Horse's hands on the reigns

[mcs]

Sorry I am in the no confidence camp. I always felt that when Roos left we needed new blood to get another perspective. Horse is OK but we are still playing and recruiting for 2005 style football. A new perspective was needed IMHO at the start of the year and we are currently in a holding pattern with the way we play football. Not to mention the poor way we try to play when it is wet amazes me. Little 1 foot handballs at stoppages will not get it done.

Sadly I am beginning to come around to this viewpoint as well. I desperately want Longmire to succeed, but its like he isn't even trying to form his own playbook. The style of game play we played in 2005 will not win a flag anymore, and really our list is not well setup to try and play it. We have far too many good young players coming through that could help us form the nucleus of an exciting, attacking team to be so desperately trying to clinging on to a very defensive minded approach to footy.

I however think Longmire needs at least 2 seasons before he can be truly judged- but this season will imo only be a pass mark if we can match what happened last year- i.e. a home final and get through to week 2 of the finals. That is still achievable, but some of our performances this year have been truly woeful and a big step backwards imo.

[Jewels]

Sadly I am beginning to come around to this viewpoint as well. I desperately want Longmire to succeed, but its like he isn't even trying to form his own playbook. The style of game play we played in 2005 will not win a flag anymore, and really our list is not well setup to try and play it. We have far too many good young players coming through that could help us form the nucleus of an exciting, attacking team to be so desperately trying to clinging on to a very defensive minded approach to footy.

I however think Longmire needs at least 2 seasons before he can be truly judged- but this season will imo only be a pass mark if we can match what happened last year- i.e. a home final and get through to week 2 of the finals. That is still achievable, but some of our performances this year have been truly woeful and a big step backwards imo.

I think your memory is fading a bit, yes we've been woeful on quite a few occasions this year, but there were PLENTY of truly lamentable performances last season!

[caj23]

Sadly I am beginning to come around to this viewpoint as well. I desperately want Longmire to succeed, but its like he isn't even trying to form his own playbook. The style of game play we played in 2005 will not win a flag anymore, and really our list is not well setup to try and play it. We have far too many good young players coming through that could help us form the nucleus of an exciting, attacking team to be so desperately trying to clinging on to a very defensive minded approach to footy.

I however think Longmire needs at least 2 seasons before he can be truly judged- but this season will imo only be a pass mark if we can match what happened last year- i.e. a home final and get through to week 2 of the finals. That is still achievable, but some of our performances this year have been truly woeful and a big step backwards imo.

We're going to be qualifying for priority picks if this muppet holds the reigns for 2 seasons

[Triple B]

I think your memory is fading a bit, yes we've been woeful on quite a few occasions this year, but there were PLENTY of truly lamentable performances last season!

Correct. And the year before that and the year before that and the......

[ernie koala]

I think your memory is fading a bit, yes we've been woeful on quite a few occasions this year, but there were PLENTY of truly lamentable performances last season!

Yeah, the loss to the toothless ones, when 30 odd points up in the third quarter, springs to mind.
This season is panning out very similar to last.
Some good wins against sides from the bottom half. And the odd good win against a finals bound team.
And some bad losses to good teams, with the odd bad loss to teams we should beat.
Given the Roos engineered succession plan, it's no wonder we're seeing more of the same.
I never liked the in-house succession plan for this very reason...more of the same.
Which has been honest, defensive, pedestrian football since 2007.
We've all heard Roos philosophy on footy and obviously Horse is of the same mindset.
It worked well some 6 odd years ago but it's long out of date now, and we have a different list.
Unfortunately I don't hold much hope for anything different while Horse is in charge

[wolftone57]

I was always an opponent of a succession approach & I believe we are seeing just what we will get from now on. Predictable, slow to make decissions, Bad selections (always with total sefencive footy in mind), No plan 2,3,4or even 5 (Only 2 game plans not interchangable if one is not working), No imagination

1. Either get Matthews to coach us or get henry to do the job as he seems to have an imagination & a good fast footy brain, Horse was always a slow achiever & was called Horse not because of the size of a certain appendage but because he was slow thinking & like a draft horse

[Bas]

Horse was always a slow achiever & was called Horse not because of the size of a certain appendage but because he was slow thinking & like a draft horse

He's got a large appendix? I hope it doesn't get infected.

