Coach Adam Simpson Megathread est. 2017 - Staying for 2024, Lyon’s Cryin’

[Chump Change]

Yze maybe ; Hansen no way. Better of with Simpson, at least until there’s someone better out there.

The problem is, we just don't know. You'll find a lot of failed coaches had the wrong timing. One of my concerns is bringing in a new coach who's going to have nothing for 2 more years. Nicks has done it well, but a lot of other new coaches will try to hard to engineer results, unaware that there isn't a whole lot they can do, and then fail. This tailspin we're in isn't going away any time soon.

Our main priority now is picking the right players in the draft. I'm happy to wait until the end of this year or the next and then say, "thanks Simmo, thanks for doing all those pressers for us".

 

[Rowan18]

Who are the good options out there?

Pyke would be good if we want a hard head with experience.

 

[Hawks_4478]

Pyke would be good if we want a hard head with experience.

Agree, he’s the only good option imo

 

[Rowan18]

Agree, he’s the only good option imo

He was also a board member at West Coast at one point, so can probably manage the back office pretty well. I'd love him to come in and start swinging his dck around. Sack Nissy, take a broom through the S&C department and let the players know that careers are on the line.

 

[JuddyisGod]

Time to go, Simmo

 

[KBLT]

How long before Nissy gets Julius Caeser'd?

 

[Dale Doback]

So people on this thread took the piss when I suggested 5 weeks ago we demote Simmo to basically a development coach role in charge of the WAFL, because we're stuck paying him in the football department soft cap anyway.

How about now then? There has to be change. He won't walk away from the money Nesbitt and the board gave him. Which means that we're stuck unless we change his role, get him out of the box.

No coach, regardless of injuries can keep his job after an effort like today.

 

[Dale Doback]

How long before Nissy gets Julius Caeser'd?

That bloke would survive a Russian Zircon hypersonic missile strike on Lathlain.

 

[Broken_Chairs]

The problem is, we just don't know. You'll find a lot of failed coaches had the wrong timing. One of my concerns is bringing in a new coach who's going to have nothing for 2 more years. Nicks has done it well, but a lot of other new coaches will try to hard to engineer results, unaware that there isn't a whole lot they can do, and then fail. This tailspin we're in isn't going away any time soon.

Our main priority now is picking the right players in the draft. I'm happy to wait until the end of this year or the next and then say, "thanks Simmo, thanks for doing all those pressers for us".

It's a real shit situation - how many other clubs have gone through the merry-go round coach turnstile.

IMO either we get the coach we're certain will be the one to take us forward (no idea who that would be), or we stick with Simmo.

That said, our performances right now are so bad though it's pretty much untenable for Simmo.

 

[Chump Change]

So people on this thread took the piss when I suggested 5 weeks ago we demote Simmo to basically a development coach role in charge of the WAFL, because we're stuck paying him in the football department soft cap anyway.

How about now then? There has to be change. He won't walk away from the money Nesbitt and the board gave him. Which means that we're stuck unless we change his role, get him out of the box.

No coach, regardless of injuries can keep his job after an effort like today.

Because what you said is silly. He's either coach or unemployed.

Let me ask you a question. They sack Simmo on Monday (I assume they'd be having crisis talks tonight or tomorrow).

What next?

I'd be happy with Don Pyke. Apart from that, I can only see us burning a fresh coach.

 

[Chump Change]

That bloke would survive a Russian Zircon hypersonic missile strike on Lathlain.

If there was a nuclear apocalypse, all that what be left is cockroaches and Simmo.

 

[Goroyals22]

An AFL club exists to win games and win premierships. Making money by a club should give them an ability to spend it on things they want, but the AFL stops this with the soft cap and salary cap. The AFL additionally makes teams who earn more money give that money to the AFL so the AFL can then distribute it to poor clubs who can't sustain themselves. There is literally no benefit on field to make profit off field in AFL. Therefore a club may as well spend all their money as much as possibly and then ask the AFL for handouts.

You left out an afl club lives to virtue signal and we are one of the best.
Don’t forget the club last year said its most important thing was community.. not football


Sent from my iPad using BigFooty.com

 

[Mori]

A full rebuild requires a change of gameplan and fitness. From the start you implement a defensive structure and you prioritize fitness, hard work and repeat efforts. Then you start adding to it every year opening up things with more attack. Pretty much what Adelaide have done under Nicks.

West Coast have not done this at all, and I think the reason is that Simpson and the coaches know they can't get the current group to do the work. As far as the preseason goes most senior players are on managed schedules, Ryan + SPS continue to opt out of heavy training and the likes of Rotham don't want to push themselves. Same for the defensive side of things, Sheed + Kelly will not defend the midfield Shuey's body won't let him do it and the fwds apart from young Long will not put repeat pressure on. So Simpson focused on quicker offensive ball movement, which he thought the players might buy into but right now is leading to turnovers and easy scores against.

