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

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mxett said:
Good point.

Sheedy was such a GREAT people person. He just loved people, their lives, their success. It was a key factor in his legacy.

Knights also seems to be a great people person. The confidence he is instilling in the players is a pleasure to watch. :thumbsu:
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I seem to remember him saying that he learned a lot off Sheedy in his time as Bendigo coach -- but still had a lot of his own ideas and opinions that differed. Basically he was saying that he wanted to take the best aspects of many different coaches he's learned from to form his own style.

Fox Sports article said:
As a coach, Knights can be intense and exacting. But one thing he learned from Sheedy - and from Kevin Bartlett, his first coach at Richmond - was the importance of seeing the good in players as well as their flaws.

Sheedy was one of football's great optimists, forever seeing the AFL ladder from the top down instead of the bottom up. As a result, Essendon under Sheedy had a warmth which Knights noticed the first time he walked into Windy Hill. He also recalled times during his 15-year playing career at Richmond - a career which spanned 279 games, six senior coaches and only two finals campaigns - when Punt Road felt stone cold.

"You have always got to remember to give recognition when it is deserved," he said. "In a predominantly male culture, it can become a very cold environment if you don't have that recognition. You start to get players or staff members who are gun-shy and that is the last thing I want as coach.

"I want my players to be relaxed, I want them to be calm and I want them to be able to take the game on. If you are getting constant negativity that will inhibit any person."
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http://www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,8659,23183620-23211,00.html

So there you go. Your observation about Knights seems just right ;)
 
Re: Matthew Knights outthunked Malthouse

No doubt about it! He outfoxed Malthouse. Those watching on TV may not have been able to see this: three small fast forwards spread in a very large triangle so that it was one on one. Gary Lyon kept pointing to this but obviously Malthouse was on the wrong station. :p

Hille as the other huge factor - when he rucked, our guys got the ball and ran away with it.

Knights did make one glaring mistake when he took someone (Fletcher I think) off, leaving Collingwood one man up inside their 50. But for the rest of the game, Malthouse had few answers, and his players appeared to want to be somewhere else.

I think Knights is a very astute coach and a quick thinker. When we get some more guys like Alwyn and McVeigh back into the team, Jetta and Banana Boots running wild............................:thumbsu::thumbsu::thumbsu:
 

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I think Knighta is fantastic.
The way he works with the boys during the training sessions,
the way he isn't afraid to speak his about them and let them know what they need to be doing etc is great.

Unfortunately a friend of mine can't stand Knights and thinks "he 'f**ked the Bombers hard". Absolutely no clue,and I keep getting in arguments with him.
Ah well...no idea in my opinion...grow a brain.

I think people expect miracles to happen,
but I think they Bombers are doing well under Knights..
the more game time the young kids get,the better they will be.
The past 6 games have been unreal and hats off to Knights and the boys who have given it there all. :thumbsu:
 
Thought Dale Thomas was going to tear us to shreds early on. I was then waiting for him to step up in the last quarter, but Malthouse left him deep in the pies' defensive half for most of the 2nd half - the player that most provides that x-factor for collingwood was more or less kept out of the play and was unable to influence the game. And keeping Heath Shaw on Hollywood Monfries was also a big mistake by Malthouse. Should have put him in the middle or up forward to get him into the game, particularly when Rhys went down after Jetta's ripper hip & shoulder.

Well done to the boys, both on the field, and in the box. Nothing better than beating the Pies!!!
 
DazzlingBomber said:
Thought Dale Thomas was going to tear us to shreds early on. I was then waiting for him to step up in the last quarter, but Malthouse left him deep in the pies' defensive half for most of the 2nd half - the player that most provides that x-factor for collingwood was more or less kept out of the play and was unable to influence the game. And keeping Heath Shaw on Hollywood Monfries was also a big mistake by Malthouse. Should have put him in the middle or up forward to get him into the game, particularly when Rhys went down after Jetta's ripper hip & shoulder.

Well done to the boys, both on the field, and in the box. Nothing better than beating the Pies!!!
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IMHO, as an outside observer, Heath Shaw has been coached poorly this year.

Andrew Welsh and Angus Monfries, on the other hand... :thumbsu: :D
 
FandangoDingo said:
IMHO, as an outside observer, Heath Shaw has been coached poorly this year.

