Don Pyke: The Next Blight or Neil Craig?

[Southerntakeover]

The major cracks appeared in the latter part of the season. Going into Round 23 we were in prime position for a top two finish.

What happened from that point onwards is what should tell Pyke what he needs to know about our club.

Alarm bells should have rung earlier. The second Geelong loss in particular told us reams about whether we could compete with the heavyweights.

 

[Drugs Are Bad Mackay?]

Alarm bells should have rung earlier. The second Geelong loss in particular told us reams about whether we could compete with the heavyweights.

No one is going to win every game. There have been 'alarm bell' moments for GWS, Geelong, even Sydney got stung at home by a couple of rivals.

Round 23 we lost a game as favourites to a team we'd beaten away from home.

As we know, when a major opportunity is placed in front of us we crumple under the weight of expectations. I'm interested to see how Pyke responds and don't think the fact he didn't turn the team upside down after Round 5 has any bearing.

 

[TrainRoo32]

No slack for the new coach coming in after the death of our previous coach? Or are you a we should be winning premierships every year chuck the toys out of the cot if we dont sort of guy?

He has all slack he needs from the board mate, he doesn't require some from me! What happened last year was shocking and painful but does that mean we don't play anymore? I guess we all support in our own way.

TBH I wouldn't know what Crows winning a premiership is like because I was to young when it last happened! All I know is that for the last 10 years we have been a mediocre club not befitting our size and not meeting expectations.
Consistently finishing mid table and not even benefitting from the draft!

 

[Elite Crow]

The major cracks appeared in the latter part of the season. Going into Round 23 we were in prime position for a top two finish.

What happened from that point onwards is what should tell Pyke what he needs to know about our club.

Our midfield sucks

 

[Drugs Are Bad Mackay?]

Our midfield sucks

It does. A midseason trade period would have been gold

 

[Red mist]

Three of the main pillars to Pykes philosophy didn't hold up. Continuity, balance and structure.

 

[Elite Crow]

It does. A midseason trade period would have been gold

Cripps would have been handy, thanks Triggy.

 

[CrowinNT]

Alarm bells should have rung earlier. The second Geelong loss in particular told us reams about whether we could compete with the heavyweights.

This game was a defining moment. 2nd opportunity to provide something new to extract a win. We changed nothing.

 

[Southerntakeover]

No one is going to win every game. There have been 'alarm bell' moments for GWS, Geelong, even Sydney got stung at home by a couple of rivals.

Round 23 we lost a game as favourites to a team we'd beaten away from home.

As we know, when a major opportunity is placed in front of us we crumple under the weight of expectations. I'm interested to see how Pyke responds and don't think the fact he didn't turn the team upside down after Round 5 has any bearing.

See, you want a foot in each camp. You want to sell yourself as a critic, whilst peddling the same myths about our end failings being unpredictable.

I don't agree that the end to our season was unpredictable at all. Round 23 just saved us the indignity of losing a home qualifying finals.

 

[Drugs Are Bad Mackay?]

See, you want a foot in each camp. You want to sell yourself as a critic, whilst peddling the same myths about our end failings being unpredictable.

I don't agree that the end to our season was unpredictable at all. Round 23 just saved us the indignity of losing a home qualifying finals.

Predictable to us pessimists who have lived through 15 years of finals heartbreaks. New to Pyke. More anomalies to Campo, Clarke, Nobes and co.

If we make minimal changes between now and R1 then I'm wrong and we're in for a slow, painful decline.

 

[Sanders]

This game was a defining moment. 2nd opportunity to provide something new to extract a win. We changed nothing.

And the same old lemmings started banging the drum saying that we hadn't been worked out, we just weren't going to give away any of our adjustment secrets before finals

Come finals we'd see a whole new set of tactics & counter responses

Did we heck

 

[Southerntakeover]

Predictable to us pessimists who have lived through 15 years of finals heartbreaks. New to Pyke. More anomalies to Campo, Clarke, Nobes and co.

If we make minimal changes between now and R1 then I'm wrong and we're in for a slow, painful decline.

So your suggestion is that Pyke did no research, had no understanding, of the past performances of the team he took over?

 

[Southerntakeover]

And the same old lemmings started banging the drum saying that we hadn't been worked out, we just weren't going to give away any of our adjustment secrets before finals

Come finals we'd see a whole new set of tactics & counter responses

Did we heck

I actually think you suggested that yourself re: keeping it in the rack.

 

[skoobydoo]

Good point. Makes it hard for a new coach though to come in and make wholesale changes to a side that made a semi in the year their coach died. Next year is the true test on whether he believes the current best 22 thats failed in big games is good enough or he is going to bring in milera, menzel and wigg etc to change things up. I do think he will usher in the next generation next year. It would be staggering if nothing changed.

Your last two sentences struck home to me - and surely it would be staggering if nothing changed. But then again Pyke looks to be conservative and subtle.

 

[Drugs Are Bad Mackay?]

So your suggestion is that Pyke did no research, had no understanding, of the past performances of the team he took over?

