Knights to coach Essendon

[w00dy]

hahahaha, couldn't be happier with this appointment... essendon are gonna be useless for years...

hardwick knows this and told the bombers the honest truth... went with knights just because he said what they wanted to hear... hardwick would've done the same thing clarkson did with hawthorn, instead they've gone for a quick fix with a shocking list...

most unsuccessful club for the next 5 years...

 

[caboose]

Re: The GREAT Bomber Blunder

Gary Lyon knows exactly nothing about our Coaching Interview Process. He's a gutless fence sitter.

Gary Lyon also absolutely hates Essendon, and has done for a very long time. Few Essendon people have any respect for what he has to say.

 

[brad]

hahahaha, couldn't be happier with this appointment... essendon are gonna be useless for years...

hardwick knows this and told the bombers the honest truth... went with knights just because he said what they wanted to hear... hardwick would've done the same thing clarkson did with hawthorn, instead they've gone for a quick fix with a shocking list...

most unsuccessful club for the next 5 years...

and your club is?

and unless your an interstate team all Victorian clubs have been unsuccessful since 2000! (if you can add properly that's longer than 5 years)

 

[w00dy]

and your club is?

and unless your an interstate team all Victorian clubs have been unsuccessful since 2000! (if you can add properly that's longer than 5 years)

there's success and ultimate success... you can still be a successful team without achieving the ultimate...

or i can just rephrase and say they'll win the least amount of games in the next 5 years...

 

[ManWithNoName]

there's success and ultimate success... you can still be a successful team without achieving the ultimate...

or i can just rephrase and say they'll win the least amount of games in the next 5 years...

Essendon will finish higher than Melbourne next year. Easily.

 

[brad]

there's success and ultimate success... you can still be a successful team without achieving the ultimate...

or i can just rephrase and say they'll win the least amount of games in the next 5 years...

only one type of success I'm interested in and that's the one that counts.

as I said, unless you're a Brisbane, Port, Sydney or West Coast supporter you've had nothing to get cocky about for the past 7 years.

who do you support or are you embarassed to say? wouldn't be a team who has only tasted success ONCE?

 

[kelvin_sheedy]

there's success and ultimate success... you can still be a successful team without achieving the ultimate...

or i can just rephrase and say they'll win the least amount of games in the next 5 years...

bwahahahaha.. you're a muppet.

List your team you gutless wonder.... soft.

 

[pazza]

Knights will be sacked by the end of 2008 and the Essendon board will be swept out of office and some new board ticket will ride into office off the back of a promise to appoint James Hird coach in 2009

HIRD WILL NEVER COACH ANY CLUB.

The only capacity he'll have at Essendon eventually will be to be club chairman or CEO...and that won't be for another 5 years.

THAT IS FACT.

 

[Verbeek]

Jesus, talk about over-optimistic. One gets the impression theres gonna be many disapointed Bombers this time bext year.

 

[pazza]

hahahaha, couldn't be happier with this appointment... essendon are gonna be useless for years...

hardwick knows this and told the bombers the honest truth... went with knights just because he said what they wanted to hear... hardwick would've done the same thing clarkson did with hawthorn, instead they've gone for a quick fix with a shocking list...

most unsuccessful club for the next 5 years...

Another one who believes Garry Lyon - if you choose believe a bullshit artist - then you are clueless.

Did you even hear what the great one in Hird said soon after?

Quick Fix? Hardly. A quick fix would have been Daniher/Thompson/Williams.

 

[GhostofJimJess]

There is no such thing as playing above yourself. It's physically impossible. Essendon won 10 games and deserved to win 10 games.

What we do know is that the Bombers won 10 (not three or four, but TEN) games in 2007, have some great veterans who are not retiring and some good young players who will be moving nto the middle bracket.

After the up's and downs of various teams this year I'm not prepeared to write off 2008 after we JUST misse the 8. We won 10 games (same as geelong in '06) wiith a tough fixture. There is no reason to suggest Essendon can't make the finals next year ater lookng what some of this years finalists have done.

Any team can.

I totally agree, Dan. Just like the Bombers weren't that bad in 2006 either, but didn't get the breaks that fell their way in 2007.

In fact, it sounds almost a complete reversal of the Tigers fortunes in 2006/07. In 2006 I didn't think we were that crash hot, but somehow scored 11 wins and were one spot out of the Final 8 (and above Geelong, Port, Hawthorn & North!). This year only 3 and 1/2 wins, despite leading at some point in the latter stages in 16 of our 22 games. Our five worst losses were to Geelong (twice), Port (at Port), Hawthorn and Sydney (at SCG), all proving to be amongst the toughest fixtures for every team this season. Nothing else worse than 30-odd points.

Your detractors hate hearing it, but the Bombers could be the real surprise packet of 2008, no matter who ends up coaching them.

 

[Black Panther]

HIRD WILL NEVER COACH ANY CLUB.

The only capacity he'll have at Essendon eventually will be to be club chairman or CEO...and that won't be for another 5 years.

THAT IS FACT.

Hird already agreed to be Essendon coach in 2009 remember?

And the Essendon board rejected that plan

 

[pazza]

Jesus, talk about over-optimistic. One gets the impression theres gonna be many disapointed Bombers this time bext year.

Hardly. I'm not expecting miracles - no-one is.

What we are wanting to see from the Bombers is continued improvement. Knights knows what the players on the list are capable of. We might get a final or 2..who knows.

