Toast Mick Malthouse

[TheGoatBaron]

I wasn't the biggest fan of Mick Malthouse to be honest, but I thought his speech today after the win was exceptional. He was very humble and a very gracious winner, I have a new found respect for him, even if he goes off at times like Rodney Eade and other coaches. Well done Mick.

And well done to the Collingwood Football Club, I was supporting you guys today and they've made me a very happy man.

 

[The Majestic]

Mick has done a wonderful job, as has all the Pies staff, really good speech today I am going to be sad to see him go, but he;s been good for our club.

Thanks for the well wishes mate, good luck to your Swannies in 2011.

 

[the lion king]

Mick Malthouse is an absolute class act.

 

[Knightmare]

Only really in the later years of the Malthouse era have I really grown to fully appreciate him both as a person and as a coach.

I urge all Collingwood supporters to check out the post game press conference. Wonderfully insightful into how our game plan was formed and also gives me a fair idea of how we will go from a list management perspective.

From watching a Malthouse press conference I always find myself coming out more educated and I assure you all this one is by far the highlight.

 

[Swooop]

I wasn't the biggest fan of Mick Malthouse to be honest, but I thought his speech today after the win was exceptional. He was very humble and a very gracious winner, I have a new found respect for him, even if he goes off at times like Rodney Eade and other coaches. Well done Mick.

And well done to the Collingwood Football Club, I was supporting you guys today and they've made me a very happy man.

Thank you Lone Wolf.

My thoughts also, both paragraphs.

I gotta say, I'd doubted he could take us all the way.

I was wrong. YEAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!

 

[Snag Breac]

I loved the way he made the younger players come off at the end, to let Pendles, Thomas etc enjoy the last seconds on the ground. And he was very humble throughout.

Brilliant job, Mick.

 

[rodderz]

One thing a lot of the players mention is that they feel intimidated when they start at the club, thinking Mick is a bad tempered old sod, but they find the opposite. Going by the quality of the team and their age, he would have a lot of respect and mentoring skills and they find him very approachable

 

[Markfs]

The thing about Mick is that he always got the absolute best out of the players ......over a very long period. Its an amazing record.

If I was starting a club from scratch, he would be the first man I would call. He has played a huge part in changing the culture of the Collingwood Football Club.

 

[kevind]

I really hope that his contract has a clause that reads an extra year for every premiership. The more years Bucks spends coaching with Mick, the better coach he will be.

 

[PendlesIsAStar]

As someone who's nearing 40 and have now seen the Pies climb the mountain on two occasions now, let me say a big "thank you" to not only Mick, but also Eddie.

Not wanting to sound like a Logies acceptance speech but one should also thank the guys that battled and held the torch alight during the darkest hours of a Collingwood fans life (the mid to late 90's) and by that I mean Sav Rocca, Scotty Burns, Sav's brother Ant and of course the champ in Bucks.

Today has been one of the happiest days of my life, when we won in 1990 I was an 18 year old and didn't see the game because I had to work. I went to the 2002 and 2003 GF's but to no avail and after last week I thought it wasn't so much the Pies but me that was preventing them from winning. As such I thought I should hold myself up in the bedroom and not watch at all.

But today was awesome, from Sack's first up goal to Heath Shaw's inspiring smother to the Didak "special" and the all round team performance led by our unsung but truly inspirational skipper in Nick, today was what we always hope for but rarely see.

For this we need to thank the aforementioned Pres and the coach, and I think if the last few years of AFL has proven, sometimes it's best to stick with your coach. After the 2003 GF we slumped and if we were any other club led by any other president we would have made the easy decision to change. That we didn't shows the strength of Eddie and his plan. It was always going to come to fruition, it was just a matter of when. They've screwed up a few times, but generally we've been a very competitive team since Mick took over and to win the flag has proved a just reward for Eddie and Mick.

I remember seeing Eddie walk past me after another belting from the Blues when he first took over, he was red with rage and snorting from the nostrils and I thought, at least he feels as crap as I do and wants to do something about it.

