Is this the toughest coaching gig in the AFL?
Has Matthew Knights got the toughest assignment in the AFL Coaching ranks in 2008? Well I think he has. Replacing the “Master” Kevin Sheedy will be no mean feat for “Knighter” as the Bomber players are already calling him. There is a wave of changes in the style of coaching between the two and it sounds like the players are welcoming the change.
It sounds to me like the old fashioned and sometimes weird coaching techniques from Sheeds were wearing a bit thin on the players, there were a couple of remarks in a report that I was reading in the Herald Sun a while ago that made me think that his ways were maybe a bit to far from left field for the new bread of footballers. Things like the fact that Sheedy used to sit in the corner of the room as the players came in for a meeting studying clipboards alone whereas Knights would be part of the group. I guess this is the way of the modern day coach. I remember 10 years or so ago when coaches would say that they would totally separate themselves from the players and not become to close to them individually. Nowadays it seems like the coaches are doing a full 180 degree turn and being part of the playing group and becoming a friend as well as a coach.
This is the comment that brought a smile to my face though.
Players are enjoying the fact the message is crystal-clear, where before there were mind games and mental puzzles to work through, successful as they were.
For people who have followed Essendon and more importantly Kevin Sheedy, you could just imagine what his type of meetings would have been like. I can just see the new baby faced draftees leaving one of these meetings scratching their heads and thinking “What the hell is he on about?”.
Although Knights is in no way trying to emulate Sheedy there is no way he will escape being compared to the master. That will be something I am sure he is aware of and is just going to add extra pressure in his first year as senior coach. As Assistant Coach Gary O’Donnell has pointed out , Knights will enjoy a “Honeymoon Period” where players will get a boost from the change in leadership and style of coaching, for some like Matthew Lloyd, this will only be their second senior coach. And Although the Bombers are going through a bit of a rebuilding phase I think their results next year a looking quite promising.
It will be an extremely exiting year for Matthew Knights and it will be fascinating year from a football supporter’s perspective to see how Knights breaks out of the Sheedy comparison and makes his mark in the coaching world with his style of play. He is a very confident coach both with his style of play and also the decisions he makes. He has a strong belief in his own abilities and sounds like the players are bursting with a new found enthusiasm.
Should Neitz Captain Melbourne in 2008?
In my opinion No. New Demon coach Dean Bailey has expressed his intentions for David Neitz to stay on as captain of the Demons in 2008. He says Neitz will make the decision on whether he wants to remain captain or not. The demons are in a perfect position to groom a captain while Neitz is still playing at the club, a path that Essendon took when James Hird stepped aside while he was still playing. For one of the younger players to learn from such a respected player and person as David Neitz would be priceless, just as Matthew Lloyd and James Hird did.
And given the Demons are celebrating their 150th year next year as well, what a better way start the next phase of their history than to have a new captain. Neitz will no doubt put the clubs best interests as top priority and do what he thinks is best for the Melbourne Football Club.
