Ayres To Coach Brisbane Lions!

[templar]

Given that Matthews may not last out the year has anybody any idea of who may take over? If he goes before the end of the year then an assistant coach will finish off the year. My pic would be Gary O'Donnell.

In 2002 the only other current AFL coaches likely to be available will be Drum and Ayres. If that is the case I would think that Gary Ayres will be the new coach of the Brisbane Lions.

He is the type of guy we need. He is more of a football coach than Matthews, who is more a coach for the future. In other words it doesnt matter what happens in this game as long as we can get some benefit for the future. (eg Grand Final against Port)

 

[Olmy]

What a ridiculous topic.

This is just the type of innuendo which saw J.Northey lose his grip on the team.

Why undermine the coach?

You're getting all excited about one performance, before the real thing has even started.

IMO, it's the players who should be looked at. Basic football concepts, things that you learn in the U-10's for crying out loud. MANNING UP. Kicking to a player who can actually take a mark, instead of someone who can't. Kicking the ball in a manner that a forward can mark it. Kicking the ball long. Kicking the ball into an advantageous area.

Matthews can only go so far with his coaching. It's down to the team, the players as individuals to become accountable.

A number of them were PATHETIC on the weekend.

Matthews might not have pulled off any master-moves to win the game, but his performance was hardly pathetic. What could he do? The players are responsible for what happens on the field. It wasn't as if Matthews pulled a few stunts, was it?

You're forgetting, our players know how to play. Well, judging by their pay demands, they seem to think so at least.

A large number of out top performers did nothing but show up last week. They didn't just have "bad" games, they were absolutely PATHETIC. (I don't blame C.Scott for belting someone!).

Anyway, who would you regard as a suitable replacement? Gary Ayres? pah! You'd be one of the few people who have a positive word to say about him at the moment (and that's not saying I disregard his coaching ability).

What more could Matthews have done to stop the performance the other night? Told his player to "play well"?

We're supposed to be a top team for crying out loud. The players should not have to be told the basics on a week-in, week-out basis.

IMO, a number of our players just aren't committed enough. They are too busy doing bloody handstands, or whatever else it is that's going on.

It's all too good when a few players do the hard work, and we're on top. But as soon as things go nasty, everyone's ready to turn at each other and lay the blame (and I have seen this happen out on the field, last year amongst our own players).

Look at the players first. A lot of them are pretenders, until proven otherwise.

 

[Go South]

Oh my GOD.

You made the Ansett Cup Grand Final. Granted, you got thumped.

Are crisis talks really necessary?

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'...and we won't give up, till the premiership cup is safely in our hands...'

 

[ant]

Originally posted by Go South:
Oh my GOD.

You made the Ansett Cup Grand Final. Granted, you got thumped.

Are crisis talks really necessary?

I agree Go South, though, mind you, I wouldn't be too disappointed if the Lions took our coach.

 

[templar]

Matthews was responsible for the loss to Port Adelaide,not the players. At half time he basically told them to give up. They followed orders and gave up. He is the worst tactician of all league coaches. He plays players out of position. He matches up young players on senior stars.

A thrashing will happen again and eventually the fans will get upset at it happening over and over.The next step is to put pressure on the coach, he will quit before the end of the season.

Year 2002 will be a good year for the Lions.Even a Top 4 spot is a chance. Unfortunately this seaon is a lost cause. Bring on Ayres!!!

 

[stevedalzell]

The players on the field were prepared to spectate on Saturday night and thats the worry. When the opportunity to arrived to take the game to another level on Saturday night the game was there to take and they spectated. It was too hard to make a contest of every disputed ball and thats a worry.

The other concern is when we took possession we wasted it like millionaires at a roulette wheel, just blazed away at someone. I could not believe my eys when Cupido kicked out of bounds twice in the space of a minute. And Daniel Bradshaw must wonder what the bloody hell he has to do to get reasonable service out of the players up field.

Good sides don't get beaten like that. Good sides make opposition earn a win. Port Adelaide were given 3 quarters of training drill.

I'm hoping Matthews was holding something back and will spring a surprise on the first game but I doubt it.

Tassie Steve

 

[Roylion]

Originally posted by templar:
Matthews was responsible for the loss to Port Adelaide,not the players. At half time he basically told them to give up. They followed orders and gave up. He is the worst tactician of all league coaches. He plays players out of position. He matches up young players on senior stars.

B]

As you were obviously in the rooms at half-time when you heard Matthews tell the side to give up, would you mind giving everyone a summary of his half-time speech?

I'd also like some specific examples of how Matthews plays players out of position on a regular basis.

