Coaching Staff Senior Coach: John Worsfold - Thank you John

[quotemokc]

How hard is it to come up with a kick in strategy?

 

[fairbump_playon]

How hard is it to come up with a kick in strategy?

Exactly. And I’m not counting 15 metre chip kicks from the very back of the square as a strategy.

 

[eDPS]

“I don't think we started favourites, so we lost a game that most people didn't expect us to win.”

This statement is unacceptable

 

[citizen-erased]

Last GF appearance, Sheedy was still coaching.

I feel he has done his job in stabilising us post-2016 and the time is ripe to find a modern coach to take the reigns
Happy to keep him on to earn the pay cheque assisting whoever that is.

But we had regressed badly since the 2017 final loss.

 

[citizen-erased]

“I don't think we started favourites, so we lost a game that most people didn't expect us to win.”

This statement is unacceptable

Between that and Heppell's call for patience.
When do i get my club white flag to waive at next weeks game?

 

[BOMBERS 4 LIFE!!!!]

“I don't think we started favourites, so we lost a game that most people didn't expect us to win.”

This statement is unacceptable

That makes me angry

Nice bloke John but he's past it as a coach.

 

[yodellinhank]

I like John, he's a very decent man, loved it when he played, bloody brutal. He'd walk Woosha if things keep going like this and probably wouldn't take the payout, he's that sort of bloke.

How well do you know the guy?

 

[Mr_McBoogerBalls]

Last GF appearance, Sheedy was still coaching.

I feel he has done his job in stabilising us post-2016 and the time is ripe to find a modern coach to take the reigns
Happy to keep him on to earn the pay cheque assisting whoever that is.

But we had regressed badly since the 2017 final loss.

I'd argue that our form in the second half of 2018 was an improvement and that we had a clearer identity in our gameplan.

What I'm racking my brain over at the moment is why we have regressed from that form and I fear it's because we're trying to change up something which was working quite well (albeit better than the shit we produced today).

 

[the PILL]

He's trying to coach us via phone-in I feel and enough is enough...

He's had time to select his teams, formulate strategies, select his line coaches, time to ingrain his own aggressiveness of his glory days of both playing and coaching...

We need a coach that is philosophical, that can switch on this team/talent properly and has adaptability in this MODERN game...

I'm over it, he lost me at last years Carlton presser and until he's gone I'll be team supportive yet convinced we are wasting our time...

We've been at sea since Sheedy was taken out by self serving politics and until some visionary comes along we will remain a filler team that thinks its better than it is...

 

[puntingdude22]

I'm done with wolsfold
Hawthorn, freo, (clarkson, lyon ) and a few other teams have worst lists than us but are more competitive.

 

[Darealrath]

How hard is it to come up with a kick in strategy?

How good was Fletch - I'm not sure we had one when he was playing either but it didn't matter because he was hitting targets 65m away.

 

[JayJ20]

“I don't think we started favourites, so we lost a game that most people didn't expect us to win.”

This statement is unacceptable

This is also very strange:

"I would never accuse any of the players of not giving their all, but their 'all' was well below what we would like from each other."

 

[EnolaGay]

This is also very strange:

"I would never accuse any of the players of not giving their all, but their 'all' was well below what we would like from each other."

Not really, what he's saying is they didn't give their all

(I know you know that)

 

[eth-dog]

Everyone whinges about a lack of a kick in strategy yet every year we top the goals from kick in category. Funny that.

 

[eDPS]

Everyone whinges about a lack of a kick in strategy yet every year we top the goals from kick in category. Funny that.

Would like to see the stat for most goals given away from kick ins, think we would be high on that list

 

[Bunk Moreland]

I think he was the right appointment for the situation but now is the time we have to take the step forward. Except in the case of an incredible injury toll, finals are a non negotiable. Last year was the aberration, you don’t get two of them.

Having said that, we’re literally 4% into the season. These discussions are months and months away.

 

[Yoda_]

“I don't think we started favourites, so we lost a game that most people didn't expect us to win.”

