Normal Service Resumes

[Hinkley29]

I have been watching the Cats for a few years now, and I have seen us at all stages of the footy cycle. I have seen us be an absolute powerhouse, frustrating underachievers, entertaining, boring and everything in between.

However, my natural state as a Cats supporter has been to follow a team that had some ability, was not the best team in the comp, however were close enough to the elite teams that if everything fell into place you could talk yourself into thinking we were a legit chance at the flag.

Maybe I watched too much of the Cats in the 90's.

It has struck me though that this is exactly where we are as a club in 2011. We are not the best team going around, however we have enough ability that if everything goes right we could find ourselves in position to challenge. I wouldn't say that it is likely or probable that we will win it all, but we have hope. Frustrating, joyous, bewildering hope.

It is sort of comforting. Like an old pair of shoes that are comfortable as hell but don't support your feet and you know that if you do any exercise in them that you will pay for it tomorrow.

Nostalgic ramblings over. Thanks for indulging me.

 

[Turbocat]

Re: Normal Service Resumes....

Sort of the same in the early 80's.

As you pointed out , although comfortable not very functional in the VI games. I found myself too often bumbling that we were a good chance to win while the experts often picked the other side. More often than not the were right.

Part of being the side we have been , was this underlying pressure to make the most of it, its why I was so peeved post 08. It might not have been comfortable but it was successful which is more than we could say for life pre this era.

 

[maxy87]

I think every campaign needs an element of good fortune injury-wise. That said, you can give yourself every opportunity of making fortune favor you if manage your players well and make the hard calls when necessary.

Collingwoods flag was as much to do with excellent player management, fitness and robust tactics as it was sheer talent. In this sense, I still believe we have a list capable of at least stopping a few pretenders in their tracks this year.

It was very interesting listening to Malthouse on On The Couch last night. He spoke about the challenge of the bottom 6-8 players maintaining their discipline, workrate and adherence to a demanding gameplan for Collingwood to remain a force. If they get lazy, the team will fall behind. I thought that was telling because as I said above, I think a lot of our players are better 'pure' footballers than a lot of the second tier Collingwood and even St Kilda and Hawthorn players. Obviously, fitness and coaching are a major element.

Now I haven't watched the Cats for more than 15 years so I can't comment on that era but from what I have seen, players such as Kelly, Bartel, Chapman, Corey, Enright and Selwood are pure class and All Australians, some multiple times. In the late 90s and early 2000s we were bloody ordinary IMO and did not have players anywhere near the calibre of the above mentioned. In this sense I still rate our chances and have a really good feeling about Scotts coaching methods as it was clear from Friday night that he is prepared to adapt to what is unfolding, acknowledge that sides can get the better of us and make changes to mitigate the opposition.

If Bomber was coaching that game, Duncan, T Hunt and Menzel wouldn'tve played and we wouldve relied on the "she'll be right we'll just play through the corridor and link up with handball" style which was once irresistible but in my opinion, we wouldve gone down by 5-6 goals.

Scott is lucky we have such quality players that are good enough footballers to adapt to cutting edge tactics which have proven to be our archives heel since 'clarkos cluster suffocated us in 2008.

In regard to some of the points of the OP, it is fun to be just another contender rather than the hunted and just back ourselves to give it a real crack

 

[bobbycatsfanme]

the major factor Geelong have is our awe factor and yes it will remain for years ahead. Collingwood know it and are trying everything to gain it and so far they are doing everything right to achieve that but when it comes finals time and both teams are going in full flight and injuries are minimal I believe they will have some thoughts of fear and failure at the back of their minds. Geelong will too but I reckon we won't quite know where both teams are at until at least 7-10 weeks into the season. If we have only lost 1 or 2 games before playing Collingwood in round 8, that game could very well have major consequences on the 2011 premiership.