Show some faith swans fans

[barry]

The doomsdayers are amazing.
Before last week we'd won something like 6 out of 7. THats with a team nursing back injured players.

Then we just do down at the cattery. FFS, Brisbane lost by more down there, but their supporters arent doom and gloom.

We knew it would be a hard ask, and just because we didnt pull it off, doesnt mean we are out of form or off the rails.

It absolutely @@@@s me the attitude of some, and I'll name NWNBloods and Charlie as the worst.

[EMJ]

Diego please keep trades out of this thread - we had some positive vibes going I thought.
You had some good points of encouragement.

[Damien]

Blind faith and hope at every game.

Realistic at other times.

I have always barracked for the Swans and come from a long line of Swans supporters, I don't need success for me to keep going for them, but I am allowed to get mighty dissapointed when teased by them!

[DST]

Originally posted by Diego
It's just frustrating following a team that always promises so much yet fails to deliver year after year.

I think i am just going through footy depression atm.

actually this whole season i have felt down.

Is what you are talking about actually promise or is it expectation?

Yes we had a great year last, but the fact is the football world still rates us somewhere from 6th to 10th which is where we are at present.

When we finally have a team that we know and the rest of the footy world know are legitamate contenders and we don't fire a shot then that is worth getting depressed over.

As far as I am concerned we are still a little way from that happening if at all.

DST

[NMWBloods]

Originally posted by barry
It absolutely @@@@s me the attitude of some, and I'll name NWNBloods and Charlie as the worst.

Who's that first one...? BTW - I do prefer it if people name who they are thinking of, so I thank you for that. Anyway...

I wonder why I have a poor attitude toward the Swans.

As I say, have a look at our record.

Sure we won 6 of the last 7, but let's not forget who we were playing and barely struggling to defeat. As I pointed out at the time it was ugly football and didn't augur well for facing better teams, as Geelong showed.

Certainly Brisbane lost to Geelong, but they have the runs on the board in other games, so I don't think a comparison there is warranted.

We may have injured players, but so do some other teams, such as Port. It is part of an excuse, but not a great one when looking at some of our games.

Until I see a consistently successful team, I won't believe that we have finally made it as a true contender. And I am yet to see that. How many years are we meant to 'have faith' and ignore the current performances?

Until 1996, I had followed the Swans for over 20 years and managed to see just three finals appearances in that time, resulting in 5 losses from 5 attempts. My dad had seen only 3 extra finals appearances in the more than 50 years before then, resulting in only 2 wins and 3 losses. Hardly a stellar record.

From 1996, we have made finals 6 of 8 times, but as I noted earlier, 3 of those times were right on the cusp and we were completely belted each time. In the first 5 of those 6 finals appearances, we managed to win just 3 finals, all at the SCG and all close, and lose 5. Of those 3 finals we won, two were against teams struggling at the end of the season.

Last year, we finally had a sniff of some potential success. A great win in the first final (our first away from the SCG in nearly 60 years) plus a reasonable showing against Brisbane, as well as playing what had become an exciting and potent brand of football.

As I said at the beginning of the year, unlike some others I was not expecting us to take the next step this year and thought we might finish around 6th-8th, which we look like we might do.

However, what was more important to me was the manner in which we played this year - I wanted to gain a feeling that we were really setting ourselves up for a big year next year. So far this year, I have been generally disappointed with our performances. We have lost games we should have won, our team doesn't seem to have progressed significantly, and I think our game plan or the execution of it has not been great. I keep holding out hope that things will improve, but being disappointed over and over again becomes very frustrating.

Finally, as I say again, blind faith is meaningless. It's actions that count.

[CureTheSane]

Some seasons anything is possible, like last year.

If we continue the way we are at the moment, I would say we will play finals, but not for very long.

But there is always the chance of a run on.
Just like the Saints.
People writinbg them off all over the place, but they just need to start playing like they were and they'll be right back on track for the flag.

Anyway, I don't consider that negative.

If I thought there was no hope, I wouldn't be posting.

