There are rumbles at the top

[Event Horizon]

If the media did analyse our team, I fail to see how having the likes of Walls, Connolly, Sheahan and co. ripping into our players will help rebuild their already fragile confidence.

True, but it may bring about the change at the top, which I would very much be in favour of right now.

But if the media uses our pathetic on field situation to push us out of Melbourne, I'd be very alarmed...

 

[grEEk_rOO]

Yeah, the motto of it is not if you win or lose but how you play the game falls on deaf ears when it comes to AFL coaches.

I believe there is a good loss where you take things out of the loss and then there are bad losses where you learn nothing from the games.

I believe most of our losses have been bad losses. The only thing we should take out of those games is that we should not be playing football like that.

Laidley believed the club couldn't afford to bottom out, he is wrong, all clubs bottom out, it is a cyclical thing where only lucky or creative recruiting can allow you to live a bit longer.

Reality is we can't afford to play boring unnattractive footy less than we can afford to bottom out. I'd rather us end up in the bottom four playing the kind of footy that makes you want to watch footy than playing ugly footy and limping into the finals.

We should be playing a style of football that will win us a premiership, if we do not have the cattle then we miss out on the finals for a few years and we will get some decent picks but the young kids in the side now will grow up to be mature aged players will accumulate worthwhile experience rather than worthless experience.

If the only way we can ever win a flag is to play how we are playing now then I'd rather not watch football any longer because I found it hard to watch the game were we stuffed around with the ball and were on the attacking side of the wing only to end up back in defensive 50 time and again.

There is no point in switching the play if you have no options on the other side of the ground. There is no point in holding up the play and slowing it down if you are just going to be forced to kick it to a contest anyway and turn the ball over.

We are playing crap football at the moment, our skills are crap and even if we were getting over the line in these games I would not be happy because I know we are not going to get anywhere playing like this.

Tas get ready for a "CAUTION HAWTHORN MENTALITY" mention

 

[la roux]

I was umming and arring about going out on a Tuesday night.... but I think I will be there after this weekend...

The cocktail party's going to be a pearler.

I bet someone gets a gutsful and takes a swing at Laidley

 

[mighty mick]

The Bummers went down in the good old NMFC style.............having a crack! We looked more like we came out of a human crack.................one found midships and aft!!!!!!!!!!

T'toes

yes with that type of coming out of our so called game plan, i actually fell asleep watching the game. of course the dockers didnt help ZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

 

[utility]

Yeah, the motto of it is not if you win or lose but how you play the game falls on deaf ears when it comes to AFL coaches.

I believe there is a good loss where you take things out of the loss and then there are bad losses where you learn nothing from the games.

I believe most of our losses have been bad losses. The only thing we should take out of those games is that we should not be playing football like that.

Laidley believed the club couldn't afford to bottom out, he is wrong, all clubs bottom out, it is a cyclical thing where only lucky or creative recruiting can allow you to live a bit longer.

Reality is we can't afford to play boring unnattractive footy less than we can afford to bottom out. I'd rather us end up in the bottom four playing the kind of footy that makes you want to watch footy than playing ugly footy and limping into the finals.

We should be playing a style of football that will win us a premiership, if we do not have the cattle then we miss out on the finals for a few years and we will get some decent picks but the young kids in the side now will grow up to be mature aged players will accumulate worthwhile experience rather than worthless experience.

If the only way we can ever win a flag is to play how we are playing now then I'd rather not watch football any longer because I found it hard to watch the game were we stuffed around with the ball and were on the attacking side of the wing only to end up back in defensive 50 time and again.

There is no point in switching the play if you have no options on the other side of the ground. There is no point in holding up the play and slowing it down if you are just going to be forced to kick it to a contest anyway and turn the ball over.

We are playing crap football at the moment, our skills are crap and even if we were getting over the line in these games I would not be happy because I know we are not going to get anywhere playing like this.

And that is why Tas is North Melbourne's coach on Bigfooty.

Somebody tell JYD this at the cocktail party.

