Leigh matthews reminscing

[dapto]

Leigh Matthews says Geelong Cats may stumble like Essendon in 2001 Michael Auciello
July 25th, 2009
THE man who masterminded the end of Essendon's era of dominance at the start of the decade says he can see similarities between the 2001 Bombers and Geelong of 2009.

http://www.geelongadvertiser.com.au/article/2009/07/25/87591_gfc.html

I hated Matthews as a footballer when I was a kid, but respect him as both a coach and especially as a commentator. I can even respect him latterly as a footballer now too. A difficult thing too accept. How many goals and how many games did he play, kick and crunch?

Yet he is still sanguine.

I remember vividly that game against the Lions he speaks about. He mentions it needlingly almost I suspect. 2001 is a long time ago for resumes, work histories, girlfriends and wivies in my case or even politics but not for football lovers and their critical identity of wins and losses.

That day I flew from Singapore to HCMC to participate in the Saigon Saints GF day at the Norfolk hotel. Peter Curran was one of the guest speakers flown over from melbourne. He wasn’t Barrassi but was worth his salt as a speaker. As an expat community we had some collateral and as such a resident bookie arrived. Robbed us blind he did that day but not the Saigon Saints proud history in SEA nor the huge bomber contingency’s buoyancy in HCMC at the time.

The AFL in SEA are still buoyant but times have been tougher for the bombers since then.

Obviously that day was a disappointment. I lost money, some pride and my voice but I do remember not being confident coming into the last quarter. We certainly were still a chance but the momentum had turned. There was a quality about that Lions crew then that became evident over the next two GF’s. It was a Matthews element, I felt, apart from the talent on the field too.

His call today is poignant. I have always thought he has been acute in his football summations. Certainly, he is no Robert Walls nor Caroline Wilson of late.

Is Geeelong in the same boat as he says? St Kilda would say so. They do look the 'goods' but it is still a saccharin assessment given Geeeelong has the runs on the board at the moment. And the finals are not here just yet. We had the runs on the board too from 1999, 2000, cum 2001. Can Geeeelong arrest history our here?

Where were you re Matthews 2001 campaign? How did you feel then and what do you think re his comments re Geeeelong and Essssendon? Are these teams’ histories commensurate?

St Kilda is an obvious hurdle for them 2009 but so too were the lions for us in 2001.

One last view of history if it means anything. In 1993 we came from nowhere. 33/1 at a Moonee Valley Harness meeting we were pre season that year. A seismic jump I know but if you enjoy odds then are they akin to for us next year? Have to be better than 33!!!!

 

[AJ_2000]

Its a funny one. I have a very vivid memory of the 2001 season.

Their win today keeps their belief that they can rise again to the summit. It reminds me of our win over Sydney with a late Steve Alessio goal which kept our season a float late in the season.

The injuries are starting to mount, and they left themselves a mountain to climb going in to the last quarter.

If I was a Geelong supporter I would be concerned. They are unlikely to have their best team out for the rest of the season and their form is just ok. Had they lost today that would have sounded some significant alarm bells.

Getting back to that fateful day in 01, it was like our luck had truly run out. Injured players in Mercuri, Hird & Fletcher playing but not having the impact needed (however the lions got away with that a few times in the following years), Michael Long missing after straining his hammy at training and also warm weather which suited their conditioning after our struggle the prior week.

 

[yaco55]

I watched the game in Phuket and felt good 25 minutes into the second quarter.

 

[sen entertainment bloke]

More so than win another, Geelong is trying to vindicate their 2007 flag.

Throw in their injury concerns and the sheer desire within the StKilda group, Leigh is stating the obivious.

Had us at 25/1 with sportsbet before the season in 1993. Great having a ticket pinned to the wall for six months. From memory put it all back on North to make the eight the following year and then got married and vanished it all.

 

[dapto]

I watched the game in Phuket and felt good 25 minutes into the last quarter.

Flying out of phuket or bangers?

If the latter give me a pm

 

[High Ryder]

Geelong's season feels alot like us in 01 to me. Great side who copped injuries to key players. Had an absoloutely remarkable comeback win that had people talking about how good they were. In the end i think they will get knocked off. They will slowly come back to the feild after this season imo.

