TOPIC:

BC said:
Tim Watson was absolutely on the money last weekend when he queried how a Grand Finalist in 2015 can go down so quickly and stay there? Where was the forward planning to ensure the club built on its success back then and maintained a top 8 position like Geelong, Hawthorn, Sydney etc invariably do year after year? Matthew Lloyd questioned Lyon's blooding of new players or lack thereof until its too late at the start of the season....maybe that same question should have been asked a few years ago.

Firstly Freo weren't in a GF in 2015 but they certainly fell off the cliff in 2016. Doubled their wins in 2017 and this year on a par with last year. I didn't hear the same calls when the Eagles finished 3rd in 2007 and over the next 3 years (same period) finished 12th second last and last, not sure of the sequence, so what Freo is going through is nothing new and you would only have to look and many more AFL clubs who have been building for far longer, Carlton for a start would be at least 8 years and they are worse than ever. And to listen to a failed coach like Watson WTF would he know. Lyon is the right man, always has been and he will guide the club through this transition.

BC wrote: Tim Watson was absolutely on the money last weekend when he queried how a Grand Finalist in 2015 can go down so quickly and stay there? Where was the forward planning to ensure the club built on its success back then and maintained a top 8 position like Geelong, Hawthorn, Sydney etc invariably do year after year? Matthew Lloyd questioned Lyon's blooding of new players or lack thereof until its too late at the start of the season....maybe that same question should have been asked a few years ago.

Perhaps M Lloyd could have asked his brother?

JB wrote: BC said:
Tim Watson was absolutely on the money last weekend when he queried how a Grand Finalist in 2015 can go down so quickly and stay there? Where was the forward planning to ensure the club built on its success back then and maintained a top 8 position like Geelong, Hawthorn, Sydney etc invariably do year after year? Matthew Lloyd questioned Lyon's blooding of new players or lack thereof until its too late at the start of the season....maybe that same question should have been asked a few years ago.

Firstly Freo weren't in a GF in 2015 but they certainly fell off the cliff in 2016. Doubled their wins in 2017 and this year on a par with last year. I didn't hear the same calls when the Eagles finished 3rd in 2007 and over the next 3 years (same period) finished 12th second last and last, not sure of the sequence, so what Freo is going through is nothing new and you would only have to look and many more AFL clubs who have been building for far longer, Carlton for a start would be at least 8 years and they are worse than ever. And to listen to a failed coach like Watson WTF would he know. Lyon is the right man, always has been and he will guide the club through this transition.

yes quite correct JB...GF in 2013, top of the ladder after qualifying in 2015 then 16th, 14th and struggling this year. and I repeat, where was the forward planning to keep the club competitive?

Bazza wrote:

BC wrote: Tim Watson was absolutely on the money last weekend when he queried how a Grand Finalist in 2015 can go down so quickly and stay there? Where was the forward planning to ensure the club built on its success back then and maintained a top 8 position like Geelong, Hawthorn, Sydney etc invariably do year after year? Matthew Lloyd questioned Lyon's blooding of new players or lack thereof until its too late at the start of the season....maybe that same question should have been asked a few years ago.

Watson was spot on, and Lloyd pretty much answered the question poor list managment and despite the Lyon Pretorians guards denials, they genuilely thought that by hanging onto aged list they were still in finals contention, yiou only have to look at the decision to hang onto Ballantyne for another year to get a clue.

Lyon has done the same to Freo as he did to Saints, and they are still paying.

Define paying. Is club paying or is Ross overpaid? (IANAT)

BC said:
yes quite correct JB...GF in 2013, top of the ladder after qualifying in 2015 then 16th, 14th and struggling this year. and I repeat, where was the forward planning to keep the club competitive?

My point is why all this interest in Freo when most other clubs have done much worse than this, every club goes down for some time, some longer than others. They could have planned better, but so could many others, I don't see the level of almost abuse that is pointed at Freo. Infact on this site I don't see anywhere the level of interest that there is in Freo for any other club, even West Coast who have a bigger fan base. The same thing could be said for the West Australian media, although the two main ones are sponsors of WC and the fact that WC are going exceptionally well this year I guess makes Freo look even poorer. The other thing is why would anyone think that this rebuild was going to happen overnight and be surprised that it isn't. No need for all the concern the club will work through it so you can worry about something else closer to home.

JB I suppose what Freo fans are looking for is progress. As Ross himself has said coaches are judged on performance and the win/loss ratio does come into it. If the Dockers were able to finish this season on a positive note and end up with say 9 - 10 wins, that would be seen as an improvement on last year and then people may look at Fremantle challenging for finals next year. Ross himself has set the bar at the Dockers being back in premiership contention by 2020 so ultimately he will be judged on that.

As for the seemingly endless interest/concern in FFC shown by Non-Dockers fans, my response would be a quote from Oscar Wilde..."There is only one thing in life worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about"

mikeh wrote: JB I suppose what Freo fans are looking for is progress. As Ross himself has said coaches are judged on performance and the win/loss ratio does come into it. If the Dockers were able to finish this season on a positive note and end up with say 9 - 10 wins, that would be seen as an improvement on last year and then people may look at Fremantle challenging for finals next year. Ross himself has set the bar at the Dockers being back in premiership contention by 2020 so ultimately he will be judged on that.

As for the seemingly endless interest/concern in FFC shown by Non-Dockers fans, my response would be a quote from Oscar Wilde..."There is only one thing in life worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about"

“The trouble with quotes on the internet is that you never know if they’re genuine” ..... Abraham Lincoln.