Coaching Staff Former Coach Ben "Truck" Rutten - Sacked for real this time - 21/8

[Saintsone]

It just may be that the crap we dished up most weeks is actually the best this group is able to come up with...

Maybe your right, but we need to see

 

[Call Me Cake]

It’s a winning sport, Rutten might be a good bloke but our game plan or lack of exposed him as not a great coach. If there are players that are loyal to him and complain then that need to look at why we won 7 games. Move any players that don’t want to be there. Fantasia and Daniher have been no loss, things move quick in football.

Our players are frightened of someone coming in and being blunt and making them work. They've been frightened all along, and so they should be. Maybe now they'll actually be required to do what their job description says.

This entire week has sent the correct message to the playing group, and the footy world. The line has been drawn. You're either in, or you're out.

 

[Cold Sober]

Young sides fall away towards the end of a season, FACT.
Apart from the brain fade against Collingwood it was a great run til the last couple games.
Nth beat Richmond, did they sack Hardwicke.
We need to get the right people at the top who know something about football and people management, the new bloke loses on both counts.

 

[Nuggs Bunny]

I don't think you truly understand how over the moon you should be right now. This is exactly what we needed and any coach worth their weight in gold would be salivating at the prospect of taking it over.

Except Clarko?

Our list sucks, our board has no idea what it wants, there are several key staff in the club that are unsackable and we've just put on a great display of professionalism over the last week. Nobody is going to be lining up to coach us, sorry to break it to you.

 

[Old Campaigner]

Not the key midfielders! Oh no - who's going to refuse to run both ways now.

Maybe they'll run one way out the door

 

[Zach Package]

It’s a winning sport, Rutten might be a good bloke but our game plan or lack of exposed him as not a great coach. If there are players that are loyal to him and complain then that need to look at why we won 7 games. Move any players that don’t want to be there. Fantasia and Daniher have been no loss, things move quick in football.

Coaches need things and stuff to even hope to succeed. He was given a list with no redeeming qualities, the one semi functional third of the ground (forward) immediately collapsed in on itself and they are still eternally unfit, single effort players, he asked, the list couldn’t deliver.

He wanted the time we all knew this was going to take and he got absolutely ****ing shafted by a pack of egotistical dinosaurs who couldn’t organise a root in a brothel. Plain and simple, everyone else seems to realise it but us.

 

[BrunoV]

Agree, some pretty god awful performances this year. The next coach will fix that I’m sure. Knights Hird Thompson Woosha Rutten all bad coaches. The next one will be the one. Just keep everything else at the club the same, it’s perfect. Just haven’t found a good coach yet.


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This isn't a real argument.

There is no one I have heard or read saying it is all on Rutten or that they don't want to see sweeping change.

A lot of it is on Rutten. I've read a previous post from you talking about Rutten's post match comments as though he is the only one that gets it.

And then I think of the missed tackles, the ball pinging up and down the ground and general weakness around the ball. We're the lowest pressure team in the AFL. Where do his words match the actions?

He set the team up to play an uncontested style. Think back to the final against the Dogs as the real watershed, he dropped Dyl Clarke to slog it out against the Dogs in the wet.

The extent of what is wrong at Essendon cannot sensibly be boiled down to a choice between Rutten and no Rutten.

 

[frodos gardener]

Round 1 was the first nail for me.

The s**t show of the rest of the year finished it off.

No discernable style. Weak selections.

You can't put out a team that does not compete and turns it's toes up. We did that at least half a dozen times

Weak selections is at the apex of it for mine. I wanted Ben to succeed, and part of me stubbornly wanted him to coach on next year simply because good sides do take time to settle and gel.

Ben’s undoing is partly due to inexperience and partly personality. He came in with a clear idea of what we needed to be (blue collar) and some idea of how to build towards that. It was and is the right vision. He showed early signs of not gifting games on sentiment (Bellchambers no farewell game) and this was promising. It suggested a lifting of standards based on reward for consistent application from players. Exactly what the doctor ordered.

Somewhere along the way he got away from this. I feel the reality of having alliances in any power structure meant for Ben that he ended up compromising on the philosophy of ruthless merit. A prime example is Heppell. Having Dyson on your side would be useful as an alliance and would buy you a handful of players’ loyalty (though not all). The problem is that maintaining that union means going away from dropping the bloke when he’s not performing (let alone the awkwardness of it being the captain). This is just one example. There are plenty of others.

The issue is when you do that, it propagates and quickly gets out of control. We saw through the middle and later parts of the season that nobody was really being held to account, bar a few young scapegoats who don’t yet have the influence around the club for it to matter too much right now.

