Eade waits as others Speculate

[PuntRdRoar]

Just after Rod Eade has been sacked in Sydney...he was being interiewed on Triple M or 3AW...Ill always remember 1 thing he said....and I quote "I want to coach a big 4 club...that includes Collingwood, Carlton, Essendon or Richmond". Make no mistakes...Eade is a good coach with heaps of experience who was hamstrung at Sydney because they had to always be a success- he wasnt allowed to develop younger players- they always had to bring in the big names like Hall etc. Right throughout this whole coaching debate...weve heard about Wallace, we heard about Sheedy...and Harvey and O'Donnell. Eade is in the background waiting...he was an assistant coach at Nth Melbourne when Miller was running their show. Dont be surprised if Eade is our man a the helm come the end of 2004!

[Rodgerramjet]

Could be right TR and we would probably get him at a good price as I don't think to many other clubs would be interested in him and we are probably his last shot at getting back into coaching at AFL level. However i do have a few concerns about him, one being Greg Stafford
Iam almost 100% positive that he and stafford don't get on and that was the reason Stafford left the Swans in the first place, we could end up with another Cory McKernan Situation with Pagan and Stafford leaving. I'm also concerned about what Eades game plan will be, we might be better off playing basket ball rather than AFL under eade.

In all honesty I'd probably prefer Gary Ayres than Rodney eade.

[Tiger Spirit]

Does anyone else get the impression that unless we get a big name coach then we're just going to have doubts about the ability of other coaches, who have been tried at other Clubs, to take us to a Premiership?

If we can't get one of the big four coaches then I think I would be happier with a rookie coach, rather than one who has been in the system for a few years, without a Premiership to his name.

[mightytiges]

Please not Eade!  I'd reckon we've seen enough indirect overpossessive and ultra-defensive footy under Frawley. Ask any Swans supporter what they thought of Eade's coaching.

If Mike Sheehan thinks it's a good idea then that's a warning sign  .

[mightytiges]

Does anyone else get the impression that unless we get a big name coach then we're just going to have doubts about the ability of other coaches, who have been tried at other Clubs, to take us to a Premiership?

I do TS and I think it goes even deeper than that. Getting one of big four (Sheedy, Pagan, Malthouse or Mathews) woud help us iwith stability on-field, marketing the club, increased membership and sponsorship, and as they are each highly respected coaches our supporters would be more patient with them if the results on-field initially are poor. A new or recycled coach wouldn't have such luxuries.

[Rodgerramjet]

Does anyone else get the impression that unless we get a big name coach then we're just going to have doubts about the ability of other coaches, who have been tried at other Clubs, to take us to a Premiership?masquerade masks

Yes I agree with this.

[Rodgerramjet]

I'd reckon we've seen enough indirect overpossessive and ultra-defensive footy under Frawley. Ask any Swans supporter what they thought of Eade's coaching. masquerade masks

Oh how true this is.

[WilliamPowell]

Does anyone else get the impression that unless we get a big name coach then we're just going to have doubts about the ability of other coaches, who have been tried at other Clubs, to take us to a Premiership?

I do TS and I think it goes even deeper than that. Getting one of big four (Sheedy, Pagan, Malthouse or Mathews) woud help us iwith stability on-field, marketing the club, increased membership and sponsorship, and as they are each highly respected coaches our supporters would be more patient with them if the results on-field initially are poor. A new or recycled coach wouldn't have such luxuries.

I think you the point you make about a new or re-cycled coach other than the big 4 are right on the money. Personally - I don't want Eade for the reasons already made (especially the possession football game plan ) but seriously how much time would you afford him or Wallace or Ayres? 1 year, 2 years?

To be honest I don't think Eade would bring to many new members - Wallace yes but Eade no. I think from a marketing/membership point of view that we would have more chance of increasing those numbers with a rookie former Tiger like Lambert than with Eade

[Harry]

I don't think a rookie coach would be the end.  A rookie that is willing to implement an attacking game style, and is willing to rebuild the list with youth and can show that he, along with the recruiting staff are gonna use the draft at its maximum, will have my full support.  If he were to take that path then the only way is up because utilising the draft in an effective manner ensures equality in the competition.

We have been languishing near the bottom because in the modern era we have been the worst club by far in utilising the draft.  For the past 20 years or so its been a matter of quick fixes trying to rectify the damage from previous quick fixes....and so on.

If a coach (expeienced or not) can break this cycle of quick fix mentality and focus on youth, and implement an attacking game plan, along with having reliable recruiting staff, then there is no reason we can't steadily improve and become consistent finalists in the near future.

Its the quick fixes that have been killing us.

As soon as St.Kilda and Geelong broke this cycle and focussed on the draft and youth, was when they showed steady progress and placed themselves in a realistic position of being competitive.  They both have rookie coaches and show that it can be done.