 

[windsock]

Someone tell me I'm wrong, but as far as I'm concerned, playing the type of footy that takes you to the bottom four is ugly footy no matter how you look at it.

Ask Essendon fans how happy they are to lose to Carlton, Hawthorn and Richmond.

And I'm sure if we did play this so-called 'attractive, positive football' and lost most weeks everyone on here would be saying stuff like 'everyone else is playing this possesssion-type football, why can't Laidley get our blokes to do it'.

You all know it.

Oh, and for anyone who's interested, we also lost to West Coast by four goals in what I thought was a pretty good performance in terms of 'effort'.

 

[Carlos]

With the completely uninspired and rubbish footy we're playing at the moment, i'd be bloody worried if there wasn't the odd rumble from the blokes entrusted with making the big decisions for our footy club.

 

[mighty mick]

With the completely uninspired and rubbish footy we're playing at the moment, i'd be bloody worried if there wasn't the odd rumble from the blokes entrusted with making the big decisions for our footy club.

if your going to the cocktail party carlos time to give jyd a talking too

 

[Woodson]

And that is why Tas is North Melbourne's coach on Bigfooty.

Somebody tell JYD this at the cocktail party.

Something that one day will revolutionize our game to the next level >>> anyway I'd like to see that >> A 'nobody' gets Roos back on winning list with simple game plan. Post game Press conference >>

Press says: How important was the structure to your gameplan?

Tas (rubbing his chin with a ear to ear grin) : Structure? you don't need structure, all I did was get the boys in a arm on arm circle and we belted out the club song, the boys really sang the theme song with REAL GUSTO, then I got them in close in a huddle, told them, 'remember, let's stick it up Dean Laidley and enjoy yourselves' the boys really gelled like it was schoolyard footy all over again, Arch was sensational the way he looked everyone in the eye and said that he LOVES them all and to do everything that makes your teammate a better player.

Press says: Will you be meeting with Andrew Demetriou to discuss the fixture and how the Kangaroos could bring the BIG Crowds back?

Tas says: First of all, it's the North Melbourne Football Club to you and I will be rounding up all the bananas from each club and I have ppl in high places (Big Footy) willing to knock some sense into this idiots about what directtion the AFL is heading but ..... (Tas reaches out for a bottle of water to sip) ... I won't be doing anything until I have a meeting with the Geish who is tearing this game apart with irresponsible guidelines that has his bunny friends looking like idiots with no accountability to thier decisions. Furthermore, I think the AFL should consider bring the game back Arden Street where the home of football is.

Thankyouverymuch.

Press reaction:

 

[Anja_Nees]

Hey guys. Not meaning to intrude.

Laidley did well early in his career to keep the club up despite the loss of some senior players, but at the moment he's killing you guys. If you had taken kids in the place of J Rawlings, Picioane, Thurley, Hay, etc... with the draft picks used to get them, you'd be worse off now but you'd bounce back a lot quicker.

It's similar to the situation we had with Peter Rohde a few years back. He thought we had some good youngsters and wanted to save his skin so he traded away a bunch of picks for guys like Koops, Rawlings, Bassett, Morgan etc... and you soon realise there's a reason other clubs get rid of these players.

We didn't have much in the bank, but we bit the bullet and sacked him with a year to go on his contract and haven't looked back.

The reality is that we survived a stint at the lower rungs of the ladder and you guys can too. There's nothing wrong with trying to stay competitive and keep out of the bottom half, but you don't do it at the expense of your future. If there are rumblings about getting rid of him then stick with it. If you leave this clown in charge he could drive you into the ground. The sooner you build up your list and score a good coach, the sooner you'll climb back up and get the money coming in.

It dragged back horrible memories hearing Laidley talking about playing the kids after the last loss. After the recruiting policy he's adopted you just can't take a comment like that seriously.

 

[Briedis]

It dragged back horrible memories hearing Laidley talking about playing the kids after the last loss. After the recruiting policy he's adopted you just can't take a comment like that seriously.

