Mega Thread The Western Bulldogs - The Sack Macca saga

[Double the Fist]

I could understand the decision to have Macca resign because his methods of coaching and communication weren't right IF all the ex-premiership geelong players in Mooney, Scarlett, Corey, Ling, Harley didnt back him. They are 110% behind him and backed him for sure. We are too soft. Way too soft

This of course is an increadible concern if true. Will be interesting to hear their side of the story, and if they stick around.

 

[Dacksaredown]

can break the lines as well as just about anyone in the comp.

That's because he's a receiver. I guess there's a role for every player like him but, still, easily replaceable.

 

[yebiga]

Peter Gordon
Today may be the beginning of the end for this club
Nothing could be more divisive and destructive than your lack of backbone during the last few weeks - nothing

My god what a disaster

Your administration awol

 

[who_let_the_dogs_out]

That's because he's a receiver. I guess there's a role for every player like him but, still, easily replaceable.

I'm not sure how many dogs games you watch, but he is not easily replaceable.

 

[yebiga]

Peter Gordon
Today may be the beginning of the end for this club
Nothing could be more divisive and destructive than your lack of backbone during the last few weeks - nothing

My god what a disaster

Your administration awol

 

[AFDogs]

Peter Gordon
Today may be the beginning of the end for this club
Nothing could be more divisive and destructive than your lack of backbone during the last few weeks - nothing

My god what a disaster

Your administration awol

Settle down. We will be perfectly fine. New coach, new beginnings.

 

[hoianbulldog]

Posted this on the main board by mistake. Apologies for duplication.

My summary:

1. Club does review and identifies problem with communication. Club address concerns and put measures in place to rectify.
2. Griff says all good - Let carry on.
3. Griff returns from Holiday and advises club he is out.
4. Club talks to players and other stakeholders yesterday (lets call it a review) and they decide Macca has to go.

WTF happened between step 1 and 4.

 

[ExRoyboy]

The Board should have called Macca in and told him they backed him 100%. Not conducted a survey! That would have sent a stronger message to everyone that you either get on board or you can piss off!

Now despite the nice words by Peter at the press conference they have sent the exact opposite message. That the club will cave in under pressure.

As much as it hurts Griffin leaving was going to be a blessing in disguise as we can really use the picks and address a number of deficiencies in our list. With the strong backing of the Board, Macca could easily have continued next year and the players would have known that they were under strong leadership with a no excuses mentality.

Now, even though we might be able to get good compensation for Griffin, what chance have we got of convincing another coach to lead with a strong message after this debacle.

We have to support the club because what else can we do as supporters and members but I truly believe we have missed a golden opportunity to once and for all change the culture of this club for the better to that of winners, not mediocrity.

 

[Snarls Barkley]

Sad day. Macca sold me a vision that had me confident of success. Shame he hasn't been able to run his course, real lack of maturity from the senior players although Macca himself does share some of the fault.

The list is in much better shape now than it was when he took over so whoever the new coach is, they'll have a bit to work with.

Club is in ****ing shambles at the moment, will take a miracle to come out smiling at the other side.

 

[GetDimmaBack]

Ah, well. It's only a game...

 

[littlenails]

The player group getting a coach terminated for telling them to get better is not a good day.

Is that what happened? I could have done that.

He got sacked because there was a critical mass of players whom he had alienated and the situation could not be repaired.
Poor communicator, poor man-manager.

Look at the bright side. We can now get a good coach, who can carry on with the improvement in culture and sustained success theme, and we have all of those early draft picks.

 

[Dannnnnnnnnn]

Will be interesting to see how many of Corey, Mooney, Scarlett et al up and leave now. All extremely close with Macca, and all very, very supportive of his vision.

 

[hoianbulldog]

Look at the bright side. We can now get a good coach, who can carry on with the improvement in culture and sustained success theme, and we have all of those early draft picks.

Can you pls elaborate on this. We are back to the mid 70's.

 

[who_let_the_dogs_out]

Will be interesting to see how many of Corey, Mooney, Scarlett et al up and leave now. All extremely close with Macca, and all very, very supportive of his vision.

Gordon will have to pull a miracle to keep those guys on side.

 

[JJHunter]

I'm still scratching my head a little
- for those saying and angry that the players cannot run the club..........

What would you do as president in 2015 if half the playing list, and yes its half the playing list - had issues with the coach.
Its an untennable situation - It is a fact that McCartney understood and agreed on and hence why he resigned.

The only decision that could be reached was the one Macca and Gordon come to.
Realistically I am not sure what else could have been done.

But I agree with the people saying Griffen cannot return.
Although he was only the face of the discontent - he does have blood on his hands in the eyes of the footy world - fair or unfair.

I expect that Jordan Roughhead will be named captain.
I expect the coach to come from Montgomery or West.