Carlton on the other hand, like us, have paid for their quick fix approach.

Its time to break the vicious cycle.

[WilliamPowell]

If a coach (expeienced or not) can break this cycle of quick fix mentality and focus on youth, and implement an attacking game plan, along with having reliable recruiting staff, then there is no reason we can't steadily improve and become consistent finalists in the near future.

As soon as St.Kilda and Geelong broke this cycle and focussed on the draft and youth, was when they showed steady progress and placed themselves in a realistic position of being competitive.  They both have rookie coaches and show that it can be done.

Fair points Harry but how long would you be prepared to give a rookie to re-build?  Look at Geelong - it has taken 5 years. I doubt that Tiger fans would be so patient with a rookie coach to give him 5 years

[Harry]

If a coach (expeienced or not) can break this cycle of quick fix mentality and focus on youth, and implement an attacking game plan, along with having reliable recruiting staff, then there is no reason we can't steadily improve and become consistent finalists in the near future.

As soon as St.Kilda and Geelong broke this cycle and focussed on the draft and youth, was when they showed steady progress and placed themselves in a realistic position of being competitive.  They both have rookie coaches and show that it can be done.

Fair points Harry but how long would you be prepared to give a rookie to re-build?  Look at Geelong - it has taken 5 years. I doubt that Tiger fans would be so patient with a rookie coach to give him 5 years

We might not have any other option.

I'm usually a patient sort of person if I can see that things are going slowly in the right direction.  However with Frawley I was calling for his sacking as early as the beginning of last year.  Not because were weren't winning games but because of the direction we were heading. 

At the beginning of last year we had minimal young guys coming through the ranks -  Rodan, Schulz, McGrath and Sipthorpe were the only 17/18 year olds from the past 2 drafts, which was a complete disgrace.  We also were playing a defensive, reactive game plan, from which players could not develop and gain confidence.

It has been too apparent that Frawley has only been concerned about his immediate survival by the way he has recruited, selected the team and by the game plan he has implemented over the years.  If a rookie coach were to replace Frawley and he recruited, selected the team and made them play for the betterment of the future, then I would be supportive for 5 years, despite how many games we won.

Look at Geelong.  They realised where they were 5 years ago and they re-built accordingly......we didn't.  They are starting to be a formidible unit now, after 5 years which is a reasonable amount of time to rebuild.  We are in the same spot we were 5 years ago, probably worse, because we never identified where we were and the need to rebuild properly.

[Tiger Spirit]

I think you make some really good points Harry H.  And if Richmond supporters weren't prepared to be patient in the past, at least now we have the example of St. Kilda and even Geelong to see what is possible with a bit of patience and some real direction.

And like you say, it may not be a matter of choice any more, but one of absolute necessity.

[Harry]

Just to further emphasise - we have recruited/traded for 17 mature aged players in the past 5-6 years who have played for other clubs.

Brown, Johnson, Marsh, Weller, Morrison, Fletcher, Fleming, Nichols, Blumfield, Cameron, King, Stafford, Houlihan, Hudson, Hilton, Biddiscombe, Sziller.

That's a rate of about 3 a year.

Only 2 are regular contributors currently.

This is disgraceful.

If all the above wasted draft picks were used in an intelligent manner via the draft, we could have currently had at least 8-10 more handy players on our list, with the best of their carreers in front of them.

[PuntRdRoar]

i think playing list wise we are so far down the gurgler any new coach would need 3 years of bringing in young players turning the list over and hoping that in 3 years time weve got a group of 10-12 young blokes aged from 18-22 who will have played between 10-60 games who show the ability of playing at the level. What we have now is Coughlan, Roach, Hartigan Newman and Krakouer...of that list only Coughlan and Krakouer have what i call..."major tricks". the rest are goers that every premiership side needs. Gilmour and Jackson...should make the grade. Others like Rodan arent up to it imho and will be found out.So you see we are in a shitload of trouble...we aint got enough class. The arithmetic is simple for Greg Miller hes got at best 7 young players capable at the level. Many of our big names are aging...Campbell will soon be gone, Richo will be 30 next year, Gaspar is shot, Stafford is 30, Kellaway isnt a premiership type defender, Brown is already 26 and by the time we maybe challenging he would have turned 31 and will be on the way out, Johnson is 27 now and will have the same issues as Brown- we're stuffed. The only way to fix the problems of today and the problems of big names retiring over the next few years is to draft as many young kids as possible. Finishing on the bottom this year is the way to go...poo the best thing for us is to finish stone motherless last for this season and next season and pick up 4 star youngsters and some father sons like Kym Monteath...so whoever coaches Richmond needs time. Our list has been completely rooted by the football department and its gonna take time...i dont know if you agree with what i wrote so im interested in your thoughts

[Harry]

totally agree.

That's why even though Brown and Johnson are good players, giving away early picks for them was the wrong thing to do.