Some threads I don't even open because of the titles.
And the negative ones I do open, usually it is just for entertainment to see who is fighting etc.
Like a trade thread.
Always fun for a laugh

[Thunder Shaker]

Losing to Geelong at Geelong by 15 points is no disgrace. Brisbane lost there by 27 points, Adelaide lost by 43 points, Melbourne lost by 14 points and the Kangaroos lost by 10 points. Our boys had a go, and with a bit of luck (better accuracy in the first quarter), we could well have won.

Many here take each loss too hard. It might be fair enough when it's a game that we were expected to win (easybeats Richmond at home) but when it's an away game against another top side (competitive Geelong away) people get too pessimistic.

The reason why the Swans have not won a premiership for 70 years is because the Swans did not contest the finals in most of those seasons. Since the last flag in 1933, the Swans have contested the finals 15 times in 71 seasons. In that time, we have made 5 Grand Finals.

Year    Teams in
        Finals    Ladder    Grand   
                  position  Final   Finished
1934    4         3         Yes     2nd
1935    4         1         Yes     2nd
1936    4         1         Yes     2nd
1942    4         3                 3rd
1945    4         1         Yes     2nd
1970    4         4                 4th
1977    5         5                 5th
1986    5         2                 4th
1987    5         3                 4th
1996    8         1         Yes     2nd
1997    8         6                 7th
1998    8         3                 5th
1999    8         8                 8th
2001    8         7                 7th
2003    8         4                 3rd

In the last 8 seasons, the Swans have made the finals 6 times. The two seasons we did not make the finals, we were competitive, but were denied a finals appearance by losing close games. The Swans have been very competitive in the last 10 years, and while premierships have not been won, it is only a matter of time. Regular finals appearances are a good start.

[Bart]

Originally posted by CureTheSane
Some threads I don't even open because of the titles.
And the negative ones I do open, usually it is just for entertainment to see who is fighting etc.
Like a trade thread.
Always fun for a laugh

Yeah I used to bite, but am trying not to respond to idiots who say stuff like "I hope we don't make the finals".

People should remember that we are about where Roos had seen us at the start of his 3 year odyssey. He or we never foresaw the year we were going to have last year. In fact after 4 rounds most of us were agreeing with the majority of Melbourne journos that we were headed for the spoon.

Roos plan had is in a position the challenge by the third year. I still see tremendous upside in a lot of our young talent and there is still a way to go in our development.

[barry]

Originally posted by NMWBloods
Who's that first one...? BTW - I do prefer it if people name who they are thinking of, so I thank you for that. Anyway...

I wonder why I have a poor attitude toward the Swans.

As I say, have a look at our record.

<snip>

Finally, as I say again, blind faith is meaningless. It's actions that count.

NMWBloods, you are basing your emotions on a bygone era. The South days were bleak, no doubt about that. Even the early Sydney days were bleak.
But in the last 8 years we have been as consistant as any of the big teams like WC, Adelaide, Essendon, etc. (all bar a flag).
Like it or not, we are now a big side in every measure except crowds which fluctuate a lot, and as such old supporters need to reassess our expectations, and success measures.

Early in my footy supporting career I used to follow Carlton. At Carlton, in those days, anything less than a top 4 finish was seen as failure. If you finished 6th or 7th, you fully expected an improvement the following year.
Thats how I feel about the Swans. I fully expect us to finish at least top 5 every year. And there is no reason why not (apart from the draft). If we are sitting 7th as we are now, then I honestly expect a climb up by years end, and some mayhem in the finals.

This is how the successful sides think.

[NMWBloods]

Yep, I agree to a certain extent, however I feel we are not quite at that level of success I would feel happier with (and I'm not talking about the ultimate success here).

Certainly we are much more competitive than we were in the past and more regularly win games.

However, even when we were doing well from 97-98, I didn't get the feeling that we were a side that were always feared as a major challenge - more it was a case of you didn't know what you would get. Either a ferocious team that was tough to beat or a team that seemed to forget what it was doing there.

We are close, but not close enough, and that's what is frustrating. After the difficulties of earlier eras it's great to actually have a chance, but it's so tantalisingly close and I fear that it will never be fully reached.