1999 - 4th
2000 - 5th
2001 - Ansett Cup Grand Final
Matthew's record speaks for itself.

He will be coach of the Brisbane Lions in 2002 and probably beyond.

 

[Vossisdaman]

ROFLMAO,templar!

 

[Lionel Lyon]

TEMPLAR, U SUCK, U TROLL! LETHAL RULES!

 

[Olmy]

I want to know, why is it you choose Gary Ayres as the next Lions coach?

Is it because he too, might soon be available after being sacked, or resigning from the Crows???

Ayres is not a 'bad' coach. But, he is hardly a mastermind. Sure, he took Malcom Blight's side to a GF in '95 - most coaches could have done likewise.

Then you have '97. The Cats were clearly the best side going around in the H&A season, if only they'd hadn't bummed out in the finals, in straight sets. Kind of reminds you of the Lions, a bit.

Since Ayres has been with the Crows, he has hardly done anything spectacular. Templar, you talk of Matthews not being a coach of tactics, which may be true, however, IMO, Gary Ayres is quite the similar coach. I haven't noticed too many great tactical moves in his time either at Geelong or in Adelaide.

The only coach who I'd even consider taking on if Matthews were to leave (and I doubt he will) would be Robert Shaw.

To say "the players were told to lose" is rubbish. What, did Matthews tell Black not to man up? Did he tell Akermanis to run everywhere except for the right spots? Did he tell Cupido to kick it out on the full twice within a minute if he had the chance? No.

Face it. A number of our players were plain beaten, and a number of others were plain pathetic. Nothing came off for the Lions, whereas Port did everything right. This hardly happens week in, week out for the Lions. Sure, it'd be nice if it didn't happen at all - but are people calling for Sheedy's head because Essendon only won one game in the pre-season?

It's the players who it all comes down to. Sure, Matthews might have realised the game was lost at half time, but tell me, would you all have been impressed if Matthews had pushed the team, and injuries resulting to key players had occured? Say, Clark Keating goes down with a knee? Justin Leppitsch or Nigel Lappin with a hamstring? Just say he'd played Voss for starters, and pushed him under those circumstances. How'd you feel then if Voss had done an injury?

You know, I get the feeling a number of Lions supporters are jealous of clubs like Essendon and the Kangaroos. Jealous of their trophy cabinet.

This is not necessarily a bad thing. However, consider how long it took for each of these clubs to build their respectively great sides.

After '93, Essendon went into the wilderness. Sure, they almost made it in '96 and '99, but the 5 seasons in between '93 and 2000 were pretty much hit and miss.

Similarly, with North, Pagan took 4 years to win a premiership. I didn't see anyone bagging him when the Roos were belted by Carlton in the preliminary final in '95.

Just give Matthews the time and support he deserves.

 

[templar]

Its only a prediction. The lions will suffer many more thrashings like they did in the ansett Cup. Rumours will spread. Pressure will be applied. Matthews will quit. Then we have to look. Ayres will leave Adelaide. He is the type we need. Ayres will then coach Brisbane. Its fairly logical.

Matthews is the worst tactician of all the coaches. He played Bolton on Hamill in the final and Shattock on Wanganeen in the Ansett. They are just i can remember, there are numerous others. We cant win games with a coach doing silly things like that.

Brinb on Ayres and succss to the mighty Brisbane Lions>>>
Cup

 

[Olmy]

Templar, considering the players who were available in the semi against Carlton last season, who else would you have put on Hamill?

Leppitsch? Well, he was on Whitnall if I remember correctly, someone who'd cut us up in a previous encounter.

If C.Scott had been available, I'm sure he'd have been the first pick for Hamill. However, as you'd remember, Scott, Bradshaw and Power were out before the first bounce (along with McRae, who'd been out for a couple of weeks).

I don't blame Bolton for being hammered by Hamill. I also don't blame Matthews for playing him down there. As I recall (and I was at that game), the Blues had forward options all over the joint. With Porter and Allan dropping forward, along with Whitnall, Beaumont, Fevola, and a few others providing options, the Lions hardly had enough options to counter these players.

My only suggestion would have been to have played M.Kennedy in the sqaud - however, he hadn't played seniors for a couple of weeks (if I remember correctly).

In any regard, Carlton were way above our best capabilities last season. Sure, I hated the thrashing we took, but I never expected us to win that game.

The real problem was in the mid-field. We were smashed. Matthews great error in that game, was his inability to have a mid-field set up that could challenge Carlton. However, when you have two rookie ruckman, playing against one of the best in the leauge, along with very accomplished back-up rucks, you are always fighting from behind.

