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Robert Shaw Article

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Docker Clint

Docker Clint

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Robert Shaw gives his thoughts on the club and where the downfall happened. Good to see not everyone is out to get us:

"Unfair," said Shaw - a former Essendon defender who coached Fitzroy and Adelaide and was a long-time assistant at the Bombers - of the common theory the Dockers have a rare capacity for incompetence. "Very unfair. I can only talk about my time there when there was a period of real stability under [chief executive] Cameron Schwab and [coach] Chris Connolly and [football manager] Stephen Icke and myself.

"You look at the way that club turned around an $8 million debt and got over 30,000 members [43,366 last season]. It's a strong football club in a great football area. I guess it's easy to look at the scoreboard and say they've failed. But in the key administrative areas they set up a really strong foundation for that club."
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Rest of article:

http://www.realfooty.com.au/news/rf...t-in-freos-fall/2009/04/24/1240079861807.html
 
Seems fair to me.

This bit is particularly relevant & hopefully will be heeded given all the "agendas" in the past.

Shaw believes that, despite a demoralising start to the season, the club is in good health and needs to stand its ground behind Harvey while the young list develops. "That would be a good sign of leadership internally," he said, "to stand fully united and support Mark through this."
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I had just read that article before logging on to BF. Seems fair and balanced (avoiding the sensationalism of other articles of late).

Ona somewhat related note, I wonder whether the knives will be out for Chocko's head after last night's pummelling (at home) by the Saints. Score-line was not dis-similar to ours?
 
"You look at the way that club turned around an $8 million debt and got over 30,000 members [43,366 last season]. It's a strong football club in a great football area. I guess it's easy to look at the scoreboard and say they've failed. But in the key administrative areas they set up a really strong foundation for that club."
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That's the thing that's both a blessing and a curse. We have the fundamentals now (in terms of basic structure not necessarily on field stuff) to be a successful club - it creates both an opportunity and expectation that can be frustrating, but I guess as fans we should have faith in these fundamentals.

Overall it's a reasonable article, good to see actually. An article with some decorum and not ranting off like a two bob watch about nothing, a rare thing at the moment.
 

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NicoNicoNico said:
I had just read that article before logging on to BF. Seems fair and balanced (avoiding the sensationalism of other articles of late).

Ona somewhat related note, I wonder whether the knives will be out for Chocko's head after last night's pummelling (at home) by the Saints. Score-line was not dis-similar to ours?
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I wondered the same thing. All sorts of football commentators were jumping over each other trying to find new adjectives to describe our ineptness, lack of heart and general pathos and we lost on the road at a ground we haven't ever played well. Surely Ports capitulation at home will rank higher on the scale pathetic displays this year.
 
E Shed said:
I wondered the same thing. All sorts of football commentators were jumping over each other trying to find new adjectives to describe our ineptness, lack of heart and general pathos and we lost on the road at a ground we haven't ever played well. Surely Ports capitulation at home will rank higher on the scale pathetic displays this year.
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Ofcourse not, they're not Fremantle or Richmond.:rolleyes:
 
Plus they have 3 wins against their name, including an away win against the reigning premiers... :(


This article is (of course) back page news in the Worst, complete with a picture of a sad looking Shaw in his Freo shirt, and a shot of the weags celebrating on the dais.

The headline was a little weird, "Freo's Final Insult". :confused:

Underneath, in bold letters it says, "Former Docker in bizarre claim on Eagles premiership"

That's so freaking tabloid.

All he's saying is that if we had played the weags (who we had beaten both times that year, most recently by almost 10 goals just a few weeks earlier), we might have made our first GF.

Even the weags themselves were saying they were glad they didn't have to play Freo in a final at Subi during that finals series.

Still, like anything in footy - it's all "ifs, buts, maybes".

Fact is, if we had've beaten Adelaide then we would have played WC in a PF, or if we had've beaten Sydney, then we would have played WC in a GF... and if we played them, we may have beaten them.... or maybe not....

The other fact, is that if we had've just kept the 2 points and not got the 4 points from Sirengate, we would have finished fourth, not third, and then we would have played the weags in the first week of the finals in a QF. If we did, we may have beaten them then, had a week off and got a home PF... and may have reached the GF.

Our destiny was in our own hands... we fought for (and rightly received) the extra 2 points, we didn't beat Adelaide, we didn't beat Sydney, and WC had the cards fall their way and were able to win the game(s) that mattered... :( Lucky for them - not so lucky for us. But you make your own luck, and it's no use Robert Shaw lamenting what "could have been" two and a half years down the track... (and a week out from a derby as well - nice bit of motivation you've just handed the weags on a platter there Robert. :rolleyes:)


Still think The Worst sucks. That headline is nothing short of sensationalist tabloid crap, suggesting that "the claim" is nothing more than the rantings of someone who has no idea. There's nothing "bizarre" about stating what a lot of people were saying at the time anyway.
 
What a ****ing stupid thing to say. You make your own destiny.

If that's the attitude around the club then it's no surprise we've been losing more than winning since.
 
gravy said:
What a ****ing stupid thing to say. You make your own destiny.

If that's the attitude around the club then it's no surprise we've been losing more than winning since.
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They did , they fought for and got the 2 points from sirengate which ultimately disadvantaged us.

I see nothing wrong (in fact it is refreshing) with Shaw sticking up for the club.
 
Ripper said:
They did , they fought for and got the 2 points from sirengate which ultimately disadvantaged us.

I see nothing wrong (in fact it is refreshing) with Shaw sticking up for the club.
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I'm happy for sticking up for the club. But don't blame all that's happened since 2006 on something you can't control. Plenty of mistakes were made since that had a greater effect on our terrible performances.

Actually, if the original Sirengate result stood, St Kilda would have finished third, we would have finished fourth, and played West Coast first round of the finals.
 
gravy said:
I'm happy for sticking up for the club. But don't blame all that's happened since 2006 on something you can't control. Plenty of mistakes were made since that had a greater effect on our terrible performances.

Actually, if the original Sirengate result stood, St Kilda would have finished third, we would have finished fourth, and played West Coast first round of the finals.
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I said that it is why it disadvantaged us.

4th would have guaranteed 2 home finals without the freak wind in Adelaide or playing at Venue we had never played at.

No one could have foreseen in the 2006 trade period that:

The Wiz would implode.
M.J. would get rubbed out for 4 weeks.
Heath Black would breakdown.
Justin would breakdown completely.
 

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