This statement is unacceptable

I don't mind the loss. I give af how we lost it.

 

[fishardansin]

That makes me angry

Nice bloke John but he's past it as a coach.

I never rated him as a coach back in the day. He had the best midfield ever assembled, in a time where you could leave your better players on the ground for most of the game. He had two coaching moves. Never let the opposition have a loose defender, even if that meant playing an 8 man forward line and 4 man backline. If things weren't working out, swing Hunter forward.

Having said that he's been a good steady hand for what has been a time of much upheaval at the club. The only way he works as a coach is if he has the next Clarkson or Sheedy develop under him, and he is a head coach to keep the organisation together.

I hate how we're copying the game plan of Collingwood and Richmond. Richmond was forced into that because, despite the quality of some of their KPPs, they were a little undersized. Collingwood was forced into that because their KPPs are shit after over investing in their midfield. West Coast actually won the flag last year, not either of the other two. They did not have that game plan because they have a gun KPF, a quality CHF and excellent big intercepting marking players in defence. Hawthorn dominated the league for most of the previous 5 years with a game plan based around ball movement.

A good coach looks at what he has and makes a game plan that works for that. He also works with his list manager to get the exact type of player he needs to fulfil what he wants, and develops them appropriately.

If we were to imitate what Collingwood and Richmond have done, we'd play Laverde, Langford and Stringer in the forward line as mobile marking targets who all pinch hit in the middle. We'd keep McKernan deep and kick long to HIS ADVANTAGE so if he didn't mark it the opposition would require extra support in the air that Stringer, Tippa and Fanta could feed off. After spending part of their early years in defence we'd have Heppell and Myers push back from the midfield and support the defenders. We'd set up Saad and McKenna to burst forward as much as possible. We'd use Myers as a get out of jail long kick that would allow us to set up behind the ball if we were not able to get onto the spill at the back of their zone.

In the end, it never happens. When we set up with too much focus on the structure, the players get lost and the opposition waltzes through it. Confidence levels drop. We don't get in good offensive position and we can't break from the pressure. Then confidence drops further.

Last year should have made that clear to everyone.

 

[Its Manbearpig]

“I don't think we started favourites, so we lost a game that most people didn't expect us to win.”

This statement is unacceptable

That bugged me more than anything else in the presser. No excuse for an attitude like that.
People may mock Malthouse for his "I cant see us losing a game" but that is a far better attitude than this statement suggests.

 

[Bombermania]

I'm done with wolsfold
Hawthorn, freo, (clarkson, lyon ) and a few other teams have worst lists than us but are more competitive.

Hawthorn is a case of what is wrong with Essendon. At Hawthorn if a player isn't pulling their weight they don't just have Clarko to face, but they also have guys like Jason and Dermie that are more than happy to tell players what they think, whereas at Essendon the culture seems "to be lets try and remain positive and nice" which might be okay but there comes a time when the club's elders need to throw their weight around but we don't seem to have anyone and from all reports some players couldn't handle it when Xavier made a critical tweet, image how Jeff would react if a player had a whinge because he tweeted or said something they didn't like. I'm not saying we need to condone bullying but we need to have grown adults that can handle honesty which today's performance needs, the fear to have those conversations is what leads to poor cultural habits taking hold.

 

[Jobe Watson]

I appreciate the fact that he took over during the worst time in our club's history. But that was 3 years ago now.

I was never hot on the Woosha signing in the first place, and even less hot on the supposed unprofessionalism and arrogance around his signing (not properly interviewing other candidates, etc.). I thought we should've gone for a younger, fresher coach who could grow with the playing list. But no, we hired a dinosaur instead. He is an awful match day coach and doesn't seem like much of a motivator. The same issues we've had for the last 2 seasons are still there. We have a shoddy game plan that really only works when the opposition allow it to work and we have no backup system. I fear we're going to squander the most talented list we've had in 15 years.

If we don't win a final this year he has to go.

