You'd have to think that if we continue on as we are (losing to average teams by 40+ points and not winning) he will lose the playing group, if he hasn't already, and it will become an untenable situation and he'll get the flick.
So for him to still be there next year I'd say we will need to show a significant spike in form, that shows he is capable of turning this ship around, because if we don't, the damage he could do to the playing list/morale and so-on if he's lost them could be far worse than the prospect of losing two years worth of what we owe him on his contract.
My impression, as an outsider, is the coach offers no spark, passion, inspiration. Nothing to get excited about. He’s vanilla. I don’t sense any sort of imagination or creativity at all.
Tactically, he appears to do little during a game. He lost me when we played North in round 2. I was heartbroken at half time and we weren’t trailing then.
When North had the ball (which was most of the time) we had no forward structure in place. We were bursting out of defence and going sideways because there was literally nobody to kick to.
When we did kick it forward it was the high bomb to give out numbered forwards time to get back and compete. Not to receive as a moving target, but just to compete. He made no moves. Didn’t change anything at all. I left Docklands that day believing we needed a change.
He tinkers here and there but it’s groundhog day on match day. We also seem to attack wide rather than through the middle. Frightened to turn it over rather than play with dare.
Alan seems to be a respected footy person. But my impression from afar is he is out coached most weeks because he doesn’t adapt during a game. Doesn’t seem to do anything. Maybe I’m wrong, I’m no expert. But I can’t see much change coming from the coaches box to break circuits or throw the opposition off balance.
In the words of the great John Kennedy at half time in the 1975 Grand Final ‘DO SOMETHING. ACT. DON’T THINK, ACT. AT LEAST YOU CAN COME OFF AND SAY I DID SOMETHING’. Great words. I’d love to see the coach show dare and courage, even if it doesn’t work. Not sure it’s in his nature though.