I see it like NC 2005/06. He reorganised our existing stocks as well as he could and got the most he could out of them.

 

[Southerntakeover]

I see it like NC 2005/06. He reorganised our existing stocks as well as he could and got the most he could out of them.

NC had a core that was good enough, a core that had missed one year of finals, but been top four contenders and preliminary finallists previously. A core that had multiple dual premiership players at its heart.

Pyke took over a team that had made finals in 2 of the previous 6 or so seasons.

 

[Sanders]

I actually think you suggested that yourself re: keeping it in the rack.

Au contraire mon ami

 

[Southerntakeover]

Au contraire mon ami

Don't make me go through 6 months of posting. Just reading the day to day posts of the board depresses me enough without reliving them.

 

[Sanders]

Don't make me go through 6 months of posting. Just reading the day to day posts of the board depresses me enough without reliving them.

Going through 12 months worth won't cure your acute case of mistaken identity

 

[Geoffa32]

There are few coaches like Blight in the game.

How many times do we see players switched around in today's game. Rarely.

The coaching mantra across the league seems to be having systems in place and players work to the system. There is very little creativity in coaching now.

What changes did Clarko make the other night when it was obvious they were getting beaten. Bulldogs were well on top of their small forwards. There was no radical change of Frawley up forward to stretch their defence.

Blight would have done that.



Sent from my HTC_0P6B6 using Tapatalk

 

[Red mist]

There are few coaches like Bought in the game.

How many times do we see players switched around in today's game. Rarely.

The coaching mantra across the league seems to be having systems in place and players work to the system. There is very little creativity in coaching now.



Sent from my HTC_0P6B6 using Tapatalk

The coaches that have manipulated their systems and structures are the ones still in the race.

 

[Drugs Are Bad Mackay?]

NC had a core that was good enough, a core that had missed one year of finals, but been top four contenders and preliminary finallists previously. A core that had multiple dual premiership players at its heart.

Pyke took over a team that had made finals in 2 of the previous 6 or so seasons.

NC took over a team that had made one preliminary final in six years and made the finals three times in six years.

DP took over a team that had made one preliminary final in six years and made the finals two times in six years.

The two extremes are Blight: slash n burn and Craig: persist, persist, persist

Blight had a short term impact but was never going to be able to be here for any length of time. We'd take that now of course and Pyke certainly not cut from that cloth.

Crowmo banged on about the second novel with Craig. Impressive start, what next? What are the fresh ideas and ways to take us forward? The failing was going with the same players over and over just getting a bit older and less effective each season.

Pyke is entering that stage. Looks like he can coach a bit. Our playing group is pretty good though not quite at the level of the top teams. So what's the plan? Just because he didn't make wholesale changes after we lost to Gerlong doesn't mean we'll front up with the same 22 next season. I hope anyway

 

[Southerntakeover]

NC took over a team that had made one preliminary final in six years and made the finals three times in six years.

DP took over a team that had made one preliminary final in six years and made the finals two times in six years.

The two extremes are Blight: slash n burn and Craig: persist, persist, persist

Blight had a short term impact but was never going to be able to be here for any length of time. We'd take that now of course and Pyke certainly not cut from that cloth.

Crowmo banged on about the second novel with Craig. Impressive start, what next? What are the fresh ideas and ways to take us forward? The failing was going with the same players over and over just getting a bit older and less effective each season.

Pyke is entering that stage. Looks like he can coach a bit. Our playing group is pretty good though not quite at the level of the top teams. So what's the plan? Just because he didn't make wholesale changes after we lost to Gerlong doesn't mean we'll front up with the same 22 next season. I hope anyway

You're deliberately fudging the figures in terms of the early naughties Crows. 'three times in six years' was actually three times in the previous four. It was five times in eight with two premierships if you further extended it. You represented the results in the only possible way to extend a criticism of the team that cannot be sustained in reality.

Our current list is nowhere near that quality, and is no where near that accomplished.

 

[baldandbroke]

We have to give him more than 12 months to put his stamp on the team and the coaches.

I want to see some change for sure, I expect Pyke to improve like I expect Milera to improve.

After shaking off the sadness and anger from Saturday, I'm feeling more positive that we are on the right track. I won't be congratulating anyone for the great job they have done until we hold up the cup ... but I'm not shooting them down as failures yet either.

 

[Drugs Are Bad Mackay?]

You're deliberately fudging the figures in terms of the early naughties Crows. 'three times in six years' was actually three times in the previous four. It was five times in eight with two premierships if you further extended it. You represented the results in the only possible way to extend a criticism of the team that cannot be sustained in reality.

Our current list is nowhere near that quality, and is no where near that accomplished.

The six years was your figure. It's four times in 8 years if you extend it further.

And if our list sucks comparitively then that makes Pyke's effort with the list more impressive.

We relied on too few then and had too much faith in those around the fringes to deliver. We needed changes then to go to the next level and made none.

Your view seems to be that Pyke didn't perform a team overhaul in the middle of his first season, therefore he won't now.