Synbad wrote:
I was in the social club buying a pie with sauce and a coke on saturday.
While i was waiting in line a guy behind me looked familiar.. looking abit more closely it was an ex North player( club champion)..
Got talking.. then i moved the conversation to Denis. i aksed him if he thought Denis was "passe"... he said.."the problem is alot of players are mentally soft and cant accept Denis ways.
We could and Denis made us succesful"
He then said if you cant do what he asks you may as well not worry about ever winning a flag.. cos to win a flag you have to be capable of making the sacrifices by mind and body... and that some players dont have the fortitude to be capable of going all the way....
... thats not Denis fault..
Got my pie and coke said goodbye and felt alot better about Denis at the helm.
As thats what i thought about things all along.....my suspicions were answered by someone alittle more knowldgeable with what Denis is about than blokes like Sydney Blue... and ryan... and BM...
Lovely story Synbad, and I too like the idea of this type of coach.
Unfortunately, though Denis may have to turn over the list indefinitely until he finds players who are prepared to make the sacrifice of mind and body...or he can add some other strings to his bow and find some new ways to motivate and derive the best out of the people on the payroll at the moment. People are all pretty much the same, they'll follow the path of least resistance in order to get the job they have to do done.
I like Denis, think he is a great coach, and is brilliant with everyone from the big coterie groups to the grass roots supporters like Synbad. The thing I worry about is that his message is not dissimilar to what he had success with at the Roos (shin boner spirit, backs to the wall etc) where that type of mantra will be more inclined to work. The culture at Carlton has not been about work ethic for so long (even in the 80's) that it takes time and lots of it apparantly to get it working.
Make no mistake: Denis is every bit as responsible as the players for their under performing this year. Yes, that's right, under performing.