Similarly, S.Hart would have been my first choice for Wanganeen against Port. Akermanis would have been a close second. Akermanis had a terrible night, and Hart wasn't available. In effect, Wanganeen wasn't the catalyst for the Port debacle anyway.

Once again, it was the midfield that lost the game for us. Port just did what they pleased for most of it, and this all instigated through a lack of defensive measures in the midfield. I would hardly say our backmen were poor that night - they had no chance to do any better - no support from the midfield.

I sense that your problem with Matthews, is his decision to play youngsters. Well, when the likes of B.Scott, J.Akermanis, and S.Black have absolute rubbish games to start off with, it doesn't leave you with much else in regards to experienced options, does it?

Templar, I agree that Matthews isn't the best of tacticians. Sometimes his decisions to play certain players, and not others has also bemused me. However, I do understand that there were a lot of off-field problems last season - so perhaps I am willing to be a little more patient with his choices.

Shooting the coach so soon, I just cannot see any good in it at all. It would be negative publicity for the club (the whole '98 debacle revisited, I assume), not to mention the destabilising effect on the team as a unit.

Success comes naturally to those who are patient. I don't believe it is something that should be rushed. The way I see it, we've got a talented YOUNG list, with a coach who is capable of taking them to a few premierships. This might not happen in a one year period, however, I'd rather wait a few years for a premiership, and have a successful DECADE, rather than win a premiership this season, and be hot and cold for ten years as we ride the unstable rollercoaster of "coach management".

 

[OldLion]

With that hair ..?

 

[Go_the_young_Guys]

All I have to say is......

**** GO THE YOUNG GUYS ****

 

[Jabsy]

Originally posted by templar:
Matthews was responsible for the loss to Port Adelaide,not the players. At half time he basically told them to give up. They followed orders and gave up.

The game was well and truly lost by 1/2 time, why not take it easy and prepare for round 1.

Ansell Cup is just a mickey mouse comp anyway, Port only wanted to win to boost their profile to get more members.

Admittedly the win was good for their confidence for the rest of the year

Jabsy

 

[templar]

If Port beat the Lions again then Matthews is in big trouble. It is not the players fault. We have an excellent team. Any coach with an excellent team must go if the excellent team doesnt perform.

 

[Olmy]

Originally posted by templar:
If Port beat the Lions again then Matthews is in big trouble.

With who I wonder?

 

[templar]

With every supporter of the Brisbane Lions. People will stop defending him after a few losses. At the moment he has a few but he wont after a while. Its sad but true. He will be gone by Round 14.

 

[Olmy]

Originally posted by templar:
With every supporter of the Brisbane Lions. People will stop defending him after a few losses. At the moment he has a few but he wont after a while. Its sad but true. He will be gone by Round 14.

Round 14, eh?

I don't know. There are a lot of expectations that have arisen from the media, this season. You might be right with your prediction, that if a few nasty losses go down, Matthews will be under some sort of pressure.

However, I can't see him leaving before the end of the season, even under worst case scenario. The club doesn't want another Gordon-Northey debacle (and thank God for that).

I'm willing to wait and see how the side performs, and what selection decisions Matthews makes before I make a judgement as to how well he is coaching the side.

I believe, if Matthews chooses the best players he has (and I don't think he did that last year), and plays them in position, it is then down to the players to deliver.

Matthews has forged a tight defense. It's down to the much hailed midfield, to now deliver on all the hype they receive. When you've got the likes of Voss, Black, C.Scott, Lappin, Akermanis, Hart, Ashcroft, and others to choose from, there 'should' be no excuse for getting smashed out of the midfield.

Perhaps last season, in the absence of Keating, with two inexperienced (yet galant) ruckmen, you could excuse it to a certain extent.

This season, I am expecting our midfield to deliver on its name.

I'm still pretty confident that we 'can', and will be a force this season.

 

[SpecialBruce]

I reckon he will go by Round 10.

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Go Hoppers!!

 

[Slax]

No I have all the s*@# that I need too. It's not crisis time yet and Gary Ayres is not a realistic option, he'll be lucky to last the season at Adelaide anyway.

Mate your a fool for starting this debate

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The Roys will remember

 

[Roylion]

This is yet another beauty. Had a few chuckles as I was reading through it again. The highlight for me was Special Bruce who predicted Matthews would be gone by Round 10, this year. The call for Ayres to take over was also amusing. Last one, I'll bring to the top, I promise.

 

[ant]

Yeah, and Slax who said Ayres would be lucky to last the year!! Very funny!!