 

[Lore]

Hawthorn is a case of what is wrong with Essendon. At Hawthorn if a player isn't pulling their weight they don't just have Clarko to face, but they also have guys like Jason and Dermie that are more than happy to tell players what they think, whereas at Essendon the culture seems "to be lets try and remain positive and nice" which might be okay but there comes a time when the club's elders need to throw their weight around but we don't seem to have anyone and from all reports some players couldn't handle it when Xavier made a critical tweet, image how Jeff would react if a player had a whinge because he tweeted or said something they didn't like. I'm not saying we need to condone bullying but we need to have grown adults that can handle honesty which today's performance needs, the fear to have those conversations is what leads to poor cultural habits taking hold.

I’d better go and watch some Clarko press conferences, but last time I checked crying and screaming in the press conferences doesn’t achieve much except start rumours that your job is in jeopardy. I guess we could ask woosha to punch a hole in the wall next time we lose just to appease the fans, but honestly I’d rather he was concentrating so that when he does give the players a spray he’d know what the hell he was talking about.

What our coaches and CEO say to the media and the membership is not the same thing as what is said behind closed doors. Or at least it shouldn’t be, in Xavier’s case. If there is one thing we learnt from ASADA it’s that presenting a united front is absolutely imperative.

All that said, I agree that poor cultural habits seem to be a thing at Essendon. Just don’t point to a press conference or a twitter feed as evidence of what happens in the player debrief.

 

[Howard Moon]

Footy has come a long way... gone are the days that just having the best players wins you games.

Back then the Carltons and Essendons of the world used their might to grab the best players, when you play footy 1 v 1, the best players usually come out on top - hey presto you win the game.

Now days its system v system, a good system will beat a good player any day of the week

The striking thing about it is, your system only needs to be off a few % and you get smashed, the week later you make the few % tweak and you win the next week.. everybody bemoans a lack of consistency, looks like the players are trying one week and not the next, world beaters one week and losers the next.. I don't think there is much change in the players mindsets or how much they try week to week, its how they are told to set up ect. It can be as small as standing the wrong side of your opponents or setting up 10 meters too far up the ground.

Its not even your system vs the other teams, there can even be issues in your own club with the line coaches systems - if your defensive phase and attacking phase are not in sync, you will look like a rabble, if you have messed up your attacking phase you will be all out of shape for the defensive transition, next minute you are a leaky sieve... set up your defensive ground wrong, you'll be stagnant and have nothing when it comes time to attack.. when did it all become so fraught and complicated???

I reckon when we came good last year we threw a lot of the complicated structure out the door and said just play, hit the contest hard, in number, pressure them, get it and run, do your thing - that's a refreshing thing for a team of players who were most probably being curtailed under a strategy that wasn't working.

We are in the same spot again - seems like they are all in no mans land, working hard(ish) but to the wrong spots or stuck in weird places on the ground that the structure dictates, instead of what the ball or game at the time dictates, do we wake up early this time or wait til the season is near cooked before we make the change.

Firing Worsfold is dumb, its like blaming an entire supplements regime on one guy like Hird.. wait..

anyway, if one has to go they all do, they are all coaching the one game plan.

anyway x 2, stk this week, if we play the way we should be, we will be back to 50/50 and no damage done... they have the same issue as us, stodgy game plan, disjointed..

but do we? will we?

will we stick stubbornly to the plan we coached all pre season, or do what worked 2nd half of last year?

Worsfold, I thought would be a ranting raving guy who put the fear of god into his players with shouting and anger - and he might be? I haven't been behind closed doors, but he more likely seems to be the guy who just looks disappointed in you and hopes you feel guilty and learn from your mistake in your own time.

clocks ticking...

 

[maskmcgee]

Watch the Brad Scott press conference and see the difference.

 

[BrunoV]

I've settled on my Trump inspired nickname for Woosh.

"Head Clown Chuck" Worsfold.

I'm trying to work out who gets my favourite, Jeff Bozo. It's gotta be Dodo, I'd need to have some affection for whoever ends up with it.