Fatprick Makes a Point

[Windy_Hill]

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/sp ... 5903659856

Review must blow apart Bombers
Patrick Smith From: The Australian August 11, 2010 12:00AM
ESSENDON has warned us not to read too much into the decision by two assistant coaches to move on at the end of the season.

No one has blood on their hands. Personal reasons were behind Scott Camporeale and Ashley Prescott announcing their move. Happenstance that both men came to a decision on the same day.

The club lists eight men on their coaching panel and according to the club only the boss Matthew Knights is not out of contract at the end of the year. Camporeale and Prescott have been with Knights as senior assistants since the head coach took over from Kevin Sheedy for the 2008 season.

In that time there has been little improvement in the club's playing performance. In Sheedy's last season Essendon managed 10 wins, remarkable given the turmoil that consumed the club after the board fumbled the announcement of the coach's demise.

The club had been in contention for a finals spot until Sheedy was humiliated when it was announced after round 16 that his contract would not be renewed.

In his first year Knights took Essendon to eight wins, a season later to 10 wins and one disastrous finals appearance and this year the club has won just seven games. With remaining games against Collingwood, Brisbane and the Western Bulldogs, Essendon, on the form displayed against Carlton last Friday, will be fortunate to win any one of those contests. In the three years under Knights's direction the club has stood still at best, toppled backwards at worst.

When speculation about the future of Knights was hot and constant in the middle of this season, Essendon president David Evans announced the club would hold a review of the football department at the end of the season. He said he could not guarantee Knights would see out his contract which was extended to the end of 2012 at the beginning of this year.

It was not a threat by Evans. Just a realistic assessment that nothing should be taken for granted. Chief executive Ian Robson has separated the decision by Prescott and Camporeale to leave from any early findings of Evan's promised review.

Essendon does need a forensic examination to find why it has been unable to improve on Sheedy's last year. The club has lost three of its greatest champions in James Hird, Matthew Lloyd and Scott Lucas since Sheedy was bumped, but that alone is not an explanation of Essendon's predicament. Against Carlton last week the Bombers were beaten by more than 70 points when just 22 in arrears at three-quarter time. Opposition teams regularly score goals quickly and in abundance during matches against Essendon.

Knights, praised early in his tenure for an exciting and attacking game plan, has been unable or unwilling to build a defensive mindset among his players. Essendon plays football as though it were a Twenty20 team in a Test environment.

Robson will lead the Essendon post-season overhaul. No position should be exempt from rigorous examination. Knights needs to be retained as coach for he has got Essendon to play startlingly good football at times but his team of assistants, recruiters, fitness gurus and football managers should start to quiver. As a collection of football experts they have failed to improve Essendon. Something or someone is missing.

Knights appears very much to be his own man. He has a clear philosophy on how he believes AFL football in the modern era should be played. But there is no evidence that he is improving and working on Essendon's deficiencies. It might be that he does not recognise them.

Knights has enough ability and insights that Essendon must seek to build around him. That means the coach should not have the sole say in who his new assistants will be. Football manager Paul Hamilton and Robson should have the major input into reshaping the coaching panel. He needs to find assistants who will complement and not compliment Knights. They must be the strengths to counter the coach's weaknesses.

There is no point giving Knights a coaching panel that he does not trust or admire but there is no sense either in not broadening the experience and knowledge of the panel. It might be, too, that the club employ an experienced senior coach in some sort of director of coaching role. These positions have not generally been successful in the past. It did not work when David Parkin had the role at Hawthorn when Peter Schwab was coach and Neale Daniher's footprint at West Coast appears minimal as the Eagles sit forlornly on the bottom of the ladder. Knights though, would benefit from a mentor and someone who will challenge his strategies in a meaningful, positive way. Chris Fagan's role as head of coaching at Hawthorn appears to work well and Essendon is likely to look at a similar model.

Knights has the ability to take Essendon back to a place among the elite clubs. But three years is enough time to deduce that the coach and his experts have not found the ladder to make the climb. And are not likely to. Only a thorough, dispassionate and uncompromised review will change that. Essendon sacrificed Sheedy to get better, not worse.

[little_ripper]

Despite the win loss record, I think we have improved since Sheedy left.

Over the last two years we are now on our way to blooding proper replacements for Lloyd and Lucas.(as well as key backmen to stand up when Fletcher retires).

Plus this year we have introduced some young guys that actually look like they will be capabale midfielders.(Melksham, Howlett, Colyer).

The side has a long way to go until in achieves consistency, but the future it is definetly now playing in the red and black. Not the past and recycled past which was happening under sheeds.

