Coaching Staff Past Coach: Matthew Knights - Finally gets his second shot - 5/5

[ant555]

Without particularly wanting to castigate Knights any further, I think there's a fair case to argue that the likes of Zaharakis, Hurley, and Hardingham have really only blossomed under Hird, whilst the jury is still out on what's going to happen with Pears and Hooker predominantly due to injuries.

Watson is one whose improvement under Knights was exponential.

Hocking is another, Dempsey was another as was Lonergan, Hardingham was a first year player so Knights had limited impact.
He certainly did have an impact on Hurley and Zaka as he played them early and it is no surprise that Zaka in particular has flourished as a third year player.

 

[Yabba]

What Geelong do is their business. Knights did a reasonable enough job at Bendigo, so he may well be fine as a VFL coach at Geelong too.

There's no point taking snide pot shots at the Cats or Knights- it just makes us looks smug and lacking in class.

In the end, it's not as if Geelong 'stole' Knights off us, so in fact I don't see how this has any relevance to Essendon now. He just happens to be the coach we sacked fourteen months ago, but so what?

The Geelong VFL side is designed specifically as a development pool for the senior team. I think Knights showed himself to be a good 'development' coach- look at all the youngsters that were blooded between 2008 and 2010 who are now playing very important roles for us. Yes, he was a poor match day coach, but his developmental strengths may very well be suited to what is essentially a development side anyway.

Good luck to him I say.

Couldn't have said it better myself. He is probably a better coach now than what he was with us anyway having been watching games and seeing that the teams who succeed have very strong defensive structures.

Just because he didn't do well at Essendon doesn't mean that people have to have a dig at him at every opportunity. I think it is a pretty reasonable appointment personally.

 

[Jade]

Knights handled himself with class when he was dumped by Essendon; so I have no reason to pot-shot him.

Seemed pretty good from a development perspective, but was a horrible matchday coach (at AFL level).

Best of luck to him, he'll probably end up as a development coach somewhere and will likely do a good job.

 

[Super Gusto]

As others have mentioned Knights as a development coach was pretty good so he should do well in this new position. He also tried his heart out when at Essendon so he doesn't deserve being potted still by supporters. Good luck Knighter.

 

[yodellinhank]

Hocking is another, Dempsey was another as was Lonergan, Hardingham was a first year player so Knights had limited impact.
He certainly did have an impact on Hurley and Zaka as he played them early and it is no surprise that Zaka in particular has flourished as a third year player.

I would've thought Dempsey would be chalked up in the failure to develop properly column on Knights' scorecard? Admittedly didn't get much of him at Bendigo through injury but thinking of Dempsey's 2010 season, if Knights had stayed on I reckon he was cooked.

Zaka and Hurls have done very well, but if you can't get your 1st round picks and early 2nd round picks in deep drafts to come on, then something is definately going wrong.

Hocking and Lonergan big wins to Knights though, must give him that.

 

[TheDon35]

Had to laugh very hard when I heard this... Then I realised we've just appointed his love child... But anyway... haaaaaaaaaaaa. Let the erosion begin Cats.....

P.S It's very easy to handle yourself with class when you are getting paid seven figures for doing nothing... If handling yourself with class is taking your $1,000,000 and not saying anything until the following year when you have a couple of pot shots at a club champion then i guess class is pretty easily achieved.

 

[Jade]

Had to laugh very hard when I heard this... Then I realised we've just appointed his love child... But anyway... haaaaaaaaaaaa. Let the erosion begin Cats.....

P.S It's very easy to handle yourself with class when you are getting paid seven figures for doing nothing... If handling yourself with class is taking your $1,000,000 and not saying anything until the following year when you have a couple of pot shots at a club champion then i guess class is pretty easily achieved.

His pot shots at Lloyd were one of the primary reasons he got the ass in the first place.

A very quick way to get yourself offside with the Essendon faithful....

 

[helicopter]

Xavier must of given him the sack as well

 

[Kong]

..Or he left them for a better job.

 

[Slattery_20]

New criteria down at Kardinia Park: least likely to be poached by Essendon.

LOLs.


Prolly the right job (at least level) for him. Not (& never) a complete write off, just far from the complete, rounded, confident package you need to be as a head coach.

I thought you blokes had moved on, but it's obviously not the case (except for Dos23).

You got your man (Thompson) so why do you continue to deride Knights?

Your club's administration backstabbed him and sacked him; it's not as if he accepted another job somewhere else behind your back. Wait, that reminds me of someone.

I thought you blokes had moved on, it's obviously not the case.

Give it a rest guys. You can take a joke as a joke and show a bit of class. Unfortunately for the second year in a row the off-season is marred with blue-and-white touchiness.

