Coach Justin Longmuir

[Purple dynamite]

Should we hire Mark Williams as an assistant? He could work closely with Hogan and McCrafty.
The work he has done with Dusty and experience sounds like hes a great coach in an up close and personal level.
Turn those 2 blokes into A graders and we would fly.

 

[Belnakor]

Imagine picking a Fremantle FC coach on the basis of how well the Eagles supporters will receive the news. Remarkable times.

reminds me a bit of federal politics when Turnbull's biggest supporters were people who voted Labor. He didn't last long.

 

[Freeeoo]

Look, influential people within the WAFC are pretty keen on Summa. Super keen. You’d think Murray McHenry was getting a spotters fee.

Freo don’t have to listen to the WAFC but they will. That makes sense.

Listening to them doesn’t mean you have to do what they want.

I am reasonably happy with the way the process is unfolding - I just think one of the perspectives we are not getting on the panel, as constituted, is that of someone who knows firsthand a bit about coaching.

And that bugs me.

But fundamentally, like all recruitment processes, no matter how good your recruitment team, you are at the mercy of the market.

Weirdly I am warming to Sumich, after nearly 30 years of either hating or flat out disrespecting the hooky-footed carrot picker.

And if I can, you can.

Yeah na.
Looking on the bright side, if Sumich is appointed I'll save a few grand on membership fees.

 

[Belnakor]

Should we hire Mark Williams as an assistant? He could work closely with Hogan and McCrafty.
The work he has done with Dusty and experience sounds like hes a great coach in an up close and personal level.
Turn those 2 blokes into A graders and we would fly.

Hogan is an a-grader when he is 100% fit, not much to do with the coaches, more the fitness/doctor.

 

[Purpellian Anchor]

I hear of the supposed criteria/reasons for this or that candidate but surely the reality is in the example of Clarkson - a coach that knows how to win (consistently and unexpectedly ) even with an average list etc. The rest takes care of itself.

Many successful coaches have not been the best speakers, nicest of people, arrogant and condescending, one thing or another etc etc.

In most cases I suggest from most clubs, the reason coaches get the sack is because the side is not making the finals and thus lost opportunity to win a flag. Reaching finals most times will satisfy supporter base along with attracting new supporters.

 

[Purpellian Anchor]

Yeah na.
Looking on the bright side, if Sumich is appointed I'll save a few grand on membership fees.

Nah you won't... cause your a docker, a purple passionate supporter, love your club through thick and thin, a 'stand by me kinda guy', never let your club to 'walk alone', will hang on to the anchor cause the anchor is the symbol of hope and 'hope does not disappoint',

and your team mates need you.

 

[Cesoir]

Nah you won't... cause your a docker, a purple passionate supporter, love your club through thick and thin, a 'stand by me kinda guy', never let your club to 'walk alone', will hang on to the anchor cause the anchor is the symbol of hope and 'hope does not disappoint',

and your team mates need you.

I will, and I've already advise the membership team.

Doesn't mean I'll stop supporting Fremantle, they will always be the second love of my life, but I won't provide financial support if they are going to make dick moves like appointing Sumich. It's the only form of protest we have that actually impacts the management of the club - as we have just seen.

Having said that, I am pretty confident they won't appoint Sumich.

 

[Clems Knee]

I have also told the FFC that I will not renew my memberships if Sumich gets the job.

 

[Wizard]

Hogan is an a-grader when he is 100% fit, not much to do with the coaches, more the fitness/doctor.

I am told by people close to Hogans family that he is like a big teddy bear that needs to be coddled. As we know in this age, happiness is a key driver to success so if we can find ways to contribute to a happy environment for him on a personal level it will certainly help.

 

[PurpleEyes]

Yeah na.
Looking on the bright side, if Sumich is appointed I'll save a few grand on membership fees.

After Lyon was sacked and I saw Sumich was being considered, I was curious as to how popular Sumich was as a potential Senior Coach of Freo.
So I created that poll, mainly to find out what support Sumich had.
I regularly checked that poll and captured the results as it was going along.
After 44 votes, Sumich had 0 votes (by 58 votes he had 2 votes).
Surely that tells us that the regular BF Freo supporters simply don't want him.
He currently has just 5% support. But I think even that figure may not represent the typical Freo supporter. After 117 votes he had just 3 (2%). Then he got 5 votes between votes 117 and 142 (he only has a total of 13 from 244 votes). When I set up the poll I was unable to set it to make voters votes public so we could see who voted for each candidate, but I wouldn't be surprised if many of Sumich's 13 votes aren't even Freo supporters.