I cant see them going with Williams or Sanderson given they were sacked for largely player unrest.

 

[_Mike_]

Probably the most numbest day ever (even worse than those PF defeats) being a bulldogs supporter. Its up there with the 89 merger fightback

 

[Guido]

I'm as pissed off at Griff and the club as everybody else is but we need to step back and realise that they spoke to the players, and there was enough negative feedback for them to believe Macca's position was untenable. I very much doubt that it's a very small number of senior players as we've been led to believe. In that case, it was the right decision - whether we agree that Macca wasn't the man to take us forward or not. At the end of the day the players expressed enough concerns to make Macca think that he could not continue. The board agreed. I don't think we can judge this on the basis of "three or four senior players" as we've been told. There were enough players with legitimate concerns to make this the best course of action.

Good post.

#1 in coaching is having your players on-board.

Managing personalities, pushing the right buttons to get the maximum possible out of them.

We (almost) know for a fact that these below players weren't happy with his methods/ the environment he created in the last 6 months:

Jones
Tutt
Talia
Cooney
Minson
Griffen
Boyd

Given that there's probably a couple more under the radar that we don't know about, it amounts to about a quarter of the list being so anti his methods that they're either almost, or totally, prepared to walk out.

If these blokes were all campaigners, cancers, or players with inherently poor attitudes that naturally fought/pushed against authority/or hard work, you'd argue that it's the players fault. One, two maybe even three might be.

However once you get to understated guys that have turned down massive offers to stay in the past and whose work ethic has seen them get themselves to AA level (like Griffen and Boyd), I think there comes a point where the issue might be the coach's methods/approach rather than the players. Would Clarkson's methods/approach/communication have had so many of these guys looking to walk out? Would Hinkley's? We can say "it's the players running the club", but it is possible that there was a better coach out there, with a better way, that would have got the absolute maximum possible out of these guys without having a quarter of the list either pissed off or wanting to walk.

I just don't agree with the timing - one more year, another top 5 pick, another year of development under the tutelage of one of the most outstanding developers of young talent in the code, Worsfold would be available. IMO there would have been very little to lose. Maybe there's other factors that just made it completely untenable.

But I for one will be devastated if this means that Griffen stays. Opportunity of a lifetime to cash in - those picks could very well prove the difference between winning a premiership or not.

 

[yebiga]

I believe it is Gordon who is living in the simplicity of the 1950s
The situation is too complex for him
And the opportunity this unfortunate situation presented has been turned into crap in his hands

 

[Butane]

I'm still scratching my head a little
- for those saying and angry that the players cannot run the club..........

What would you do as president in 2015 if half the playing list, and yes its half the playing list - had issues with the coach.
Its an untennable situation - It is a fact that McCartney understood and agreed on and hence why he resigned.

The only decision that could be reached was the one Macca and Gordon come to.
Realistically I am not sure what else could have been done.

But I agree with the people saying Griffen cannot return.
Although he was only the face of the discontent - he does have blood on his hands in the eyes of the footy world - fair or unfair.

I expect that Jordan Roughhead will be named captain.
I expect the coach to come from Montgomery or West.

I cant see them going with Williams or Sanderson given they were sacked for largely player unrest.

This is correct. McCartney lost the players, his position was untenable. You could have kept him on for another 12 months and just gone around in circles with more players leaving next year. Gordon obviously spoke about it with Stringer, or at least got a good idea of where he stood and still decided to sack Macca today.

 

[inyourfacedunk]

I always thought Mark Harvey was good at Freo and was unlucky to be sacked after one year of being ravaged by injuries (to the point they had to apply to the AFL to be allowed to upgrade another rookie towards the end of the season).

Anyone else think he might be worth chasing?

 

[littlenails]

Can you pls elaborate on this. We are back to the mid 70's.

Macca wanted an improvement in culture didn't he? A new coach can carry on with that aim.

 

[Trent85]

 

[yebiga]

I'm still scratching my head a little
- for those saying and angry that the players cannot run the club..........

What would you do as president in 2015 if half the playing list, and yes its half the playing list - had issues with the coach.
Its an untennable situation - It is a fact that McCartney understood and agreed on and hence why he resigned.

The only decision that could be reached was the one Macca and Gordon come to.
Realistically I am not sure what else could have been done.

But I agree with the people saying Griffen cannot return.
Although he was only the face of the discontent - he does have blood on his hands in the eyes of the footy world - fair or unfair.

I expect that Jordan Roughhead will be named captain.
I expect the coach to come from Montgomery or West.

I cant see them going with Williams or Sanderson given they were sacked for largely player unrest.

The club should never had let it get to this point
And the opportunity of losing some of the old guard and supporting the coach would have helped us enormously

 

[inyourfacedunk]

Shots fired. And he is spot on too.

 

[Dogsman16]

Yeah that &*#@(*& hurts.