All this I think happened without Ben realising, or if he did, it was too late or he just hoped things would turn around. You can’t do that. You have to be strong enough to stick to your guns and build your alliances other ways. With a group of young men craving standards and success, you have to be consistent and also be perceived as being consistent.

Ben had the right idea. He’s a young guy - 38. I still think he has the AFL world a lot to offer. I’ll miss him at EFC.

 

[ghostdog]

He looks happy actually.

And we all should be.

Truck gets 600k, can enjoy a whole year at the Bahamas. Will come out with loads of assistant offers and may one day coach when he actually has a better view on the game + the teachings of coaches elsewhere.

We get the breath of fresh air that we need, and the fire lit up under the playing group (long overdue). We're nicely placed to push for the the sky, and so is he. Win-win. Was meant to be.

Nicely placed.
The board has openly chosen to look for a quick fix - Barham has literally said as much - because it is deluded that we have a list that should be playing finals.
We're not pushing for anything.
The coach we end up with from this is going to know that there is work to do and is going to need to be an excellent relationships person because the board will be insufferable.

 

[Phone]

I want to make it clear. I am not excusing Knights in the slightest. What I am saying is - if Knights was the glaringly obvious Knightmare, then we must come at similar scenarios with the same energy.

And here's another crazy thing - Knights' list was younger with less games played. I know, crazy right?

Time to move on.

well Knights was also treated terribly but people didn't care at the time because of the hopium around Hird and Thompson. As it turns out, sacking Knights was clearly a disaster but people don't like to think about that even today. Both were really shitty processes. The hope is the next coach will be able to benefit from the raw talent in the current list like how Hird should have benefited for the talent he inherited, only to piss it away.

 

[frodos gardener]

well Knights was also treated terribly but people didn't care at the time because of the hopium around Hird and Thompson. As it turns out, sacking Knights was clearly a disaster but people don't like to think about that even today. Both were really shitty processes. The hope is the next coach will be able to benefit from the raw talent in the current list like how Hird should have benefited for the talent he inherited, only to piss it away.

It wasn’t just Hird and Bomba hopium. Knights was never particularly well liked and there was a sense of wanting to right the wrong of his appointment. I feel that would’ve been the case regardless of who was to come in. I’d agree the Hird push accelerated the process, however.

 

[tandino]

He’s just been told off for talking to the media and how when he speaks he speaks for the board… so I assumed it was that.

Also Mitch Cleary is a known pest, ambulance chaser type.

Sheeds came off as unhinged.

Ambulance chaser or not, they are reasonable questions to ask in the circumstances. No reason for the carry on.

I hope he got a bit of a dressing down, he's in a position of consequence for the first time in years, he better get his head around it. He could have been chairman emeritus of the code/wise old grandfather of the game, it probably would have been better for all concerned.

 

[Zach Package]

Sheeds came off as unhinged.

Oath he did, first thing I thought when I saw that.

Didn’t come off cheeky, didn’t come off arrogant or taking the piss which Sheeds typically is, came off as a startled old coot who probably shouldn’t be driving, let alone powerbroking a footy club.

 

[Kong]

If that was an intentional play on the title of that film, love it.

Haven’t been a member since 2016 and have no intention of ever being one again with the club and league the way they are, but I had been considering going to a few games in 2023.

That won’t be happening now.

I’m a fan of voting with your feet/pockets, and feel like this board (who won’t be moved on) will only take notice if our supporter base stops contributing to the club’s finances (Campbell’s KPIs).

 

[JayJ20]

This isn't a real argument.

There is no one I have heard or read saying it is all on Rutten or that they don't want to see sweeping change.

A lot of it is on Rutten. I've read a previous post from you talking about Rutten's post match comments as though he is the only one that gets it.

And then I think of the missed tackles, the ball pinging up and down the ground and general weakness around the ball. We're the lowest pressure team in the AFL. Where do his words match the actions?

He set the team up to play an uncontested style. Think back to the final against the Dogs as the real watershed, he dropped Dyl Clarke to slog it out against the Dogs in the wet.

The extent of what is wrong at Essendon cannot sensibly be boiled down to a choice between Rutten and no Rutten.

We were the number one tackling and pressure team last year, but that only gets you so far with this list. He dropped Clarke because Caldwell became available. Let’s not pretend we had the list to come close to Bulldogs in the wet.

What I find funny about your perspective Bruno is that you are always criticising the club’s list managers for not recruiting players who can run and players who can play a defensive, contested game. And I’ve always agreed with you on that.

