Roos: I'm flat, out of ideas, reserves are no good

[hammo]

This article has some of the most puzzling quotes from Roos that I've seen.

http://realfooty.com.au/news/news/sluggish-swans-at-familiar-crossroads-roos-unsure-of-route/2007/05/14/1178995076341.html

He's either playing mind games with the players or he's truly run out of ideas.

"I guess you can take a little bit of solace when you're feeling a bit flat as a coach that you've been in that position before and improved, but you don't really remember who played and who didn't and what you did and didn't do."

[NMWBloods]

I'm sick of him (and others) sooking about a couple of injuries.

[ScottH]

"Now if we make wholesale changes we'll be bringing virtual debutants into the team, which isn't a bad thing, it's what we've planned for, but it takes time."

Well? Who's fault is that?

If these debutants are keen to impress, I'm sure they'll put in "110% effort".
If the senior list is not performing, then changes need to be made.

[hammo]

I'm sick of him (and others) sooking about a couple of injuries.

A critical media analysis would compare St Kilda's injury list with ours (particularly St Kilda's missing defenders vs Swans' missing defenders) and would force Roos to explain how we still managed to lose comprehensively despite our once all conquering forward line playing against virtual rookies, and not let him get away with spouting this crap.

[arht]

What he didn't say ...

"Plan A didn't work ... but you know, Plan A is good, so I am going to give Plan A a go again ... I mean, it worked before and I can't think of anything else to do ... and I have lost all my assistant coaches so we are down on ideas."

"Should I have played all those half fit guys over the years ... of course, no need to blood the young guys until the time is right ... why do these young guys deserve the chance to play in the "window", they will have to make do themselves after I am gone ... I am only here for Kirky, Hally, Mickey, Judey, Leoy and anyone else who is nearing retirement age that I can stick a Y on the end of their name ..."

[swannieserin]

I thought this is easily the most disappointing collection of quotes I have ever read. If this is the best Roos can do its not good enough and it is downright embarrassing.

Roos is admitting we have taken some great, talented kids from the draft over the years and made them incapable of playing seniors football alongside their peers. And I don't blame the ACTAFL for this, personally, I blame a game plan which is so rigid that each player plays a single role and isn't willing to take risks. The reserves are drilled the same way.

I would love to have Sheeds or Choco or even Bomber Thompson (after Sunday's effort) who will say "I am willing to change positions, and give the guys opportunities to be creative and win this game".

I'm sick of reading about how untalented our team is. To win a premiership and play finals for pretty much a decade, and to even be selected in an AFL team, you can't be as devoid of talent as Roos makes out.

Re the David Spriggs comment ... nice try Roos but you never played him. Don't lament his loss after he plays Reserves almost the entire time he is on our senior list.

[hammo]

Roos is admitting we have taken some great, talented kids from the draft over the years and made them incapable of playing seniors football alongside their peers. And I don't blame the ACTAFL for this, personally, I blame a game plan which is so rigid that each player plays a single role and isn't willing to take risks. The reserves are drilled the same way.

Yep, so Vogels, Grundy, Schmidt and Moore suddenly aren't good enough. It's depressing to think how bad we'll be once we lose a few key players, or they lose form altogether.

Those four should have 20+ games experience each by now.

[Jeffers1984]

I blame a game plan which is so rigid that each player plays a single role and isn't willing to take risks. The reserves are drilled the same way.

Agree Erin. The gameplan is so defensive that our youngsters find it so hard to stand out because they are not allowed to show some flair and take risks. All they are drilled to do is chip. stop. chip. stop. oh @@@@ opposition has flooded. look side ways chip. etc.

[barry]

If we play the same game plan this week against Port as we have for the last couple of weeks, and we loose, then...

Paul Roos has officially lost me.


Get back to basics Roos: Select on form not reputation, select a team suited to our home ground. Select a team to win, one game at a time.

[swannieserin]

Agree Erin. The gameplan is so defensive that our youngsters find it so hard to stand out because they are not allowed to show some flair and take risks. All they are drilled to do is chip. stop. chip. stop. oh @@@@ opposition has flooded. look side ways chip. etc.

