Obviously a lot has been written about Ratts' coaching style, our lack of a gameplan, player confusion etc. So what I'm interested in knowing is with the players we have at our disposal what SHOULD be our gameplan to take us forward?

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WADA medical director Dr Alan Vernec describes Essendon* FC drug case as biggest scandal in team sport the world of sport has seen. #WC2WB

#GUILTY

Kick a higher score than the opposition

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Lawrence Lawrence, The man who knows all the rackets and all the racketeers!

So you'd then say kicking straight for goal, and not taking shots from the boundaries would be a good start?

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WADA medical director Dr Alan Vernec describes Essendon* FC drug case as biggest scandal in team sport the world of sport has seen. #WC2WB

#GUILTY

The process of elimination tells us whatever were doing.. do not go that route...

youd think we would have learnt that by now....

the sooner we play more directly the quicker we will begin to turn it around...

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To much of a 'negative' focus on stop the other team scoring. When all the focus is on stopping them and not us kicking more it creates this negative mentality.

Admittedly we are missing some running players off half back. Walker, Grigg, Johnson and Scottland would create plenty of drive off half back. These gusy would bring others into the game like Armfield, Simpson and Yarran. Simpson can play a more attacking role, Armfield can be more daring and run.

Rotating Krooze, Hammo and Waitey forward is smart. Makes us less predictable and more dangerous.

We are getting more goals from the midfield.

The problem is Rattens obsession to play tempo footy. Controlling the game off half back. Has gone overboard with the holding on to the ball and the more time we have control the less time they have to kick goals.

YOU KICK MORE GOALS YOU WIN!

I honestly think that the boys yesterday didn't give a yelp for a particular reason............................

It's all well and good to simply say that we just need to do the opposite of what we're doing now, but it ain't that simple. We need to be more direct, sure. But how do we accomplish this? When oppositions plug all the gaps on the field, how can we be direct and what are our alternatives is we're not able to run and break the lines as we'd like to see?

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WADA medical director Dr Alan Vernec describes Essendon* FC drug case as biggest scandal in team sport the world of sport has seen. #WC2WB

#GUILTY

Might just be crazy enough to work.

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Lawrence Lawrence, The man who knows all the rackets and all the racketeers!

Copy the Cats. They have been the best team i have seen in my 39 years.

That will take time though and I dont think some on here can wait a few more years.

wouldn't hurt to go back to what worked earlier in the season - kick the bloody thing rather than handball in circles wlike we did under pagan.. ratio of kicks to handballs should got back to 3:2, not less than 1:1 like yesterday. errrrr, but then you need your fowards where the name suggests - on the bloody forward line.!!!

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one you knock back is one you never have

Preseason we ran the ball in numbers...forward... to enable us to cut through the zone. The previous preseason that's the way we went as well.

That looked like the way to go. But then come the footy season and all that disappeared.

Against the Crows our disposal by foot in particular was terrrible, so that was the beginning of the end, regardless of what was the correct thing to do.

Having said that, it's still the right way to go. Our disposal by hand and foot this year has improved markedly to pull style of play off.

Position players to their strengths and don't play players who are out of form.

Players with skills is what the Cats possess in abundance, and its skills by hand and foot which get them out of trouble in closely fought contests.

Play that tape again to the preseason.

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Everyone looks good in Navy Blue

Spot on.

Our run through the lines has been hobbled by Simpson's inconsistent season, whenever Waite and Thornton have been required to play defensive roles instead of being able to steer the game down the corridor (play big Irish), Scotland's fitness issues, Walker's absence and Stevens' poor season - up until this recent game. Simpson is the big one though. Simmo is the one who runs and bounces but still manages to deliver it well.

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Hey Rocky; there are too many rabbits ... in China.

Johnson and Grigg will generate run off half back, so to Walker.

Those three will change up how we play. They will bring others into the game cause those others will be able to play in correct positions.

We need to go in with two talls down back and settle Bower at CHB and Jammo at fullback.

T-bird to play the Hodge role that Waites been playing.

Then you rotate of half back running types like Walker, Johnson, Grigg, Simpson, Robbo, Scotto, Carrazzo, Armfield, Russell, Browne, Yarran, Anderson and AJ.

Judd, Stevo, Gibbs, Hadley and Murph are the guts of our midfield.

