Universal Love Ross The Boss 2014 & Beyond

[Reginald Perrin]

Maybe we can ask Luke to suit up again.

Or Silvagni could come out of retirement.

 

[Grape Bear]

Plenty get angry about the way we've been playing too.

Funnily enough it doesn't seem to change anything, except maybe taking a few years off their life expectancy.

I've dealt with this by only watching the replays. I have tried to watch live, but all the games we've played this season, I've felt a stroke coming on.

It's funny though. If we had won the flag in '14 or '15, no one would be questioning the path Lyon put us on and where we are at currently. He was hired to go full tilt at a flag. He got us into a position we had a realistic chance of winning. Unfortunately, we were only almost there. (It's like St. Kilda all over again. Down to supporter reactions.)

 

[Reginald Perrin]

I've dealt with this by only watching the replays. I have tried to watch live, but all the games we've played this season, I've felt a stroke coming on.

It's funny though. If we had won the flag in '14 or '15, no one would be questioning the path Lyon put us on and where we are at currently. He was hired to go full tilt at a flag. He got us into a position we had a realistic chance of winning. Unfortunately, we were only almost there. (It's like St. Kilda all over again. Down to supporter reactions.)

Yeah, that's great logic. If only he had been able to do something he couldn't do we'd all be saying how awesome he was.

 

[Nothing]

Yeah, that's great logic. If only he had been able to do something he couldn't do we'd all be saying how awesome he was.

It's Old Silent Alarm.

 

[Grape Bear]

Yeah, that's great logic. If only he had been able to do something he couldn't do we'd all be saying how awesome he was.

Actually, the point i was trying to make was that he CONSISTENTLY got us to a position where we could realistically have won a flag. Having lived through the roller coaster flaky years prior to that as a supporter, you would think that there would be a better appreciation for what Lyon and his system have brought to the club. However, realistically, no club can be on top forever (except Hawthorn), and the wheel had to turn some time. I just find it bemusing that people seem to have the memory of Dory around here (see "Finding Nemo").

Anyway, carry on.

 

[freo_leo29]

Or Silvagni could come out of retirement.

yeah because he is an ace kick right

 

[Sweetback]

The old supporters accepting mediocrity argument? I do remember those ones from opposition posters from the pre-Lyon era as well. I still have never worked out how I could influence the club to play/coach/administrate better.

There is a massive disconnect between the people who get angry on here as though their ranting will somehow stir the pixie dust to effect change on some lucid moment of decision making in Ross's brain, when all they're doing is bursting a blood vessel screaming into an echo chamber.

 

[Reginald Perrin]

There is a massive disconnect between the people who get angry on here as though their ranting will somehow stir the pixie dust to effect change on some lucid moment of decision making in Ross's brain, when all they're doing is bursting a blood vessel screaming into an echo chamber.

I find it quite cathartic. Like throwing a stone in a pond and watching the ripples expand.

 

[estibador]

There is a massive disconnect between the people who get angry on here as though their ranting will somehow stir the pixie dust to effect change on some lucid moment of decision making in Ross's brain, when all they're doing is bursting a blood vessel screaming into an echo chamber.

It takes a special kind of self delusion to believe you're so important that your mood controls the efforts of a bunch of people you never have any personal contact with.

 

[Square Peg]

There is a massive disconnect between the people who get angry on here as though their ranting will somehow stir the pixie dust to effect change on some lucid moment of decision making in Ross's brain, when all they're doing is bursting a blood vessel screaming into an echo chamber.

Maybe they find it helps, perhaps one of the main purposes of a forum like this is to allow people to let off steam with like minded individuals so you can carry on as normal in the real world

Edit: What Reggie said

 

[believe_it]

After the 2013 grand final I expected the team to further improve in 2014. It was quite confusing to seem a team with maturing players go backwards with more than a couple having a large form nosedive. Then in 2015 we finished on top but nobody really thought we would win the GF due to our inability to cope with the likes of Hawthorn.

The reality is Lyon has in 2014/15 not been able to do anything to improve our scoring capacity which was a goal he set. Now in 2016 there has been some sort of large change in the game plan which so far has failed miserably. Whether this is some sort of teething problem remains to be seen.

We had an apparent improved showing last week against North Melbourne. However on closer inspection the pattern of the game mirrors a number of losses we repeatedly had against Hawthorn in the past - i.e - being blown away early in the first quarter and going to a significant deficit. Busting a nut to get back into the contest only to fall away again in the final quarter.

Currently we have a team of mature players who have been playing badly and executing skills on the field and in front of goal poorly . That suggests a lack of confidence in the playing group. Why is this the case?

