going to make or break if the club is viable. sponsors will have a bigger say on that.

if i didn't care, i just wouldn't renew and would walk away from this whole mess without telling a soul.

in all honesty and dont take it the wrong way but from my part and the role i do and my counterparts do we would rather you did just go quietly .. by all means let the club know why you are leaving but advertising on an internet forum you are leaving cause you think we are a rabble is more about you then it is about caring for the club .. i dunno perhaps you are looking for justification by agreeance of others to help you make that decision to leave i dont know

 

[Sainteric]

Well in all seriousness, lately St Kilda have become a bit of a joke & my point on the sacking wasn’t necessarily about the NRL.
It was because a team who will be playing finals (unlike the Saints who won’t be) had the balls to sack their coach (who in their eyes was a shit coach) which indirectly admits they got it wrong in signing him.

P.S. Maybe we haven’t got a shit coach, maybe he is the Messiah, maybe after he being at the helm for five years I’ve got it wrong.

Clearly we haven't got the cattle, the coach may have played a part in that but that's where we are at. Whilst having one of a Gresham or Billings etc is ok having multiple players of that size who can not transition through the midfield is a recruiting mistake.

 

[st_trav_ofWA]

Blakes playing in pain?
If he still has groin probs and we are playing him there will be no members next year at all ffs

he was fine in the lead up to the game ... he is still building on the confidence in his body after the injury but he was clear to play .. he then hurt himself in game .. had we not already had injurys he would have most likely spent longer periods on the bench or not taken further part in the game but because we did have injurys worse then his they kept him on and managed the injury ... its not a new thing or just a st kilda thing this time of year you would have 40% of the players in the AFL running around with pain

 

[st_trav_ofWA]

I’m more concerned the result came in he same week our assistants got sacked

there is an interesting point as well .... the fact is that some of these guys getting the sack are emotionally invested in the players and viceversa ... i asked the question of the emotional toll on this time of year with sackings delistings ect and the club admitted it is a pretty sombre time because as fans we see it as XXXX is not performing sack him but XXXX is still a person they have relationships with people they have connections developed over time and while the bussiness is results driven and the fact is guys have to go its understandable that the vibe around the club isnt great right now with careers on the line .. that too plays into the minds of the players

 

[st_trav_ofWA]

This Friday night will be very very interesting. Full house you would think on primetime viewing and we get spanked by 60 odd which will happen if Essendon are serious about finals and % then it will be very very interesting times down at Moorabbin.

i dont think so .... i think its a pretty clear thing every man and his dog will tip we will get flogged and flogged big time the game result is already played out in the minds of the media and many football followers so we can turn areound and say this game has a big impact but really it doesnt all it will do is justify another week of our members feeling shit about the year and more posts coming about how shit we are and tearing up memberships

 

[Saint Watto]

Roos was spot-on when he talked about how ridiculous it was for Lethlean to compare us to Richmond On the Couch last night. It's just a really poor comparison and for some unknown reason keeps on cropping up.

That's very disappointing that Lethlean said that......I thought he was smarter than that.

I like you am just bewildered why that comparison keeps coming up.

I can only assume that he's toeing the party line down at RSEA....you know......united front etc.

 

[st_trav_ofWA]

We have a huge amount of quiet shy guys. Steele is another super quiet nice guy. Freeman was the loudest guy on the field the other night, begging for the ball to be kicked to him. We were near the boundary and could hear them all.

funny you mention that ... i was sitting in level two next to some kids that the club were hosting as part of their footy accademy stuff .. they had to observe the game and make notes of the game as part of their learning ... one of the kids noticed that freeman was calling for the ball a lot but his mate next to him remarked that yeah he was but he was in the wrong spot to get the ball that he was an option to kick to but by far not the best option, the Saints guy lookinf after these kids remarked that he was right as a player you need to look further than the next kick and where the easy kick was is often the kick that on the way back hurt you more...

 

[triggering bro]

No he didn't. That is pure crap. He actually said they had 7 shots to 2 but there was no praise to the players.

