Is Buckley A Good Coach?

[jathanas]

The senior coach is an important club figure and a legitimate topic of discussion. It's fair to do so and everyone has a right to express their view.

The mod team observed that the thread was dominated by a few protagonists and their points were repeated i.e. 8 years of regression vs marked improvement in 17,18 etc Pretty much everyone with a strong opinion has already expressed it here.

What further degraded discussion was the simplistic "sack FIGJAM" or "he's a legend" type posts.

This thread will remain open. If your view has slightly shifted or you have new thoughts please share. In an effort to encourage quality discussion repetitive statements and circular arguments will from now on be deleted as will silly posts suggesting that we sack a coach on match-day.

FYI Gone Critical Anzacday Maggie5

 

[Maggie5]

Given by this time next week we will be two games out of the 8, there won’t be any top 4 let alone top 8 finishes in 2020.

11 games after that and we are 2W 1D and 3 loses even if we lose, not sure your post is true.

It is still up to us and the trip away will be testing.

 

[Markfs]

we need to think about our next coach.... we should be talking clarko

 

[sr36]

We heard similar hollow arguments about Buckley poor coaching before, that were proven wrong when we made the GF in 2018.

Even if Cox plays a blinder next week it doesn't prove those who are critical of his last two weeks were wrong.

 

[MagpieJoel]

Doesn't take long for the knives to come out on here.

 

[ottoman]

Conversely, who was the last coach to be sacked following consecutive top 4 finishes?

Mick Malthouse

 

[Jasper84]

Mick Malthouse

Sacked two years prior

 

[TheGreatGrundy]

Good

What's 'Good'?

 

[TheGreatGrundy]

Even if Cox plays a blinder next week it doesn't prove those who are critical of his last two weeks were wrong.

I'd rather bet that those critical of his last 2 weeks are going to have the chance next week to be critical of his last 3 weeks. A blinder would be nice but highly unlikely.

 

[AndrewShawble]

Maynard and Crisp on the ball would be nice to see in a game, one of them as a tagger.

 

[No SPIN]

Even if Cox plays a blinder next week it doesn't prove those who are critical of his last two weeks were wrong.

Agree - but talk of sacking is an entirely different matter.

 

[No SPIN]

He’s had 9 years, at what Point do Buckley fans accept he is responsible for the list. Or do you all believe Hine did all the recrutiing and Buckley never had any input or say hey we really need some tall forwards this year...

Malthouse boundary game plan everyone hated was because that was the best plan for the list he had. If Buckley can’t adapt his game plan to the players he has nor has any ability to recruit players to fit his dream game plan, then he’s clearly A pretty average coach.

Not much wrong with a list that’s played in GF and PF in successive years. You’ve lost the “9 years” debate and are now clutching at straws.

 

[jathanas]

Doesn't take long for the knives to come out on here.

2 weeks of bad football is all it takes for the mob to reach for the pitchforks.

 

[Aishole]

It isn't his strong suit.

He chooses to keep the faith in his players to execute the game plan. He's averse to big changes in strategy during a match.

I think people need to remember how utterly dominant we were against the Dogs. I know it was only one game and it was a long time ago now. But that's what we look like when the players carry out the plans the coaches have devised. So when it isn't working, I can understand him wanting to be patient and redirecting the players to their roles, rather than abandoning it in favour of any plan B we may or may not have.

Based on last night, I'm more worried about Bucks' performance at the selection table than as a match day strategist. That's where we lost this game.

Wow a sensible and reasonable post. Didn’t think i’d find one after reading the first 4 pages.

People act as if Buckley hasn’t out coached anyone in the past 3 seasons. Ridiculous. Runner-up and Top 4 says to me he definitely has.

Match-day? Maybe not. Its hard to tell, we cant hear what he is telling the players at the 3 quarter time break.

 

[Aishole]

I think these losses may be valuable for the group. I think they may realise a need to move the ball faster. Our forward line is fantastic when there is pace, static ball movement will never suit our forward line.

 

[magpienato]

We've got threads questioning Buckley's position as coach, calling for Eddie to resign, and some controversy involving De Goey...

Did we just time travel back to 2017?

 

[Carringbush2010]

I have a broader question:

Is our game plan - the way we should play, flawed? I'll explain:

If you look at 2018, that is how Nathan wants us to play, in simple terms it's a swarm and spread style. Requires outnumbering in the phone box AND on the outside for the receive. Tactically it's sound - in theory.

