Coach Alastair Clarkson - NMFC Senior Coach - Coaching & Football Discussion

[shintemaster]

I don't know whether to laugh or cry.

You definitely should.

 

[DuckYeah]

I'm bout half chub

If it means Pre List Sanders you will be full blood

 

[DuckYeah]

It's fair enough Clarkson has commented on Buddy.

But I'd be lying if I said that GR posting in this thread had me upbeat for a second that it was something pertinent to our current plight.

We’ll find out plenty in the off season.

 

[DuckYeah]

When's our first presser for the week, is it normally tomorrow? Or is it Thursday? Either way Clarko will have a lot of questions to answer not only about where he is at but also where the club is at and what the short term future holds. Very interested to hear what he has to say.

99.9% sure there will be F all comments about us and everything about Saga and Buddy.

 

[Psicosis]

It's fair enough Clarkson has commented on Buddy.

But I'd be lying if I said that GR posting in this thread had me upbeat for a second that it was something pertinent to our current plight.

Personally I look forward to him saying something... anything... about the club he's currently employed by

 

[Samsquanch]

It's fair enough Clarkson has commented on Buddy.

But I'd be lying if I said that GR posting in this thread had me upbeat for a second that it was something pertinent to our current plight.

Is a week off on the agenda here?

 

[Horizons_00]

It is going to be a miracle for Clarko and others to teach our players to have confidence

The more losses stack up, the harder it’s going to get us to gain anything going forward

 

[Cool Kangas]

Being spanked by Hawthorn and well outplayed by West Coast, but coulda shoulda beaten Sydney, Essendon and Saints, says it all to me - it’s above the shoulders.

ABSO-****ING-LUTELY!!!!

 

[The acurate one]

Are you going to drip feed the rest of the cooked list or rip the Band-Aid off. CCJ, PC and their ilk…

I like PC. CCJ stays although he needs to get serious about his football and fitness levels. He will never be quick but he needs to get to more contests, that's all we should aim for. He can mark the ball.
I think Goldy will finish up with us years end. Xerri stays, I hope we give Free a crack next season.



Out ( from)
1.Bonar
2.Young
4.Cunnington
5.Drury
6.Goldy
7.Edwards
8.Hall
9.Howe
10.Mahony
11.Spicer
12.Turner
13.Ziebell.

Lucky to have a contract
1.Lazzaro
2.Taylor

Trade
1.Thomas - think we'll move him on for GC pick 5, plus change going back, just a feeling
2.Taylor - no real value of course
3.Stevo - just do it
4. Magoo - as above.

Then these guys have no real future for various reasons

1. Greenwood
2.Shiels
3.Free
4.Tucker

The above won't happen but that's 22 players, and that's the issue we face. Crikey how the **** did this happen.

 

[Ashley B]

The mind games in sport are interesting. Five goals down against the Eagles twice in the game and we came back twice , because the players think they can beat that team . Five goals down against a better opponent we would drop our heads and lose by more . That’s belief and the psychology of sport.

 

[Cool Kangas]

Is clarko back on board completely this week?

 

[Horizons_00]

Being spanked by Hawthorn and well outplayed by West Coast, but coulda shoulda beaten Sydney, Essendon and Saints, says it all to me - it’s above the shoulders.

Mentally weak and zero confidence in our minds that we can win

 

[hilly]

Personally I look forward to him saying something... anything... about the club he's currently employed by

I was at Arden St at 12.05am today waiting for him to comment : angry face

On SM-S901E using BigFooty.com mobile app

 

[giantroo]

It's fair enough Clarkson has commented on Buddy.

But I'd be lying if I said that GR posting in this thread had me upbeat for a second that it was something pertinent to our current plight.

Sorry to disappoint you, KC. Hopefully we'll have some positive news soon.

 

[DuckYeah]

I just want to hear something about the bus. If you’re on the bus theres a bus stop coming in about a month where you’ll find yourself thrown off it. Thats all I want to hear from Clarkson and he can talk about anything rlse he likes. One final bus top approaching

 

[Nylex]

Personally I look forward to him saying something... anything... about the club he's currently employed by

We’ll said… Clarko, give us something
It’s been a pretty bare season for us rusted on roos

 

[Samsquanch]

I like PC.

I do too and I saw he got some coaches votes on Sunday. But (in my opinion) he fired up after he missed that shot from the goal square. It seemed to awaken him and for the second quarter he was almost Adrian McAdam. I would love it if PC could play like that for decent proportions of games. A burst of goals is great and we all want to see it, but I'd settle for one a quarter in a few games here and there, with a bit of consistency and controlled aggression to contribute to the scoring in others too. He looks like a strong guy but he doesn't seem to bang opponents around a lot.

 

[Woolly Mammoth]

(muffled question about leadership) "Yeh love what Howey brings to the playing group"

(question about McKay contract) "We're in talks with his management, looking at a 2 year deal. Stay tuned"

(confused muffled response) "No you guys can report that. Yep, 2 years. We've been in constant dialogue with Daniel's management"

(question about Eddie Ford) "Yep really happy how he is helping to develop Curtis Taylor. We rate Curtis highly as a player of the future"

(question about gamestyle since bye) "Buddy has been such a champion, very proud of the man he's become"

(another question about leadership) "Love how Lukey and Jy are leading from the front. We'll look at rolling in a 3rd co-captain over the summer"

<End of presser>

You missed half a dozen "um"s and "to be fair"s

 

[Samsquanch]

The above won't happen but that's 22 players, and that's the issue we face. Crikey how the * did this happen.

