Where the problem lies at richmond is that where not too hard on young players but too soft on the senior players.
Tend to agree with you here damnfine. That has been my opinion for some years now and not just since Danny has been at the Club. I don't know how we expect to get anywhere the way we manage our players? Why is it so obvious to those outside the Club and not within? I wish people would open their eyes.
Redford, I'm not sure if I can go anywhere near to answering your query, but my view is that Danny is focusing on everything except what he's supposed to be doing - coaching. To me, it seems like he's worrying about the result, the scoreboard, the supporters, his job, everything but what he needs to be focusing on. The fact that Danny has been loathe to change the side too much, even after a shocking loss (what other sort is there), is an indication that he's not looking at the big picture (IMHO) or focusing on what he's there for. Instead of coaching like he's there to develop and promote players, he's coaching like every game is all there is and everything hinges on that game and result.
He sticks with what he knows, even if that has not worked in the past and is the reason why the young players seem to get a raw deal. Under pressure, we all tend to fall back on what we know, regardless of whether it's the right way or not. If he wants to do his job better he needs to learn to hold his nerve in the crunch situations. Teams tend to mirror their coaches. If the coach has a bad day at the office, so will the team. Brisbane is cool under pressure because their coach is.
Matthews, Sheedy and Malthouse don't weigh themselves down with all the concerns that Danny seems to have. Ok, they've got lots of experience behind them, but there's something to be learned from the way they go about things. They just concentrate on getting the best out of their players, developing a team and not worrying about things that will ultimately look after themselves.
As I've said on other threads, the added pressure from we supporters is hardly helping anyone. But I guess when we eventually find people who can handle that pressure, then we'll know we can finally go places.
Even though I may sound like I've done a complete backflip that is not the case. I haven't given up on Danny, but I'm not gonna take it easy on anyone if things aren't right. I'm interested to see how Danny and the Club handle this season.
If we can see the signs of a 'real' team emerge, by the end of this season, personally, I would be more than happy with that. Some progress is better than none.
