Tony Jewell and Barry Richardson lend support to Terry Wallace
Sam Edmund | April 14, 2009 09:10pm
TWO sacked Richmond coaches have called on the Tigers to resist dumping Terry Wallace if their losing streak continues. Tony Jewell and Barry Richardson said sacking Wallace mid-year would achieve nothing and risked throwing Punt Rd into further disarray.
But they predicted Wallace would be hit with a barrage of almost unbearable scrutiny if Richmond lost to Melbourne at the MCG on Sunday.
"This week will tell us. If Melbourne get away from them all hell will break loose," Jewell said.
"There will be some fierce pressure come to bear from all angles. The press, the supporters, we've had truckloads of s . . t dumped on our doorstep."
Jewell, who was ruthlessly sacked a year after steering the Tigers to the 1980 premiership, conceded Wallace's future may be out of his hands.
"Traditionally, if the supporters scream loud enough the board has knee-jerk reactions to it," he said. "The players are all aware of what's going on and that makes the job twice as hard. They know you're on the skids.
"Even his own support staff, they know if Terry goes they're gone too, so you get coaches in survival mode . . . everyone is thinking about their own future.
"They can turn it around like they did last year, but if it continues like it is (Wallace) is dead in the water."
Richardson, who played in three Tiger premierships before coaching the club for two years, was adamant Wallace should be allowed to see the year out.
He said the blame should be equally shared by the players.
"I certainly don't believe in sacking coaches mid-season. I think it's a bad strategy and very seldom does it work," Richardson said.
"I tend to look at things like recruiting and drafting and those things rather than pointing at the coach all the time."
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/sport/afl/story/0,26576,25335656-19742,00.html
