Matthew Knights, coach of the the Essendon Bombers at the MCG, Melbourne. Slattery Images
I’m loathed to draw any comparisons or similarities between the plight of our ANZAC heroes and a football club, but I think I’m going to do it anyway. Essendon must engage war on Collingwood in Sunday’s traditional ANZAC Day clash.
And if Matthew Knights can’t motivate his side to at least show some fighting spirit, he may be faced with an even bigger battle, maintaining the support of club members and more significantly, the clubs board.
A win will ease the pressure somewhat and maybe even the spotlight, but for how long?
The trend is alarming.
The dismal performance against West Coast, in which they lost by 23 points, said as much about the playing group as it did the coaching staff.
The talent seems to be there, but the delivery of the ball lacks any direction or system whatsoever, and then there is the game plan.
When the ball is turned over or the opposition gets a run on, the Bombers have no defensive structure to stem the flow.
The message can only come from one place: the coach’s box.
Matthew Knights continues to preach his attacking game style despite the growing number of critics. Namely and most recently former skipper Matthew Lloyd and centre half forward Scott Lucas, both champions of the club have broken rank and declared a premiership is out of reach whilst adopting the Knights game plan, especially with such an unaccountable approach.
I think regardless of win/loss though, the first thing Knights needs to do is get angry.
Rarely, if ever, does he lose his cool at the quarter time or three quarter time breaks. Whether it’s different in the rooms, who knows… we aren’t privy to what goes on behind closed doors.
Take a lead from Mick Malthouse and Mark Williams, both premierships coaches… give the boys a bake every now and again. Even Paul Roos, normally unflappable, lost his cool in round 1!
The after-match media conferences are also a vehicle in which Knights can get the message across to Essendon supporters that things just aren’t acceptable and he won’t tolerate it any more.
But have a look at Knights’ demeanour from any given after-match media conference and it’s difficult to work out whether he’s just won, lost or drawn.
He consistently delivers rhetoric like “we’ve got to remember to play to our strengths and not go back into our shells and I’m going to keep encourages this group to do that” whilst the team is delivering poor performances.
Knights did respond somewhat this week on the training track putting the players through a gruelling session of 400m sprints, and that’s all well and good, but for me, its not enough, where is the urgency, where is the honest and brutal home truths that will hopefully sting the team into action?
If he has been doing it behind closed doors, its not working, and its now time to publically put the side on notice.
Captain Jobe Watson summed up the importance of this weekends match to Essendon’s season at a club luncheon.
“I think on Sunday it will be a real test to see if this side has the mental toughness to play against the top sides”
Maybe competing with the best teams is years away for Essendon?
The likes of top draft picks Jake Melksham and Michael Hurley are showing enough to suggest they will be alright and, hopefully, Scott Gumbleton, will soon come into his own and live up to his expectations. That trio will form the future of the Essendon Football Club.
But if results don’t start coming soon, Matthew Knights won’t be.
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