http://www.geelongadvertiser.com.au/article/2009/07/23/86681_geelong_sports.htmlGOOD ARTICLE HERE:
IF I was in Nathan Buckley's shoes next year I would pick North Melbourne over the Tigers as my coaching destination.
It's fair to say whoever is the next coach of Richmond has a fair task on their hands.
The club has a serious losing culture and it's going to take a strong personality with a lot of guts to turn it around.
If Buckley was to go to the Tigers, he has to get in there and make a serious statement.
As much as I'm likely to be lynched for this next time I'm on Swan Street, he should look at cutting Richo.
Come in and say, "You've been a beauty mate but it's time to step aside and give some kids a crack who might be around for 10 or 12 years."
Maybe you cut everyone on the list over 28 years of age.
Whatever it is it needs to be drastic.
I'd like to compare two recent examples of different coaches heading to interstate clubs with questionable cultures.
Malcolm Blight went to Adelaide and said, 'You're out' to club champions Andrew Jarman, Tony McGuinness and Chris McDermott, and started afresh.
His two premierships speak for themselves.
Knowing Mark Harvey as well as I do, I could probably say he didn't go about it the right way at Fremantle.
He did inherit an aging list, a list with a really poor culture, but he didn't help himself when he took a few extra mature age recruits in his first season in charge.
To turn a culture you really need to wield the axe.
And not just among the playing list.
You'd need to look at the board-room, the assistant coaches, the physios.
Bucks would have to come in and go whack.
Then he'd have to worry about whether he's sacked the right people, whether he's brought the right people with him, does he have everyone's faith, do the ex-players like him, will the media give him a fair go.
I hope someone's told him he won't see his missus and kids either.
Maybe it's best for him to take an assistant coaching role somewhere next year to get some extra training while he waits for the right job to pop up.
But back to Richmond.
How do you fix it - the age old question?
What they need is a 40-year-old Lethal Leigh Matthews, someone to walk in with a bit of mongrel in them and tell everyone what's what.
They're starting to put together a bit of a playing list down there.
Richard Tambling has stepped up this year, Brett Deledio is a player, Trent Cotchin will be, Jack Riewoldt's going to be alright but he needs someone to come in and grab him by the jumper and tell him what to do.
About 70 per cent of players on a list need to be told exactly what to do and how to go about it - they appreciate it.
That's why you need a confident, brash coach like Lethal to take charge of the place.
Whoever the club ends up picking as coach I certainly don't think Jade Rawlings is the answer
