A critical assessment - where are we going wrong?

[THATSGOLD]

Harry O looks fatter. Shoot me down for this one if you think im wrong but he doesn't have anywhere near the muscle tone he had.
Its not just him either.

 

[daics_35]

Harry O looks fatter. Shoot me down for this one if you think im wrong but he doesn't have anywhere near the muscle tone he had.
Its not just him either.

I think you are spot on.

 

[THATSGOLD]

I think you are spot on.

Im glad someone else agrees. Im trying to post a photo from his twitter that he took with Peter Yags at the airport dated March 10th

 

[TheGreatGrundy]

Like the fairy story where the children are being fattened for food i.e. Harry, Thomas, Swan. Buckley sees a purpose in players of plump proportions. Who are we to argue?

Maybe we are destined for a 'Michael Voss' year in which players plunge the depths of physical and emotional despair and our rookies are all promoted to plug holes. Bet not many supporters predicted our current scenario!? This seemed to be another window of opportunity year, but suddenly we are slow, one-paced and brittle. Our defence can be peeled open quicker than a zipper in a pr0n movie.

I look forward to the coach and players' response in weeks to come.

 

[daics_35]

I think for the Melbourne game send Harry, Daisy and Swan to Arizona and flog them. It worked for Swan very well last year.

 

[4#Didak#4]

I think its pretty simple. We are getting well beaten in contested possessions and clearances, which have been our bread & butter and the main reason any side is any good.

Our tackling pressure has been below par as well, this is something that can be fixed though.

There is no point blaming our defence or our forwards when the clearances & contested possessions are being lost so decisively. Until we fix this we are not top 4.

All clubs focus on this and have become much better at it because it gives you control of the game. No matter how good your coach or strategy is - unless you win the CP & clearances a coach cannot really influence the game.

Ball against Carlton had our highest clearance numbers and he was out ealry 2nd quarter - now out for the year. Someone will need to step up and help Pendles because as of Friday all sides will be out to stop him in the stoppages. Because without Pendles no one else wins the ball in close for us at the moment.

I think Swan is someone who needs to go into the guts and win CP & clearances. We have been using his run & spread outside of the contests, but lets be honest his disposals are not really hurting the opposition much, especially out of the back half. Get him in with Pendles and win some ball.
Thomas has been very disappointing in this area so far, he now also has to lift and get his hands dirty like Ball. We really don't have many other great options unless Beams can quickly realise his potential.

If our defence wasn't so stretched I would consider trying Heath Shaw in the middle as well to try & win some ball. He is a big body who goes in hard and can find the ball.

 

[magpiewarrior]

We don't need an influx of players and we don't need to shelve our game plans, what we need to do is play for each other. Pendles is getting shutdown in the centre, don't move him away, get his team-mates in supporting him. Where's the blocks, the chop outs, the assistance the collaboration that top mid-fields provide. Swannie was effectively shutdown, so he should have been in there with Pendles, bringing his tagger in to clog up their (the opos') midfielders space. Judd and Murphy worked for each other and had heaps of space to work because Pendles and Swannie moved away to try and get a kick. At our peak of power (late 2010 and early 2011) we were seen as a team that was greater than a sum of all our parts. This was because we all played for each other, not trying to do it all ourselves (like Daisy against Richmond last week). Until this selfless attitude returns, the 'injuries and lack of depth' will seem almost insurmountable. This problem is not confined to the midfield it is across all the lines. Its' not a lack of effort, it's a lack of effective effort.
Get back to doing the basics first then we can assess our game plan, structures etc.

 

[SnakePlisskin]

This ones for all the malthouse haters , Buckley has tried to change too much too soon .

 

[BLUEALLTHRU]

3 games is more than enough,still have time to change coach before Anzac day!

 

[TheGreatGrundy]

3 games is more than enough,still have time to change coach before Anzac day!

You bastards have stolen several of our coaches. I found it hard watching Gavin Brown talking about his coaching of Carlton's defence during last week's broadcast.

 

[jackcass]

Buckley wouldn't have changed much in the centre bounces and we couldn't buy a centre clearance all game. When you are that unmercifully smashed out of the middle, you simply can't win games of football. Our decimated backline is just a postscript.

Agree, thought Ball was the only Pies player holding his own in the clearances and when we lost him it was always going to be the Blues by how much!

 

[The Coach]

Except when we won the flag Swan was our best player and won our B&F and the AFL MVP? Reliance on any one player is definitely not our problem. We have an elite list thats not living up to it's potential right now, thats the problem, not having average players being propped up by a decent top 6 which is Carltons.

