I can't speak for everyone, but I only find myself defending Buckley because I can't stand the illogical melts and unsubstantiated crap that gets used when we his future is discussed.
"It's been six years of decline!!"
Well, c'mon. He took over a Grand Final side that lost a bunch of key players and in 2012, we still won 10 on the trot and fell a few kicks short of another Grand Final. 2013 we made finals and crashed out - thus began the rebuild.
I'm not sure if you've watched football for long, but rebuilding clubs tend to decline. It's a weird thing - when you play a young list, you tend to do not-so-great most of the time.
"The only success he had was with Malthouse's list!!!"
So, his true crime was in taking the job in the first place? Damned if he does have success with Mick's list, damned even more if he doesn't?
"The players hated him - he kicked cult figures out the door!!"
Would you say that's Nathan's fault? Or the outcome of a messy handover which Malthouse immediately renegged on and eventually made the hand-over as difficult as possible? Do you think things would have been different if Malthouse put an arm around Buckley, embraced him as the new coach, sold the idea to the players and stuck around (like he was contracted to do) after 2011 to oversee the transition? You don't think to revisit history and share some blame to Ed? To Mick? It's all Buckley?
Everything was his fault - all he needs to be rated on is win-loss!!!
Sigh. Yeah, jesus, so much of what went wrong he should (and has) taken responsibility for. But when do we stop pretending injuries didnt play a part in our struggles 2014-16? When do we ignore list management decisions ultimately made outside of his control? When do we ignore that our first two picks in a STACKED draft became injury-riddled busts that killed our development as a side? He's had about 6 football managers work alongside him FFS. Just be semi-reasonable - there are variables and factors outside of win-loss.
FWIW - I think Nathan's charter in 2017 was to create excitement for 2018 and beyond. I've lost my excitement and my trust in key decision makers going forward. I've lost what's left of my sanity trying to work out weekly selection. I'm frustrated in the players Buckley chooses to show his faith in. I don't think you'll find many people saying he's a great coach - I think we're approaching a point where the job could be untenable if the next two months turn really sour.
But Christ, our biggest loss has been by 30 points. In the most even season in AFL bloody history, our % is in the high 90s, despite our ladder position. Even the most pessimistic, depressing person would have to admit that with a bit of luck and some straight-kicking early in the year, we'd be 2-3 wins better off this season.
The projection and improvement we've been waiting for doesn't seem so far off. Fill a few holes in the list, watch some kids continue to develop and who knows, with some injury luck we may even jump a fair way up the ladder in 2018 and beyond.
The constant bleating about Buckley being a sh1t coach is worse than a broken record - I'd LOVE to listen to a broken record over the same Buckley arguments over and over again.
Stop pretending football is judged purely on win-loss. Stop pretending there haven't been outside factors that have contributed to us missing finals.
Or...
Go on with the same old crap. Each to their own.