What I know is that I'm glad this process is all over and that we can all move on.

 

[pazza]

Hird already agreed to be Essendon coach in 2009 remember?

And the Essendon board rejected that plan

I don't believe in scuttlebutt and rumour B_P.

Hird wouldn't be suited to coaching anyway.

 

[mantis]

Re: The GREAT Bomber Blunder

Gary Lyon knows exactly nothing about our Coaching Interview Process. He's a gutless fence sitter.

He's also very bitter, he was the one shouting how Sheed's was past it as a coach & the Bombers should sack him, when in reality, he wanted Sheeds sacked so he could coach the Dees, that didn't happen & he is more bitter than ever. PPPFFFTTT Lyons, who is your coach again? OOPS another rookie.

 

[Slug]

Matty coached me at Port in 2004 and i thought he was a pretty good coach. The reason he didn't make it over there was because he wasn't a "port" player. We had jack come back the following year in his late 60's.

good luck matty

 

[SOT4]

Jesus, talk about over-optimistic. One gets the impression theres gonna be many disapointed Bombers this time bext year.

16th, 15th, 11th, 16th, 16th, 15th

Thank christ we're not Carlton.

 

[Oxygeneral]

Wow...Essendon are finally getting imaginative!! Good choice. Good luck Knightsy, I'll think you'll do well. Play the young guys and really develop them. By the way, Damien Hardwick is a very intelligent man and will get a gig soon regardless of how 'tough' he was as a player.

That will be weird if Libba becomes one of his assistants!!

 

[Black Panther]

Yeah probably.

I have it as a roughly 60% win/loss ratio as Bendigo coach too. 4 finals in that time.

Get your stats right

Port (35% win ratio)
2004 6th out of 9 (SACKED)
Bendigo (36% win ratio)
2005 4th out of 13
2006 12th out of 13
2007 8th out of 13

Career Total (2004-07)

Games: 75
Wins: 27
Losses: 48
Draw: 0
Win Ratio: 36.00%

2005 Bendigo side was boosted by the likes of the senior players Sheedy refused to play (Richards, Hunt, Haynes, Cupido, Bullen, Alvey) - once they all left Bendigo imploded the next season

I will give him this though - Knights must be a PowerPoint guru!

 

[Dan26]

Let me make an important point.


There seems to be this belief that you need to have been involved in a successful club or been exposed to a club with success, to be a successful AFL coach.

The only reason most AFL coaches played in successful sides is because those type of players (i.e the successful ones) are the ones who get the opportunity.

The potental great coaches who play in unsuccessful sides simply don't get the opportunity. If Kevin Sheedy never played in a flag in his playing days, he'd still be exactly the same person with the same mind and the same ideology. It wouldn't be his fault if he played in crap teams. He'd still be the same player with the same ability, but he may never have received the opportunity.

Most unsuccessful players simply don't get the opportunity, even though many of them are just as likely to be a successful coach as a player who experienced success.

I'd pay more attention to Knight's ideology (which, from what i've heard, I like), than his on-field success with Richmond. It's not is fault Richmond were poor on field. He was a club legend in a poor era for the Tigers.

 

[Slug]

Think its funny how all these so called "experts" have made a judgment call on how Matty will go based on sitting in the great southern stand drinking with their mates. I am surprised too to her he got the job but Im sure he will be fine. I remember simmilar comments when both Laidley and Clarkson were appointed.

 

[sen entertainment bloke]

Matthew Knights has fallen in love with Essendon. Passion for Essendon pours out of him everytime he opens his mouth. That is why the board couldn't say no to him.

Just got to find out if he can coach. Bring it on. The only surprise is the 3 year appointment. Should have been 27.

 

[Dan26]

Think its funny how all these so called "experts" have made a judgment call on how Matty will go based on sitting in the great southern stand drinking with their mates. I am surprised too to her he got the job but Im sure he will be fine. I remember simmilar comments when both Laidley and Clarkson were appointed.

So he coached you at Port in '04.

Tell us a bit about him, coaching wise. What's his ideology? is he a "list-building" coach (which i'm not a huge fan of, because I think t's an excsue to be poor for a few years) or more of a 'development' type of coach who makes players better. Is he a hard task master? etc. do players want to play for him? etc etc

 

[King Elvis]

Re: I am in shock...and I don't support Essendon

The last time Knights coached, his team was leading by 10 goals at half-time in a VFL final.

That, however, was not enough.

They were out-played, out-run and out-worked by North Ballarat and eventually defeated by the country lads!

Fair dinkum, the chairman and CEO went the early crow, gave Sheeds the flick, in the hope of getting Voss, could not entice him and subsequently fell on their faces.

All the fan-fare, hype and after an "exhausting process", they appoint the "seconds coach".

Essendon has hit rock-bottom. I don't even support them. I am still coming to grips with the decision.

I will be happy in the morning though. With Sheed's, Essendon was always an entity to be feared. Now, they are closer to resembling a farce.

Doesn't make sense does it.

If you were going to sack soemone like Sheedy, at the time they did, surely you'd do it knowing 100% who your replacement Coach was.

 

[acker]

Notice how a lot of AFL coaches dont coach teams they used to mainly play for with the exeption of Worsfold 100%, Ratten 100% and Williams 50% (the other 50% is still at Collingwood) Roos 25% (most of him is still at Fitzroy)
A lot of bad blood can be spilled at the departure with your former mates.