You have the right to criticise but don't make up bullshit

On [device_name] using BigFooty.com mobile app

My interpretation: Richo was satisfied with our start & finish & stated it was 7 minutes that really cost us. When in reality we got flogged for the majority of the second & third quarters. Richo’s comments regarding our performance was embarrassing IMO.

It also really annoys me that he continues to blame players & he himself takes very little responsibility. He’s very quick to blame others. A really bad trate as a coach & a sure way to get your troops off side. If he hasn’t lost the players yet then he will soon IMO.

Interpret it differently for all I care just don’t respond to me froffing at the mouth.

 

[Saint Watto]

I’ll put my hand up & say that in 2014 when the Road to 2018 campaign began, I never believed we’d be top 4, but I believed we’d be a contender for the top 8 - around position 6-9.

Never in my mind did I envisage that 4-5 seasons later that we’d be bottom 4 with only half a win more than our spoon year that was that 2014 season.

So disappointed

With you here Rors…...when the "plan" was announced,all it gave me was some hope as the club at the end of 2013 was at tipping point IMO.....that's the emotional part of me.

The realistic part of me thought we are basically starting again....which IMO was a monumental task...….we were pretty much rebuilding an entire list.

Getting to be a top 4 side...I just couldn't fathom how we could do that.

The plan was to try and get 3 picks in the first round of the draft each year....I thought that was a good tactic but that only lasted 2 years....we unexpectedly rose up the ladder.

And for whole host of reasons....at this point....that rebuild had failed.

Like you....I didn't expect us to be back down the bottom after 5 years.....the rate of decline this year has been alarming to put it mildly.

I suspect that if you look at who we drafted from the 2013 draft to now....who we traded in....who has retired...….who has been injured and when....there's our answer to where we are.

The quality of our coaching and development systems(which I know very little about) has just amplified the above.

 

[Saintbloke]

funny you mention that ... i was sitting in level two next to some kids that the club were hosting as part of their footy accademy stuff .. they had to observe the game and make notes of the game as part of their learning ... one of the kids noticed that freeman was calling for the ball a lot but his mate next to him remarked that yeah he was but he was in the wrong spot to get the ball that he was an option to kick to but by far not the best option, the Saints guy lookinf after these kids remarked that he was right as a player you need to look further than the next kick and where the easy kick was is often the kick that on the way back hurt you more...

I think if Freeman was playing in a team like Hawthorn, Richmond or Swans who move the ball by hand quickly with precision, he would have received a lot more of the ball when he got clear- those teams don't think twice about ball movement- if a teammate calls, he gets the ball.

 

[tbarker]

he asked to go back on... the club held him back and when they did finally let him back on it was on strict instructions to not push it to hard and blow up the injury ... so again totally wrong observation

Interesting. Not my mail. The player doesn't make that decision. The physios do.

 

[Impatient Saint]

Thanks mate. The point I guess I am trying to make is that our on-field leadership is a reflection of our off-field situation and vice versa. You actually cant sensibly talk about one without also discussing the other, as one is the extension of the other.

People wanting Roo back, or a superstar player to emerge from our group are completely missing the point about what good leadership is. Its about making those around you better! The last thing we need is Roo or Goddard back, or to trade in a Lynch type figure.

Okay we have missed out on Sloane (who I wanted to play a similar role to what Hamill did in the early 00s). That sucks, and unless we can pull a rabbit out of the hat, I don't see the on-field leadership situation changing anytime soon (happy to debate the merits of a GT style rotation to fast-track this process, this but that is another discussion). At the moment we will just plod along with a 4 man leadership team (Robbo has bigger issues to worry about) of which 2 wouldn't get a game at any top 8 club and another who never wanted to be there in the first place.

But this on-field situation only makes the off-field appointments more important (hence almost 300 pages in a sack Richo thread). It is no coincidence that most people aim both barrels at either Richo, Finnis (off-field) or Paddy, Billings, Geary (on-field). The subtext is that we are searching (from the President down) for leadership … and we have none.

Now, if we are going to keep the holy trinity that "run the club better than ever" (Summers, Richo & Geary) then we are just going to have to find some semblance of leadership from somewhere else. So lets start from the ground up and find the best assistants and development coaches.