When the team cannot play that way because the list isn’t built to play that way, you then blame the coach? Make it make sense please. It’s almost like everything you talked about in the last 4 years went out of the window.

I know you say that multiple problems can exist at once, but I really cannot understand how someone who has been talking about the problems of list management for so long can have your perspective. Rutten is inexperienced and the list is relatively inexperienced, but the side playing an uncontested game isn’t his fault. He wants them to play a contested game, but who’s going to go against Cripps, Hewett, Oliver and Petracca? Who’s going to stop Greene, Cameron and Elliott? Who’s going to keep up with Richmond’s elite runners?

We have recruited, Perkins, Hobbs, Durham, D’Ambrosio and eventually Cox and Reid as well. We didn’t even give Rutten the opportunity to allow these players to develop so that he can execute his plan. We didn’t even give him another off-season to recruit contested players that can make the side play the way he wants to play. We could’ve been in a better place and improved our list. Target Dunkley and even offer him captaincy to get him over the line, draft Sheezel, the Davey twins. Prepare Baldwin to play at AFL level. Prepare Cox to play CHB. Put some size onto Reid. Play McGrath back full time. Prepare D’Ambrosio to replace Hind in the side. Increase Hobbs and Perkins’ midfield time. They’ve already targeted Zurhaar who would have been a good replacement for Stringer when he eventually injured himself. The list can then start to play the way Rutten wants them to play. Instead, they made it so that Zurhaar and Dunkley would stay away from the club. Some of the players that committed to Rutten may seek a trade. We really run the risk of destroying everything we’ve progressed towards.

You can’t convince me that even Clarkson can make this list play a contested game. The list needs to be turned over. The fact that Barham decided that Rutten was the problem and not Dodoro shows all of us just how out of touch the board really is. His sacking was a financial decision. They think changing coaches will make the members flood in because it worked the last 5 times. It’s going to backfire when good players request for a trade, good coaches won’t touch the club (like Clarkson), trade targets will decline our interest and members abandon the club in droves. I’ll be amazed if we don’t win the spoon next year.

 

[yodellinhank]

We were the number one tackling and pressure team last year, but that only gets you so far with this list. He dropped Clarke because Caldwell became available. Let’s not pretend we had the list to come close to Bulldogs in the wet.

What I find funny about your perspective Bruno is that you are always criticising the club’s list managers for not recruiting players who can run and players who can play a defensive, contested game. And I’ve always agreed with you on that.

When the team cannot play that way because the list isn’t built to play that way, you then blame the coach? Make it make sense please. It’s almost like everything you talked about in the last 4 years went out of the window.

I know you say that multiple problems can exist at once, but I really cannot understand how someone who has been talking about the problems of list management for so long can have your perspective. Rutten is inexperienced and the list is relatively inexperienced, but the side playing an uncontested game isn’t his fault. He wants them to play a contested game, but who’s going to go against Cripps, Hewett, Oliver and Petracca? Who’s going to stop Greene, Cameron and Elliott? Who’s going to keep up with Richmond’s elite runners?

We have recruited, Perkins, Hobbs, Durham, D’Ambrosio and eventually Cox and Reid as well. We didn’t even give Rutten the opportunity to allow these players to develop so that he can execute his plan. We didn’t even give him another off-season to recruit contested players that can make the side play the way he wants to play. We could’ve been in a better place and improved our list. Target Dunkley and even offer him captaincy to get him over the line, draft Sheezel, the Davey twins. Prepare Baldwin to play at AFL level. Prepare Cox to play CHB. Put some size onto Reid. Play McGrath back full time. Prepare D’Ambrosio to replace Hind in the side. Increase Hobbs and Perkins’ midfield time. They’ve already targeted Zurhaar who would have been a good replacement for Stringer when he eventually injured himself. The list can then start to play the way Rutten wants them to play. Instead, they made it so that Zurhaar and Dunkley would stay away from the club. Some of the players that committed to Rutten may seek a trade. We really run the risk of destroying everything we’ve progressed towards.

You can’t convince me that even Clarkson can make this list play a contested game. The list needs to be turned over. The fact that Barham decided that Rutten was the problem and not Dodoro shows all of us just how out of touch the board really is. His sacking was a financial decision. They think changing coaches will make the members flood in because it worked the last 5 times. It’s going to backfire when good players request for a trade, good coaches won’t touch the club (like Clarkson), trade targets will decline our interest and members abandon the club in droves. I’ll be amazed if we don’t win the spoon next year.

Dodoro hasn't really been given a chance when you think about it. A string of failed coaches all with vastly different game plans means he has never really been able to complete a build. You add sanctions to all the coaching inconsistency and it's mission impossible.

