Mal: bring back Gaspar
Mx
Monday, May 7, 2007
Former Richmond hard man Mal Brown says the departure of All-Australian defender Darren Gaspar was to blame for yesterday's record loss to Geelong.
Brown, who was a consultant to the club for three years in the 1990s, has implored his former club to re-sign Gaspar and admit its mistake.
"I really wonder if it was the right thing to get rid of Gaspar," he told mX.
"Maybe they should ask him to come back and ... play the season out."
Brown said he couldn't tell for sure if Gaspar's sudden retirement on Friday had affected the players, but said it was an obvious conclusion drawn from an outsider looking in.
"Did it have a negative effect on the players? It had to have some impact.
"How can a side go from being a kick away from beating the best side in the competition to that in a week? That game (against Geelong) was over at the eight-minute mark of the first term."
Brown, who played 14 games with the Tigers and missed the 1974 premiership through suspension, said he watched every minute yesterday and felt shattered afterwards.
"I watched every kick and felt sick about four times. It took me back 15 years when Tony Modra booted 13 goals against us."
Brown said coach Terry Wallace should be spared from any criticism as a result of the 157-point loss, but said the finger should be pointed at the players and recruiting staff.
"Terry Wallace is a seasoned campaigner, he's politically tough, and the last thing the place needs is another coach rotating through," Brown said.
"We're clearly lacking talls. Matthew Richardson is the only bloke who can take a contested mark and he's 32," he said.
"They did the right thing by getting (Graham) Polak and Cleve Hughes looks like a good sort, but they need more talls."
