Carlton vs Brisbane Practice Match

[PaulP]

I think the duck was shot by Eddie with his Buckley transition plan.  Losing his job, at what I’m sure Malthouse considered to be the height of his powers, knocked the stuffing out him.  His demeanour, and coaching, became more about self-preservation and self-interest and he seemed determined to prove that his tried and true approach would hold up when everyone else had moved on.

The situation was compounded by an ill-prepared, poorly-managed club giving him free rein, then making a shambles of trying to rein him in.

Bolton had the advantage of a united club but a dismal list.  Teague has a much stronger list, albeit with some issues, but I don’t think he has a united club behind him.  He certainly is under more pressure to succeed than Bolton did and that has the potential to send us spiralling out of control    :-\

I agree in parts, disagree in others. The succession plan was in the works for 2 or 3 years, certainly through 2010 and 2011, and his record in those 2 seasons speaks for itself. So I think his tried and true methods were working quite well, and I don't think he was shot. I think the 2011 GF he was pretty overwrought and didn't have his best game, but that's probably understandable. What finished him off IMO was not Eddie, but us.

There's no doubt in my mind that Mick is a cunning old coot. You don't survive and thrive in the bear pits of various footy clubs for 30 years unless you are a tough, resilient political operator, with a sound (albeit layperson's) understanding of human behavior, interpersonal relationships, group dynamics etc. I'm not his greatest fan, but that was a bitter end to a very distinguished coaching career, needlessly bitter in my view.