 

[Lore]

Dodoro hasn't really been given a chance when you think about it. A string of failed coaches all with vastly different game plans means he has never really been able to complete a build. You add sanctions to all the coaching inconsistency and it's mission impossible.

I know you’re being facetious but you’re not wrong. Instability ruins his plans as much as anyone’s, even if they’re not the same plans as all the coaches or the footy managers.

Problem with him is the instability seems to be as much his own fault as anything.

 

[isthisit13]

I was criticised by a lot for being critical of Truck, and bringing up the prospect of him not going into his 4th year at the club (yep, 4th). Was never a fan of the whole succession debacle and was criticised for my foresight then. A coach on training wheels trying to teach a team on training wheels.

But in the end, it came to be as such.

Club had the balls to call it and I couldn't be more proud. Here's to no more acceptance of treading water based on faith.

If a coach wants to take it on, they better be in the frame of mind that they must show signs visible to the eye (win or loss)!

Good luck to Ben as a person, I hope he does well in life, but he was not what we needed.

The only reason truck got moved on is because they made his role untenable due to their **** ups with Clarkson. If Clarkson was not available it is way more likely that there was no board spill and Truck would still be coach. Nothing ballsy about it. Truck was collateral damage from what was one **** up after another.

 

[Resistor]

After all the rubbish I've been through with this club, we get Ken Hinkley and I'm out. You literally can't be more deluded than that bloke. Hird 1000% over him.

While I'm here, I feel sorry for Ben Rutten

Ben Rutten

Age

41

Ht

190cm

Wt

98kg

Pos.

Def

Career

Season

Last 5

D

13.4

3star

K

6.3

2star

HB

7.0

4star

M

5.3

5star

T

1.3

3star

No current season stats available

D

10.6

3star

K

6.2

3star

HB

4.4

4star

M

3.6

4star

T

1.0

3star

, I hope he gets picked up quickly and has a good coaching career with support around him. I hope he spends the his payout on things which make him happy.

 

[TheBrightSide]

Ben Rutten

Ben Rutten

Age

41

Ht

190cm

Wt

98kg

Pos.

Def

Career

Season

Last 5

D

13.4

3star

K

6.3

2star

HB

7.0

4star

M

5.3

5star

T

1.3

3star

No current season stats available

D

10.6

3star

K

6.2

3star

HB

4.4

4star

M

3.6

4star

T

1.0

3star

seen leaving The Hangar for the last time.

 

[mookieb]

It isn’t Trucks fault the list is devoid void of any leadership but he obviously isn’t the right guy to grow the culture. He has been all talk and no action and this list needs a serious look at itself.

While its right to be sceptical that this club will just make the same mistakes this time around because, this … club — it is clearer that Truck isn’t the way forward. How a coach that specialised in Team defence could serve up the weakest most unaccountable team defense in modern football damning — he should have been sacked weeks ago.

Hard to say how good a rookie coach is taking over a club in turmoil or with a young developing list or board / club disfunction. I mean pretty much your chances of success are close to zero.

 

[Zach Package]

Hard to say how good a rookie coach is taking over a club in turmoil or with a young developing list or board / club disfunction. I mean pretty much your chances of success are close to zero.

 

[DonsRule]

View attachment 1487013

 

[half time raffle]

Impatience and a poor regard for Rutten's ability to grow and develop as a coach cost him his job. We keep looking at what he didn't do and not enough focus on the things he was good at (employ assistants that complement his skill set and aid his deficiencies and help him grow and develop). Rutten's overall win percentage is 40%. Now the Messiah, Alistair Clarkson had a win rate of 35% after his second year and in this second year he had losses of 65, 70, 75and 96. But the club backed him in. Two years later they were the premiers. Rutten consistently talked about building for sustained success, he also wanted the club to come together. Pity the board wanted a quick fix.

On CPH2065 using BigFooty.com mobile app

 

[yodellinhank]

Impatience and a poor regard for Rutten's ability to grow and develop as a coach cost him his job. We keep looking at what he didn't do and not enough focus on the things he was good at (employ assistants that complement his skill set and aid his deficiencies and help him grow and develop). Rutten's overall win percentage is 40%. Now the Messiah, Alistair Clarkson had a win rate of 35% after his second year and in this second year he had losses of 65, 70, 75and 96. But the club backed him in. Two years later they were the premiers. Rutten consistently talked about building for sustained success, he also wanted the club to come together. Pity the board wanted a quick fix.

On CPH2065 using BigFooty.com mobile app

I asked the question pages back, what were the things Rutten did that were working or looked like being developed. Got crickets.