Simpson must go but the club must support the new coach and force all the players to do a full preseason and defend the field during games. If players don't want to buy in they must go.

 

[Mulldogg]

Got a text from my uncle during the week, who is a very dubious source, but he reckons take it to the bank that Corey Enright will be coaching West Coast next year

 

[Jumpoff Joey]

What’s the point of treating the symptom? Sacking Simmo won’t do anything.

There are fundamental issues that need to be addressed and the Chairman needs to get on the front foot along with the board to make the necessary changes.

Simmo will go, he isn’t the man for the next 3-5 years but the club will stagnate if it doesn’t get its strategy right from today. And I hope they (board) have been discussing it at length every day, week, fortnight and monthly meeting to ensure we see improvement or change in 2024.

 

[JuddyisGod]

What’s the point of treating the symptom? Sacking Simmo won’t do anything.

There are fundamental issues that need to be addressed and the Chairman needs to get on the front foot along with the board to make the necessary changes.

Simmo will go, he isn’t the man for the next 3-5 years but the club will stagnate if it doesn’t get its strategy right from today. And I hope they (board) have been discussing it at length every day, week, fortnight and monthly meeting to ensure we see improvement or change in 2024.

The same chairman that thinks we won’t win the spoon? He’s probably drawing up a contract extension for Simmo

 

[KERRPOW]

I didn’t believe it until tonight. Senior players thumbed their nose.

Same.

I keep going around in circles.

With a list this bad, a change of coach wont really change much either.

 

[Hawks_4478]

The same chairman that thinks we won’t win the spoon? He’s probably drawing up a contract extension for Simmo

What’s he meant to say? If he says he expects to win the spoon, he’ll be accused of tanking.

 

[Pwani Magharibi]

Okay, I really like Adam Simpson and he will forever be a premiership coach. But the point has surely now been reached when the club has to ask whether it is best for the club that someone else coach out the year.

Yes, breaching contract will cost a huge payout yada yada. But the club is suffering serious reputational damage now that will hamper our recovery in coming years.

We need to be able to attract decent players from other clubs as well as relying on the draft. We need to retain the players we draft. We need to get a quality coach (and assistant coaches and list manager and S&C staff etc).

With our current state of disarray, why would anyone decent want to come to (or stay) the Eagles? I was out at a function and haven't actually watched today's debacle. But the stats (tackles as much any) would seem to indicate a playing group that is no longer playing for the coach.

It is best now for both the club and for Simpson that they part ways. The CEO absolutely needs to go as well and quite likely the Chairman with him.

However, given that's (sadly) unlikely to happen, the club needs to pull the available lever and get rid of (or reach a mutual agreement regarding his departure, or whatever) Simpson.

The damage that could happen between now and the end of the season - more losses as big as today or even worse - is real and serious.

 

[Chump Change]

What’s the point of treating the symptom? Sacking Simmo won’t do anything.

There are fundamental issues that need to be addressed and the Chairman needs to get on the front foot along with the board to make the necessary changes.

Simmo will go, he isn’t the man for the next 3-5 years but the club will stagnate if it doesn’t get its strategy right from today. And I hope they (board) have been discussing it at length every day, week, fortnight and monthly meeting to ensure we see improvement or change in 2024.

That's not how it works though.

Question 1: How did we get here?
1. No top 10 draft picks for 10 years
2. Injuries
3. Senior players losing form or being part of the injury list
4. A "corale and intercept" game plan that, although won us a flag, it programmed senior players into not prioritising contested ball

Question 2: Where are we now?
1. In the vortex/pit/tailspin. That place where you're so bad you can't get out of it until you make multiple elite young players hit 80-ish game

Question 3: Has the coach "lost" the players?
- It appears so. There were clear signs the players did not want to execute Simmo's game plan in 2020 and 2021. After the haze of injury has dissipated, we saw senior players today get "4th worst loss in the history of the game" beaten today. There's clearly been an issue for a number of years.

Question 4: Can it be fixed in the short term?
- No. Aging players, no tradeable players, and 10 years of no top 10 picks meaning we have next to no 50-100 game elite talent coming though, makes a short term fix unlikely.

Question 5: What's the answer?
- The draft. Draft the best talent we can and guide them through to 80+ games, while hoping the existing senior talent can help them develop

Question 6: When do we need a new coach?

• The first risk is bringing in some freshness and missing out on the spoon. We sacrificed a lot to get all these losses. I want my #1 pick goddamit!
• The second risk is bringing in a fresh coach and feeding him to the wolves. Timing is better if we get games into them.
• The third risk is how much damage does Simmo do to any development of new players, considering it seems obvious the senior players want change?

