We're screwed...

[ImperialPurple]

ouch...

 

[Chops_a_must]

^^^^ Yup.

There are clubs that have been a lot shitter for a lot longer than we have and they don't get the utter disrespect we come in for.

Some people on here really need a reality check...


Oi Kev! Getting any action on Spring Break? Whip it out man!

 

[DockerLand1]

We are only screwed if we ake our focus away from the football.
It is better that everyone is underestimating us. I am not expecting a huge year from us by any stage.
What I am expecting is an improved effort from the team and a dedication from the players to improve and to succeed.
Also I am hoping that our disposal is one of the big areas to improve this year.

I am looking for our players like Duffield, Bradley, Ibbotson to kick on and to become players that are going to have to make the opposition stand up and take notice when they play us.

We have to find more players that are a threat than the great Pav and Sandi.

It is better to not have the high expectations on us and to use this year to find the players that will take us into the future.

Should be a very good year if we manage to find some gold like we did last year. Fingers crossed our players continue to improve and develop.

 

[sabre_ac]

But why sook about it? We're shit and have always been shit. Until we stop being shit, there's no point sooking about what the media think about us. The club's given them every right to talk down to us.

I take issue with those morons talkings us up and predicting big things then taking a swipe when we fail to reach their predictions.

I totally agree we haven't given anyone much reason to get on board, but if you make the wrong call...Admit you were wrong.

 

[dominguez]

Just because someone justifiably criticizes us doesn't make them immune from being a tool.

If Robert Walls and Caroline Wilson got married and adopted the runt of the Octomom's litter it would still be impossible for that kid to grow up to be a bigger w***er than Wayne Schwass. Grant Thomas is the only person in football who is almost as arrogant and creepy as that prick.

 

[Dr Ralph Dagg]

I had a bad day ... so could someone please lift my spirits by telling us what a respected football commentator Wallsy is. I need a good cackle.

 

[MadMac]

http://www.bigfooty.com/forum/showthread.php?t=441998

I had to

 

[paul8241]

http://afl.allthestats.com/statistics/alltime.php?yrfm=1995&yrto=2008&gnd=0

Do with that ladder what you want. It gets better the further away from 1995 you start, but over our history the facts are we have been the worst performing team still in the competition. Including our formative years is no excuse ... Port is still 6th.

You can break that down into 2 periods from 1995 to 2001 where we were flat last on 30%.
http://afl.allthestats.com/statistics/alltime.php?t2=&yrfm=1995&yrto=2001&gnd=0&inat=4&gms=0

and from 2002 to 2008 where we improved to 10th on 48%.
http://afl.allthestats.com/statistics/alltime.php?t2=&yrfm=2002&yrto=2008&gnd=0&inat=4&gms=0

Our first 6 years were well below average, but we are not that team any more. Even if we'd been winning 70% of our games since 2001, we'd still only be 10th with 50%.

If you look at the history of the game St Kilda and the Brisbane Bears have lower overall winning percentages
http://afl.allthestats.com/statistics/alltime.php?t2=&yrfm=1897&yrto=2008&gnd=0&inat=4&gms=0

If we changed our name to Fremantle Sharks, we could drop the bad margins and start fresh like the Brisbane Lions did.

Lets not forget that Port started from a wealthy premiership SANFL side that were already a cohesive unit and the most successful SA team in history. From 1992 - 1994 SA had also beaten VIC in the State of Origin. I'm sure that Port also had players that had waited and not nominated in previous drafts that were AFL ready and wanted to play with Port.

Freo were thrown together a little quicker. No kids had held back to wait for Freo to come in, with the Eagles winning and at the peak of their powers. Victorian clubs were also drafting the players from our state faster then we could develop them. We got screwed over on the initial concessions, the AFL didn't want another dominant Eagles like team entering the comp and winning a couple of premierships within 10 years. Most of our 22 wouldn't have been first 22 in any other team.

Since then Sydney and Brisbane have been given some amazing concessions in the name of growing the game in the non-AFL states.

The father son rule was also strengthened to make it more difficult for sons of WAFL or SANFL players to be drafted into the respective state teams, but it was not as stringent for sons of VFL players.

The Crux of it is that we finished exactly where the AFL wanted us to finish. The draft has allowed us a gradual improvement over the years, but a carp starting list in 1995 takes a long time to turn over.

I know that this seems like just one excuse after another, but it explains how other clubs can perform higher as a result of AFL interference. Ports result are due to it's early preparation to enter the comp. But there is no doubt the AFL has been manipulating the results of the comp over the last 15 years to expand the sport into areas of NSW and QLD. WA is already an AFL state, they don't need to give us success to fill the stadiums.

When you add to that we may have had coaches that could be considered substandard, it's kind of lucky we are all still so damn loyal and purple to the core. We may eventually get success, but we'll have to wait for an level playing field before that happens. Maybe one day they'll even let an AFL grand final get played outside Victoria, after all, it's not Wimbledon.

 

[Rob]

I think we're overlooking the fact that Robert Walls is a footballing genius who never gets it wrong.