The problem with this style is that it is taxing to execute, requires outrunning the opponent team all game to make it work. That is not possible week in week out. You'd argue we did this in rd 1, a qtr and a bit against the tiges, a half against the aints, and were matched in pressure against the giants but had the edge - kicked ourselves to a loss.

It's clear Nathan had influence in recruiting 'types' (a mix of grunt and outside run mids) for this style, almost pulled off the ultimate Houdini trick. That list that year was certainly not the most talented.

Is this the reason for what looks like lack of effort, inconsistency, poor attitude and ultimately players out of form (the ess game)? Is it just too much to ask of the playing group? And how does the reality effect the in game strategy (coaching)?

 

[DerekZoolander]

It's probably already been said in this thread but playing a dry weather game plan in 2 wet games this year has cost us 2 wins. Tigers/Bombers. Basic football, it's not hard

 

[jackcass]

I think Mark Thompson has the record for most years as coach before winning a premiership, 8 years I believe.

If Nate wins a prem he'll obviously take that record. The way I see it, let it ride. Make this pain and heartache and frustration count for something, eventually

Jock McHale had a 13 year stint without silverware.... but he had won 8 before that.

 

[DaVe86]

I would like to see Buckley a bit more aggressive on match day.

For example, using Darcy Moore as a forward more often. I think Bucks holds on as long as possible to the game-plan and structure until sometimes the game has already gone.

My bigger issue has been team selection over the years. I thought we started to get it right last year, and I reckon he named perfect teams in the opening 3 rounds. But I have scratched my head a bit with selection over the past 2-3 weeks. Injuries and suspensions have forced a lot of moves, but there are still others in the team that need a bit of a shake up.

It seems some players get a lot of rope. JT stayed in the side for far too long, which was reminiscent of Jarryd Blair before him. I fear the same is happening with WHE, Wills, Varcoe and Mason Cox. Yet someone like Noble, who i thought was going ok, gets dropped for Varcoe.

We've gone a completely different structure this week with an extra small defender and extra tall.

I think tactically he is very good. I think he analyses football well before a match and i think he has created a great environment around the club. I think he is a good motivator and seems to have the boys up each week. Even when we lose, it's not by much and the effort is still there.

But for such an offensive player, he is an ultra conservative match-day coach. Even when we are winning comfortably, there seems to lack a killer edge that the best teams have. We have such a flexible team, with almost every player capable of doing multiple roles. However, we seem to pidgeon hole them in a spot and there is little budging on match day.

 

[Visions]

Anyone the last few years would have seen our best football is when its direct fast football. Yet Buckley always goes back to a pathetic slow draining possessive build up game plan that doesn’t work due to the overrated foot skills of the players we have. Idiotic.

Then you have his love for players who can’t play the game but won’t ever be dropped like Cox.

He was a brilliant player but just like Voss and Hird an average coach.

 

[5_Flockhart]

Jock McHale had a 13 year stint without silverware.... but he had won 8 before that.

The record only refers to coaches without previous silverware.

EDIT: Sorry re-reading you already knew that.

 

[TradeDraft]

He is Cursed with Injury Issues ever since he Took Over.

Never can get the best 22 Fit

 

[left at home]

Sometimes the opponents out play us, and sometimes we get out coached, it happens. BUt we lose a game, the same old rhetoric comes out. Let’s see how the season goes first, before we throw the toys out of the cot

 

[Mostfamousclub_Pies]

I think he is a very good coach overall, with his planning, tactics, motivation etc. Occasionally on match day, when things don’t go to plan, I do believe he freezes sometimes and struggle to to react on the spot, to a situation that he is losing control of. Whether it’s because he’s so methodical, and he isn’t ready to make wholesale changes, or because he hasn’t factored in the change, I really don’t know. He’s just not experimental, and that’s that.
He is the opposite of Sheehy. This is a very good thing as Sheedy is a tool, but he was an innovative coach.

 

[Markfs]

Lucky win on thursday night. Probably due to the Chris Scott being a worse coach. He's just inflexible and doesnt know when to make a change. Probably when you think about it, he's just like Voss and Hird. His coaching wasn't helped by that brownlow medal. We need to transition to some like Clarko. Clarko is going stale at the Hawks and will be looking to come to the Pies next year. We need to keep the pressure on.