Currently down back we have T-bird, Waite, Bower and Jammo. To tall and not rebounding players. Most teams now set up with two talls down back and the rest a running brigade

I also think that T-bird needs to be more attacking ala Scarlett.

Many of you sprayed me cause i suggested we trade fro Lovett. Lovett is what this club needs, a line breaker. Maybe Walker can play a Lovett type role and break the lines.

NO ROOM FOR CLOKE, FISHER, BANNO AND HOULIHAN.... so its sayonara for them

I'd say you do it by moving the ball quickly with players moving into space and opening up our forward 50 which hopefully will contain Fev...I'd hate to see him being the guy bringing the ball in but after the weekend anything is possible....

We are very good front runners so this part of the gameplan we should able to implement if directed to.

It is when we lose the ball and its coming the other way that our problems then begin. We are not disciplined enough going the other way. Here we need to be playing guys who are willing to do the hard yards weekly...i.e. the 1%'s.

Our ins and outs should be based soley on this criteria. Here a few players need to be singled out as either too lazy, unable, unwilling or just arent capable of doing these 1%'s...we have a few too many of these currently and they need to lift their committment for this game plan to work or others brought in who are willing to play 4 qtrs of hard committed footy.

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"Truth, for the tyrants, is the most terrible and cruel of all bindings; it is like an incandescent iron falling across their chests. And it is even more agonizing than hot iron, for that only burns the flesh, while truth burns its way into the soul"     — Lauro Aguirre

Now I quote from Captain Obvious, game structures/plans work well with players doing their thing and not if players make poor decisions or lack skills to execute them. An example was early against the Crows they let us have extra men at the stoppages contest and sat about their extra blokes in a zone their defensive side. We were losing the clearances so a wonderful situation for them, and by chance if we won the clearance (always under pressure) we just gave it back to them with the extra numbers in the tight zone and they spread and counter-attacked.
They key is pressure!!! I don't know what structure saves you when you cant even get the pill. Our first half numbers were that of people who did not want to be there. I guess thats why Bentley might get a recall and Russell must come under question. The problem is when our "intense" players like Robbo, Wiggins, Betts, Fevola, go missing.
Some of our inside 50 delivery are woeful, hence why Houlihan probably should play and Chris Johnson's foot skills (ignore the 1st qtr against the Dogs with his leg) help break a zone.
I think we have a problem relying on Simpson to bring the ball inside fifty he always seems unbalanced before kicking (when running at pace) and I doubt Fev would have him on his Xmas card list for delivery. Basically Stevens and Houlihan are the only players who seem to deliver I50's well from wide.

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Green Shooter

Simply start a swine flu scare in the opposition camp.

..the team isn't ready yet for complicated tactics.. ..we seem to play better when we go a bit more 'old school'.. ..we seriously need to get what works for us, and stop bloody copying whichever team is the current trend.. ..we're not experienced (smart) enough to play zone footy, nor disciplined enough.. ..we need to back our players/fitness and play more man on man intense footy.. ..get back to basics, play on quickly and play direct.. ..but most importantly, we need to play with vigour, and show some hustle.. ..too many players are enamoured with the tortoise and the hare story..

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..if you can't be good, be good at it..

I am a big fan for a game plan that focuses on defense quite heavily. I just think in recent times there have been some Premiers who had defense as a cornerstone of their approach, see Sydney's suffocating tactics, Hawthorn's zone defense etc. See also now St.Kilda do so well, and it arguably all starts down back.

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It's a small world, but I wouldn't want to paint it

..well, it's not just a defense approach.. ..or at least in the case of Syd, and St.Kilda (syd v.2), but more-so for mine.. ..the whole notion of attack being the best form of defense.. ..especially lately, the sainters just attack the footy, and the man when they don't have the footy.. ..they keep pushing up on the opposition, often forcing them to go backwards simply by rushing the man with the footy..

..where-as we will often attempt to herd/corral the player with the ball, which just gives them more time to pick a better option..

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..if you can't be good, be good at it..

Make them read all of Verbs posts and confuse the crap out of them.

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"I had to eat"

the plan the way were going is to lose the rest of our games.... and get the bst player available...cos Ratts probably doesnt think he has enough genuine superstars to carry his extraordinary gameplan.....

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