Absolutely. Just one of the many inconsistencies that make up Dean Laidley. No wonder the players have no idea what they are supposed to do on the field if this is the type of leadership they are working under.

Time to go Dean Laidley.

 

[Briedis]

Think whatever you like but I am telling you there are rumblings amongst the important people.

Who?

Do you have any details at all on this?

 

[gokangas]

Who?

Do you have any details at all on this?

I can't say anymore but the supporters are not the only people disappointed with the teams insipid, unispired, spiritless football, and the extraordinary lack of skills being shown by many players.

 

[windsock]

Absolutely. Just one of the many inconsistencies that make up Dean Laidley. No wonder the players have no idea what they are supposed to do on the field if this is the type of leadership they are working under.

Time to go Dean Laidley.

Go back and read what he said Briedis.

 

[Rooboy 96]

Hey guys. Not meaning to intrude.

Laidley did well early in his career to keep the club up despite the loss of some senior players, but at the moment he's killing you guys. If you had taken kids in the place of J Rawlings, Picioane, Thurley, Hay, etc... with the draft picks used to get them, you'd be worse off now but you'd bounce back a lot quicker.

It's similar to the situation we had with Peter Rohde a few years back. He thought we had some good youngsters and wanted to save his skin so he traded away a bunch of picks for guys like Koops, Rawlings, Bassett, Morgan etc... and you soon realise there's a reason other clubs get rid of these players.

We didn't have much in the bank, but we bit the bullet and sacked him with a year to go on his contract and haven't looked back.

The reality is that we survived a stint at the lower rungs of the ladder and you guys can too. There's nothing wrong with trying to stay competitive and keep out of the bottom half, but you don't do it at the expense of your future. If there are rumblings about getting rid of him then stick with it. If you leave this clown in charge he could drive you into the ground. The sooner you build up your list and score a good coach, the sooner you'll climb back up and get the money coming in.

It dragged back horrible memories hearing Laidley talking about playing the kids after the last loss. After the recruiting policy he's adopted you just can't take a comment like that seriously.

You sound like every other bulldogs fan I have spoken to lately... thinking a few home and away wins means the Bullies are the real deal... after September come back and tell me how good it was to finish low and gather draft picks in the hope one day your club may get their second premiership... btw you don't get a Cooney if you don't fall to the bottom of the ladder...

 

[mark73]

You sound like every other bulldogs fan I have spoken to lately... thinking a few home and away wins means the Bullies are the real deal... after September come back and tell me how good it was to finish low and gather draft picks in the hope one day your club may get their second premiership... btw you don't get a Cooney if you don't fall to the bottom of the ladder...

Well, in all honesty, the poster makes some valid points.However, they just seem a lot like other opposition fans who seem to think our recruiting has equated to an "old list".We don't have an old list and the recruiting of Hay was done to resolve a gaping problem we've had in defence for some time.Bulldogs fans, IMO, should be a little shy of bringing up Rawlings as he didn't cost us anything.In fact, they are almost paying us for picking him up.And the draft pick we obtained out of the deal, gave us the opportunity to pick up Swallow who I'm sure you'll agree, looks like being a ball tearer in years to come.

The problem is Laidley, and his game plan or lack of.It is the senior players (Simpson, Harvey, Grant, Rawlings), that are letting us down.Those four players are having atrocious seasons.Whether Laidley is/will be a good coach is not the main issue.The main issue is whatever he is trying to get them to do, is either not going to work, or is not getting through to them.

I do agree, that what we gave up for Hay and Thompson was way over what we should've agreed to.But they were the best on offer for what needed addressing.I'm with someone else who said if the senior players were performing, and we'd won a few more games, none of this would even be coming up.Problem is, there are obviously some issues with certain senior players, (I have never seen Grant and Simpson perform as pathetic as they did against Fremantle), that need serious and prompt addressing with Laidley.And until that happens, I can't see us moving up the ladder in the short term.

 

[KangaFett]

and the extraordinary lack of skills being shown by many players.

that problem has been there since the Pagan era - why wasnt it made a mandate when Dean took the job ? Mind u it has improved under Dean but the rest of the competition had a hugh head start.