My own opinion is that the contract extension to 2020 for Lyon was excessive. It smacks more of desperation for fear of losing him than anything else. Clearly Freo has struggled to get anything other than coaching mediocrity in the past. It is understandable that we want retain a quality coach but looking at him as some sort of messianic figure would not be helpful. As time goes on I for one have been having increasing doubts about him. Perhaps I am too pessimistic.

 

[Square Peg]

It takes a special kind of self delusion to believe you're so important that your mood controls the efforts of a bunch of people you never have any personal contact with.

It's a fan site FFS, I think you'll find nearly every true fan lives vicariously through their team, bleeds when they bleed and wants to fix it

 

[estibador]

It's a fan site FFS, I think you'll find nearly every true fan lives vicariously through their team, bleeds when they bleed and wants to fix it

Of course, and the discussing of where things are going wrong and how they can be fixed is half the fun on here.

What's asinine is the attitude some have that fans can hold the team back by 'accepting mediocrity' or that they can somehow take credit when things are going well due to the fact they were voicing their displeasure back when things weren't.

I've seen some Geelong fans try to take credit for their club's turnaround because they were fed up with not winning. It's a self deluded form of confirmation bias. What about all those other years their team was s**t and they were unhappy? Why didn't their willpower fix the club then? Because they had nothing to do with it that's why, they just piggy-backed along taking credit when the hard work of an extremely talented group of people did actually turn things around.

The most effort I've ever seen a fanbase go to to voice their displeasure was those Richmond supporters who organised to dump a truckload of manure at their club's headquarters after a loss - if that sort of tangible effort doesn't achieve anything then ranting and raving online certainly won't.

 

[Square Peg]

What's asinine is the attitude some have that fans can hold the team back by 'accepting mediocrity' or that they can somehow take credit when things are going well due to the fact they were voicing their displeasure back when things weren't.

I think you might be taking them too literally. I understand Clay more than the well known fanbois(girls) that pop their heads into every thread to shout down any criticism of the club because "Bond/Ross/Steve knows best". To me the latter is further away from a true fan emotionally than the former, but maybe I just have a warped perspective

 

[Unique Name]

I'm starting to feel a little more upbeat about this season now that the plodders are getting F'd off, but................

- We've won 2 of our last 10 games - Melbourne and a broken down Sydney, hopefully we can beat Carlton to make it 3 out of 11.

- I cannot buy the talk about playing the plodders over kids last season because we were in the hunt. Suban was last year and still is f'ing useless and if we'd have given one of the three amigos a good run they would have eclipsed his output by their 5th game. (and that is being generous). Then after a whole season of spudding it up he was made sub in our two most important games of the season. Did Ross just realise then that Suban was shithouse?

- Why did Ross let his underlings change our centre square strategies? Why would he let our greatest strength be changed when it was the one thing that was working for us? He's said himself it was a mistake of the new coaches, why did he let it happen considering it is an instrumental part of our game?

- Don't get me started on our inability to maintain a forward line structure for 2+ seasons.

I'm happy we've got Ross but he not the messiah, he's a very naughty boy (for persisting with the plodders so long past their expiry date).

 

[E Shed]

- Why did Ross let his underlings change our centre square strategies? Why would he let our greatest strength be changed when it was the one thing that was working for us? He's said himself it was a mistake of the new coaches, why did he let it happen considering it is an instrumental part of our game?

- Don't get me started on our inability to maintain a forward line structure for 2+ seasons.

He changed to centre square strategies as a key plank of our new more offensive game plan. By not setting up so defensively its supposed to allow us to attack more from centre bounces and we've been quite effective at scoring from there. The downside is its allowing other teams to waltz it out of there when we get it wrong. Against North they got a few early ones until we adjusted and from there it worked well.
The inability to maintain a forward structure is that other than Pav we don't have any decent tall forwards which is down to drafting and trading team. The only difference between us and North last week was they had a couple of big blokes who could take a grab inside 50. If we had just one A grade tall forward other than Pav we'd be winning a lot more.
Completely agree that Ross left it too late to start experimenting with rejuvenating the team and said so often last year. In defence there was very little in the shed last year but I still believe it should have been tried.

 

[meima]

Is it easy for us to said this and that from the outside on this forum, where that is the reason I came here for to release my frustration on some foot soldier, but if we are in Ross position I think most of us won't even survive in two week honestly.

 

[leeloo]

I think you might be taking them too literally. I understand Clay more than the well known fanbois(girls) that pop their heads into every thread to shout down any criticism of the club because "Bond/Ross/Steve knows best". To me the latter is further away from a true fan emotionally than the former, but maybe I just have a warped perspective

This discussion hasn't been sparked by people being able to express their opinion or having a crack at the club, it was sparked by the ascertain that we as supporters were accepting mediocrity, as if we have an influence. I'm all for considered criticism and also for outrageous melts!

