The 2017 Nathan Buckley Debate

[MarkOSuv]

If the Hawks have a down year, Eddie will be on the phone to Clarkson.

[5 from the wing on debut]

Do you honestly think they didn't plan for big forwards, high defensive press,
and a highly rated some say number one midfield in the comp.
They knew we were going to keep pumping it into the forwards with the usual bomb it slow and bomb it long Bux forward strategy.
Given they are 5 weeks or more behind us in prep time they did enough in second gear to beat us

I have a very simple metric - we have closed the gap against the best, and made great progress in this area last year compared to 2015.
That is the bottom line in assessing a coaches list development - not ladder position, because young lists are inconsistent often losing game they should win.

So progress against the best is ALL that counts.

And I like to compare us to GEEL who from the same stage in 2011, have been flat track bullies losing 6 of their last 8 finals, while resetting and not rebuilding. So would you have been happy to have made finals and then bundled out?
So where has this focus on resetting really got GEEL ?
Would you swap their list for ours?
Putting aside the fact that Scott has never beaten Buckley, we have got a list that will contend far earlier than they will.

So that for me is a huge positive with this fair basis of comparison to GEEL, who are considered a benchmark in the comp.

Buck is doing fine, especially when all other factors are considered.

So now sport why don't you tell me why closing the gap against the best, IS NOT the most important metric.
And why the much lauded GEEL. IS BETTER placed than us going forward because they have implemented a superior list management strategy than Buckleys rebuild.[/quote]

Do you really believe that progress against the best is all that counts?

Didn't Fitzroy win a wooden spoon and in the same year beat the eventual premier, Hawthorn, twice?

By your metric that must have been a great year for the Roys.

[What'sinaname]

Bulldogs were the 7th best team in 2016 after the H&A. Let's not get delusional that we are chellenging the best teams.

[Tezza23]

I'm no Buckley as coach fan, but lets wait until the end of the season.

While some posters have correctly stated that Buckley didn't contribute to the skill errors he made some pretty stupid decisions which for a coach in his 6th year are mind boggling.

1. He went in with a top heavy slow forward line. This was against a side renown for quick release and transition from their back fifty.

2. He refused to play a loose man in defence to stop their well known transition. Did he not learn anything from how the bulldogs play ? As a result too many easy bulldog goals while our players are stuck in the midfield as spectators.

3. He played two ruckman in Grundy and Cox against Tom Boyd who is not known as a tap ruckman. In my opinion White would have easily been able to play the second ruck type. Again - does he not know or understand how the bulldogs play.

4. While its still very early in the season nothing seems to have changed in our game style from last year. Does he not understand the notion of continuous improvement. We will have to wait and see on this one.

I know a lot of people are optimistic about our performance last night but what happens when our midfield are not so dominant with the centre clearances. I guess we will struggle to kick even 12 goals.

[MarkOSuv]

[Skids]

[Donny]

Here endeth the lesson.

[Piesnchess]

[qldmagpie67]

I'm not a Buckley supporter as a coach. But I am a magpie supporter which means if the club deems him the best man for the job then I support him. There in lies the difference between me and several other posters.
Go to the pre match thread I said we were to tall and slow in our forward line but there were reasons I saw for the side we selected.
We wanted to stretch them and we didn't have many other options who really offered more.
We lost the game for one reason poor skill. We missed 5 very easy goals (there's a 25 point swing to us) and our field kicking wasn't up to a acceptable level.
Do I get seriously shitty damn right I do (Mrs. Qldmagpie keeps telling me they can't hear you why shout at the tv. She actually texted me from the kitchen at one stage in the 3rd term to tell me she could hear me there from the home theatre)
But do I blame the coach for poor skill errors being made time and again no. He can't take the shoots for goal or hit a target in the open 20m away.
Do I think adding Elliott & DeGoey to our forward line and Wells to our midfield would have made a difference absolutely.
But we didn't have them so that is irrespective the players we selected needed to execute there skills way better than they did.
Our game plan and structures seem a little better and I guess it's a work in progress so I expect improvement weekly
I am not prepared for the club to sack a coach after 1 game losing by 14 points to the current premiers.
Just a little side note to those saying MM & Matthews coached the players to have better skills. When they both coached there weren't the restrictions on how long players could spend training on a daily basis and how many hours they could spend at the club training a week. I think the coaches as a collective do the best they can. The game has evolved markedly since those days and players are far more aware of there rights not to train more than they have to.
Personally I would love to hear stories of players staying behind at there own volition to practise kicking skills
The equation is simple make finals or we get a new coach. After 1 game our finals hopes are still very alive.

[Mugwump]

[MarkOSuv]

[The Boy Who Cried Wolf]

[CarringbushCigar]

[MarkOSuv]

Certain teams match up well against each other. In 2010, we dominated the competition but whenever we played Melbourne, we struggled. They matched up well against us.

It meant little for them as a team moving forward.

[Dave The Man]

Better beat Tigers on Thrusday as I can't see us beating Swans at SCG as we be 0-3 the Media will be saying we won't make Finals and only a Matter of Time to Bucks Quits or get's Sacked