What a hack!!

[Doctor Fish]

personally im not a big observer of our seconds team, but I was warned by a number of friends who follow VFL almost as closely as AFL that Knights consistantly positions players incorrectly, is slow to react when flood gates open and overall is a poor game day coach. As I said my response to them at the time is I will wait and find out.

Well 7 rounds in everything I was warned about has come to fruition and im on their bandwagon now. Don't get me wrong, the game plan of run and carry is a welcome improvement on the stop start rubbish gameplan sheedy had running in his final seasons, but some lvl of accountability must be expected, particularly when you know the skill lvl of the side we have (even if this is largely attributed to the injuries we have) will create frequent turnovers.

Sure we have injuries, and I dont expect that we should have won more games than we have considering the circumstances of our list, but it's the way we lose, the matchups, the inability to develope players in the position that they need to play if they are to be long term players. Winder is not a back pocket, Johns is not a defender, Rama's midfield days are over (although his creativity and disposal make him a descent back pocket) and we cant afford for Fletch to do more than pinch hit in the forward line or our defence crumbles.

It's not an excuse. Just fact. Far out.

We know it's a fact, but didn't lie to the board preseason about how our current list can be developed and then 7 rds in raise the white flag only then and basically end the careers of two players who are still good enough to play in the right circumstances, which in my oppinion, 13 injuries and your most experienced midfielder out injured is that right circumstance to pick JJ or Pev and with Pev injured JJ should have got a game.

I hope to be proven wrong as geelong supporters were about Bomba, but I was warned about this before the season started from people who watched him coach for Bendigo, so in that respect its not 7 rds im basing my arguement but a season and 7 rds, a load of preseason bull shit and the inability to trade older players you have no intention of playing in the seniors so that 1. they get an opportunity to continue their careers and 2. we get to look at a few more youngsters rather than carry dead wood on our list.

Anyway mark my words, he never won anything as a player and will never win anything as a coach.

signing off this issue til end of season.

Fantastic.

[BenDoolan]

Anyway mark my words, he never won anything as a player and will never win anything as a coach.

Surely you don't actually believe this "theory" do you? After all the logic you put into your posts, you throw it away with this cliche.

Allan Jeans, Tom Hafey, Denis Pagan, Alan Joyce and Paul Roos never "won" anything as players (perhaps Alastair Clarkson will be added to this list shortly) and became premiership coaches.

Conversely, Bill Goggin, Royce Hart, Wayne Schimmelbusch, Peter Knights, Kevin Bartlett, Tim Watson, Tony Shaw, Ken Sheldon, Ken Judge, Roger Merrett won just about everything as players(and perhaps we will be able to add Terry Wallace to this list at some stage) were duds.

[BenDoolan]

I thought this was clearly an outstanding post by someone over at BB. Well thought out and lucid.......

after todays farcical hysteria on both talkback radio AND bomberblitz, i decided to get away from it all, gather some (hopefully) rational thoughts and clarify in my own mind where i think things are at vis-a-vis our new coach and club.



James Hird

Dustin Fletcher

Mark McVeigh

Scott Lucas

Adam McPhee

Brent Stanton

Matthew Lloyd

Damien Peverill

Andrew Welsh

Jobe Watson

What is the above list? Simply, our 2007 Best and fairest finishing order. If you look closely, you'll see that this year we have had no input from the winner or 4th place. 3rd place (and the new true spiritual leader) has missed over half of the games, likewise 9th. the captain, 7th, has missed several games and 2nd has played injured before missing recently. 8th has entered a semi-retirement zone. All this shows two things.

1) the new incoming coach has had just three of last years top ten players regularly on the park, and just 1 of the top 4 has played more than 50% of the matches -and he carried a niggle as well!

2) of last years list, only stanton and watson are genuine younger players. the club is in a stage where the middle age players (around 24-28 years for a footballer) are few and far between, and the load has been carried by yesterdays hero's. the hole in the list is stark, and the new coach has received a terribly lopsided roster in terms of experience. He now has a list that had been held together over recent years by superstars who are now gone or faded, and patched up with solid players like Bolton and Heff. There is a five year gap in the list that cannot be closed in any way other than getting kids to 50 games.