I thought this was about critical assessment and I thought you guys were still contenders but if that was just 6 merely decent players propping up 14 average players that beat you - then I had better leave you out of my top 4 Keyboard warrior

 

[dubber]

This ones for all the malthouse haters , Buckley has tried to change too much too soon .

Like what has Buckley changed? We are still the no.1 team in the comp to use boundary and no.18 for use of corridor. Anything else?

 

[SnakePlisskin]

Like what has Buckley changed? We are still the no.1 team in the comp to use boundary and no.18 for use of corridor. Anything else?

Fair enough mate I read that today and thought about what I said and I take that back , I still don't like how a lot of people are against malthouse though.

 

[dubber]

Fair enough mate I read that today and thought about what I said and I take that back , I still don't like how a lot of people are against malthouse though.

I think you will find that people are divided over this, there seems to be haters for both camps. Wait for Collingwood to win this weekend and it will all die down.

Side by Side

 

[entourage]

Honestly don't think we're in that bad of a situation. The only major disappointment is the loss of Luke Ball.
Reid is a bummer but not as devastating as Ball. Our rucks are also of concern, but by no means is it shot-there are endless possibilities for our ruck division this year.

Then theres our performances. I'd say considering where we were at:

-Hawthorn was on par: Hawks in great form, fully fit, flag favourites. We played quite well I thought.

-Richmond was on par: We only needed a small purple patch to blow them away. Sure it would've been great to just put them away and smash them, but its round 2, ease up-plenty of months of footy to come.

-Carlton was below par: But we lost 2 key players before half time. Not only does that affect our structure for the game, it affects endurance and confidence of the players. Hardly an excuse for what we put up, and full credit to the Blues. My point is not that that is why we lost, and I am not making excuses. My point is there is so much room for improvement in this team.

We need to chill, let this media crap flow right over our heads, and look forward to the upcoming weekend of footy and the improvements in our side we have to look forward to.

I don't care who is on MM's side or who is on Bucks'. It means squat.

 

[TheGreatGrundy]

We need to chill, let this media crap flow right over our heads, and look forward to the upcoming weekend of footy and the improvements in our side we have to look forward to.

I don't care who is on MM's side or who is on Bucks'. It means squat.

Wise words, entourage. One way or another the season for us should at least be interesting.

 

[The Coach]

Honestly don't think we're in that bad of a situation. The only major disappointment is the loss of Luke Ball.
Reid is a bummer but not as devastating as Ball. Our rucks are also of concern, but by no means is it shot-there are endless possibilities for our ruck division this year.

Then theres our performances. I'd say considering where we were at:

-Hawthorn was on par: Hawks in great form, fully fit, flag favourites. We played quite well I thought.

-Richmond was on par: We only needed a small purple patch to blow them away. Sure it would've been great to just put them away and smash them, but its round 2, ease up-plenty of months of footy to come.

-Carlton was below par: But we lost 2 key players before half time. Not only does that affect our structure for the game, it affects endurance and confidence of the players. Hardly an excuse for what we put up, and full credit to the Blues. My point is not that that is why we lost, and I am not making excuses. My point is there is so much room for improvement in this team.

We need to chill, let this media crap flow right over our heads, and look forward to the upcoming weekend of footy and the improvements in our side we have to look forward to.

I don't care who is on MM's side or who is on Bucks'. It means squat.

You kept them in the game with poor kicking for goal

 

[Old Spice]

I thought this was about critical assessment and I thought you guys were still contenders but if that was just 6 merely decent players propping up 14 average players that beat you - then I had better leave you out of my top 4 Keyboard warrior

Hate the term keyboard warrior when the respondent replies via keyboard. particularly shits me when you're on our board.

 

[Old Spice]

Daisy really needs to pull his finger out.

We also find ourselves in a position where the rucks are giving us nothing, it's like sharking opposition taps from Fraser's ruck work all over again.

Dawes has been really average.

Don't think the defenders have been that bad, just copping an absolute barrage from our lack of contest in the centre.

The intensity last week though was really shocking around the ground. That wont happen this week, but we will have challenges with a newly competitive Port and still a decimated/unfit list.

 

[lozza63]

Just looking at the key indicator stats - gee they really paint a damning picture as one can expect (didnt realise they were so poor though) - due in part to our starting the year with so many younger players - but hell excuses are lame.

Disposal Efficiency %.

Ranked - 10th

Clearances:

Ranked - 10th

Contested Possessions

Ranked - 13th (once a stat we proudly led the comp in 2 years in a row - nearly 20 behind the Blues)

Tackles - 15th (omg - dropped off by 17 per game)

Just looks that on face value of these stats many blokes just arent interested or fully wound up!

