Lets not forget he was appointed as VFL coach not AFL coach. Even his biggest critics could not argue he is not qualified for that position. Most of your clubs (including Essendon) dont even have a VFL side for heavens sake.
-
AFLW 2024 - Round 10 - Chat, game threads, injury lists, team lineups and more.
New Geelong VFL coach: Matthew Knights
- Thread starter Wernumberone
- Start date
- Tagged users None
Quite amusing all the opposition fans making out that Mathew Knights got sacked purely because of internal politics. I'm sure it had nothing to do with his performances. Opposition fans say it was just purely because of a bad list, but the truth is (and i've yet to hear anyone argue against this) his gameplan was untenable in the long term. Players had lost faith in the coach (this is different from a lack of support from the board for instance which was also applicable but a separate issue), a number of players were prepared to walk if Knights had remained, we were a laughing stock in 2010 on the field and the second half of the season we were getting smashed constantly.
Great football brain and tactician? No. Great speaker and media performer? Yep. Committed to developing young players? Yep. I won't say he didn't do any good during his time at Essendon but he was hardly a coach of the year nomination at any point. People blame the list but the truth is by the time you reach your 3rd year, you need to take some accountability for the state of the list and it didn't appear as if we were even headed in the right direction (much like Melbourne this year under Bailey). If under Hird, by his 3rd year we don't appear to be moving into the top 4/becoming a contender etc, he will come under genuine pressure too.
For what its worth I think he will be decent as a VFL level coach and has been previously. His record at Bendigo was reasonable but not exceptional. Personally I wish him well and actually liked him as a person but not as coach of my football club, people think Essendon supporters are bitter or living in denial about the whole backstabbing but if his position wasn't on shaky ground to begin with due to his onfield performances none of it would have happened.
Great football brain and tactician? No. Great speaker and media performer? Yep. Committed to developing young players? Yep. I won't say he didn't do any good during his time at Essendon but he was hardly a coach of the year nomination at any point. People blame the list but the truth is by the time you reach your 3rd year, you need to take some accountability for the state of the list and it didn't appear as if we were even headed in the right direction (much like Melbourne this year under Bailey). If under Hird, by his 3rd year we don't appear to be moving into the top 4/becoming a contender etc, he will come under genuine pressure too.
For what its worth I think he will be decent as a VFL level coach and has been previously. His record at Bendigo was reasonable but not exceptional. Personally I wish him well and actually liked him as a person but not as coach of my football club, people think Essendon supporters are bitter or living in denial about the whole backstabbing but if his position wasn't on shaky ground to begin with due to his onfield performances none of it would have happened.
Rhodesy_Blues
Premiership Player
bloodsportz
Debutant
Because since he has left the club Essendon has been setting the world on fire.. 
- Banned
- #57
Yeah it is pretty unbecoming. Shows bomber fans up for the the drones they are imo.
Gary Ayres cops a bum rap from Geelong supporters. The guy taking over from Malcolm Blight was always going to have a hard time (twice). Geelong fans just always hated him because he played at Hawthorn. He tried to move on the dead wood at Geelong and the senior players got their noses out of joint. IMO he was seriously undermined.
Vdubs
Hall of Famer
Are you also amazed that Chris Scott was overlooked by Port, and snapped up by Geelong, the same team picking up Knights??
simba_
sucking a lemon
the radio brainwashes you and it looks like it is successfully convincing people knights is an okay dude.
Boxhead_31
The Greatest Team Of All
- Oct 12, 2007
- 37,084
- 52,089
- AFL Club
- Geelong
- Other Teams
- South BHFL
Vdubs
Hall of Famer
Perfect!
And it's really only Pies and Geelong that have VFL teams.He has insight and experience and good personal characteristics, and if CS wants him on board to work with the young guys, that is as good as it gets .
Rocky_Star_Pro
Cancelled
****ing amazing, during the dark days of late 2010; Knights was being hailed as a pathetic coach with no football knowledge and a Richmond reject. We were being hit left, right and centre about appointing him, about giving the job to someone who lied about the strength of our list post 2007. This was Bigfooty, how the **** in the space of 14 months is Knights now being labelled as a good football brain but wasn't given much of a chance at Essendon? 14 months ago I thought Bigfooty said he was a dud coach who didn't know anything except how to drive a club into the ground
- May 17, 2004
- 10,455
- 3,913
- AFL Club
- Geelong
- Other Teams
- Good bloke
Don't really like it. The man has known nothing but failure.
That said you have to back the Geelong administration in.
They are the best in the business and have an incredible record with their recent coaching appointments.
That said you have to back the Geelong administration in.
They are the best in the business and have an incredible record with their recent coaching appointments.
- Aug 17, 2006
- 23,678
- 22,259
- AFL Club
- Geelong
He lied to Essendon about the strength of the list?
"So, Matthew, what's your thoughts on where our player list stands, right now?"
"The list is awesome, we can win premierships in a few years with this list."
"Sensational! You've got the job!"
I'm trying to figure out if that's meant to be an indictment on Knights, or the Essendon board.
You do know Bigfooty is made up of lots of people, often with differing opinions? That it's not just one person posting under a heap of aliases. Bigfooty never reaches a consensus about anything. Lots of people thought Knights was a useless (AFL) coach who had lost the respect of the Essendon board and players, many others thought he was a lame duck who never had a chance.
efa
Maybe I was missing an emoticon... you didn't get it?
Father Jack
Brownlow Medallist
- Mar 23, 2006
- 23,277
- 27,679
- AFL Club
- West Coast
- Other Teams
- Tottenham Hotspur FC
He'll be safe from Hirdy's background machinations in this job, so I reckon he'll do fine.
ManWithNoName
TheBrownDog
Any Geelong fans aware of Knights' history of coaching at Bendigo (not great)? Or in the SANFL (disaster)?
Ask some South Australians what they think about him...
Ask some South Australians what they think about him...
- Banned
- #70
I had no problems with Knights or any other coach sacked, but it's the way it was handled that sucked, his wife found out Knights was sacked before he did, and then you hear the rumours of the Essendon board talking to Hird and Mark Thompson in the middle of the season.
Knights may have deserved to be replaced, although his win/loss ratio wasn't that bad, but the manner he was sacked was disgraceful.
- Banned
- #71
Outsiders, esp victorians have never been embraced at Port Magpies, absolute rabble of a club stuck in the past.
Also if Knights was so rubbish at Port, why did Essendon hire him then ???
- Aug 17, 2006
- 23,678
- 22,259
- AFL Club
- Geelong
I'd rather ask some Essendon people why they signed Knights at the first opportunity, after such a disastarous period in the SANFL. He must have lied about the strength of Bendigo's list, I guess.
Wish we didn't. At the time we were really successful and I'd have backed Peter Jackson and the board in anything they did...
Sttew
Brownlow Medallist
Sounds like an extreme case of sour grapes. What you are effectively saying is that any sacked AFL coach should not be recruited in a lesser role by another club. That rules out Dean Bailey, Mark Williams, Allan McConnell, Rodney Eade, and even Mick Malthouse should he decide to get back in the system.
ManWithNoName
TheBrownDog
Because the administration at the time wanted the cheapest option. Sad but true.
Similar threads