I've seen some Geelong fans try to take credit for their club's turnaround because they were fed up with not winning. It's a self deluded form of confirmation bias. What about all those other years their team was s**t and they were unhappy? Why didn't their willpower fix the club then? Because they had nothing to do with it that's why, they just piggy-backed along taking credit when the hard work of an extremely talented group of people did actually turn things around.

And Hawks supporters who seem to think that they know everything, it is bizarre. Do they think we think they were in the coaches box for last three years? It must have been crowded in there

 

[Spirit Level]

After the 2013 grand final I expected the team to further improve in 2014. It was quite confusing to seem a team with maturing players go backwards with more than a couple having a large form nosedive. Then in 2015 we finished on top but nobody really thought we would win the GF due to our inability to cope with the likes of Hawthorn.

The reality is Lyon has in 2014/15 not been able to do anything to improve our scoring capacity which was a goal he set. Now in 2016 there has been some sort of large change in the game plan which so far has failed miserably. Whether this is some sort of teething problem remains to be seen.

We had an apparent improved showing last week against North Melbourne. However on closer inspection the pattern of the game mirrors a number of losses we repeatedly had against Hawthorn in the past - i.e - being blown away early in the first quarter and going to a significant deficit. Busting a nut to get back into the contest only to fall away again in the final quarter.

Currently we have a team of mature players who have been playing badly and executing skills on the field and in front of goal poorly . That suggests a lack of confidence in the playing group. Why is this the case?

My own opinion is that the contract extension to 2020 for Lyon was excessive. It smacks more of desperation for fear of losing him than anything else. Clearly Freo has struggled to get anything other than coaching mediocrity in the past. It is understandable that we want retain a quality coach but looking at him as some sort of messianic figure would not be helpful. As time goes on I for one have been having increasing doubts about him. Perhaps I am too pessimistic.

The extension till 2020 was exactly the right course of action. If he was only contracted a few more years he'd still be going full tilt at a premiership, severely damaging our future prospects.

At least now he has security in a timeframe to work to a plan and rebuild.

It takes a special kind of self delusion to believe you're so important that your mood controls the efforts of a bunch of people you never have any personal contact with.

 

[Unique Name]

He changed to centre square strategies as a key plank of our new more offensive game plan. By not setting up so defensively its supposed to allow us to attack more from centre bounces and we've been quite effective at scoring from there. The downside is its allowing other teams to waltz it out of there when we get it wrong. Against North they got a few early ones until we adjusted and from there it worked well.

From his latest interview it sounds as if 'he' didn't change the centre square setup. More that he gave the coaches more freedom and they changed the setup only for him to have to come in and make adjustments to fix what they broke. (That was my take at least, unless he is just shifting blame).

Also scoring from clearances and centre bounces was not our issue last season. That was one area we were actually quite offensive.

Points from clearances we were 5th in the comp.
Points from centre bounces we were 7th in the comp.

Neither terrible, at least not enough to consider wholesale changes.

We struggled in:
Taking advantage of opposition turnovers (15th)
Scoring from Defensive 50 (14th)
Scoring from defensive midfield (15th)
- basically struggled to move the ball well.


I agree our ball movement looked better in the North game which is a positive sign. But why does moving the ball out of the backline more effectively have to effect how we setup at clearances, two entirely different aspects of the game?

Ross said in the Fox Footy interview with Kingy that some of the changes to our centre setup were unnecessary to what we were trying to accomplish and probably happened because change was in the air. These unnecessary changes to the centre setup have cost us games this season.

Is it wrong to expect a coach with over 15 years experience to be on top of what changes his underlings are making to the gameplan?

 

[salim malik]

Plenty do, perhaps you're just inattentive.

Couldn't resist the urge Reg ,but you did leave your self wide open .

 

[Sweetback]

I find it quite cathartic. Like throwing a stone in a pond and watching the ripples expand.

As long as you know Reg that those ripples don't go beyond these boards much, like chundering into the dunny and copping a bit of splashback.

 

[Mogumber]

The extension till 2020 was exactly the right course of action. If he was only contracted a few more years he'd still be going full tilt at a premiership, severely damaging our future prospects.

At least now he has security in a timeframe to work to a plan and rebuild.

I agree. And if Buckley loses his job, then Ross would have been the guy Collingwood would have come after

 

[wayToGo_]

When Buckley loses his job, then Ross would have been the guy Collingwood would have come after

EFA

 

[Reginald Perrin]

As long as you know Reg that those ripples don't go beyond these boards much, like chundering into the dunny and copping a bit of splashback.

Yeah, I don't do it because I think the club will read it. That's what emails are for.