gerry atric wrote:
I've got to say I loved SOS as a player, but he doesn't sttrike me as the coaching type. He seems to speak in cliches, and his TV comments indicate he's not great at thinking on his feet or articulating any particularly insightful ideas.
I like Ratts, but the main query with him is that he seems a little unreliable. He was at Melbourne a year, then left tho they rated him highly. Then I think he went to SA to be a senior caoch, something he wanted to do now because of the age of his kids, at least that's the reason he gave Melbourne publicly, now he is back coaching second grade EFL. I don't know why he didn't stay at Melb for the three years, he would be in a much stronger position now given that virtually every caoch employed in the last 20 years has come via assistant role at AFL.
Be interesting to see which way Denis jumps if his assistants are sacked and he's told who he is to take on. From comments Smorgon has made it appears that the Board have already taken some autonomy away. He looks like a defeated man to me. Anyway the Board will have to do something if we continue on as we've gone, and changing assistants is the easiest and cheapest way to go, but it may mean we have a lame duck coach.
I think DP is yesterdays man, but you need to back the coach all the way or change him, seems the board - tied into a contract they wanted - are likely to have a bob each way.
I agree with you I dont believe SOS is the man: I said this in another thread and I dont back away from it:
"Silvagni has a communication problem - he is not a gifted public speaker, he cannot express his ideas succinctly or with any inspiration (and please dont give me that "speech at 3/4 time in the 99 Preliminary Final" as an example).
We dont need Teddy Whitten type "you've got to inspire me" type speeches from our coaches.
We need vision and long term plans to resurrect this football club from the abyss of:
- poor player development
- poor player training facilities
- lack of scientific approach when it comes to developing player training programs
We need to be bought into the 21st Century.
You cant get by anymore with getting a Jezza to fill the breach mid-season and bring you from bottom place to a spot in the finals in the course of one season - those irons in the fire dont exist in the AFL anymore.
We need to think outside the square - like I have said elsewhere is it Ric Charlesworth type who would be a Director of Football with all elements of Football Operations (including Match Day Coach) answerable to him, I dont know, but what I do know its better than what we have been doing for the past 4 years. "
I'm not sure Ratts is the answer - maybe as an assistant coach specialising in mid-field, I would only think that SOS would be an assistant coach type specialising in defence.
For the main coaching role we need - someone revolutionery and way out of left field.
