Jezza wrote:PyreneesPie wrote:Just be careful what you wish for!
I think maybe many are trying to avoid the pain of this season by making hysterical, knee jerk, narrow minded calls to change the coaching situation now, right now!! . There is absolutely no guarantees that this will help, or it could even make things worse in the intermediate and long run.
I wish it were otherwise, but the sadness and disillusionment can't be avoided. Obviously, some are struggling to see beyond it and looking for quick fixes, but here's the situation...... Collingwood has been through it before, as has every other team in the competition. We may think we should be entitled to be immune, but sadly, we are not.
I can only speak for myself here, but I'll say the following.
I attend all Melbourne-based games and have been doing so for many years. When the game is on, my support for the players and coaches is unequivocal for that two hour period even if I have objections to their decision making.
I'm not being "hysterical, knee jerk or narrow minded" when I say I don't want Buckley retained beyond this year. Half of my angst at the moment is centered on the uncertainty of his future and the fear that the club will be crazy enough to retain him beyond this year.
We're 2-7 and yet the goalposts around his coaching future. If someone told me at the start of the season we would be 2-7 after 9 games and the club is still contemplating renewing Buckley's contract, I would have called them "insane". That's where we are now.
I don't hate Nathan Buckley. I adored him as a player, and was hopeful of him succeeding as coach, but I've come to the conclusion that after 10 seasons in charge, the club needs a new direction at coaching level. It isn't personal and the man will always be held in high regard by the supporters in the same way as Weideman and Shaw are despite failed coaching tenures.
I'm under no illusion the club needs to get its house in order in several areas starting at board level and the ongoing friction between different factions. Once that can be addressed, I want to see major changes at the football department level which includes the coaching personnel.
The club is entering a rebuild phase. I want a new person to oversee that rebuild and climb us back up to the top which will take several years. Most supporters from any club would wish for something similar in the same circumstances. Those who wish to buck that trend are advocating for an unusual course of action. Most coaches don't win a premiership within a decade are moved on, so I don't know why Buckley will be a special case if we retain him.
It's just unfathomable to me that after a 10-year sample size, some supporters don't have an appetite for change. Have you not asked yourselves the following questions:
- Can the players perform better under a different coach? Are you intrigued to find out whether the players would be better off playing under a different system of coaching?
- Why don't we have a key forward five years after Travis Cloke departed?
- Would the list composition be different?
- Would some form of renewal and freshness be positive for the club and the playing group?
- Has Nathan Buckley's status as a club legend altered your expectations towards him? Have you given him more leeway than would be afforded to an outsider?