Now everyone is going to want the Carracella, Tudor, Burns, Ratton, Mitchell types, but realistically we cant compete with the big boys for their services because we don't have the $$, positions available or proximity to a flag. Maybe we get one, but that is just another version of the messiah complex. They will need help.

So here is where we need to be proactive and hunt the underappreciated development coaches from good systems who (most importantly) are also good leaders of young men! The Rahilly, Enright, Stevie J, McVeigh, Hickmont, Glass, Kinneally types. And let Lenny know the door is always open (with a $1m bonus if he can talk Kelly into following). Then they can get to work Monday to Friday teaching and leading these kids.

Oh and if anyone wants an education on what a professionally run off-field team looks like, go to the Hawthorn staff page and tell me how many of those positions related to culture, psychological wellbeing and development even actually exist at St.Kilda.

Finally, a few pages back someone asked what happened to Schnieds development role … Lenny poached him to GWS and the two of them are in charge of the best group of young mids in the game (who just keep getting better)! Meanwhile we have Gilbee who is so thick he moved his furniture into the wrong house. But hey, what happened this year is a complete surprise!

Great post EA.

Leadership is the key word or lack of it. Summers & Finnis have been great getting us back to Moorabbin with good facilities but thats where it finishes. Basically they have left the Football Dept to go stale and rot and continued the jobs for the mates mantra. Of course all the staff were content they were guaranteed jobs regardless of continued sub standard performances.

Then there is Richardson who blames everyone but himself for the teams performances, even the clubs history keeps getting a mention. Richo displays nothing that resembles a quality leader.

So how are an inexperienced leadership group of players meant to develop under such a leadership void from above. There are no positive examples to work from.

At the start of the year Richo supposedly empowers the Line Coaches. Then somehow the club believe that was wasnt working they are all incompetent. Then he cant manage the game day tactics because he doesnt have the smarts. WHO are the players meant to trust and learn from to become leaders. Every group of players has natural leaders but it takes is a true leader and mentor to bring that out - which Richardson lacks.

 

[st_trav_ofWA]

I think if Freeman was playing in a team like Hawthorn, Richmond or Swans who move the ball by hand quickly with precision, he would have received a lot more of the ball when he got clear- those teams don't think twice about ball movement- if a teammate calls, he gets the ball.

possibly but i also reckon thats the faith they have in eachother that they are in the best spot to recieve the bal and when they are not they wont call .... my observation of Freezer was he was a bit like the auskick kids in he just called for the ball regardless of if he was in the best position to recieve it ... but its game one he will learn from that and they will review that when they look at the tape

 

[st_trav_ofWA]

Interesting. Not my mail. The player doesn't make that decision. The physios do.

of coures the medical team do ... but Hickey wanted to get back out there the medicos were not keen Hickey convinced them he was ok to go so they let him go on strict conditions .... he broke one of the straight away aparently when he flew for a mark when the told him not to jump of one foot but in the end they managed him through ... to say he was pissed off to be sent back on injured is 1000000% wrong

 

[Quixote]

Sorry for the double-post, I'm gonna put this in here, as it quickly sums up my thoughts on the matter. A couple of tweaks to the original post. I feel like all three elements tie into each other; it's like a tangle, you need to unpick one part, to get at the rest.

IMO these are the Top 3 reasons we're struggling/tipping towards a disaster:

1) STRUCTURE; on-field. Our utterly insipid and unoriginal game-plan is our biggest problem. We're predictable, rigid and lack any sense of dynamism. Opposition teams must love us.

2) PLAYER & PEOPLE TYPES; on and off field. Our players have zero chemistry. We also have very few natural mongrels, risk takers or leaders within our Club. It's almost like when they built the team, they didn't look past the individual or consider how the whole would interact. We have a team (Club) of same-same's, both physically and psychologically, which goes hand-in-hand with a huge leadership black hole.