Andrew Welsh and Angus Monfries, on the other hand... :thumbsu: :D
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couldn't agree more..

i was on the knights bandwagon from day one.. BUT i really think he has done some great things with the youngsters and welsh and monfries have just exploded.. so he is exceeding my expectations.. really great stuff.. and loving the game plan.. win or lose.. love the excitement and flow and courage.. especially since we have added a more defensive side.. the tackles and hard running.. just all going beautifully..
 
Re: Matthew Knights - he's a very good coach

Ari said:
This year!!! :D

Hope you're doing well Valve.
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I'm fine. Going to have a hole drilled in my left eye with a laser tomorrow morning. :(

Knights has brought the young guys along very well. With Alwyn, McVeigh, Dempsey back, and Scotty in good health again, I think we'll have one heck of a team next year.
 
I have a question for Essendon supporters regarding Matthew Knights. I personally think Matthew Knights has done a reasonable job this year and an excellent job over the past couple of months. I thought the process to sack Sheedy and appoint Knights bordered on comical, but since then, the club seems to have pulled their stuff together. Most Essendon supporters I know were divided about sacking Sheeds, some wanted him gone and others wanted him to stay, having said that, they nearly all unanimously were prepared to at least give Knights a go.

That is except for one of my best mates who is an avid Essendon supporter. He nearly jumped out of his 30th story office window when he heard Sheeds was sacked and has hated the board since. His hatred for the board has spilled over into an irrational hatred for Knights. I want to know if these kind of feelings are prevalent amongst other Essendon supporters or are most of you warming to Knights?

I am also wondering, what would it take for Knights to be re-signed to continue coaching after next year. My mate reckons Simon Madden will be on the board from next year and when Knights' contract ends, he will appoint Hird as coach. I personally would have thought that if Essendon were in a similar position next year to where they are this year, you would strongly consider re-signing Knights.
 

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I think he has done very well considering the pressure he had from the word go. There are still some of thos Save Essendon tossbags complaining about his every move but they are not true supporters. Sheeds is a club legend, but he is still not bigger than the club itself. It was time for a split and the club has done a great job since his departure.

If what you say is true about Madden, I hope he's not just signing Hird for the sake of him being Hird. If Knights continues to do a good job it would only effect us in the long term to sack him for the sake of it. Get Hird on as his assistant before we go all out and make him coach. We all saw what happened with Timmy Watson.
 
Chodders said:
I have a question for Essendon supporters regarding Matthew Knights. I personally think Matthew Knights has done a reasonable job this year and an excellent job over the past couple of months. I thought the process to sack Sheedy and appoint Knights bordered on comical, but since then, the club seems to have pulled their stuff together. Most Essendon supporters I know were divided about sacking Sheeds, some wanted him gone and others wanted him to stay, having said that, they nearly all unanimously were prepared to at least give Knights a go.

That is except for one of my best mates who is an avid Essendon supporter. He nearly jumped out of his 30th story office window when he heard Sheeds was sacked and has hated the board since. His hatred for the board has spilled over into an irrational hatred for Knights. I want to know if these kind of feelings are prevalent amongst other Essendon supporters or are most of you warming to Knights?

I am also wondering, what would it take for Knights to be re-signed to continue coaching after next year. My mate reckons Simon Madden will be on the board from next year and when Knights' contract ends, he will appoint Hird as coach. I personally would have thought that if Essendon were in a similar position next year to where they are this year, you would strongly consider re-signing Knights.
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So far I am very happy with what Knights has done. He seems to also work very well with the leadership group and his development of the younger players is fantastic. A great example of this is Sam Lonergan who some thought might be finished at Essendon.

As for Simon Madden as coach I would then be the one jumping out of a 30 story office block. He coaches at Bernards and is not a good coach.
 
Chodders said:
I have a question for Essendon supporters regarding Matthew Knights. I personally think Matthew Knights has done a reasonable job this year and an excellent job over the past couple of months. I thought the process to sack Sheedy and appoint Knights bordered on comical, but since then, the club seems to have pulled their stuff together. Most Essendon supporters I know were divided about sacking Sheeds, some wanted him gone and others wanted him to stay, having said that, they nearly all unanimously were prepared to at least give Knights a go.

That is except for one of my best mates who is an avid Essendon supporter. He nearly jumped out of his 30th story office window when he heard Sheeds was sacked and has hated the board since. His hatred for the board has spilled over into an irrational hatred for Knights. I want to know if these kind of feelings are prevalent amongst other Essendon supporters or are most of you warming to Knights?

