News Cats are better without me: former coach Mark Thompson

[vinum coupe]

O oh,

guess who's back


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[catman 71]

I'll never understand the hate for Bomba, it's not like he abandoned Geelong at the peak of his powers say post-2007. He’d had enough and didn’t have any more to give so he selflessly and humbly stepped aside.

All he did “wrong” was imitate (which I suspect was deliberate) part of the cowardly actions of a conniving disrespectful player perhaps to shine light at how pathetic, weak and foolish Ablett made the club look in front of the whole football community.

Yet there are fans who still take more umbrage at him leaving than Ablett, go figure. Ablett planned his defection since 2009 and callously lied about until he got the green from dimwitrou sugar daddly.

I'm guessing Bomba grew disillusioned about what was happening at the club around July and decided to act in the same manner that Ablett was afforded. Lesson learnt.

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Maybe because Ablett never preached about loyalty, and tried to spend all his time, which should have been spent coaching, going onto the radio (when he is normally media-shy), and create disharmony to the media. A good coach would have kept that in-house, but Bomber made an issue out of it, to emphasis his own moral superiority (but only ended up showing his insecurity). The worst part is that he lied to Frank Costa's face about going to Essendon. Ablett never said what he was doing, and if he had, I bet that Bomber would have stamped his papers, even if it hurt the team. That's how vindictive and petty Bomber was.

Bomber has never been a man of committment. He was entertaining an offer by Essendon back in 2007, and only re-signed with Geelong, because he could command more money ("gold bars") for winning the flag, to stick it to Brian Cook for daring to review him in 2006. Bomber wasn't committed to his marriage, and ran out on his wife for another woman (the one he is living with now, who ball-breaked him to stop being a senior coach), and then he bullies players who he doesn't like (Ablett) (who he has never warmed to), tries to make himself look good by saying "how loyal am I" , fakes burn-out, lies to the face of a good man (Costa), pretends that Essendon hasn't contacted him, and then just pops up one day at training "by accident". Ablett faced a press conference when he announced his defection. Bomber never faced a press conference when it was announced that he had left (it would have been too hard to keep up the act of "burn-out"). So, who's the coward?

You also praise Bomber that he won us flags. Looking at this year, it may be the case that we can win flags, no matter who coaches us. Many have said in the past that Geelong seem to have a strong leadership group who almost "coach themselves". So, how important was Bomber really? He only coached a team that Stephen Wells recruited. Bomber's gameplan would not have worked if Wells hadn't recruited those particular players. So, Bomber's contribution was minimal. In fact, Bomber was almost as bad as Gary Ayres, as both men caused divisions between players and themselves. Chris Scott is twenty times the man Mark Thompson could ever hope to be, and I hope he coaches so many flags, people here say "Bomber who?"

 

[AM]

Re: Cats are better without me -Mark Thompson

It is about two people who were disingenuous and duplicitous in their dealings with our club, and by extension, us. It is not that they have gone, it is how they went - just like Ross Lyon situation.

Good read mate. But the above is the nub of it and what countless of the BF crew have been saying ad infinitum. It wasn't that they left, it was the way they left.

I wonder whether winning a flag this year will end all this naval gazing?

 

[juzcat]

Re: Cats are better without me -Mark Thompson

crap
- he is happy that 2 of his young chargers got senior roles
- and he is happy we are playing well without Judas, the guy bled for the cats when he was there
- don't know why there is so much hate

what _Me_ said - spot on. Article is respectfulto the cats and he is proud of the skills Geelong helped build in Sanderson et al. He gives the credit to Geelong
"I'm happy for them and Geelong, as a club, should deserve all the credit," Thompson said.

Nothing wrong with that

 

[juzcat]

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You also praise Bomber that he won us flags. Looking at this year, it may be the case that we can win flags, no matter who coaches us. Many have said in the past that Geelong seem to have a strong leadership group who almost "coach themselves". So, how important was Bomber really? He only coached a team that Stephen Wells recruited. Bomber's gameplan would not have worked if Wells hadn't recruited those particular players. So, Bomber's contribution was minimal.