Good luck with 2012.

 

[CousinOfModra]

Nothing against Knights, but the facts suggest he is a monumental failure wherever he goes.

Richmond - no success

Port (SANFL) - no success

Bendigo - no success

Essendon - no success

ABC Radio - no success.

Geelong VFL- ????????

It is surprising that a club like Geelong would hire someone with that CV.

 

[Kong]

How can one man have success as a special comments man on a national radio station, in one year?

 

[Doss]

Nothing against Knights, but the facts suggest he is a monumental failure wherever he goes.

Richmond - no success

Port (SANFL) - no success

Bendigo - no success

Essendon - no success

ABC Radio - no success.

Geelong VFL- ????????

It is surprising that a club like Geelong would hire someone with that CV.

Completely unfair to say that Knights was unsuccessful at Richmond.

He was one of Richmond's best players for fifteen years. Remembering that for the last four years of his career he had a bad case of OP too. Regardless of Richmond's bad record during his career, his record stands at:

279 games
2 best and fairests
1 All-Australian
Richmond Captain 1997-2000
Member of Richmond's team of the century

He was a fine player for Richmond, far from 'unsuccessful'.

Didn't mind him in his special comments role on ABC either.

 

[Slattery_20]

Knights is Richmond's most successful player of the last 30 years.
Gun year in 95. Gun. They played finals. 'Cho was out. And was there in 01.
Finals at Port IIRC?
Finals at Bendigo
Finals at Essendon
And I will go out on a limb, put myself on record to say that Geelong will play finals next year.

He hasn't got the ultimate success (or ever really threatened it) but fact is any given coach is about a 50% shot to get a given club to finals and he's done that everywhere he's gone.

 

[Kong]

More successful than Richo? Me no think so.

I'd have him just ahead of Wayne Campbell, below Richo.

Greg Tivendale and Rory Hilton unlucky.

 

[Slattery_20]

Richo missed one of their only two finals campaigns. Knights played in 95. So Knights.
One B&F to two. 2-0 Knights
Not captain to captain for 3 or 4 years. 3-0 Knights.
A popular third in the BL to a second in the BL. 4-0 Knights.
280 games to 280 games. No advantage
3 AAs to only 1. Richo takes that one. 4-1.

Richo convincingly wins the popularity count.

 

[Slattery_20]

Tivendale kicked 3 goals in a final.
Richo hasn't.

How did we ever end up talking about this shit anyway?

 

[Kong]

lol how is Knights finishing 3rd in the Brownlow better than Richo finishing 2nd?

 

[Kong]

I interpreted you differently. Richo's comfortably better than Tivendale, and reasonably ahead of Knights imo.

No idea. I just wanted to take a pot shot at Richmond with the Tivendale/Hilton comments, tbh.

 

[Slattery_20]

Huh?

Cooney 24
Black 23 (led by a million at half-way)
Richo, Ablett 22

I'm pretty sure Knights was equal 2nd in 95.

 

[cash]

Had to laugh very hard when I heard this... Then I realised we've just appointed his love child... But anyway... haaaaaaaaaaaa. Let the erosion begin Cats.....

P.S It's very easy to handle yourself with class when you are getting paid seven figures for doing nothing... If handling yourself with class is taking your $1,000,000 and not saying anything until the following year when you have a couple of pot shots at a club champion then i guess class is pretty easily achieved.

Pretty sure that the $$$$ settlement would have involved a gag order on knights.

 

[Kong]

Huh?

Cooney 24
Black 23 (led by a million at half-way)
Richo, Ablett 22

I'm pretty sure Knights was equal 2nd in 95.

Ma bad, misread your post.

 

[Slattery_20]

I interpreted you differently. Richo's comfortably better than Tivendale, and reasonably ahead of Knights imo.

I said achieved more, I didn't say better.
Flags are the #1 priority, finals second, any personal stuff recognised by your peers & club probably third.

Then there's being everyone's favourite player from a different club.

 

[Kong]

Technically I agree, kinda.

Nobody in their right mind should consider Nathan Buckley a less successful player than Alan Toovey, for example.

Premierships shouldnt be a reflection on individuals.

But the b&f's is fair, which Knights as you said has more of.

The fact that Richo kicked what, 800 goals? At perhaps the worst club of the last 30 years makes him pretty successful in my eyes.

Going off on another tangent, he was more talented than Lloyd IMO.

 

[Slattery_20]

Would you trust Richo to kick you over the line in a final?
I wouldn't.
Nor Fev - despite his bucketload of goals.

Fev and Richo sit roughly together - far, far behind the Lloyds of this world IMHO.