I am also wondering, what would it take for Knights to be re-signed to continue coaching after next year. My mate reckons Simon Madden will be on the board from next year and when Knights' contract ends, he will appoint Hird as coach. I personally would have thought that if Essendon were in a similar position next year to where they are this year, you would strongly consider re-signing Knights.
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I, like many, were surprised by Knighters appointment, but i also found out a little bit prior to the announcement so had time to think about it and come to terms with it.

Once i had done that, i was happy to jump on board and support him and the club, as i always have done.

He has done everything he said he would do, has bought a new level of professionalism to the club, is an excellent media performer, knows where he wants to get to and has a plan to get there and is well liked and respected by those that matter.

His match day match ups have been hindered by a long injury list and apart from the odd mistake here and there he has performed beyond my expectations in this department.

One gets the feeling that the players are behind his vision 100% and will do what it takes to get there.

Hasn't put a foot out of place thus far and has a 3 year deal so there is no hurry to resign him yet but assuming things progress as expected then at some stage next year i would think they will start negotiations.

The Madden/Hird rumour is rubbish.
 
From what I can tell, Knights is a true professional, and appears to be a really nice bloke as well, although he maintains a strong level of discipline. Good chemistry with Matthew Lloyd in terms of leadership style.

And we all love Sheeds and what he did for the club, but we had to change, and that change has done us a world of good.
 
I was not so livid that they sacked Sheedy, but the process that the club went through after the sacking. We sacked Sheedy because the coaching carousel was happening and didn't want to be left with the dregs. But we ended up waiting for months on what was perceived to talk to Mark Thompson after the cats season ended. Then a week before the GF we announce Knights, we rejected Harvey who I thought would have been better, and in the end did nothing we said we would do in finding a coach. We finished with what I though, the worst possible choice.

It’s good to be wrong.
 
Chodders said:
I have a question for Essendon supporters regarding Matthew Knights. I personally think Matthew Knights has done a reasonable job this year and an excellent job over the past couple of months. I thought the process to sack Sheedy and appoint Knights bordered on comical, but since then, the club seems to have pulled their stuff together. Most Essendon supporters I know were divided about sacking Sheeds, some wanted him gone and others wanted him to stay, having said that, they nearly all unanimously were prepared to at least give Knights a go.

That is except for one of my best mates who is an avid Essendon supporter. He nearly jumped out of his 30th story office window when he heard Sheeds was sacked and has hated the board since. His hatred for the board has spilled over into an irrational hatred for Knights. I want to know if these kind of feelings are prevalent amongst other Essendon supporters or are most of you warming to Knights?

I am also wondering, what would it take for Knights to be re-signed to continue coaching after next year. My mate reckons Simon Madden will be on the board from next year and when Knights' contract ends, he will appoint Hird as coach. I personally would have thought that if Essendon were in a similar position next year to where they are this year, you would strongly consider re-signing Knights.
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I have been one of the few that have been on board with the Knights decision since day 1. I saw a lot of him up close during his Bendigo stint and as development coach and i always thought he was doing a good job with the young blokes.
I have been really happy so far. Yes Knights has made some mistakes as you would expect from a first year coach. Overall i think the new planing he has put in place will pay dividends.
As far as your mate goes he is dreaming if he thinks Hird will be coaching us. Madden may well run for the board but he will have to over throw the whole board to remove Knights from his duties and on top of that if Knights continues to get results then they will look very stupid removing him and replacing him with another unproven coach .
Knights has a three year deal so he has 2009 and 2010 to go.
 
7zark7 said:
As for Simon Madden as coach I would then be the one jumping out of a 30 story office block. He coaches at Bernards and is not a good coach.
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Read again:
My mate reckons Simon Madden will be on the board from next year and when Knights' contract ends, he will appoint Hird as coach.
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I'm happy with Knights and what he has done thus far, for all of the reasons already mentioned. Actually I'm bloody rapt. :thumbsu:

:)
 
1 - I was quite upset how the board handled the Sheedy situation
2 - I was not happy when they said they were going to talk to Thompson then went with Knights
3- Very happy with what Knights has done this year

McPhee up forward has worked and something i was wanting for the last three years
Longergan given time in the middle has helped
Lloyds move up the wings has worked well

I'm still a little unsure about his game day coaching. If his plan A doesn't work i don't think he reacts quick enough. He has faith in his gameplan but if something isn't working i believe he should try something else.
 