Catman - are you for real? Prior to Cats Kamikazee football we had to watch horrible Sydney style football. Lock downs and scrummages. Surely you cannot say that Bomber had a had in using a team that was in 2004 (the same group) considered, skilful, but to slow. He made a "slow" group of players work much faster through leveraging their skills and fast ball movement. You saying he gets no credit for that? He did the best thing a manager can do, change the weaknesses into a blinding strength

 

[topic97]

Re: Cats are better without me -Mark Thompson

well swan did
well peddles did
well cloke did
well selwood did
well roo did

do i need to go on
many a player showed some backbone and this argument you raise has been proven to be crap

Uhh, you do realise majority of them are only signed till the end of next year - including Selwood.
And GWS have the extra window to poach at the end of 2012, not to mention free agency when Swan and Riewoldt come out of contract.

I know you hate Ablett for leaving, but seriously if you were being paid eg: $70k for your current job then someone offered you the same position with an extra $200k on top would you seriously turn it down?!

I doubt it.

 

[CharacterFirst]

Re: Cats are better without me -Mark Thompson

I know you hate Ablett for leaving, but seriously if you were being paid eg: $70k for your current job then someone offered you the same position with an extra $200k on top would you seriously turn it down?!

I doubt it.

But that is not what happened is it? Ablett created the position, he wasn't offered it.

Besides, he would have made the same money thru connections b y staying in Geelong over many years during and post playing days. Frank and co would have made sure he was well and truly set for life.

I'm not sure it was about the money in the end.

 

[CharacterFirst]

I'll never understand the hate for Bomba, it's not like he abandoned Geelong at the peak of his powers say post-2007. He’d had enough and didn’t have any more to give so he selflessly and humbly stepped aside.

lol.

 

[The rabbi]

If I met Bomber Thompson in a pub, I would buy him a pint of the finest ale with no second thoughts. Friggen hell. I was nudging 50 before I finally got to see my beloved Cats win a Grand Final. I was beginning to think that I would never see a Cat premiership.

I lived through all those years with opposition teams making comments about how unprofessional Geelong were. That the Cats were soft as butter and folded like a deck of cards. Enduring names like the ****y Cats, handbaggers, Country hicks etc.

Do you ever hear anyone say that Geelong are soft or a bunch of piss weak wimps now? Supporters of other teams hate us for another reason. They want us to go away because we are a talented, professional, hard at the football side that has been one of the dominant sides, if not the dominant side for the last 5 years.

I cannot hold a grudge against Bomber because he delivered after 44 years what scores of other coaches could not. A Premiership.

 

[CharacterFirst]

If I met Bomber Thompson in a pub, I would buy him a pint of the finest ale with no second thoughts. Friggen hell. I was nudging 50 before I finally got to see my beloved Cats win a Grand Final. I was beginning to think that I would never see a Cat premiership.

I lived through all those years with opposition teams making comments about how unprofessional Geelong were. That the Cats were soft as butter and folded like a deck of cards. Enduring names like the ****y Cats, handbaggers, Country hicks etc.

Do you ever hear anyone say that Geelong are soft or a bunch of piss weak wimps now? Supporters of other teams hate us for another reason. They want us to go away because we are a talented, professional, hard at the football side that has been one of the dominant sides, if not the dominant side for the last 5 years.

I cannot hold a grudge against Bomber because he delivered after 44 years what scores of other coaches could not. A Premiership.

I agree. What a shame he tarnished it all with the the way he left, and the 2010 goings on with Ablett. His performances at Geelong only serve to make the manner of his leaving that less palatable.

 

[ZosoCat]

we wouldn't be where we're this year if bomber was still coach.

 

[Whiskers]

Bomba leaving was good for us, but I still don't get why he had to make it messy. Leave and go to Essendon was fine but what an unfortunate way he played it out. I'm over that though and very happy with what he gave Geelong.

Ablett - He went and chased Gold Coast, he head hunted them ffs, while contracted to us, then he flogged off his cats gear on EBAY. McKenna even said in an interview when approached by Gary that the signing would be surprisingly easy.

 

[ATSAM]

Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeees never a truer word said. We would have had a chance at a premiership in 04,05,06 and won in 08 without his stupid decisions and mistakes, which of course he never admitted to. We won in 07, and 09 because we had the best players, had had them since 04, always going to win, They did it.
And he did he really choose the assistants remember at the end of 06 much of the decision making around support staff was taken out of his hands. remember 07 going down the gurgler after round 5 until the players, yes, the players took control. Thompson should be asked what magic he performed between round 5 and round 6 in 07. He wouldn't be able to answer because he had none, did none.
This is just more of his ego, forgetting that he is now at a club not in the finals and he doesn't have much of a profile and along comes a journo and gives him one.
And as for Ablett well he has shown that he is Captain material, all that Geelong needed to do was to give him respect and an understanding that at least he was in the mix. And who was it that didn't ? Oh, thats right the afore mentioned.

