Football Department Review

[DJC]

One of the reasons I don't rate the commentary of past players is they tend to sound like a football specific version of the broader societal trend of old people bagging out the young. When you don't get the desired response, go hard. If you still don't get the desired response, go harder still. It's a very punitive mindset.

Nicholls is justifiably seen as the greatest Blue ever. But that's not a sufficient reason to follow bad, outdated advice IMO.

Lyon got 2 clubs to a GF. That's a fair effort. But the club needs to be clear about why they would pursue him. If they bring him in because they think he will "toughen up the players", in my view that's misguided.

Regardless of the era in which they played, the opinions of legends of the game should not be dismissed as bad and outdated. 

I once heard Nicholls asked how he would go against the much taller modern-day ruckmen and his response was along the lines of  working out how he could get an advantage.  I remember watching Carlton vs Collingwood in Len Thompson's first season.  Thommo, at 199cm, had a 10cm height advantage and Nicholls was struggling to get his hand to the ball.  It was a dire situation for Carlton supporters but Big Nick made some adjustments and jumped into and over Thommo.  The man has great footy brain.

As for his comments about our current predicament, who could argue against the proposition that we need a totally invested football director?  Similarly, can anyone dispute the fact that we've been deficient in basic footy skills for 10 years (or more)?

I'm sure that Nicholls didn't mention Ross Lyon and I don't necessarily equate him with "tough bastard".  However, a tough bastard is exactly what we need to ensure that our progress is not derailed by membership-oriented CEOs and success-starved board members.  The challenge is to find and/or develop a coach with the insight of Bolts, the tactical awareness of Barassi and the hardness of Nicholls.  Parkin isn't available but can we make Teague that person?