[Rover 7]

"Knights appears very much to be his own man.
"

Pigheaded more like.
The team can't perform when it matters nor can the assistants apparently so you retain the one constant?
The only person he can convince is himself.

[Jazz_84]

yep makes a very good point, ill be happy to see all the assistants move on and we select new ones, hopefully the correct ones.... and someone to question and challenge Knighters idea's would be fantastic, need to have someone for him to bounce idea's off

[boncer34]

Fatprick is still a dickhead. Saying Sheedy won 10 games in his final season and Knights only has us at 7 thus meaning we've gone backwards is simplistic at best.

Take for example our Round 1 win against Adelaide in that year. Lucas kicked 7, MJ had 20 touches and a goal, Peverill had 20+ and we had a mature FB in Michael down back instead of our young rookies. You put that team in now and hey guess what we'd get some cheap wins now to. Not to mention we had Lloyd who kicked 2 and the one and only J. Hird playing.

Our older guys covered our younger guys which was what Sheedy was hoping for with his top-up plan. You put younger blokes in and prepare for the future like Knights then well duh your going to lose games.

Question is where do Essendon fans want to be? Continually topping up under Sheedy or blooding the youngsters like Knights?

[Rossoneri]

Fatprick is still a dickhead. Saying Sheedy won 10 games in his final season and Knights only has us at 7 thus meaning we've gone backwards is simplistic at best.

Take for example our Round 1 win against Adelaide in that year. Lucas kicked 7, MJ had 20 touches and a goal, Peverill had 20+ and we had a mature FB in Michael down back instead of our young rookies. You put that team in now and hey guess what we'd get some cheap wins now to. Not to mention we had Lloyd who kicked 2 and the one and only J. Hird playing.

Our older guys covered our younger guys which was what Sheedy was hoping for with his top-up plan. You put younger blokes in and prepare for the future like Knights then well duh your going to lose games.

Question is where do Essendon fans want to be? Continually topping up under Sheedy or blooding the youngsters like Knights?

Spot on.

However with Knights, have you seen any improvement since say round 15 or 16, 2008? You could argue that Fletch has basically won us a couple of games this year (Hawthorn and 2nd St Kilda game come to mind). Agree that Sheeds was useless in his last 3-4 years and Hird won us most of those games.

[BenDoolan]

remarkable given the turmoil that consumed the club after the board fumbled the announcement of the coach's demise.

The club had been in contention for a finals spot until Sheedy was humiliated when it was announced after round 16 that his contract would not be renewed.

Nice cut and paste Partrick. This has now appeared in 1, 267 articles. Nice work.

Unfortunately, I don't know what the rest of the article says as I stopped reading at that point.....

[robbie67]

LOL, Patrick Smith is a Mentula.

It's funny, I know a stack of people who work in Politics, Industry bodies, high ranking business people, and I dont know any of them that read The Australian. The Fin Review, The Sydney MH, The Age, The Canberra Times....check. But NONE read The Australian.

[boncer34]

Fatprick is still a dickhead. Saying Sheedy won 10 games in his final season and Knights only has us at 7 thus meaning we've gone backwards is simplistic at best.

Take for example our Round 1 win against Adelaide in that year. Lucas kicked 7, MJ had 20 touches and a goal, Peverill had 20+ and we had a mature FB in Michael down back instead of our young rookies. You put that team in now and hey guess what we'd get some cheap wins now to. Not to mention we had Lloyd who kicked 2 and the one and only J. Hird playing.

Our older guys covered our younger guys which was what Sheedy was hoping for with his top-up plan. You put younger blokes in and prepare for the future like Knights then well duh your going to lose games.

Question is where do Essendon fans want to be? Continually topping up under Sheedy or blooding the youngsters like Knights?

Spot on.

However with Knights, have you seen any improvement since say round 15 or 16, 2008? You could argue that Fletch has basically won us a couple of games this year (Hawthorn and 2nd St Kilda game come to mind). Agree that Sheeds was useless in his last 3-4 years and Hird won us most of those games.

From 2008 to now? Yes. A little. But 2008 still had a competent Lloyd and Lucas running around.

From 2009 to now? Again a little in terms of development. Do I think Knights is a genius? No. Far from it. But we are slowly improving, its just not really quick enough by our own lofty standards I guess Ross.

[swoodley]

remarkable given the turmoil that consumed the club after the board fumbled the announcement of the coach's demise.

The club had been in contention for a finals spot until Sheedy was humiliated when it was announced after round 16 that his contract would not be renewed.

Nice cut and paste Partrick. This has now appeared in 1, 267 articles. Nice work.

Unfortunately, I don't know what the rest of the article says as I stopped reading at that point.....

Same here BD...fatprick should just f*** off and leave the other journos to write about Essendon