One-Eyed Richmond Forum
Football => Richmond Rant => Topic started by: one-eyed on September 12, 2016, 10:41:47 PM
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New Tigers boss may face big call on coach
Caroline Wilson
The Age
September 13, 2016
Neil Balme's appointment to the helm of Richmond's ailing football operation has been a highly sensitive negotiation given his long and close relationship with Daniel Richardson, the man he has replaced, and Richardson's family.
In essence Balme has come over the top of Richardson in the manner that Collingwood intended Graeme Allan to come over the top of him.
Richardson will remain on the Tigers' executive but report to Balme and focus less on managing the coaches' and players' performance and more on list management and recruiting.
One difference, of course, is that Balme is significantly more experienced than the younger Richardson, who came to the role at the start of 2013 as a highly respected player manager who had never worked at an AFL club and should benefit from working under Balme.
The other difference is that Balme was one of several Collingwood staffers who felt conned by the Allan appointment, while Richardson saw it coming. He would have felt initially marginalised by Brendon Gale's decision but has ultimately taken it on the chin and should only benefit from his new role.
And the true sensitivity naturally will come over the next nine or 10 months. Because, to be brutal, it is Balme who will have to make the call to sack Damien Hardwick should the coach continue to struggle next season.
Just as Balme came to Collingwood in the late 1990s to assess Tony Shaw's coaching ability, it will be a key role for him again as he returns to Tigerland for the first time since he retired from the VFL in 1979.
Hardwick has been his own worst enemy at times. Stubborn, indecisive at times and not strong enough or perhaps confident enough to force a true cultural transformation upon the teams he has overseen for the past seven years, he remains at the helm clearly due to the obligation the board made to him at the start of the year. Others around him have been let go and more could follow.
The board and some executives continue to scoff at the Focus on Football group and the other dissidents in the wings but to be truthful they must accept some blame for the damaging disharmony that has come their way.
They have under-performed, failed to deliver due process to a number of key decisions, contracts and appointments and, to be honest, could do well to take a leaf out of Collingwood's book and hold a member forum of their own. It's all good and well to bang the 70,000 membership drum but with those numbers comes even more pressure to perform and the Tigers have not.
There will be other big decisions for Balme apart from the coach. The recruiting team has been reshaped but clearly that remains a work in progress and there is no leadership program at Richmond, a club where, on-field, that has been sadly lacking.
Balme, whom the Tigers have approached many times for many roles since he left after a decade as a player and two premierships, starts work next Monday and has been contracted to oversee football for the next three seasons.
And Collingwood, for the second time, has in its fashion, let him go.
At that club the coach Nathan Buckley said he had no clue that Allan was coming in to run football and Balme demoted. At Richmond the coach Hardwick confessed recently he was ill-equipped to do the job when he took it on in 2009. Both look at football's crossroads.
http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/new-richmond-tigers-head-of-stuff-20160912-greqsf.html
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Hardwick has disappeared. ;D
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Balme enjoyed playing the mentor role with Buckley. He is much more likely to support than sack Hardwick. Just saying
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Geez dont tell them that
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Balme enjoyed playing the mentor role with Buckley. He is much more likely to support than sack Hardwick. Just saying
At the end of the day I want to see my team winning games, finals and premierships. So if that means that Hardwick can do that with great people around him and better players and game style then so be it, that's great for all of us.
But if he's not the right person for the job then we should source a better option. And not drag out and waste another season in 2017
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Yeah agree, not that I'm happy because the way we played this year not good.
Resigned to the fact Hardwick will coach next year, if after 10 rounds and there is no Improvement in game style....OFF WITH HIS HEAD - SIR NEIL
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Balme enjoyed playing the mentor role with Buckley. He is much more likely to support than sack Hardwick. Just saying
At the end of the day I want to see my team winning games, finals and premierships. So if that means that Hardwick can do that with great people around him and better players and game style then so be it, that's great for all of us.
But if he's not the right person for the job then we should source a better option. And not drag out and waste another season in 2017
This
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Yeah agree with this article.
Dimma will be under more pressure next year then any other coach, with strong support around him and Balme as GM, he has no excuse, no weak support excuse.
If we have so much as one smashing in the first 10 rounds, or we start off poorly next year he will be gone.
but I also think the pressure may just be the pressure he needs to change his coaching style.
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That's nice.
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Halfstep's had more support & resources than any coach in the club's history.
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We should get him a pa, house maid, hair and make up artist, personal stylist, a butler, and someone to tie his shoe laces.
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Balme enjoyed playing the mentor role with Buckley. He is much more likely to support than sack Hardwick. Just saying
I want to see my team winning games
You sound like Peggy :lol
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Balme enjoyed playing the mentor role with Buckley. He is much more likely to support than sack Hardwick. Just saying
I want to see my team winning games
You sound like Peggy :lol
:shh
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but I also think the pressure may just be the pressure he needs to change his coaching style.
"lipstick on a pig" thinking.
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The recruiting team has been reshaped but clearly that remains a work in progress and there is no leadership program at Richmond, a club where, on-field, that has been sadly lacking.
This is the thing for me. No leadership. That's why we lost the final against Carlton in 2013. This should have been the number 1 priority after that match. Instead we butchered the game plan to remove all instinctive behavior and still lack the leadership 3 years later. Unbelievable.