I love the fact that Walls wrote an article bagging us. Usually, he props us up or bags our upcoming opponent. About time. I am happy we are getting scrutiny. We all know we are not performing as we would like, all things considered. We have more top 6 draft picks than any team except GWS & GC. We have been passed by those we thought we were ahead of incl Ess, Rich, Port, Freo and even Syd (think back 2-3yrs where we were and where Syd was; where we were heading where everybody thought Sydney was heading...). We are in danger of slip[ping behind Bulldogs, Kangas and GC next season. Ratts might be a great coach one day but I don't think many people believed him to be one at this time last year. Walls may be right that in hindsight, we should have let him see out his contract but that was not the feeling of many Aug 2012.
The question is: Is our poor performance in 2013 b/c of Malthouse, because of the players, for some other reason or a combination?
Malthouse? -At this stage, I believe he has the experience, confidence and coach-psych expertise to either get the best out of our guys or find others who he can get to put in 100% all the time and focused on the right things (eg. Gibbs not currently focused 100% of the time; Robbo 100% committed but not on the right things 100% of the time...) - However, I must be honest and say that it is also possible that MM is killing the players' confidence, Pagan-style... still TBD - The worrying aspect is that a good new coach usually brings out improvement as the year progresses but doesn't seem to be the case with us this year... - Overall, I reckon we need to assess Malthouse this time next year.
Players?[/b - I think the players are pretty much responsible for their own attitudes. This is the primary area where I believe our capability is not up to it. We play a couple of good games and think we've 'proved ourselves' and are pretty happy with ourselves. Perhaps this explains why Malthouse has been delaying Menzel, Graham etc... elevation - wants to see sustained performance. Not a couple of good games at a lower level being enough to propel up. - There are a few at the bottom end who repeatedly let the team down and those at the top end have not been delivering (compare: Pendlebury, Swan, Beams, Sidebottom, Thomas, Ball to Judd, murphy, Gibbs, Simpson, Walker, McLean over the past 12-18 months. Think about how Coll has performed without Thomas, Beams, Ball for much of the year...) - I think our players need to undergo a MAJOR psychological conversion, similar to Geelong end 2006 or they need to get out, no matter how talented - Obviously, we could always strengthen our list but TBH, I am more concerned about better mids than I am about KPPs... Sydney has done pretty well with good honest KPPs, same with Geelong (re KPFs...). But the mids need to be many and good.
[b]Other - I reckon Wallsy was spot on here: our assistants aren't cream of the crop and they need to be v v good. I would expect this to change over summer. Would be surprised if Green remains or Barker. Would expect Wiley to stay b/c he is Mick's mate but with less direct influence on the players - Recruiting - obviously we have made a move here and hopefully that improves our recruiting. Also, Mick's stated preference has always been for big game performers (Thomas, Sidebottom) ahead of highly talented potentials (Yarran, Menzel) - Development - need to improve here. I believe that all clubs would have selected Murphy and Gibbs as no.1 and 75% would have taken Kruezer ahead of Cotchin. Can't believe they were all bad picks (recruiting is more important for selections outside top 10...). So, we clearly have sub-standard player development. Sydney, Geelong, Collingwood seem to be the best here. Hopefully we are able to learn from them.
So, I do not expect us to head back into the wilderness. I expect everyone to lift their game for next year. I'd expect to see improvement in players, assistant coach, development and recruiting. And I'd expect to see this translated into wins next year. And based on this, I will judge Malthouse.
Until then, I'm happy for our players and the club to cop all the scrutiny we are getting, and more. We have more top 6 players than any other team (except GC, GWS). We have deep resources. We have a multiple-premiership coach. Almost all our players have played finals. We should be performing better. We should not throw the baby out with the bath water. I am not calling for mass sackings. But, we should be driving towards a successful culture and a successful 2014. And, whoever cannot help us deliver a successful culture and successful 2014 should find somewhere else. We need everyone 100% on board, committed and capable (mentally/physically).
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