medusala said:
Clarkson has clearly made mistakes in his coaching. I am sure he would even admit that himself. His coaching record is nothing to jump up and down about so far. Winning one more game than Schwab achieved isnt cause for handstands. If he doesnt do better this year then his contract wont be renewed nor should it.
For the most part I think we're commenting on different things. If we're looking purely at week-to-week wins, I think we can agree that his coaching record appears poor.
By a "faultless" first year, I mean big picture stuff. In any organisation that's shooting for results in a very competitive environment, every person in an executive role is going to make a lot of little errors of judgment etc. What counts is the degree to which they "get the big old ship turned and headed in the right direction" - and
then, quickly deliver the bottom-line results (in the case of footy it's week-to-week wins, then finals appearances, and ultimately, one hopes, silverware). Clarko is a long way from this kind of bottom-line success, but you won't find many pundits who think that anyone could do better with the very young group of players at Clarko's disposal right now.
The big-picture stuff is where Clarkson shines:
In fifteen months, Clarkson has turned a soft side into a hard side (a major hallmark of all successful sides for the last 20 years at least), and he has turned an ageing and questionable roster into a list packed with exciting youngsters who, generally speaking, appear to be determined to throw themselves into their challenges with gusto. This turn-around in the substance of the playing group has occurred in a very short space of time and it has been quite an extraordinary transformation.
Clarkson has also appointed a team of deputies (his assistants) that is fresh but packed with an interesting range of skills, abilities, experience and success. They're hungry and talented like the players.
And, by the "Clarkson is more Hawthorn than Matthews" remark, I mean nothing more nor less than Clarkson is on the payroll at the Mighty Fighting Hawks, and Matthews is on the payroll at another club that will try to smash us every time they come up against us.
Based on his first year, I think Clarkson looks the goods and currently I'd put money on him being Hawthorn's coach in 2009. Naturally, if the wheels fall off completely this year, I'd revise my thinking.