3) DEVELOPMENT; off-field. What the hell has happened to our player development? Why has no one come on? Crucially, when do we get our own VFL team? The development program at the Club needs to be shook the **** up. The kids are stagnating hard.
Also, I feel there's been some pretty uninspiring appointments to the coaching panel over the last few years. I don't think we're choosing the right people off the field. This problem then stems all the way to the people at the top (Finnis and Sumner AFAIK), to the decisions they're making, their leadership qualities and football nous -- the way they're essentially running the Club and developing the coaching group.
Who extended Richo's contract? Is that decision and the current situation being looked at objectively by the Finnis and Co? IE, regarded in the cold light of day right now, that decision was a terrible one, and ideally, should be rectified ASAP.
Do we have the right people in the right positions of power at the Club, with the right intentions? It's all very well to say Lethlean is cleaning house, but is he doing so within existing and defined parameters? If so, it's a token house clean, and in turn, the results will also be token.

A lot remains to be seen and played out.

 

[pebblesofsand]

My interpretation: Richo was satisfied with our start & finish & stated it was 7 minutes that really cost us. When in reality we got flogged for the majority of the second & third quarters. Richo’s comments regarding our performance was embarrassing IMO.

It also really annoys me that he continues to blame players & he himself takes very little responsibility. He’s very quick to blame others. A really bad trate as a coach & a sure way to get your troops off side. If he hasn’t lost the players yet then he will soon IMO.

Interpret it differently for all I care just don’t respond to me froffing at the mouth.

Don't want to pick a fight I heard him say "We We We We" on many occasions and specifically included coaches assistants as well as players as being responsible.

He then explains that during the 7 minute some players basically got dragged out of position trying stem the tide and others went into their shell and just tried to mind players. Both actions were not part of the game plan and both compounded the problems associated with Hickey leaving the ground. Seems a fair enough response to me.

As for being outplayed - well we won the first quarter and in the last quarter we kicked 2.5 to their 1.1.

Yep we were only 8 points up at 1/2 but what happened in first 20 minutes of the 3/4 before Hickey goes off and we lost our structure.

Steven (leader) missing a sitter from 10 metres out.

Dunstan (leader) missing a hit up lead by 10 metres.

Billings (supposed gun) missing the whole shebang despite being clear and on his favoured left side.

Gresham (supposed gun) going for glory with a checkside on the run that missed everything despite there being a player in space closer to goal.

Carlisle (leader) handballing to the man on the mark that results in a goal.

Hunter Clark (supposedly an elite kick) popping a s*** truck of a pass that gets cut off results in a goal

and then the flood gates opened.

We had two really bad patches and guess what they both magically occurred at exactly the time we didn't have a functioning ruckman. Cause and effect anyone?

I don't mind people having a go at Richo but people shouldn't just make stuff up.

 

[Saintbloke]

possibly but i also reckon thats the faith they have in eachother that they are in the best spot to recieve the bal and when they are not they wont call .... my observation of Freezer was he was a bit like the auskick kids in he just called for the ball regardless of if he was in the best position to recieve it ... but its game one he will learn from that and they will review that when they look at the tape

Yep- though I think Richo has stolen the Auskick game plan!

 

[Quixote]

Guys let's not forget RE the Doggies game, we were quite lucky to be that far in front, Dogs missed a tonne of shots in the first, when they straightened up they ****ed us badly and we didn't give a whimper. Let's not make apologies for a garbage performance. Plenty of teams have done OK without someone in the ruck for a while, also, old mate Richo should have been playing Roma ffs!

 

[Diehard Saint]

of coures the medical team do ... but Hickey wanted to get back out there the medicos were not keen Hickey convinced them he was ok to go so they let him go on strict conditions .... he broke one of the straight away aparently when he flew for a mark when the told him not to jump of one foot but in the end they managed him through ... to say he was pissed off to be sent back on injured is 1000000% wrong

Of course he’s going to want to go back on if for nothing else than he is not a guaranteed starter in the 22 because of the club’s love for Longer and he’s playing for his spot even though Billy is currently injured.

Aside from this, these players are competitive beasts he would have wanted to come on and play even if only to sit in the hole and defend.

I cannot believe that Richo was forcing him to play and he was refusing, that is such a far fetched scenario, never mind an OH&S issue.