I was a huge supporter of Sumich when he played for West Coast.
But never did I think of him as having future coaching potential.
He was in the coaching department at West Coast for 11 years and jumped ship to Freo at the end of 2011.
He applied for the West Coast Senior Coaching position for 2014 but they chose Simpson instead.
Sounding like sour grapes he publicly criticised West Coast's choice and blamed it on their selection panel not having enough football expertise.
He left Fremantle because his relationship with Ross Lyon appeared to become untenable. Has there been any other coaching staff leave under Ross Lyon's tenure for that reason?
While at West Coast he claimed to have been on the verge of moving to Carlton under Brett Ratten as an assistant coach to further his aspirations of one day becoming an AFL Senior Coach. But he claims that West Coast convinced him to stay with them because the club had the turmoil of Cousins at that time. So why has he not gone East since departing Fremantle? I would suggest that nobody even wants him as an Assistant Coach.
(EDIT: and I forgot to mention that after leaving Freo he later said during an interview "My heart's blue and gold. It has to be. Always will be.")

In summary, I just see nothing attractive about Sumich as Freo's senior coach other than powers above (eg Media) seem to be supportive of it and that raises more questions than it answers.
Personally, Sumich is my line in the sand. I would seriously hate Worsfold to get the position, but I would probably just take a step backwards as a supporter until the pain subsided. But if Sumich was chosen, then that's it, my support for Freo since '95 would be done and I would be happy to just be another muppet, sitting with Statler & Waldorf in the balconies as a bitter old mud slinger.

 

[Purpellian Anchor]

I will, and I've already advise the membership team.

Doesn't mean I'll stop supporting Fremantle, they will always be the second love of my life, but I won't provide financial support if they are going to make dick moves like appointing Sumich. It's the only form of protest we have that actually impacts the management of the club - as we have just seen.

Having said that, I am pretty confident they won't appoint Sumich.

Would you accept being on the panel of selectors, and after interviews, join in appointing the best person as coach?

 

[Clems Knee]

It’s simpler than that for me.
If FFC select Sumich, then it’s not my club.

 

[Purpellian Anchor]

It would be great if the club stopped wasting time and money and
just appointed the most popular person for coach nominated from a list of AFL coaches on Big Footy.

We would probably have to do it annually, it should be fun.

 

[Steinfreo]

I wonder if Alcock will blame the fan base if our next coach doesn't work out as well.

 

[jedi mind tricks]

It’s simpler than that for me.
If FFC select Sumich, then it’s not my club.

Freo will always be my club. Coaches and panels come and go. The reality is that there are only a few A grade coaches out there and they are contracted.

Freo sacked Lyon and are now trying to sift through the mud to find that diamond.

The chances of nailing this are slim.

The supporters that wanted him axed might recieve a reality check.

 

[poshman]

It would be great if the club stopped wasting time and money and
just appointed the most popular person for coach nominated from a list of AFL coaches on Big Footy.

We would probably have to do it annually, it should be fun.

Why so defensive over Suma?

There is a panel, they are going to meet with people and interview and follow a process.

I am surprised that with some dogs in the media (and although I used to at least partly enjoy hardie... now with haggers they have turned to gutter trash excuses for journalism) pushing for Suma and the media here clearly biased towards WCE that you are bothered by the anti suma sentiment.

I don't want him because after (along with woosha) they let a drug infestation run riot and a decade at a club, he was the favourite for the job and wce still went another way. If he was so great why did they not go with him?

I would hate Suma to be the coach, I think we will improve next year based on our spine and games into young players. But if sumich is the coach I will be spewing.

 

[poshman]

Freo will always be my club. Coaches and panels come and go. The reality is that there are only a few A grade coaches out there and they are contracted.

Freo sacked Lyon and are now trying to sift through the mud to find that diamond.

The chances of nailing this are slim.

The supporters that wanted him axed might recieve a reality check.

