BigBlueWave wrote:
The power of MM is amazing ... 1 game of football and the season is forgiven ... lol
Let me remind you that we have still only won 10 games ... with some luck we might win 12.
1 more than last year with a superior team ... its laughable ... lol
MM has really made a big mess ... At the selection table you just cringe every week.
But anyway ... if it give you hope ... good stuff.
Without going over old ground sometimes things aren't as simplistic as wins/losses 2012 vs 2013, but when the likes of Connolly, Robinson and Walls are saying so, how can any of us battling keyboard boffins prove otherwise?
IF we were to win the last two, rather than saying that's 11 wins v 12, I could spin the numbers to suit the argument to say from Round 3 2012 to Round 3 2013 we went 8-14, from Round 3 2013 to Round 22 we will have gone 12-7. 36% winning record to 63%.
Significant improvement
Not every case is the same. Everyone likes to compare us to other clubs that have changed coaches and had instant 'success'. I'm really not sure why, as every club is in a different situation to what we currently are in:
A few examples.
Port. Basket case to a good side. Not only changed the coach, but the President, High Performance Manager, board members, assistant coaches (yes Richardson), and had recently acquired Keith Thomas as a CEO. Good start, but no guarantee that will transform to the next couple of levels. Not sure they are a good example of comparing where we were/are at with a change of coach.
More comparable to our 2007 to 2008 transition.
Adelaide. Had a very good base for Sanderson to step into. Professional club that didn't need any sort of restructuring when he arrived. Neil Craig had a great reputation but the group had gone stale under him. Stable board, strong development program.
Matt Rendell had the reputation as one of the best recruiters in the business. Crouch, Sloane, Brown, Talia, Walker, Tippett, Kerridge, Lyons, Dangerfield, Smith, Grigg, Henderson etc etc are just a group of their recent draftees that have had an impact the last couple of years.
Soft draw, and injury free last year but clearly under performing this year. How much impact the coach had in both the last two years is hard to gauge.
Fremantle. Probably our closest example. 'Success' in 2010 by finally winning their won final, but a poor 2011 saw the end of Mark Harvey for Ross Lyon.
Many people felt sympathy for Harvey due to the amount of injuries the team had in 2011. Sound familiar?
First half of 2012 Lyon tried to inject a more defensive style to a team known for being exciting, but flaky. At times the team looked like they'd forgotten how to score hitting the 100 point mark on just 1 time in the first 15 rounds. The Dockers were 6-7 at Rnd 13, went on to win a final, and are now certainties for Top 4 in 2013.
It took a while, but after an over adjustment to begin with the Lyon style is now their trademark. Players were challenged and not all responded straight away.
A couple of examples.
Early in 2012 Michael Walters was banished back to train with his WAFL club due to not being able to meet the fitness standards set out by Lyon. He is now a possible All-Australian.
Nick Suban was subbed at half time in Round 4. When asked whats wrong Lyon. Was blunt. 'He hasn't touched it, clearly he's under pressure to keep his spot'. Suban is now one of their most hard running and important players.
Garrick Ibbotson who was flying in 2013 before suffering an injury was dropped in 2012. He sat on the sidelines, to watch his team mates get smashed in a Derby. Lyon told him he wasn't giving all he could. It was a turning point in his career.
Spurr, Mayne, Mzungu, Johnson have improved. Daniel Pearce more consistent than he was at Port etc...
On here Lyon would be chastised for criticising the players in public and making them sad or not getting the best of them by dropping them or making them the sub, or not getting instant results by having them go backwards before being able to move forwards......
Others such as Greg Broughton were moved on. Broughton was a stats machine, but obviously didn't suit Lyon's style. He hasn't been missed.
The relevant point to Carlton in 2013 is that some players get such a dramatic change straight away, some need some tough love and lessons, others know what is required but need time and perhaps another pre-season and then there are others that never will adapt......
Western Bulldogs made the finals in 2008-2010 won 9 games in 2011 and then changed coach. They won just 5 in 2012, and AT BEST 9 in 2013. Sakc McCartney? They are obviously going nowhere by everyone's win v wins logic!......
Less simplistic version is obviously that finishing this year by winning 5 or 6 from the last 8 or 9 with the group coming through is going to be a much better result than winning the same amount of games in 2011 with a group on the slide, or losing their last 11 in 2012.
Reality is that yesterday was just another game in a bigger picture.
Those of us that criticise the anti-MM crew, haven't 'won'. We tell them to wait, and see what happens over the next couple of years before judging so it would be hypocritical to suggest otherwise now a result has gone our way.....
Ultimately it will come down to wins vs wins, and ladder positions v ladder positions, but lets wait until the final siren to judge otherwise.....
That, my friends, is a brilliantly accurate and measured post, and I could not agree more.
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