 

[Animal Cager]

Don't want to pick a fight I heard him say "We We We We" on many occasions and specifically included coaches assistants as well as players as being responsible.

He then explains that during the 7 minute some players basically got dragged out of position trying stem the tide and others went into their shell and just tried to mind players. Both actions were not part of the game plan and both compounded the problems associated with Hickey leaving the ground. Seems a fair enough response to me.

As for being outplayed - well we won the first quarter and in the last quarter we kicked 2.5 to their 1.1.

Yep we were only 8 points up at 1/2 but what happened in first 20 minutes of the 3/4 before Hickey goes off and we lost our structure.

Steven (leader) missing a sitter from 10 metres out.

Dunstan (leader) missing a hit up lead by 10 metres.

Billings (supposed gun) missing the whole shebang despite being clear and on his favoured left side.

Gresham (supposed gun) going for glory with a checkside on the run that missed everything despite there being a player in space closer to goal.

Carlisle (leader) handballing to the man on the mark that results in a goal.

Hunter Clark (supposedly an elite kick) popping a s*** truck of a pass that gets cut off results in a goal

and then the flood gates opened.

We had two really bad patches and guess what they both magically occurred at exactly the time we didn't have a functioning ruckman. Cause and effect anyone?

I don't mind people having a go at Richo but people shouldn't just make stuff up.

You make a very good point.

 

[Dr Spaceman]

I cannot believe that Richo was forcing him to play and he was refusing, that is such a far fetched scenario, never mind an OHS issue.

 

[VDS66]

Don't want to pick a fight I heard him say "We We We We" on many occasions and specifically included coaches assistants as well as players as being responsible.

He then explains that during the 7 minute some players basically got dragged out of position trying stem the tide and others went into their shell and just tried to mind players. Both actions were not part of the game plan and both compounded the problems associated with Hickey leaving the ground. Seems a fair enough response to me.

As for being outplayed - well we won the first quarter and in the last quarter we kicked 2.5 to their 1.1.

Yep we were only 8 points up at 1/2 but what happened in first 20 minutes of the 3/4 before Hickey goes off and we lost our structure.

Steven (leader) missing a sitter from 10 metres out.

Dunstan (leader) missing a hit up lead by 10 metres.

Billings (supposed gun) missing the whole shebang despite being clear and on his favoured left side.

Gresham (supposed gun) going for glory with a checkside on the run that missed everything despite there being a player in space closer to goal.

Carlisle (leader) handballing to the man on the mark that results in a goal.

Hunter Clark (supposedly an elite kick) popping a s*** truck of a pass that gets cut off results in a goal

and then the flood gates opened.

We had two really bad patches and guess what they both magically occurred at exactly the time we didn't have a functioning ruckman. Cause and effect anyone?

I don't mind people having a go at Richo but people shouldn't just make stuff up.

I admire your passion mate, but frankly you have more chance of convincing Hanson supporters that Muslim migrants are good for the country or that Indigenous Australians are good people.

 

[saintmagic]

Tony74 - an ITK on SS who has been reliable in the past has had a few things to say over the last few days. Maybe not what you want to hear but potentially a helpful perspective:

In relation to hearing that Richo is only entitled to a 3 month pay out, Tony stated: "that's correct".

He then posted: "All aspects of the club share the blame. That was the message during the review. The club has got us in this mess. The club has to get us out of this mess. The club as a whole.
I don’t really care if you don’t like that answer, it’s fact. It’s a real grim place at the moment."

Followed by: "I can categorically state that money is not the issue with Richo’s tenure. That has been covered."

He stated when asked whether the board is unanimous in their support of richo that "No don't know".

When asked if there is unanimous support from the players he said: "No coach has ever had 100% support from all players. I have been at the club a long long time. Let’s just say there’s more support with Richo than Scott. Ross certainly didn’t have them all either."

When talking about the upcoming game and whether if we got pumped that would be the last straw for Richo he said: "Well you will all know one thing for certain- whether he has or has not lost the players."

When asked what he thought (about losing the players), he replied: "the players are with him". When asked how he would know he said: "Seriously I don’t know. But I’m privileged to have one hell of an idea."

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