 

[topic97]

Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeees never a truer word said. We would have had a chance at a premiership in 04,05,06 and won in 08 without his stupid decisions and mistakes, which of course he never admitted to. We won in 07, and 09 because we had the best players, had had them since 04, always going to win, They did it.
And he did he really choose the assistants remember at the end of 06 much of the decision making around support staff was taken out of his hands. remember 07 going down the gurgler after round 5 until the players, yes, the players took control. Thompson should be asked what magic he performed between round 5 and round 6 in 07. He wouldn't be able to answer because he had none, did none.
This is just more of his ego, forgetting that he is now at a club not in the finals and he doesn't have much of a profile and along comes a journo and gives him one.
And as for Ablett well he has shown that he is Captain material, all that Geelong needed to do was to give him respect and an understanding that at least he was in the mix. And who was it that didn't ? Oh, thats right the afore mentioned.

Not to mention the fact that Bomber was constantly having digs at Ablett through the season for not making a decision and then goes and buggers off himself!! It was hypocracy at its finest!!

And who cares if Ablett did chase the GC money, if you werent happy with your employer and you knew you could easily get double your money elsewhere you would approach them.

I just think "what if" Bomber had of announced his intentions earlier we may still have had Ablett.....

 

[fpm84]

The way Bomber left us isn't even in the same league as the way Lyon left St Kilda. There was some spin and deception in the way he left but the reality is that his heart wasn't in the job and he wanted a cushy, well paid job at Essendon without the pressure and stress of being a senior coach (including all the media/corporate commitments and constant scrutiny). I would have preferred that he left in a better way, but he had the decency to attend our B&F and do an exiting press conference - more than Lyon managed last week.

A year later it is clear that Bomber leaving was the right decision for both himself and for the club. I will forever be grateful of the success he was a part of with Geelong and the way he left will never tarnish that.

The added silver lining? It's unlikely we would have landed Chris Scott if Bomber fulfilled his contract until the end of this season. Scott was always going to land a senior job and given the trend towards clubs getting rookie coaches, I think any of Melbourne, Adelaide or the Bulldogs would have snapped him up before we got a chance.

 

[topic97]

Absolutely! Lyon left for the same job at a different club - it was a real dog act.
It was as if he recognised that the 'aints need to start a total rebuild and couldnt be stuffed doing that so jumped ship to another team that has room for improvement.

I feel sorry for Harvey, they had a pretty good season considering they had 16 players who had surgery this season and nearly couldnt field a team in the last round!!

 

[catman 71]

Catman - are you for real? Prior to Cats Kamikazee football we had to watch horrible Sydney style football. Lock downs and scrummages. Surely you cannot say that Bomber had a had in using a team that was in 2004 (the same group) considered, skilful, but to slow. He made a "slow" group of players work much faster through leveraging their skills and fast ball movement. You saying he gets no credit for that? He did the best thing a manager can do, change the weaknesses into a blinding strength

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Firstly, Bomber himself gave most of the credit to the players, so maybe he didn't have much to do with things.

Secondly, you talk of his gameplan. But a gameplan only works with the right cattle. Let me explain. I heard that, back in 2000, Thompson applied for the Geelong and Richmond coaching jobs, and he actually won both. He was the first choice of both teams, and had to choose. In an interview, Bomber said that he chose Geelong over Richmond, because both teams were 7-8 years off being a premiership contender, and Geelong would give him the time to the team to where they can compete for a flag, but Richmond wouldn't (given the impatience of Richmond, and their reputation for sacking coaches if they don't win a flag within two years). I put to you that Bomber's fast-running, handballing gameplan wouldn't have worked at Richmond, as they don't have the skilled players to carry it off. At Richmond, if Bomber was there, players would be handballing down the field, only to have someone like a Shane Tuck drop the handball, and cost a goal. So, Bomber's gameplan worked mainly because Stephen Wells recruited players who could carry it out. It's the same with Hawthorn having the players to do the "cluster" in 2008, because Chris Pelchen recruited the right players. In many cases, a coach reputation is based on the players he has at his disposal. That is why Dean Bailey couldn't get Melbourne to win games, despite using a "Geelong-like" gameplan.