I can't believe so many of the supporters who wanted him gone are now willing to give the new coach a honeymoon year... baffling. I am not confident we will find a coach as good as Ross. I hope it is not sumich. I also hope we bring in a good team around the new appointee.

 

[heavho]

It’s simpler than that for me.
If FFC select Sumich, then it’s not my club.

That’s a real shame. One person should not determine weather or not you support a club. But that’s just me. If he is determined to be the best candidate for the job then everyone should except it rather than throw in the towel

 

[poshman]

That’s a real shame. One person should not determine weather or not you support a club. But that’s just me. If he is determined to be the best candidate for the job then everyone should except it rather than throw in the towel

I agree - although I think this attitude is part of the danger when the president comes out and says 'we have listened to our members' in regards to sacking Lyon.

 

[PurpleEyes]

I hear of the supposed criteria/reasons for this or that candidate but surely the reality is in the example of Clarkson - a coach that knows how to win (consistently and unexpectedly ) even with an average list etc. The rest takes care of itself.

Many successful coaches have not been the best speakers, nicest of people, arrogant and condescending, one thing or another etc etc.

In most cases I suggest from most clubs, the reason coaches get the sack is because the side is not making the finals and thus lost opportunity to win a flag. Reaching finals most times will satisfy supporter base along with attracting new supporters.

Some of us have been around for long enough to know that we need to have tolerance and patience to support Freo.
I recall being real dirty with Freo when Harvey was sacked and Lyon appointed.
But because I could see the logic behind it ... getting a proven AFL Senior Coach ... I said to friends and family at the time ...I don't like it, but we are a bunch of fickle supporters and if Lyon starts winning, we'll all jump on board.
But this is very different. If Sumich is appointed, I have absolutely no understanding why, other than Sumich wants it bad and he has friends in high places. That just leaves me with a belief that the board and the club have lost the plot.
I will be done. D O N E ... done!

 

[summerthebat]

I'm hoping we employ the world's first AI robo-coach, built by Elon Musk.

Just based on an algorithm and a million game condition factors that can analyse player movements and trends within milliseconds, and then in real time print out the new game plan and instructions onto a piece of paper, that panicked assistant coach 'Peter Sumich' tears off and runs down the stairs to the bench, but he invariably slips on a sweet potato that he kept in his stained windbreaker and knocks himself out in the corner of a stairwell.

 

[jedi mind tricks]

I can't believe so many of the supporters who wanted him gone are now willing to give the new coach a honeymoon year... baffling. I am not confident we will find a coach as good as Ross. I hope it is not sumich. I also hope we bring in a good team around the new appointee.

There were a number of factors why Freo didn't make finals and Ross was one piece of the puzzle.

I won't be giving any coach a years grace. Coaches like all employees are either competent or not up to srandard.

Allcock has placed a big weight on Bells shoulders and we are already seeing some posters turn on Bell.

 

[Purpellian Anchor]

It’s simpler than that for me.
If FFC select Sumich, then it’s not my club.

So it is personal and really outside of football per se, is about perceived character and dislike not whether he is a good or bad coach.
Hardest part for the most here seems to be stating why.

Something really sinister about all this Sumich unpopularity, hints that our club is stuffed anyway.

I really hope we get a good coach (non WA linked), a stranger to most. Gives a couple of year breathing space to heal the club and break the media influence while the club regroups.

 

[Ge3ks]

When are we going to get a coach? Is there any timeline on the decision or anything?

 

[Clems Knee]

That’s a real shame. One person should not determine weather or not you support a club. But that’s just me. If he is determined to be the best candidate for the job then everyone should except it rather than throw in the towel

It’s not one person. If the club select Sumich, the people who select him are the ones that don’t represent me.

I have accepted losing coaches. I think Neesham was shafted when he got a one year extension, and the result was inevitable. I hung on to Connolly for way too long. I was upset at Harvey being fired for the time it took me to find out he was being replaced by Lyon. Lyon has been our best coach and it will take time to see if sacking him was a good idea.

But if the club select Sumich, they are not the club I thought I supported. I don’t want to support the WAFC, excrement like Hardie, Hagdorn or the patronising Eagles fans. I want to support an independent Fremantle.