IMO we are on the wrong track as evidence by Sundays game
I got my hopes up this week until Ellard was named an emergency
There is 2 reasons we had 37 tackles a dozen or so in the second half
1
We have one game plan. Kick it quickly into an open 50 and hope for the best.
Lake and co foiled that one so whats plan b
Nothing. Ratten made little change. What about Walker to Lake
What about O'Hailpin to defence
What about Thornton up forward
Judd to the forward 50
Actually there is plan b
Hold the ball up and play tempo footy when your 6 goals down halfway into the second quarter
Ratten has had 3 years to come up with a number of game strategies and he has come up with one when it relates to being proactive. It worked well against both Grand Finalists and then opposition teams have figured us out by putting defenders behind the ball.
Ratten doesnt adjust and now we are a basket case player moral suffers and the basics like tackling are forgotten
2 The coaching staff have been way too soft on the players.Look no further than the selections this week.
2 players dropped
I repeat 2
Now with a tackle count that low the coach needs to take a stand and say in such an important game that is unacceptable
But no we dont want to change things too much because if we do that we might miss out on the 8.
So a guy like Ellard who really deserves a game ahead of the dozen imposters who peformed so pathetically Sunday evening doesnt get a gig unless there is a late change.
Ellard will give you 100% atleast
There are about 12 players who should have been dropped but havent been. Of course that would be crazy to do that but Ratten hasnt made the big enough statement. Point is players know they can get away with it.
Ratten is too nice. His heart is in the right place but he neither has the brains or the balls to deliver.
The quarter time footage last week of Malthouse telling Didak and Johnson to follow the team strategy sums up what this club needs.
We need a new coach
and a thorough interview process to get the right one.