 

[Event Horizon]

I have said it here on other occasions, but I think our perceived skill problem is overrated. Yes, we aren't the most skilled team in the competition, but we are NOT as bad as we look at the moment.

The problem is we aren't drilled to a particular game plan that we can follow with any conviction. Teams like Adelaide know where to run and where to kick. When you have options presenting, you kick to them without hesitation.

We don't have any system that we play on (or at least if we do, it is not showing). As a result there is not movement, and the player with the ball is under a mountain of pressure to invent something on the spot. That indecisiveness is causing turnovers and relfects poorly on our skill.

 

[Zondor]

I hear that the discontent with Laidley is increasing at the club and serious questions are being asked.

Watch for more in the next few days if the media hit the story.

The only thing in Laidley's favour at this stage is that we cannot afford to pay him out!

Puff the Magic Dragon has moved from the sea and is living at Arden St at the minute.

 

[1997LeadGoalKicker]

Absolutely. Just one of the many inconsistencies that make up Dean Laidley. No wonder the players have no idea what they are supposed to do on the field if this is the type of leadership they are working under.

Time to go Dean Laidley.

....and further to the "inconsistencies" theme.

Was anyone else taken aback with JYD's comments on playing the kids....especially in light of his rant post Round 1? You remember....something along the lines of "...We've turned up to play and win, now the supporters better start turning up and buying memberships etc etc...".

Sounded to me like NMFC had planned 2006 as a real dip at finals contention, and now we seem to be in rebuilding mode.

Now, I don't mind a change in direction once a season starts to go pear shaped.....but at least admit that you got all the signs wrong JYD!

 

[Woodson]

....and further to the "inconsistencies" theme.

Now, I don't mind a change in direction once a season starts to go pear shaped.....but at least admit that you got all the signs wrong JYD!

At least Wallace was brave enough to admit he could do no more with the Doggies and cut his ties but the question that begs here is how long North want this 'backward situation' to DRAG any longer while there is a chance to restore some 'pride back into the team' and not INFURIATE anyone involved with the club.

If action isn't taken on quicksmart, (why wait another month?) then SCHIMMA GATE will only INCREASE the TENSION to a LAUGHING STOCK Proportion that does nobody any favours. Ever heard of the phrase, Once Bitten, Twice Shy?

Surely common sense and 'swallow your pride JYD' is the only logical answer. Even Carey wasn't foolish to 'RIP the HEART out of the club' with (extended) selfishness.

 

[Event Horizon]

Not too many coaches resign these days.
Most wait to be sacked.

Don't know why.
It can't be just about the money. You have to be a man about it and face up to responsibilities.

Laidley could earn his living as an assistant. He doesn't have to carry the burden of being a senior coach once it's clear it hasn't worked out.

 

[Shinboners]

Not too many coaches resign these days.
Most wait to be sacked.

Don't know why.
It can't be just about the money. You have to be a man about it and face up to responsibilities.

Laidley could earn his living as an assistant. He doesn't have to carry the burden of being a senior coach once it's clear it hasn't worked out.

I reckon that with most coaches, they feel that they are one win away from having everything fall into place.

People like Alves, Watson, Frawley and Schwab have been honest about how coaching affected their lives, Blight spoke about needing the buzz (and he soon got the Adelaide job), whilst Brereton to his credit has admitted that he was never willing to do the work required to be a senior coach.

 

[KangaFett]

I reckon that with most coaches, they feel that they are one win away from having everything fall into place.

I partial agree with that.

The other part is that resigning shows a lack of faith and conviction in what there trying to put accross and will hurt them in any futher possible jobs they may have associated with footy.

Better to go down with the ship then jump on the lifeboat and tread water.

 

[Event Horizon]

Better to go down with the ship then jump on the lifeboat and tread water.

Yeah, but the problem is once they jump ship, there is a fair chance it will be better off without them...

So in this case, I'd much rather Laidley abandon the ship rather than going down with it.