Yeh its frustrating isn't it? You'd think in a competition where there are probably only 2 teams worth worrying about that the reserves could have some fun and try out different skills or roving techniques etc.

Even the roving is choreographed! Last year, about Round 20, I saw Chambers ruck and Schmidt/Phillips(?) rove in exactly, precisely the way that Ball/Davis did in the 2005 final against Geelong. Makes the best, most diverse and interesting sport in the world (IMHO!) robotic and disinteresting.

[ScottH]

stop. oh @@@@ opposition has flooded. look side ways chip. etc.

The only way we scored against the flood on Sat night was when the ball finally hit the ground and a quick snap from just inside 50 sails through for a goal.

I don't understand why they don't just clear most of the R and W jumpers out of the F50. surely some of their minders would start to follow.

Or get it to one of the big kickers, on the 50 to have a shot.

[hammo]

Or get it to one of the big kickers, on the 50 to have a shot.

Yep, it seems an obvious strategy to me. Ablett, Davis, Malceski, C Bolton would all clear 50 easily and have Spida or the Donk in the goal square to snaffle the one that drops short.

[ROK Lobster]

You are a pack of miserable bastards. Why do you hate Roos so much, why do you hate the club so much? Look at what he gave us. He is a genius. Dream, believe, achieve.

[liz]

Yep, it seems an obvious strategy to me. Ablett, Davis, Malceski, C Bolton would all clear 50 easily and have Spida or the Donk in the goal square to snaffle the one that drops short.

Yep - and do it often enough and some of those flooders will have to move out a bit to protect the area just outside the 50m, which should leave more space inside for Hall and O'Loughlin to present.

The one thing that almost every other team seems to have done to us this year which maybe they didn't last year (to the same extent) is the uber-flood and clearly the team currently has no idea how to cope with it.

[SimonH]

Roos is admitting we have taken some great, talented kids from the draft over the years and made them incapable of playing seniors football alongside their peers. And I don't blame the ACTAFL for this, personally, I blame a game plan which is so rigid that each player plays a single role and isn't willing to take risks. The reserves are drilled the same way.

Huh? Sure, the 'I can't remember what I did last time to get us out of this' statement is a little strange.

But this quote:

"In the past we had David Spriggs, Matthew Nicks, Andrew Schauble, Heath James, Ben Fixter who might have stepped in. Now if we make wholesale changes we'll be bringing virtual debutants into the team, which isn't a bad thing, it's what we've planned for, but it takes time."

is just stating the obvious. (Apart from the tragic fact he's forgotten the Donk, but let's not go there.) That is to say, debutants or inexperienced players are best brought into the team on a drip-feed, i.e. one or at most 2 at a time, surrounded by an established side with established patterns, in which they have a defined role they can slot into. Throwing 5 or 6 youngsters into a side rent with changes, is a recipe not just for a towelling, but also for those youngsters to flounder and fail. The whole 'we won't win a flag with this mob, so sack everyone over 26, and get some gametime into the youngsters' model is oversimplistic nonsense.

Nothing Roos said has anything to do with our kids being incapable of playing senior football. Nothing to do with them being 'no good'.

A lot of people seem desperate to have their theories about the evils of Canberra proved by showing that our youngsters do worse on debut than those who are grounded in the Vic, SA, WA or Qld comp. Sadly for them, there's no real evidence of this. Vogels, Grundy, Jack all near-enough-to-starred on debut. Moore and Schmidt played bit parts, but did okay. Only Phillips really struggled, but by the end of 2006 he showed that he's got what it takes at the top level. Leaving aside a procession of dodgy ruckmen, the last guy I recall getting a senior debut as a youngster, only to ultimately be delisted, was Josh Thewlis. Compare that with the debuts of new kids at each other club in the AFL over the last couple of years.

Completely agree that we need a Plan B on the gameplan when it ain't working, but many people here seem to flip & flop a bit: Do you hate the gameplan, full stop? You'd rather see a Bulldogs-style loss with flair than a grinding win, and you think that mid-table finishes with every game being big on entertainment would have been better in 2005 and 2006? Or do you just hate the gameplan when we lose? If the latter, well, everyone hates the gameplan when we lose. Everyone hates everything when we lose. It's called being a supporter.