[Captain]

I think your memory is fading a bit, yes we've been woeful on quite a few occasions this year, but there were PLENTY of truly lamentable performances last season!

I remember many bad losses in prior years where the team has been woeful.

I can't remember too many where Roos was woeful.

[Big Al]

I remember many bad losses in prior years where the team has been woeful.

I can't remember too many where Roos was woeful.

I remember some losses over the years when Roos absolutely got hammered for his selections and tactics. I think some of the criticism of Horse is over the top but everyone is entitled to their opinion.

[liz]

Correct. And the year before that and the year before that and the......

Don't forget to go all the way back to 2005 (and before then, of course, but that year had some significance).

...

This season is panning out very similar to last.

...

Given the Roos engineered succession plan, it's no wonder we're seeing more of the same.

...

Nothing to do with the fact that Horse has pretty much the same list to work with as Roos did in 2010?

Given that Roos at least got some games out of Bolton and Bradshaw last year, and Horse has been without our two best performing players from last season for large tracts of this one, surely one could argue he has achieved about the same with a bit less?

[Bloody Hell]

Undoubtedly we are a team in transition.

I would suspect we have a relatively young team compared to most. We have no forward line, where Roos had Hall, O"Loughlin and (to a lesser extent after Hall) Bradshaw.

Who has Horse got?

Our major hole is in the forward line. He's working through his options, much like we are. White - Everitt - Reid....??? We need some KP forwards!

If TDL isn't playing next week, ignore this post.

[Captain]

I remember some losses over the years when Roos absolutely got hammered for his selections and tactics. I think some of the criticism of Horse is over the top but everyone is entitled to their opinion.

I agree Roos was hammered by many on here. Was more commenting on my own feelings. I can't ever remember personally blaming Roos like I do with Horse.

[caj23]

Nothing to do with the fact that Horse has pretty much the same list to work with as Roos did in 2010?

Given that Roos at least got some games out of Bolton and Bradshaw last year, and Horse has been without our two best performing players from last season for large tracts of this one, surely one could argue he has achieved about the same with a bit less?

We have a relatively inexperienced list, however the difference between 2010 and 2011 is that the younger players have another pre-season and 12 months development under their belt. Even blokes like Kennedy and Mumford went into season 2010 with less than 50 games under their belt.

Bolton injured himself in round 4 and didn't play again for the rest of the season, I don't think 3 and a bit games rates as a substantial input. Bradshaw played 7 out of the first 9 and wasn't seen again until the Bulldogs final. He helped us get off to a flier but again I don't rate 7.5 games as substantial input.

It's a pretty thin argument

[Sauce]

I agree. Bolton and Bradshaw last played in the red and white a year and a bit ago now. I am stick to death of them being used as an excuse.

Might as well bring Mickey O into the debate ffs.

[wolftone57]

Don't forget to go all the way back to 2005 (and before then, of course, but that year had some significance).



Nothing to do with the fact that Horse has pretty much the same list to work with as Roos did in 2010?

Given that Roos at least got some games out of Bolton and Bradshaw last year, and Horse has been without our two best performing players from last season for large tracts of this one, surely one could argue he has achieved about the same with a bit less?

Liz I watched the Hawks get thrashed yesterday by the Pies. The Hawks had what you would call 1/2 their preferred options out if not more & still had a go. The week before they beat the Blues with about 10 players out. Their young blokes have stepped up & they play implicitly to the game plan, they actually have a game plan & a sec ond game plan & a third. The third worked for them in thec last quarter but they just didn't have the cattle to beat the Pies but with Rioli, Lewis & Sewell they probably would heave come close even with all the kids. 15 players less than 50 games yesterday. We are not playing blokes anywhere near as inexperienced. We have to forget this 'oh but we don't have the experienced forwards' & look at who is in the forwardline & who isn't. The selection committe has been crap this year & better options have been overlooked (TDL, Sumner, LJ, now Spanger). We have given a few players too many chances this year & vthey have consistently let us down.