 

[james_omahoney]

Milo how could you get lost there? The post was as a plain as the mouse in your right hand.

But considering the bold above and your editing to three paragraphs, what you see and what you get is not always the outcome according to dictum, no?

Who really cares anyhow? Chief? I wonder why that struck a sticky. And no I stil havent read it. The OP was too long but then again snatch and grab posting is defeatist too.

Neither are intrinsically cardable unless you choose to make a statement.

Where do you go from here whomb?

Why are they not intrinsically cardable? If you had bothered to read the sticky then you'd understand why they are cardable.

 

[Storyboy]

Leigh Matthews is the bane of the EFC!

Good post dapto!

I have long believed that Leigh Matthews is the bane of the Essendon Football Club! He has been either captain or coach of every grand final we have lost since Sheedy took over as coach. He was captain of Hawthorn in '83, and allthough we won back to back in '84 and '85 my father said to me at the time, "Let's hope he doesn't coach Hawthorn!" He didn't, but even worse the bugger coached Collingwood to a win against us in '90. It was then that I was sure that nothing was certain if Matthews was involved. It proved to be quite true in '01 with the "If they bleed" game in rd10 and again in the GF.

Matthews' description of us in '01 was how I 'felt' about the side that year. It just felt like we had peaked. When we did the impossible against North in rd16 to come back from 12 goals down and win, it didn't seem like the actions of a champion team, but a team that had let itself get that far down before digging deep to achieve the unimaginable. I said to my father at the time that no other team could have done it, but that I was worried that it took too much out of us. As the weeks unfolded the boys looked more and more tired. It began to feel more and more like the twilight of the gods rather than the true glory days. When Matthews kept Jason Akermanis, that year's Brownlow medalist, on the bench for most of the first half, I knew the Matthews factor had us done. I for one am glad he has quit. I think we have a good chance again now that he's gone. Let's just hope that he's not mentoring Voss!

On a personal note, for me 2001 was the year everything changed in my life and September was when it all changed. No matter who was playing in the GF that year a friend of mine and I had arranged to watch it together round his place. It just so happened that his team (the Lions) were playing mine (the Bombers). He is a nervous fellow whose sporting teams always managed to lose (Newcastle United fan) and so he didn't normaly even watch the games live unless he already knew the result.

So anyhow, if you will recall the GF took place in the shadow of 9-11 so the world seemed like a different place. I was at the time an academic writing and lecturing about America and terrorism so I was focused on 9-11 but the thing that made it very different for me was that the week of the GF I had been on a first date with a woman that I had been in love with since high school. So by the time the big day rolled around on the Saturday I was flying so high that nothing was going to bring me down. I watched the GF with my mate and he was a nervous wreck the whole time. By half-time I was convinced that we did not have enough of a lead and that the Lions with their Matthews factor would overun us. They did, but to this day I couldn't feel badly about it because of my wonderful new girlfriend. We were engaged three weeks later, married a month after that and have been married eight years this year.

I felt bitter about '99 and elated about '00, but '01 will be forever softened for me by my new relationship. Sometimes I tease her that since we got together Essendon hasn't done any good, but in truth I am not that superstitious. When it comes to Matthews though, there is nothing superstitious about it: He is the bane of the EFC!

 

[Storyboy]

Sorry, I got caught reminicing on my own there. Yes I agree with Matthews. Geelong are indeed looking like we did in '01. The question for them will be whether or not they can keep their side together and have another tilt just like we didn't. They have to rebuild while running for the next flag. Whereas we seemed to do patchup jobs and tried to limp along always finishing around the middle of the table.

 

[AJ_2000]

Re: Leigh Matthews is the bane of the EFC!

Sometimes I tease her that since we got together Essendon hasn't done any good

What a riot! I also started dating my wife during the semi final weekend of the 2001 finals series.

I still blame her for the GF loss, and everything else that has proceeded. Well it can't be my fault!

 

[mantis]

I hated the squeaky voiced little thug when he played & I still hate him.