Why So Different??

[ElwoodBlues1]

You guys are one trick ponies.  You got it wrong, is a far cry from thinking things through and analysing anything.

I'll give you a clue.

Chris Judd had no issues giving his all.

Why does anyone else? Why is he different?

Forget Malthouse,  this isn't about him.  Or you can pretend it is and that we didn't let a 29 point lead slip to a 3 point lead and you can also ignore that our first 6 goals were scores from port Adelaide's errors. 

Now the game plan is a factor and currently going flat stick seems to be the way to play.  Port are showing that unless you are super fit this won't always work.

What if they reduce rotations further? Will it be more open? Or more contested?

Think about it.  I'm pleased and worried about a difference in commitment.  it's encouraging to see, but worrying that it can return as soon as the emotional highs start to peeter out.

Mick was never going to back down and admit his methods/game plan were wrong...he became selfish and put his own pride ahead of the club, the media could see it as could the majority of supporters.
Sure the Barker plan is based on going flat chat and fitness will probably limit its effect down the track but at least the players look happy and bonded and thats a starting point to rebuild the club....
Chris Judd is the ultimate professional and was able to battle on through the tough times and that says plenty about the man, less talented players fell by the wayside, kids like Graham nearly had their careers taken away by MM...Graham is now a regular yet would have been good odds to be flicked if Mick had continued on and refused to play or develop him...
Sorry we cant forget  about Mick and he deserves his place alongside Denis Pagan as a coaching failure during his tenure who looked after himself first and the club second....

[PassIt2Carrots]

Mick was never going to back down and admit his methods/game plan were wrong...he became selfish and put his own pride ahead of the club, the media could see it as could the majority of supporters.
Sure the Barker plan is based on going flat chat and fitness will probably limit its effect down the track but at least the players look happy and bonded and thats a starting point to rebuild the club....
Chris Judd is the ultimate professional and was able to battle on through the tough times and that says plenty about the man, less talented players fell by the wayside, kids like Graham nearly had their careers taken away by MM...Graham is now a regular yet would have been good odds to be flicked if Mick had continued on and refused to play or develop him...
Sorry we cant forget  about Mick and he deserves his place alongside Denis Pagan as a coaching failure during his tenure who looked after himself first and the club second....

X 1,000,000

[age]

MM was a cancer to this club.  Once it got cut out things started to improve.

Had the support of some players, but it is clear now that he did not have support from the majority of them. 

Results over last 2 weeks provides that

[cookie2]

Suffice to say, I'm really looking forward to seeing the game this week! 

[cimm1979]

no 1 more pleased than me that we won BUT we are lucky schultz hits post 9mins to go port hit the front,hendo wasnt a mark,mitchel running through middle stuffed his kick . win a win i suppose,

Then it would have been a close loss.

Given where we have been and where Port have been, it still would have been an acceptable result.

[Lods]

Suffice to say, I'm really looking forward to seeing the game this week! 

So am I and that's a big difference to earlier in the season.

....but just a word of caution.

I think we still have a fair bit to learn about this playing group.
The change of coach and a change in the style of play has given us the opportunity to see them operate under different situations. Some we thought may have been struggling to retain a place on the list may blossom.

But we also probably need to consider the fact that somewhere in the remainder of the season we're may suffer a setback or two.

The type of intensity we bought to the Port game was great but can we sustain it?
Will the style of football we play hold up against sides like the Hawks and Freo?

If one or two of these teams do get hold of us it may be a bit of a shock to the system.
Many of us have conditioned ourselves to the belief that the dark days are behind us.

We need to treat a poor result as a bit of a reality check and not get too carried away by those results.

As long as the general trend is an improved effort and performance then we're on the right track.

[Vivian]

You guys are one trick ponies.  You got it wrong, is a far cry from thinking things through and analysing anything.

I'll give you a clue.

Chris Judd had no issues giving his all.

Why does anyone else? Why is he different?

Forget Malthouse,  this isn't about him.  Or you can pretend it is and that we didn't let a 29 point lead slip to a 3 point lead and you can also ignore that our first 6 goals were scores from port Adelaide's errors. 

Now the game plan is a factor and currently going flat stick seems to be the way to play.  Port are showing that unless you are super fit this won't always work.

What if they reduce rotations further? Will it be more open? Or more contested?

Think about it.  I'm pleased and worried about a difference in commitment.  it's encouraging to see, but worrying that it can return as soon as the emotional highs start to peeter out.

Agree with Thry. We need to have a look at the ladder and remind ourselves that we are really bad. To put it down to a single factor, in the context of a footy club with so many variables, is naive at best. Gameplans are overrated, and nor are players automatons. They are supposed to be professional footballers, so I find it doubful that a few kind or mean words from the head coach could so significantly influence performance without a lot of other factors in play.

I enjoyed the win alot. But we beat 10th place, and a team that is travelling badly to boot, at home, by 4 points, with frankly the rub of the green with umpiring and a bit of luck.

Malthouse clearly was not getting the best out the players, and his departure has been welcomed. There are a great many things that need to be addressed though, on top of a head coach replacement. Specifically, a 'take the game on' style of constant run and carry will not work and must be matched by team defence and tempo control. Flat out attack is easily defended against as PA are learning this year. So we can enjoy a bit of respite now, and watching some spring return is a good thing. But the club has a massive amount of work to do and should be under no illusions about the need for improvement in all areas.

I might add that the best coaches get their teams into a position where the coach no longer matters. Clarkson doesn't have to do much anymore on matchday, as he has half a team of captains out there. Likewise Geelong at their recent peak, and Brisbane in the early 2000s. Carlton right now have a lack of steel that defaults to players not being able to set their own direction very well. Its something to work on, and build, but it has more to do with the character and quality of players than whoever is coaching.

Lots of moving parts indeed.

[cookie2]

So am I and that's a big difference to earlier in the season.

....but just a word of caution.

I think we still have a fair bit to learn about this playing group.
The change of coach and a change in the style of play has given us the opportunity to see them operate under different situations. Some we thought may have been struggling to retain a place on the list may blossom.

But we also probably need to consider the fact that somewhere in the remainder of the season we're may suffer a setback or two.

The type of intensity we bought to the Port game was great but can we sustain it?
Will the style of football we play hold up against sides like the Hawks and Freo?

If one or two of these teams do get hold of us it may be a bit of a shock to the system.
Many of us have conditioned ourselves to the belief that the dark days are behind us.

We need to treat a poor result as a bit of a reality check and not get too carried away by those results.

As long as the general trend is an improved effort and performance then we're on the right track.

For sure Lods, but I'm now a lot more confidentvthat we will go out and give it our best. OK there are better teams than us but all we can ask atm is that we take the game up to them.

[DJC]

I have maintained for some time that we have a middle six list that was dragged down to the bottom six by an outdated coach with an outdated approach to the game, fitness and coaching generally.

If I'm right, we should win at least a third of our remaining games.

[PassIt2Carrots]

We are not flat out attacking, not sure where this myth has come from. We are defending stoutly, tackling with intent and when we win the ball we run harder than we ever have before and try to move the ball through the middle. Yes we attack but we attack when the time is right and with purpose. Of course it's easy for one to be fooled into thinking we are flat out attacking when the previous coach had no fluent method of attack to his gameplan. Some have been 'conditioned' into thinking this is the norm over the last two and a bit years.