I have to accept your response (no shocks as you'd hinted most of the same previously) with two emotions... Relief, as somebody had to say it and annoyance, for the same reason you are annoyed. Crikey. It looks like we has $20 in our pockets and we went out buying every $2 showbag we could, ending up with nothing but a stack of cheap plastic toys and a few sticks of tasteless bubblegum.

It will be annoying to start over again but we damn near have to. I agree that not everything you say will actually happen, even if 80% or more actually should.

But no matter what, we're a year closer to a premiership than we were this time last year.

 

[Spud11]

He’s back? Sweet! Back to ruthless team selection and inspired gameday moves. Can’t wait.

 

[chubbspeterson]

I didn't really accept the Ben Brown trade at the time, but mainly as I thought we should have got a better deal. I'm over that now of course and I'm thinking that if a decent offer was put up for Larkey I'd take it. Honestly, it ought to be a first round pick or a player who fills a badly needed hole. Of course the forward line would be deficient, so we'd need to find a couple of hard edged big men who would not allow themselves to be pushed and shoved around the way Larkey does.


Or, get him onto a strength development program that builds him up so he can match the strength of his opponents.

Nah I"m not advocating trade Larkey as we have no other forwards. Just saying it's a real opportunity for him to learn how to be the leader of the forward group and tell them all where to set up going forward. He needs another couple of tall/medium forwards next to him to help create space but at the same time he needs to get on the move but our mid-forward connection is poor so he probably has no idea when to lead to be honest the way we move it.

 

[krakouers]

I'm bout half chub

You young uns and your sex lives…

 

[giantroo]

In all my time coaching, two critical priorities always preceded the investment in football: your health and your family.

Ten weeks ago I came to the realisation I needed to be genuine to myself, my family and my football club and acknowledge those priorities were not being met. As a result, I needed to remove myself from the football treadmill.

Now that I’m back, my gratitude is extended to those key stakeholders of the North Melbourne Football Club who became privy to my circumstances, and who demonstrated such empathy, compassion, support and patience.

Sonja, Jen and Todd, alongside our club and supporters, all bunkered down and put in place two significant processes. The first one was to elevate Brett Ratten

Brett Ratten

Age

53

Ht

184cm

Wt

88kg

Pos.

Mid

Career

Season

Last 5

D

22.4

5star

K

12.1

4star

HB

10.3

5star

M

2.9

3star

T

3.0

5star

No current season stats available

D

26.4

5star

K

13.8

5star

HB

12.6

5star

M

3.4

4star

T

1.6

4star

to deputise in my absence, and the other was to ensure I had the best possible chance of returning to good health.

Ratts’ most endearing feature has always been his sacrifice for others. Once again, he stepped forward in difficult circumstances and maintained morale and spirit within the club. Caryn and I both know the challenges Ratts and Jo have had to endure, and we were mindful of adding another challenge in dealing with our own needs. We cannot thank them enough for allowing us the time to get our lives back into perspective.

The time away from the club has been difficult but imperative. Stepping aside was challenging, isolating, confronting and even a little embarrassing. I’ve now come to realise that nothing is embarrassing when it comes to addressing your physical and mental wellbeing.

Caryn and I were getting warning signals regarding my physical and mental wellbeing on numerous occasions, and May 17 was the day of realisation that I could only invest in my family, my club and my community if I got myself back to full health.

With the help of Dr David Cahill, Dr Peter Parker and Professor Steve Davis, we have put in place strategies that have been pivotal to my progress, and these are ongoing needs I endeavour to address moving forward.

Ironically, returning to coaching our club is a very important part of that process.

The North Melbourne Football Club has confronted many hurdles in its existence. Our members and supporters have consistently maintained faith in tough times and found a way to rise above these challenges.

As a teenager, North Melbourne was there for me through adversity, where John Kennedy snr, Denis Pagan, Laurie Dwyer, Greg Miller and Ron Joseph gave me hope, ambition and optimism.

That care has been extended to me again in these past three months and I am forever grateful for the unwavering support I have received from North Melbourne, my family and friends.

I’ve watched closely how Ratts and the boys have fared in recent weeks. Although the wins haven’t been forthcoming, we’ve taken steps forward in a number of areas. I‘m really looking forward to coming back in and building on the work the players and the footy department have done in my absence.

Clarko

 

[FlyHigh18]

Welcome back!!

But really wish he would have closed off with:

P.S. It’s going to be ok

 

[TennisPlayerAndy]

I do too and I saw he got some coaches votes on Sunday. But (in my opinion) he fired up after he missed that shot from the goal square. It seemed to awaken him and for the second quarter he was almost Adrian McAdam. I would love it if PC could play like that for decent proportions of games. A burst of goals is great and we all want to see it, but I'd settle for one a quarter in a few games here and there, with a bit of consistency and controlled aggression to contribute to the scoring in others too. He looks like a strong guy but he doesn't seem to bang opponents around a lot.

We have no players who are intrinsically motivated.

It’s why they temporarily respond as a group when they get a bake.

After that wears off, back in to their shells they go.