05-24-2018, 06:03 AM
(05-24-2018, 05:36 AM)LP link Wrote:...................................
Coaches who go down this path are a dead end to ultimate success, and it's a good reason why MM has so few flags from such a long long long career. He was excellent at standardising his team to finish in the upper echelon without having the flair to go that one step further.
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To be fair to Mick, in 01 and 02 he came up against one of the greatest teams ever at the peak of their powers. It remains to be seen whether any other coach could have done better. In any other era, he may have ended up with 5 flags.
I do agree with your general principle though. He was workmanlike and seemed to favour honest toilers rather than out and out guns. I think the Pies made 6 prelims in 10 years during the 2000's, which is a great effort, but like you, I also wonder whether he shot himself in the foot by not embracing more flair and class.