Being stagnant has nothing to do with coaching or game plan. Everything for the next 2-3 years is about drafting the right talent. We're only stagnant if we keep choosing the wrong players.

So the question is, when is the optimum time to change the coach? I'd be looking at Don Pyke for 2024. Otherwise I'd be seeing if we can cope with one more season of Simmo.

 

[Pwani Magharibi]

That's not how it works though.

Question 1: How did we get here?
1. No top 10 draft picks for 10 years
2. Injuries
3. Senior players losing form or being part of the injury list
4. A "corale and intercept" game plan that, although won us a flag, it programmed senior players into not prioritising contested ball

Question 2: Where are we now?
1. In the vortex/pit/tailspin. That place where you're so bad you can't get out of it until you make multiple elite young players hit 80-ish game

Question 3: Has the coach "lost" the players?
- It appears so. There were clear signs the players did not want to execute Simmo's game plan in 2020 and 2021. After the haze of injury has dissipated, we saw senior players today get "4th worst loss in the history of the game" beaten today. There's clearly been an issue for a number of years.

Question 4: Can it be fixed in the short term?
- No. Aging players, no tradeable players, and 10 years of no top 10 picks meaning we have next to no 50-100 game elite talent coming though, makes a short term fix unlikely.

Question 5: What's the answer?
- The draft. Draft the best talent we can and guide them through to 80+ games, while hoping the existing senior talent can help them develop

Question 6: When do we need a new coach?

• The first risk is bringing in some freshness and missing out on the spoon. We sacrificed a lot to get all these losses. I want my #1 pick goddamit!
• The second risk is bringing in a fresh coach and feeding him to the wolves. Timing is better if we get games into them.
• The third risk is how much damage does Simmo do to any development of new players, considering it seems obvious the senior players want change?

Being stagnant has nothing to do with coaching or game plan. Everything for the next 2-3 years is about drafting the right talent. We're only stagnant if we keep choosing the wrong players.

So the question is, when is the optimum time to change the coach? I'd be looking at Don Pyke for 2024. Otherwise I'd be seeing if we can cope with one more season of Simmo.

Is there really any available coach who could take charge tomorrow and have our current available team avoid the spoon? I very much doubt it. Changing coach now might not alter the end of season win-loss record, but it could potentially have us playing with dignity and effort and at least having respectable performances rather than twenty or thirty goal massacres.

 

[Chump Change]

Is there really any available coach who could take charge tomorrow and have our current available team avoid the spoon? I very much doubt it. Changing coach now might now alter the end of season win-loss record, but it could potentially have us playing with dignity and effort and at least having respectable performances rather than twenty or thirty goal massacres.

On one hand we're really bad, on the other we have senior players being witches hats, which I suspect a new coach might free them up a bit. I wouldn't want to take the chance.

This whole "dignity and effort" thing. I doesn't matter. Nearly every player who has played 250 games has played in a really poor side, getting flogged regularly, with guys not really trying. It's a short term thing and for us it is pretty much unavoidable.

 

[Westend]

Is there really any available coach who could take charge tomorrow and have our current available team avoid the spoon? I very much doubt it. Changing coach now might now alter the end of season win-loss record, but it could potentially have us playing with dignity and effort and at least having respectable performances rather than twenty or thirty goal massacres.

No but you have a interim coach for the rest of the year ...then you look for the best available coach...happens all the time ...nearly every year in the AFL

 

[Pwani Magharibi]

No but you have a interim coach for the rest of the year ...then you look for the best available coach...happens all the time ...nearly every year in the AFL

Agreed. I was making the comment in response to someone fearing that changing coach now could cost us the #1 draft pick.

 

[maverick001]

What’s the point of treating the symptom? Sacking Simmo won’t do anything.

There are fundamental issues that need to be addressed and the Chairman needs to get on the front foot along with the board to make the necessary changes.

Simmo will go, he isn’t the man for the next 3-5 years but the club will stagnate if it doesn’t get its strategy right from today. And I hope they (board) have been discussing it at length every day, week, fortnight and monthly meeting to ensure we see improvement or change in 2024.

I don't accept this. Sacking Simmo may well get an improved performance out of the team. I honestly don't see how it can't.

Everyone keeps blaming injuries. Sure, injuries have been very bad. Nevertheless we shouldn't be performing nearly this bad on the field.

Darling
Gaff
Yeo
Shuey
Barrass
Duggan
Sheed
Kelly
Witherden
Hunt
Petch
Allen
SPS

That's 12 blokes in the side today who are either very experienced or have been on an AFL list for 6 years or more. Plus Williams who is in to his fifth year.

Really there'd be teams every year who have the same or less experience/maturity than that. Yet we are the worst team I can remember since the early 90s when I began to follow the Eagles