Wins Per Dollar Spent - is this what we are reduced to ?

[Kong]

Clubs can always better themselves financially, just like businesses.

Make some contacts for a start.

 

[Gus]

LOL. People of questionable character always trot out this line when they leave one of the smaller clubs having had no success.

How about nice guys like Rocket?

Would someone of questionable character regularly have dinner with fans, even giving out his phone number so they can chat to him about selections, injuries etc?

Some members of this forum regularly had dinner with Rocket, and kept in contact with him as above.

A few were even invited to attend draft day with Rocket and the staff.

Here is a quote from one of these fans:

"Last year I was sick & in hospital. Rocket was happy to ring & see how I was going & keep me informed on what was happening during trade week.

A couple of years ago my son turned 11. After tea the phone rang & it was Rocket wishing him a Happy Birthday. Its something he'll never forget."


Sounds like Rocket is a questionable character indeed. Perhaps your perception is off?

 

[Tas]

That's a bit petty, don't you think? Why are people so quick to jump on a bloke when he attempts to defend his record?

And Jesse W Smith was probably entitled to clutch at straws, in his situation resources may have made a difference. Desperate situations and all that.

I don't blame Smith for wanting to try his luck elsewhere, I am sure he thought he would end up with Hawthorn where his old man is currently working who have been doing a lot of work in biometrics and probably have a significantly larger budget than the Saints or what we currently spend.

He couldn't walk without a severe limp two years and seven operations later, his ankle was ****ed and I had no issue with him wanting to try something different.

It was bizarre how he chose to leave and the manner though, told the club on the second last day of trade week with no time for clubs to get medicals done so nobody touched him. Not sure if it was deliberate or not but he had given his commitment to continue on when he met Brad and we offered him a pretty good two year deal, he went into the draft on minimum pay and Saints dumped him after one year.

Such is life I guess.

 

[beatnik]

I think its a very reasonable thing for Rocket to say...he was obviously limited by resources but had too much class to directly criticise the Bulldogs

he's not the first to note that the AFL is quickly becoming a game for the haves and the have-nots and the simple fact is that he did a lot with very little compared to other coaches

remember that the Bullies chose him over other 'big' coaching names that were floating about at that time (e.g. Terry Wallace) and he has had a great run even if he hasn't made it to the big day

thumbs down to the haters - Rocket is an exceptional coach in my view and the club who picks him up will have done very well for themselves

 

[Tas]

I think the very definition of failure is to attempt to quantify it in a way that it doesn't look as bad. It is from the Terry Wallace masterpiece, 'Teflon Coaching - 101 excuses for failing to achieve success'

Out of interest, did his wins per buck take into consideration how many of those wins were against sides that spent less than his club? Because the vast majority of the wins in his times were against sides well below them on the ladder.