I'm disappointed in Frawley. I'm disappointed in Richmond. But I can't wear the fact that people see fit to criticise Frawley and abuse him in such a way. For all that I have seen, Danny Frawley has acted in such a dignified, gracious manner. He has taken the problem we have too much to heart. How many members on this board would like such public scrutiny as Frawley has faced since he took up the job?
The facts, as I see it are:
1) We don't have the cattle.
2) The club is a complete and utter rabble. Two incidents from Friday come to mind:
i) when the team ran onto the ground, the Adelaide theme song was playing. The team didn't even wait for Craig Willis to welcome them to the arena. I have never seen such an unprofessional opening to a Richmond home game.
ii) Bowden took a mark inside our forward 50 and the ball was jarred away after the marking contest to about 25 metres away. He had to go get the ball himself, nobody was prepared to pick it up for him. There was Richmond players closer to the ball, but they don't think in terms of team, I'm not sure how they think.
3) Frawley was a risky choice as coach. With no prior head coaching experience, we must be the WORST choice when it comes to coaching.
4) Recruiting philosophy has stunk. While we prospered in 2001, I believe that the lack of foresight after that year was far too costly. Why go after rejects? Their justifications are flawed and laughed at by members. While a reject might represent a financial saving, they do not represent proper planning.
5) Through mega-deals handed to under performing players such as Daffy, Richardson, Holland, and now Gaspar, amongst others we have created a rod for our own back. Our players are overpaid and they stink. Their managers have screwed us over. Our inept administration, together with the AFL regulation that makes us pay 92.5% of our salary cap has allowed this to happen. I shudder at the money we will be forced into paying Ottens and Coughlan at season end. I would rather see them walk than to see us held to ransom again.
6) Our administration is moving away from those who are truly "Richmond people". Our propensity to dispense with true legends of the club is unrivalled. We need to remind Casey that the Richmond Football Club is a proud club and it is NOT a business. We can't lose people so important to our history and who can set us in the right direction for the future.
7) Our catch cry for this year should have been changed to "FLOOD OATH".
To blame the coach is too simplistic. We need to change the whole club and take a new view of what is required to administer a club. Move forward Richmond, or we will become the new Fitzroy. We need a proactive, not reactive culture. It is not about strong leaders, it's all about improving every facet of our club.
I'm sorry if I wasted too much bandwidth on this, it's just how I feel.