Number one off season target

[35forever]

In Order of Importance
1. New Coach
2. New Coach
3. New Coach
4. New Coach
5. Should I go on?

I absolutely guarantee you that fiddling with assistants won't make a spit of difference, not even if you manage to re-incarnate Jock Mchale, and recombine his DNA with that of Barrassi, Whitten, Pannam, Norm Smith and Al Killigrew. Not while Buckley is at the helm.

Clearly Pert & McGuire don't give a rats fuzzy little arse about the club's fortunes in 2017, they've proven that too often, but one would think that as CEO Pert wold care about the dosh we're haemorrhaging?

What does Buckley get per season? Whatever it is, it's chucking fistfuls of hundreds off the roof of the Holden Centre. A complete waste of cash. We'd play as well or better without him, I mean without him or his replacement. No Senior coach. I am not joking. The assistants can handle the mundane stuff: Getting the boys to training, taking Match Committee, etc etc. They could take turns shuffling the magnets on Game day, or just let the on-field leaders sort themselves out, with Pendles settling any questions.

And then there's the small matter of attendances. from an average of 58,000 per game in 2011 to averaging 45,000 in 2016. If that doesn't sound that big, it's more than 5 and a 1/2 million per season, and it's down to the inability of NBC to even put on a decent impression of coaching. He's yelling something at 1/4 & 3/4 time, I like to think it's the St. Crispin's day speech from Henry 5th, but I fear Buckley probably thinks 'Shakespeare' has something to do with an epileptic hunter.
I have to admit, he's as good at smashing phones as any of them, it's the one time he looks competent!

Those who've been paying attention know I didn't want this. Once the clusterf**k we call the "Succession" was irreversable, I posted here that though we hated it the only thing to do was back the new coach, and pray our misgivings were unfounded. Certainly while the season in progress at least. It wasn't until the end of 2013 that I broached the subject of his replacement, who I was confident would be appointed in time for 2014. He wasn't. I sought consensus here at the time, it wasn't forthcoming, very few agreed, and many blamed the terrible 'bad luck' of consecutive injury-riddled seasons. I was stunned, absolutely gobsmacked. Here was a guy who had singlehandedly taken us from 4 years of top 4 finishes & at least prelims to 6th & out first week in just a season! Losing us two more of our best players in the process to cover his own incompetence. He has taken no responsibility whatsoever, not once in 5 years. How did we feel in round...whatever, this season when Heater & Daisy were 1 & 2 in the supercoach rankings?
I promise you, to this day, NBC believes utterly that he's a great coach and that none of our failings were his fault. True!

[35forever]

[Pies4shaw]

[Pies4shaw]

[thompsoc]

[qldmagpie67]

[jackcass]

[melliot]

[kymbo5@yahoo.com.au]

[Albert Parker]

Seems to me that on field, a key position player is just the ticket, followed by a crumbing forward.
Not convinced it is just the cattle on field which is what we're lacking though.

[jatsad]

[perthmagpie]

1. Lobb
2. Hurley
3. Hoskin Elliott

Coaching
Elevate Tapping

[Piesnchess]

[Mugwump]

I think it has to be Hurley, and I am pleased to see us pitching for him.

Our KPP stocks are a concern. Even if you take the view that Cloke is a keeper with a lot to offer (as I do) he is 30, and Nathan Brown is well on in years as well. Ben reid is always injury-prone. This is an area of real vulnerability, though I could see Cox making his way into the first ruck and Grundy taking up a centre-half forward / chop-out role. Cox has been up and down as a forward, but he does show some real rucking potential.

It is hard to see what we have as currency to get the Hurley deal done, but as Bucks said, there is always a way. And I think that football people see that this list is building toward something. If the other sides in the mix are going to be also-rans, I think there is a chance that we can get it done.

Other than this, I think we have reasonable coverage and depth with a half-decent injury run. We get back a top ten draft pick next year (Schazza) with both knees rebuilt, and we get a class crumbing / creative forward in Elliott. In Sinclair and Ramsay we have two classy, line-breaking half-backs in the making - as long as Sinkers can keep his head straight and Ramma's knee has not taken away his pace.

Otherwise, we should look at trading out players who are poor kicks in favour of those who are more precise. I don't have enough insight into the lists of other clubs to judge who might be on the market with those credentials, but from our list, Williams is the obvious one who has flatlined. I do not like Howe's kicking either, as he makes several costly howlers per game, but of course he is not going anywhere.

I also completely agree with QldMagpie's post above.

[Mossi]