However, we all live in hope, otherwise we wouldn't continue to barrack for the Swans.

I just think that although I am more pessimistic, I am also more realistic than some of the over-optimists here.

[Syd Swan]

Well I have been following the swans for over 30 years, and can honestly say that I am not happy with making the finals 6 out of 8 years. Last year we had several average players who played at their peak, they got us one step away from playing in a grand final, common sense and history would tell you that a few of these guys would not reach the same level again. Unfortunately, if we are not prepared to cut a few names loose we will only ever be a middle of the road side. We had a huge opportunity to go one better this year, but no one at the swans had the balls to make a couple of tough desicions and go out and trade for what was required. The only way possible for us to of made the grand final this year was , the opposition all get weaker (obviously this was never going to happen), or we get stronger. So in hindsight, we had achance this year and we blew it. We are a long long way from being a premiership contender (sure we may make finals, but we wont be serious premiership threats). If you look to the future you can see that when a younger players are ready to take the next step, our more seasoned players will of retired, for example, when Mcveigh is ready, Williams wil be gone, when Schmidt is ready, Maxfield will be gone, when Doyle is ready Ball will be gone, so all we are doing is replacing good players, with average to good players. We need to bite the bullet now and start cleaning out a few name players, before the likes of Hall and co are closing in on retirement.

[swansrule100]

i think everyone hear is pretty swan obsessed why else would u bother with the forum??

i think all supporters at any club will express dsiapointment at some aspect and appreciation at others!...

Personally i think we will beat freo and are still a shot at the flag...but its a long shot..

if people think we are done doesnt make them any less a fan or any less faithful


GO SWANS!

[DST]

Originally posted by Syd Swan
Well I have been following the swans for over 30 years, and can honestly say that I am not happy with making the finals 6 out of 8 years. Last year we had several average players who played at their peak, they got us one step away from playing in a grand final, common sense and history would tell you that a few of these guys would not reach the same level again. Unfortunately, if we are not prepared to cut a few names loose we will only ever be a middle of the road side. We had a huge opportunity to go one better this year, but no one at the swans had the balls to make a couple of tough desicions and go out and trade for what was required. The only way possible for us to of made the grand final this year was , the opposition all get weaker (obviously this was never going to happen), or we get stronger. So in hindsight, we had achance this year and we blew it.

We need to bite the bullet now and start cleaning out a few name players, before the likes of Hall and co are closing in on retirement.

And just who of quality was up for trade last year, that would have catapulted us to the premiership this year?

And don't tell me Jade Rawlings or Danny Jacobs would have added to our team and taken us the next step.

Fact is, quality players don't just materialise when we want to trade a couple of good but expendable players. All this talk of trading so and so for so and so, is a complete waste of time.

It took Brisbane 5 years of bottom of the ladder performances and a rather lucky merger (that should read takeover) before they were able to assemble the list that got them where they are now. Then on top that they had luck on their side that they had the right coach and football director and recruiters who were able to make the right decisions.

I can't stand this simplistic view that is currently being plied on this board that trading a couple of middle level players and tanking a few seasons are going to get us the premiership we all want.

With Andrew Ireland in the position as director of footy and a quality young coach in Roos we might just have a one in a million chance of actually getting it right this time, but even then it may be another 3+ years before we see the work currently being done now paying off.

DST

[swansrule100]

Originally posted by DST

With Andrew Ireland in the position as director of footy and a quality young coach in Roos we might just have a one in a million chance of actually getting it right this time, but even then it may be another 3+ years before we see the work currently being done now paying off.

DST

i agree with you there..

dunno about the brisbane takeover stuff and luck tho

but it could be even longer that a premiership comes from the current groundwork!

[Syd Swan]

Originally posted by DST


It took Brisbane 5 years of bottom of the ladder performances and a rather lucky merger (that should read takeover) before they were able to assemble the list that got them where they are now. Then on top that they had luck on their side that they had the right coach and football director and recruiters who were able to make the right decisions.



DST

Exactly, and that is what we should do, instead of just making up the numbers in the final eight. What is the point of just finishing mid table year after year.