Paul Roos - not the messiah

Remove this Banner Ad

I don't know why people were expecting instant results. AFL is like formula 1 in some respects. You can have the best driver in the world in the car but if the car is 3 seconds a lap slower than the fastest cars out there that driver isn't going to be able to do anything. Clarkson or Thompson could be coaching the Demons right now and it would not make them any better. Where Roos will prove his worth is over the long term.
 
They've lacked any sort of superstar player in years. Even just a top 50 one. The other recent cellar dwellers at least had that going for them. Saints have had and still have plenty. The Bulldogs have had Griffen, Cooney and even Hall in the recent past. Port and Richmond have developed some quality. Every time I watch them its literally like watching a WAFL/VFL club.

As much as I think Roos is overrated, there isn't much he can do about that.
Morton, Watts, Scully, Trengove, Toumpas. Like every chance we had of a top 5 pick we just stuffed it or stuffed the player. But Viney and Hogan can and should be different yet I get some inevitable feeling about it not working.

The thing is we now have some kind of structure in place where Viney and Hogan can develop with support. Viney when back from injury should be eased in to a midfield featuring Jones, Cross, Vince and Tyson. He doesn't have to be the star from day 1. He wont be tagged. He will have some muscle around him.

Same with Hogan. Even if Clark doesn't get back there is still Dawes who can be a foil for Hogan and take the best defender and do a lot of the hard running. Dawes might not be that great but he's good enough and plays with the right work rate to help a young kid, yet he's now just as injured as Hogan.

Anyway it's a long season and the game plan is starting to show. The contested possession, disposals and inside 50's are starting to even up. Some of our players are as good as witches hats but I feel we can get a 22 who have something to offer together especially if we finally get some injury luck.

If you stay positive you can see an 100 point loss turning in to a 50 point loss just by some really simple stuff like not dropping chest marks inside 50 and not playing on in really bad positions.
 

Log in to remove this ad.

Roos will install some confidence into the playing list and then I'd expect to see some marked improved. The big problem is his commitment to the cause. Hell we don't even know if he's going to be around for 2 or 3 years.
 
Melbourne is not a quick fix. He will coach all year, work on developing the game plan and teaching it to the players. Trying out various players and work out which players are part of the future at Melbourne and trade/delist the ones that aren't. Then hopefully in year 2 maybe bring in an extra player or two with some spare salary cap and hopefully another year of development will start to really make inroads.

No club could be as bad as they have been for the last decade without serious underlying problems that will take years to remedy even if all the 'perfect' list decisions were made. I don't know how many wins they will have this year but to be honest as long as they follow a process which actually yields results in the end (instead of just more of the same) then I don't think it matters.
 
Just don't think having the players know that the afl thinks they're so crap they moved heaven and earth to get Roos to coach them, and the guy wants out in two years, is actually doing anything positive to their self belief.
The club needs stability and belief, not some long shot miracle cure.
 

(Log in to remove this ad.)

Hypothetically if after Paul Roos 2 years and Melbourne are still on the bottom will the afl instill a scored earth policy and completely replace the entire MFC? Board, CEO, Coaches, staff, etc. keep about 5-10 best players and give them GC/gws type concessions and restart the club.

Would people be against this?
 
Just like St Kilda in 2001, people have falsely pumped up Melbourne because they hired a gun Premiership winning coach. I said it all pre-season - who besides Roos have they recruited to get them the long overdue improvement?

It is very early days yet, but the idea that Roos was hired as a short term investment only to improve the confidence and game plan before handing the side over to an as-yet-unnamed successor who will lead them to the promised land was always utter nonsense, and has clearly done absolutely nothing for the players, in fact, yesterday they looked even worse than last year, if that's possible.

I must make it harder to swallow for all involved with MFC being tricked into thinking they'd immeasurably improve only to be dished up the same plate of ice cold sh!t they've been suffering through for most of the last decade.
 
The real messiah

kern.jpeg
 
Horrible shoreline but did win the tackle count, which shows there is effort.

I think Roos will be unsuccessful at Melbourne, I think it takes a lot longer to turn around a club that's been so bad for so long.

The skill and personnel can't be replaced overnight, so Roos' needs to be judged on the effort shown by his players. He needs to put in a system that brings the best out of them (even if that had a very low ceiling ) - and motivate them to put in max effort.
 
Remember, no one rated the 'ugly' 2005 Swans.

They didn't have the polish or the flair of the other top sides, but they did have 14 100+ gamers, a genuine key forward in Hall and a great foil in O'Loughlin, a Brownlow medalist in Goodes and a collection of midfielders harder than integral calculus in Kirk, Bolton, Crouch etc.

For good reason. They're probably the worst premiership team in recent memory.
 
Hypothetically if after Paul Roos 2 years and Melbourne are still on the bottom will the afl instill a scored earth policy and completely replace the entire MFC? Board, CEO, Coaches, staff, etc. keep about 5-10 best players and give them GC/gws type concessions and restart the club.

Would people be against this?

The streak of ineptness is approaching 1964-1987 levels.

In all seriousness Roos' job should be compared to Barrassi in Sydney.
 
Good parallel. He was overrated and immune from criticism too. Found out actually building a list himself (just like at Melbourne in 1981) was a lot tougher than taking the side pre-assembled.

Barass did it twice. Melbourne 1981 which led to the dominant side of the late 80s and early 90s and Sydney 1993 which led to the 1996 GF and the Eade era.
 
Barass did it twice. Melbourne 1981 which led to the dominant side of the late 80s and early 90s and Sydney 1993 which led to the 1996 GF and the Eade era.

What dominant side? The one that NEVER finished top? The one that made one Grand Final and suffered a then record defeat? How many of the 1988 Grand Final team were there when Barassi was in charge?
 
What dominant side? The one that NEVER finished top? The one that made one Grand Final and suffered a then record defeat? How many of the 1988 Grand Final team were there when Barassi was in charge?
Relative to the past 23 years they sure as hell were dominant. Melbourne hadn't made the finals since 1964. And that 1994 side (along with 2004) are probably the closest Melbourne has come to a flag since.
 

Remove this Banner Ad

Paul Roos - not the messiah

Remove this Banner Ad

Back
Top