Aaaaahhh.
One of the great things that came out of the Harvey Testimonial dinner was the quote from Spud Frawley that Harvey personifies the club motto, "Strength through Loyalty." If we learned nothing else from Grant Thomas' reign, it was the truth of our motto. That motto has been a joke, an irony, for so many years for almost everybody involved in the management of our club. But Grant and Rod brought loyalty, like never before, into Moorabbin. Rod brought loyalty from supporters, as evidenced by the amazing rise in members. Grant brought loyalty from the players, to the point where they would pretty much die for the sake of club and coach. And what happened: strength. Loyalty brought unprecedented strength to our club.
If firing Grant was a mistake, which in hindsight it may well have been, Rod's mistake was one of loyalty, and the cost has been strength. BUT, people, let's not make the same mistake. If we want to stay, or become again, a strong club, we must stay loyal: to each other, to our coach, to our dedicated and talented players, and yes, even to our president.
As annoyed as I am with Ross Lyon's game-plan, as much as I think Rod handled the whole GT thing last week terribly, and as frustrated as I am by the lack-lustre form of many players, the fact remains: they are the coach, the president, and the players of St Kilda Football Club. They should count on our loyalty. That doesn't mean we can't critique - loyalty isn't that - but it does mean wanting to DROP the new highly qualified coach after 11 games, or to DUMP a president who's done great stuff for our club over 6 years, or to TRADE somebody like Kosi - who's bled, in his brain, for this club - (and I coulda picked plenty of other players who the hounds are baying for) is not only counter-productive and weakening, it's just not cool.
Excellent Post - you have managed to put into words exactly how we (as supporters) should be thinking. I know it is easy to pay lip service to the motto, but I live my life knowing that when loyalty issues arise, I have already committed myself to certain people, issues, and bodies (such as the SKFC). My loyalty is not at issue. It is given, and once given it is rock solid.
Some people here may question the club, or decisions that have been made etc.. It may seem that their loyalty is weak. That it is only given during times of good or plenty. I believe that most are actually loyal supporters who feel the need to voice their dissatisfaction at the current situation or the direction we are heading. They / we are all entitled to our opinions and forums like this one gives our voice some strength. But the act of voicing dissent is displaying disloyalty; i.e. not showing the faith in the club and the personnel in situ to overcome adversity and set us back on the path.
Blind faith though can be fatal. If no questions were ever asked, if no expectations were never set then there would be no club.
Finding the happy medium is the thing.
Too much one way and we are perfectionists or whingers, not enough and we collapse through sloth.
Before we can justify a whinge though, we need to justify the expectations.
What expectations did we have for the Saints in 2007 ?
I hoped for / wished for a premiership flag (but I do every year !)
I expected a poorer performance this year than our last three years.
Grant Thomas had his weaknesses, but he was able to adapt and learn. He had become a very good coach. This can be attested to by his record.
Ross Lyon will probably end up being an even better coach.
No first year coach can be expected to have the players reach the intensity required for a premiership tilt. The interpersonal relationships need to be forged and trust and respect earned. All these things will come.
They had already developed with GT, so that even a "much better coach" could not perform at the same level without reforging those ties.
Just because my expectations were not as high as many others does not mean I don't feel disappointment at our current situation. I was devastated by the loss to the Kangaroos. These are a benchmark for me - a tryhard team - honest but not particularly good.
They are reaping the benefits of having some stability and longevity of the coaching personnel. The Kangaroos stuck with Laidley, a passionate man but no Einstein - and this has benefitted them.
It hurts me to see that we have dropped below their level, but it is the price we pay for changing coach at a critical time.
We will step up again and re-establish our superiority over the Kangaroos, of this I am certain, but the loss of a year's performance - and certainly a fair number of memberships is a big price for our club to pay.