Repeat after me:

Never.
Gets.
It.
Wrong.

 

[The Night Shift]

I think we're overlooking the fact that Robert Walls is a footballing genius who never gets it wrong.

Repeat after me:

Never.
Gets.
It.
Wrong.

never.... getzz...

I just can't do it

 

[Reasonable]

The Wallsy kiss of death.....

Is there, such a thing ???

It's actually the Wallsy Lick of death, he zones in on the thigh region and gones to town on those puppies.

 

[The Night Shift]

It's actually the Wallsy Lick of death, he zones in on the thigh region and gones to town on those puppies.

his beard would make it so pricklely though.....

 

[Geoff]

Wallies tiny mind would have presumed that since we kick Carltons arse in Bunbury and Carlton are a premiership threat, then Freo must be in with a shot at the eight. Pretty simple really from Robert.

 

[DrJon]

So we bag the media even when it talks us up (in the case of Wallsy) and bag it when it talks us down. We also bag the media when it doesn't talk about us at all.

Everyone, even the Eagles, reckon they get a bad run from the press.

 

[Stronzo]

his beard would make it so pricklely though.....

No it is very soft, like the fleece of a new born deer.

 

[Clay Davis]

So we bag the media even when it talks us up (in the case of Wallsy) and bag it when it talks us down. We also bag the media when it doesn't talk about us at all.

Everyone, even the Eagles, reckon they get a bad run from the press.

The thing is, even though Schwass is a slimeball, the fact that he is entertaining us making the finals gives the club much more credit than it deserves. We were well in the running for last place until the second half of round 16 last year. Melbourne were leading us at half time in a home game, and had just come off a pretty pathetic loss to Geelong. I was throwing shit at the TV at half time for the Melbourne game.

A major injury to a key player or two this year or a major loss of confidence and we could finish dead last easily. The fact that a bunch of media blokes reckon we could do a bit better than that is nothing to complain about, even if they do add the caveat that we're notorious at disappointing.

 

[theGav56]

The Crux of it is that we finished exactly where the AFL wanted us to finish. The draft has allowed us a gradual improvement over the years, but a carp starting list in 1995 takes a long time to turn over.

The way the team was put together by Neesham (and I acknowledge that he was undermanned and doing too many things) set us back considerably. He selected a squad that fitted a pre-conceived game plan rather than selecting the best players. We gave up priority selections for poor players, apart from Kickett, or for injury prone players. We got rid of players like Bell who did not fit Neesham's vision. We punted on players who would not even be considered now, or by any other teams.

It was exciting, but it was a very poor foundation.

 

[paul8241]

The way the team was put together by Neesham (and I acknowledge that he was undermanned and doing too many things) set us back considerably. He selected a squad that fitted a pre-conceived game plan rather than selecting the best players. We gave up priority selections for poor players, apart from Kickett, or for injury prone players. We got rid of players like Bell who did not fit Neesham's vision. We punted on players who would not even be considered now, or by any other teams.

It was exciting, but it was a very poor foundation.

Agree, and whilst Mann, O'Reilly, Watters and Allan were all very good players, they only had a couple of years left and played their best football before they came to us. They all pretty much moved home in preparation for retirement.

 

[Clay Davis]

Agree, and whilst Mann, O'Reilly, Watters and Allan were all very good players, they only had a couple of years left and played their best football before they came to us. They all pretty much moved home in preparation for retirement.

We've been the retirement home for WA players since inception.

 

[Ogrebait]

I'd disagree re: Mann and O'Reilly.

In 1995, playing CHF, Peter Mann had his best AFL season.

O'Reilly only improved after coming to Fremantle and with a bit more exposure (or perhaps assistance down back) would have made AA.

 

[Freo_4eva]

I'd disagree re: Mann and O'Reilly.

In 1995, playing CHF, Peter Mann had his best AFL season.

O'Reilly only improved after coming to Fremantle and with a bit more exposure (or perhaps assistance down back) would have made AA.

Thats not saying much

Would be funny to put together a worst 22 (have to had played at least 5-10 games) for freo from the earlier days... not many players wouldnt be eligible.

 

[Eastern Rangers]

You're screwed. He tipped us in the 05 GF and went for Sydney in 06.

 

[sportsmaniac89]

Ah yes, the great football expert.

I take his views about as seriously as I do Andrew Demetriou. In other words, not worth a sack of crap.

 

[Rob]

Agree, and whilst Mann, O'Reilly, Watters and Allan were all very good players, they only had a couple of years left and played their best football before they came to us. They all pretty much moved home in preparation for retirement.

You clearly don't remember much of the 90's if you're putting O'Reilly, and to a lesser extent Mann in there.

As ridiculous as it sounds, Peter Mann was arguably 2nd best performed CHF in the league in 1995. Just about led the league in marks. Of course, he only took about another 3 in his career after that, and 2 of them were a bit dubious.

 

[DockersMad]

No it is very soft, like the fleece of a new born deer.

Before or after the mother licks off the afterbirth? Walls would know quite a lot about this, after all every single assessment he has ever done on Fremantle has been an abortion.

It is still worrying though.