One of the best things Knights has done this year was just prior to the game against Wet Toast when Lloyd was being bagged by all-and-sundry. Knighter took the heat off him by releasing him into a different role (one that apparently didn't require him to kick big bags of goals) and announcing it to the media. Lloyd promptly repaid him by playing a blinder and hasn't looked back since. Shows a great understanding of both his players and the media.

It seems he has a plan and we need to give him his 3 years to make it work (a la Clarkson) - we won't really know if he was the right choice much before then.

I do agree with previous posters that the whole process of removing Sheeds and appointing Knights. Horsborough acted in a way that was very 'un-Essendon' and threatened to destabilise the club. A credit to everyone else at WindyHill that they've managed to hold it together and push forward.
 
I was very wary with the mess Essendon created in the early stages with the whole coach sacking of Sheedy and the appointment of Knights. It was so "not" Essendon at all.

I was supportive of the idea that Sheedy had to go. I was over it to be honest. He never played the kids long enough or often enough. Pick em one week and after a reasonble performance, he would drop them the next. While Sheedy was good at developing certain guys, he hindered others I believe, Dyson to me being a perfect example.
Also our consistency was horrible. We would whip some teams one week and then drop the winable ones. Very frustrating all round.

When Knights was appointed, like most, I was shocked. He wasn't my choice at all, not by a long shot. But, I was happy we didn't go down the Daniher path or some other used up coach from another club. I wanted fresh and Hardwick was my pick.

However, I have to say from Day 1 when Knights spoke of what he wanted to do and how he wanted to do it, I was instantly happy. Then the delistings started and I was even happier. Finally, the deadwood was being cleared from our list and it was obvious all these kids we have had on our list were going to get an opportunity to play regularly. Whether they would succeed or not wasn't important, what was important was they were getting their chance.
The draft was good for us I'm convinced last time around. Quality players all of them, and filling gaps we had.

The season didn't start all that well for us, a couple of wins and big losses in the first half were scary, but at least most of the matches were exciting to watch at times. I remember watching our loss against the Bulldogs and was blown away by our speed and our change of game plan. No more backwards crap and kicking all over the place and getting nowhere. It was forward and fast at all costs. We didn't win, but you could see where we were heading. I liked it.

Knights and team obviously knew the direction we were heading, and now the way we play is coming together, and the team are playing together as a team. They all seem genuinely keen to take the game on. No longer are we waiting for Hird to come on and rescue us like so many times before, they are all giving it a go, and its paying off.
When a team challenges us, we respond, and take them on and stay ahead. How many times over the last couple of years with Sheedy did we lose games as teams over ran us? A lot!
We could even make the finals! We won't though, but the fact, that we are a chance is damn exciting.

Next year will be a turning point I'm sure. Hopefully, we can get a fit and healthy team together, not the injuries that have wrecked our year this time around.
Delistings and trades I think at the end of the season will be minimal I think. Knights will be keen to keep this list together, with a couple of obvious changes, and there is not too many changes that need to occur, mostly enhancements.

I think Essendon made the right choice for sure, and I am very much looking forward to the next few years with this team and Knights in control.

GO BOMBERS!
 
I really like Matthew Knights. Unlike most Bombers fans, I wasn't suprised when they annouced that Matthew Knights would be the coach next year. I knew they would go with a young, rookie coach. I thought it was the way to go because they would have a better understanding on what it takes to get through a game of football and what attitude to have when playing at the elite level.

I was really happy when we won our first game for the year. I had predicted big things for the team for the year. After the loss to Geelong, I got a bit annoyed with Knights because he didn't make the players accountable. Weeks went by, the team got hit with injury, we got thrashed 3 weeks in a row. Everyone was writing the coach off. There expectations were too high.

In round 10 everything started to turn. The players had more spirit and looked like they wanted to play for this team. Knights started to out some thought into the defence. Our players started to be more accountable. We nearly won the impossible game. Ever since then Knights has had my full support and he definitely has what it takes to be a coach at elite level. He has put some massive wins on the board, including a massive win in the west. Something our team hasn't been able do recently.

He is really good at getting the most out of the players. All the young players are stepping up and older players like Lloydy and Pev have re-invented themselves. Our middle tier players are starting to have a better impact and playing very important roles in the team.

Matthew Knights is a great coach and I hope he stays around for another 20 years.
 

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

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