Is it time ?

[The Boy From Brasil]

When did he sign that contract and where is the media release?

I am not sure that he has signed it yet, but I read last week from Mark Stevens in the Sun that coach and club have agreed to go forward and it is only a matter of whether it is a two or year deal. Under a clause in his contract by Ricky Nixon, August 1st was the deadline where he had to be told if we wanted to re contract him or not.

 

[Dancing Dougy]

Yeah it might. But what good is that if you're in a situation when you need to win games? What is the point of making a bold statement when you're going to be a greater chance of losing a game if you do? Crap situation to be in as a coach. You want to bust balls, but you also need to win games.

I agree, but their have been many many many occasions in the past which may have been more appropriate. St Kilda had no qualms in doing so to devastating effect.

 

[Power_Forward]

It's not so much the loss, but the complete ineptitude on field. Last week we won, but I rate that equally as bad as today.

Eade has become stubborn and stale

Agreed, and it's becoming increasingly frustrating that we play our best footy in the first 5 rounds of the season and our worst footy the last 5 rounds year on year.

It's round 20 next week and our structure is in dissaray, we should be putting the final polish on the team for a crack at September.

 

[immortalmike]

Agreed, and it's becoming increasingly frustrating that we play our best footy in the first 5 rounds of the season and our worst footy the last 5 rounds year on year.

It's round 20 next week and our structure is in dissaray, we should be putting the final polish on the team for a crack at September.

That is absolute crap. We lost to Carlton and the Eagles in the first five rounds after two insipid displays much like yesterdays.

And it's fairly hard to have a structure when your first choice CHF and FF are injured along with two very very good and skilled flankers. The fact of the matter is that our forward line has had its guts ripped out, that has ruined any and all structure we had.

 

[Power_Forward]

That is absolute crap. We lost to Carlton and the Eagles in the first five rounds after two insipid displays much like yesterdays.

And it's fairly hard to have a structure when your first choice CHF and FF are injured along with two very very good and skilled flankers. The fact of the matter is that our forward line has had its guts ripped out, that has ruined any and all structure we had.

Ok, first 10 round are good and last 10 are poor. 2007, 2008, and now 2009. Either way you want to look at it, when the cruicial time of the year comes around we are routinely playing our worst.

Welsh's returns against top 4 sides this year are;

St Kilda- 0
Geelong- 0
Collingwood- 0
St Kilda- 0

Please don't tell me you think he's the solution to our forward problem.

 

[immortalmike]

Ok, first 10 round are good and last 10 are poor. 2007, 2008, and now 2009. Either way you want to look at it, when the cruicial time of the year comes around we are routinely playing our worst.

Welsh's returns against top 4 sides this year are;

St Kilda- 0
Geelong- 0
Collingwood- 0
St Kilda- 0

Please don't tell me you think he's the solution to our forward problem.

I disagree the first eight rounds were quite bad with some cheap wins and bad losses, the next six rounds were very good, and our last month and a half has been inconsistent. I really don't see your pattern, unless of course we lose two or three out of our next three (then fair enough, I agree).

As for Welsh, despite those returns we look a whole hell of alot better with him leading from the square. Mind you its kind of hard to kick goals when you didn't play so you can strike that first St Kilda game off the record. And while he didn't kick any goals against Geelong he did have 2 goal assists, 7 marks and 15 disposals. I agree he had a shocker against Collingwood but he was injured for most of the game against St Kilda the second time.

To answer your last statement no I don't think Welsh alone is the solution but he, along with Gia, Murphy, Aker and Johnno might be able to get it done this year (if we can get them all on the park together). Welsh has always been a stop-gap measure until Grant comes on (if that ever happens) but I am of the opinion that he's actually a fairly decent one when bundled with our other good smalls, especially when you consider we have won 7 out of the 10 games he's played.

 

[fred cook]

The fact of the matter is that our forward line has had its guts ripped out, that has ruined any and all structure we had.

Sorry have to strongly disagree with you here

Stkilda had 8 of there best players out yesterday and beat last year premiers on a ground they havent won on in three years.We had three out and couldnt beat a side that has only won four games this year and havent won in Melbourne for 19 games

Why because the saints have planned and got there list management right so if they have a few injuries they can be replaced

We had a hack playing full foward because there was no other choice

 

[beyondthevalley ofthedogs]

It's more than just list management. The reason St Kilda lose 5 or 6 top players and keep rolling along as if nothing happens is that every single one of their players sticks to the team's game plan (which is a frighteningly effective game plan) and is mentally prepared every week to do what they have to do. They never drop off their intensity, they never mentally relax and they never go into a game thinking they just have to turn up to win. They are the anti-Bulldogs.

How we all laughed (well I laughed anyway) when they fielded a side with Gardiner, Ray and Dawson in Round 1. What a joke! Well, the joke's on all the other teams that they've been able to turn these "duds" (let's not forget the calls for Farren Ray's head on these pages after the QF against Hawthorn) into top quality players and part of an unbeatable team that makes Essendon 2000 look like a bunch of light weights.

This is Eade's greatest failing at the moment. If he can't get the players right and playing like they mean it then he has failed. It needs to start turning around next week.

 

[The Boy From Brasil]

I don't mind Eade being reappointed. If you look at it from a holistic point of view, he has done a good job with us.

BUT I have concerns with us having to make a decision by August 1st, without us having played our finals yet. IMO the whole assessment of our team and their performance(and by extension, the coaches performance), is with our finals matches.

Smorgon and our administration has made it crystal clear and nothing less than a premiership will suffice. Yet, we are drawing up a contract for the next 2-3 years for a coach, and we cannot properly assess his performance.

The finals is only 2 or 3 games for us, but it has such a massive impact on how we judge the team and the coach. Consider the positive and the negative scenarios. If we make the grand final or win the premiership, then Eade is a mastermind and can have a four or five year contract. But what happens if we finish fifth and get bundled out of the finals in the first week. Where does that leave our judgement on our team, our list, our coach, our coaching staff? In that situation there would be serious questions asked about our direction, and yet we have already signed the coach for the next two or three years.

I don't have an alternative solution to this, as quite clearly you cannot leave the coach unsigned until after the finals. But I just find it hard to have a fair contract in August when we don't know how our team will perform in finals this year.

 

[immortalmike]

Sorry have to strongly disagree with you here

Stkilda had 8 of there best players out yesterday and beat last year premiers on a ground they havent won on in three years.We had three out and couldnt beat a side that has only won four games this year and havent won in Melbourne for 19 games

Why because the saints have planned and got there list management right so if they have a few injuries they can be replaced

We had a hack playing full foward because there was no other choice

That is easy to answer. Simply St Kilda are a better side than us. It doesn't mean that on our day we can't beat them but it does mean that if we lose 4 players in one part of the ground we will have trouble covering them. Geelong haven't faired al that well with all their backline injuries, neither did Collingwood when their 4 best forwards were out earlier in the year. Don't compare us to St Kilda, they are obviously the benchmark, mind you they did have an even spread of injuries (thus their back-ups didn't have to be all one sort of player).

This doesn't excuse the performance against the Eagles. Our first quarter and a half was beyound horrible and should never have happened. All I'm saying is that is why our structure is in tatters.

 

[mightymightydogs]

exactly. if we had one yesterday then everyone would be talking so differently. yes, we made it impossible for oursevles with the bad start, but if lecras had missed that goal and we had won, rodney wouldn't be copping as much. what a difference one kick makes...