I salute them and thank them and hopefully (given our tender average age) we'll manage to get to the top of the premiership ladder in a few years time.

GO PIES!!!!!!!!

 

[mattys123]

BUMP.

Deserves another toast, after coaching the Australian team to a series win in Ireland in the International Rules series.

And he got Swanny a BOG medal, hehe.

Seriously though, Mick must be on cloud nine right now, he has fulfilled a dream to coach Collingwood to a flag, and then has followed that up with a tough and hard fought win in Ireland.

No wonder the AFL basically want to make him the permanent Australian coach.

Gratz Mick, onto Arizona now, well after a short stay at home.

 

[jonbe54]

BUMP.

Deserves another toast, after coaching the Australian team to a series win in Ireland in the International Rules series.

And he got Swanny a BOG medal, hehe.

Seriously though, Mick must be on cloud nine right now, he has fulfilled a dream to coach Collingwood to a flag, and then has followed that up with a tough and hard fought win in Ireland.

No wonder the AFL basically want to make him the permanent Australian coach.

Gratz Mick, onto Arizona now, well after a short stay at home.

Seconded with gusto but also agree with Eddy having much to do with our rise, working in harness Mick and Eddy have done all that could be asked by any fair minded fan. Sensational work Mick and keep up the good work.

 

[BACCS]

Couldn't agree more with what has been said so far in this thread, a real class act and my most respected coach in the AFL. Even though Buckley will do a magnificent job once Mick moves on, he is gonna be a huge loss for you guys.

 

[Lenz]

I'm from New Zealand; I arrived here in 1991, and I only got into AFL (not having even seen it before) when my universally-disliked brother-in-law ranted and raved about the Hawthorn win that year, and I looked at the disconsolate Weagles and thought, "Gee, I hope you guys turn this around next year," and guess what - they did!

I've followed Malthouse ever since, and yes, he can be frustrating at times, but I think he is the coach most able to see inside players' heads. His comment on Tarrant when Tarrant went to Freo spoke volumes; Malthouse said something to the effect of, "I'll say one thing, Chris was the most closed player I've ever dealt with - and I'm not saying that's a bad thing." It was a remark that - for psychological sophistication - was miles ahead of the Sheedys and the Matthews of the day. That Tarrant is eager to come home and play under Malthouse again speaks volumes!

Some day there'll be a book written on Malthouse as a phenomenal motivator, and it will be full of remarkable stories.

 

[Pie eyed]

I'm from New Zealand; I arrived here in 1991, and I only got into AFL (not having even seen it before) when my universally-disliked brother-in-law ranted and raved about the Hawthorn win that year, and I looked at the disconsolate Weagles and thought, "Gee, I hope you guys turn this around next year," and guess what - they did!

I've followed Malthouse ever since, and yes, he can be frustrating at times, but I think he is the coach most able to see inside players' heads. His comment on Tarrant when Tarrant went to Freo spoke volumes; Malthouse said something to the effect of, "I'll say one thing, Chris was the most closed player I've ever dealt with - and I'm not saying that's a bad thing." It was a remark that - for psychological sophistication - was miles ahead of the Sheedys and the Matthews of the day. That Tarrant is eager to come home and play under Malthouse again speaks volumes!

Some day there'll be a book written on Malthouse as a phenomenal motivator, and it will be full of remarkable stories.

And I'll buy it.
Malthouse has been and is the most sensationally honest coach I can remember in the VFL/AFL. When I say honest I mean to the core. If he dislikes something or someone, they and everyone else knows it. He rarely if ever takes an oblique tack on any subject or question. Many claim that he does, often, but the reality is they simply don't like the comment or answer ro it does not suit their purposes.
The relationship with Bucks and the way the succession plan was devised, his early misgivings, eventual whole-hearted acceptance and his excitement about the coming role at the club were all honestly addressed in several interviews, yet certain less than honest journo's, could not accept the truth for what it was maintaining friction existed where there was none and in the absence of facts or even evidence, manufactured it at every chance. This resulted in MM telling said journo straight out his opinion of them, on air.

Priceless.

Great bloke. Great coach.