Just focusing on some individuals Pendles and Blair have upped the ante on last year - Swan and Daisy have dropped alarmingly! Swan's work rate has definitely fallen away alarmingly - from averaging 6 clearances, 3.2 tackles and 13 contested in 2011 to 3.5 clearances, 1.7 tackles and 9.5 contested this year.

I think some of these senior guys need to really step up and share the load left by Luke Ball's untimely injury - Blair and Sidey have already improved - but for me the onus is on Swanny to show some leadership!

 

[Old Spice]

Just looking at the key indicator stats - gee they really paint a damning picture as one can expect (didnt realise they were so poor though) - due in part to our starting the year with so many younger players - but hell excuses are lame.

Disposal Efficiency %.

Ranked - 10th

Clearances:

Ranked - 10th

Contested Possessions

Ranked - 13th (once a stat we proudly led the comp in 2 years in a row - nearly 20 behind the Blues)

Tackles - 15th (omg - dropped off by 17 per game)

Just looks that on face value of these stats many blokes just arent interested or fully wound up!

Just focusing on some individuals Pendles and Blair have upped the ante on last year - Swan and Daisy have dropped alarmingly! Swan's work rate has definitely fallen away alarmingly - from averaging 6 clearances, 3.2 tackles and 13 contested in 2011 to 3.5 clearances, 1.7 tackles and 9.5 contested this year.

I think some of these senior guys need to really step up and share the load left by Luke Ball's untimely injury - Blair and Sidey have already improved - but for me the onus is on Swanny to show some leadership!

Great post there Lozza.

 

[PieNSauce]

Haven't read the whole thread so sorry if I touch on old ground. My feeling is that there are several factors weighing on our performances so far but nobody should forget that in no match have we been blown out of the water all day so IMO the talent and the execution is still there even though it's probably not being applied for 4 quarters.

So what factors do we need to consider?

Change of Coaching Staff
There is no doubt that this will have a fairly big impact and it can't be understated. The whole dynamic of the group has changed under Bucks and it won't have effect from day one. It's normal for players to take time to adapt to a new style of coaching and Bucks couldn't be more different from Mick. Bucks believes in self motivation and discipline while Mick took a more empathetic approach. I am more in the Bucks school of thought but if anyone thinks the players won't take time to embrace it then they are fooling themselves. Under the Bucks methodology, the players are responsible for their own motivation but discipline will be strict. When the players can embrace this I expect things to change fairly rapidly. Let's hope they do. I don't see the minor game plan tweaks as being much of an issue except that they too will take time before they become second nature.

Personnel
Blind Freddy can see that our injury toll when considered in the light of the Davis and Brown departures is having a very significant effect. You simply can't expect A grade performances from a side which is so depleted and robbed of experienced players. Our back line has been decimated and that trend seems to be continuing with the loss of Reid. The loss of Ball has the potential to have an even bigger impact because we have precious few ready-made replacements for our number 1 inside mid.

Attitude
So much has been written of the players' so called "rift" with the coach and whilst I am one who believes that the way it has been portrayed way overstates the situation, experience and common sense tells you that the types of changes Bucks has made will rankle somewhat with a few players. Anecdotally, their training workload has increased significantly and they have lost some of the motivational support that Mick used to provide. There is no doubt in my mind that the mindset required to play under this new regime will take some time to adjust to and we can only hope that the players have sufficient pride to embrace it sooner rather than later.

In the end, anyone who believed that the transition to a new coaching style and the loss of so many experienced players was going to make for an easy season is seriously deluded. Much depends on the players' mindset and dedication to the task and this we can't control. Once we get enough experience on the park I would expect the sheer class to start reducing the effect of those changes but IMO the key to our issues so far is all about adapting to change. The sooner the players embrace the changes and start applying them as second nature on the field, the sooner we will see success. If players can't do this then I wouldn't like to speculate on the future.

 

[TheGreatGrundy]

I liked the post by someone somewhere about how ordinary Buck's assistant coaches are, especially Harvey and Lappin.

 

[PieNSauce]

I liked the post by someone somewhere about how ordinary Buck's assistant coaches are, especially Harvey and Lappin.

I don't think you can discount those things as having some effect and it comes back to the point I made about the change in the coaching panel.

Change is never easy and massive change is massively difficult especially when there is a complete change in the philosophy. Any good manager in business knows this and knows that the key to success is to have his team involved, embracing and taking ownership of the change. I would hope, and like to think that Bucks is aware of this and has fully involved the players in his philosophy and its implementation.