Thirdly, Bomber is a good coach, but is he great? I have thought that, at times, he can get lazy, and it is easy when the team plays well, to be a bit laid-back. I thought that he lacked intensity, and didn't rant and rave when we were losing. I'm not expecting a Ron Barassi tongue-lashing, but he could have fired up on the field a bit more. Also, he only started coaching that way, after he got a rocket up him in 2006, after almost getting sacked. That may have been his wake-up call. Answer me this, we had most of our star players in 2006, yet why did we play so bad? In 2007, both Bomber and the players pulled their finger out, and started to care whether they won or lost, and I heard it was instituted by Paul Chapman, who, after our loss to North at SS, in 2007, cracked it and told his team-mates to take responsiblity. Everyone bought in, and the rest is history. Bomber should have been the one to first drive that, not Chapman. It is the coach's job to inspire the team.

 

[krisholio14]

we wouldn't be where we're this year if bomber was still coach.

Game. Set. Match.

 

[Azdrubal]

Re: Cats are better without me -Mark Thompson

People need to get over it.

I would of rather him left knowing he couldn't give the club anymore, than him staying and still knowing he didn't have his heart in it. He did the right thing. Clearly he still wants the club to succeed.

But did he need to "trash the joint" on the way out?

 

[Azdrubal]

Re: Cats are better without me -Mark Thompson

I dont think anyone who accepts Thompsons leaving doesnt accept Ablett leaving to be honest.

Personally, I dont really care now, but at the time I was more cut up about the Thompson thing due to the fact of him bagging Ablett all season for not making a decision then flaking out on us with a year left of his contract.

In hindsight it proved to be an excellent choice as him staying to see out his final year of contract would certainly have done us more harm than good.

Ablett, well he could have made the announcement earlier on so we could have just enjoyed watching him play his final games in the hoops, but no-one can begrudge ultimately why he left - $9 million is a bloody big carrot to dangle in front of a person and I challenge anyone to stay loyal to a football club for that amount of cash!!

Whats done is done, and we are on the right track for another flag in 5 years so let sleeping dogs lie and just enjoy it all I say!!

This!!

 

[Azdrubal]

Re: Cats are better without me -Mark Thompson

sorry i read. Cats are better without _me_ oops....:d

anyhow....he is admires them soooo much he told essendon everything he knew about us....

Don't really care that he left, but that his problem with ablett derailed our season....and that he had no plan b....

Glad he still admires us, but why come out now with this....just publicity for him i think...

and this!!!

 

[catman 71]

Re: Cats are better without me -Mark Thompson

Mark is not taking aby credit. What he is saying is that he is happy that geeong is playing well.

There are some differences between Bomber and Judas. Bomber did not leave to be a senior coach anywhere. He was born and bred an Essendon boy, whereas Judas was born and bred, and spoon fed a Cat. There is a difference with replacing a coach with an elite player. Carlton would hurt more by Judd leaving than Ratten.

and Thompson left for a career change working with mates, Judas left for more time with gold bars

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"Bomber is not leaving to be senior coach anywhere"- Big deal. He promoted loyalty, but then showed none himself. Besides, I believe that Bomber was enticed to Essendon with the hope that one day he would coach Essendon, once James Hird has finished up. I believe that Bomber will be the next senior coach of Essendon. Count on it!

Also, Ablett leaving didn't hurt us much. We still won a flag, and it allowed other players to come to the fore, e.g. Varcoe, who got more time in the mid-field, and grew because of it. Having Ablett will always be perferable, but we can still have success without him. So, he didn't cost us much at all.

Wonder if you will get behind Chris Scott if he coaches us to two flags, since you think the coach is 100% responsible for our success.

 

[catman 71]

Re: Cats are better without me -Mark Thompson

But that is not what happened is it? Ablett created the position, he wasn't offered it.

Besides, he would have made the same money thru connections b y staying in Geelong over many years during and post playing days. Frank and co would have made sure he was well and truly set for life.

I'm not sure it was about the money in the end.

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How do you know Ablett created the position?

 

[darren forssman]

Re: Cats are better without me -Mark Thompson

How do you know Ablett created the position?

when ablett had his press conference when joining the suns i am sure mckenna admitted that gary contacted them first.

 

[Grizzly_82]

Re: Cats are better without me -Mark Thompson

when ablett had his press conference when joining the suns i am sure mckenna admitted that gary contacted them first.

This x10000

Can't believe this doesn't get mention enough, the fact that he contacted them after a Grand Final win just shows how money hungry he is.

Anyways I'm over it great player, shit teammate it would seem.