On top of all that, not shown on the above list is that one of the leaders of last years B&F at round 12 (Davey) has gone down again. The nuggety and intense Sam Lonergan (granted just one game in three years) was very impressive early until injured. Dempsey likewise. Last years rapid improver, Winderlich, missed large parts of the preseason and is not up to speed yet. all three would be in knights' preferred side. For a game plan that revolved around speed and carry, the absence of Winderlich, Davey and Dempsey was further compounded by Jetta missing three weeks.

two hard nuts who would not have been instant inclusions straight up, but would likely have worked their way in, have missed through injury. Hislop has only just resumed, Hocking's year is more or less over.

The heir apparent to Scott Lucas' structural position hasn't been able to play a game yet. Our 1st pick from last years draft has had hamstring issues and has only just made an appearance. Our father/son selection had a partial shoulder reconstruction.

It has, bluntly, been a complete catastrophe. No one should have any realistic expectations of having to face such obstacles in their first two months of coaching.

And yet. And yet.... not once have i heard anything but polished professionalism from he in the eye of the storm. Not a complaint, not an offering of excuses, not a single questionable utterence. He has stuck by the club, and his own philosophies, in the face of increasingly vitriolic attacks from elements of the media and his own club's supporter base.

Today he was cast into a frenzied whirlpool by his own Chairmans stupidity. He rode it out calmly, he made some pointed remarks about his superior, he tried to recover some honour and integrity for the two players involved and he emerged with his own honesty apparently intact. No mean feat considering the media haven't been able to get their hooks into Essendon very often in the last 30 years, and elements are slavering at the prospect of it now.

I'm not saying he will be successful as a senior coach. It's too early for a start, and his hands have been largely tied in any case.

There are legitimate questions about our defensive work - but he mentions it in every post-game conference, so i have no doubt he's working on it. Whether he can get the results remains to be seen.

There are also questions over a few positional placements, to be sure. But that is partly due to non-availability, partly due to having a proportion of someone else's list still being unknown quantities despite 5 years on the list and partly simple inexperience. At this stage,in my opinion, all three are forgiveable.

Surely, no one - whether they be a fan of his appointment or not - can realistically be as savagely critical of Mathew Knights as people are being on BB in particular, and the wider community in general? You cannot possibly look at the full picture and still find the vitriol to hurl. If you do, you are unbalanced, and have either lost , or never had -perhaps due to our long run of success - a decent perspective of our game and club.

Certainly no-one can accuse him of trying to save his own skin by playing safe. He has turned to the kids rather than solid citizens like JJ and Pev. He has refused to flood. He is not overly negative, and has conceded big losses. He has coached some of the youngest essendon sides i can remember, with key figures missing, and has given us a glimpse of the young talent finally being assembled.

His coaching record will be judged in the fullness of time. Whether he passes or not will be clarified by results. But in the meantime, all i've seen is a classy and upfront perfomance from a man who obviously believes in himself and his idea's even in the face of extreme negativity and obstacles. Slander him if you will, but he is not deserving of it.

Bravo, Mr Knights.

[dom_105]

Seven weeks people.

Seven weeks.

[rockhole]

"Anyway mark my words, he never won anything as a player and will never win anything as a coach."

Knights, 36, played 279 games with Richmond and won the club’s best and fairest in 1990 and 1992. He captained Richmond for 101 games and was an All Australian in 1998.

I would settle for a couple of "never won anything" players with this record right now.

Throw in the hand grenade and then run away. Nice one!!!

[BenDoolan]

Just a question Chris.....

Are you Christopher Bantick?

[grassy1]

I believe RAY manged to LOB a HAND GRENADE indoors,this week.

The FOOOOOOOOOOOL !

[rockhole]

I believe RAY manged to LOB a HAND GRENADE indoors,this week.

The FOOOOOOOOOOOL !

Looks like Jacko lobbed it straight back again!! I reckon that Knighta has come out of this week in pretty good shape.

Horsburgh is the classic "limiment sniffer" in the same category as Buttress and Gutnick.