One week away from the AFL finals, having wrapped up the minor premiership last weekend, the Collingwood Football Club is no closer to resolving the revolutionary and controversial “Kirribilli” coaching handover arrangement.
Incumbent Mick Malthouse has looked decidedly like a prickly pear in recent weeks, as the reality hits him that his tenure in charge of the club is fast coming to an end, the matter having escalated since his intriguing appearance on The Footy Show in July.
During the interview, Malthouse remarked that “passion is not turned on and off like a tap. I can’t come to the end of my last game this year and say, ‘That’s it.’
Who could blame him?
Since the agreement in principle was struck in July 2009, the “Silver Fox” has enjoyed by far the biggest purple patch in his coaching career, so to bring everything to a sudden halt is understandably no small matter.
The unknown quantity of a second premiership in two years is the other factor to be considered, for no club has ever been so brazen as to replace a dual reigning, overall four-time premiership winning coach.
It is ironic that it is the coach in waiting, arguably the greatest player to pull on the black and white stripes, Nathan Buckley, hasn’t taken a back row seat amidst the speculation, when ultimately, he is the most crucial piece to resolving the issue.
When Buckley agreed to the deal, he passed up the opportunity in what many viewed as a given, the coaching reigns at North Melbourne.
How eager Bucks must be to finally embark on the second leg of his prolific career.
He has publically stated his desire to have Malthouse lurking in the background to lend a hand in times of need, but with Malthouse unwilling to take on an insignificant role at the club, that may not happen.
In fact, it is almost certain that unless Malthouse remains head coach, he won’t be at Collingwood in any capacity beyond this season’s campaign.
One person will tell you that Mick Malthouse – Melbourne coach, is locked in for next year, others will say this will be the case in 2013, with Malthouse taking a sabbatical year perhaps working in the media, whilst those on the inside at the Westpac Centre such as President Eddie McGuire say that he will honour the arrangement.
Even within this article, it is hard for Nathan Buckley to get a look in, Mick Malthouse overwhelms the predicament, so maybe it is right for a compromise to be reached.
Could Bucks do the unthinkable, but certainly not ludicrous thing, and postpone his engagement in the top gig, for only twelve months of course, and afford Malthouse the opportunity to pursue the rare three-peat?
This is a highly unlikely outcome, but there’s no reason why this notion doesn’t make sense, Buckley could hardly be scorned for doing this, and Malthouse would get the extra year which he so brazenly craves.
In twelve, thirteen months’ time, who knows, Collingwood could well have pulled off the three-peat, and these circumstances would certainly bode much better for the handover.
And if Malthouse still feels the need to bristle his moustache, praise the opposition whom his side has just crushed by twenty goals, and criticise his own side for a handball which still resulted in a goal instead of kicking, then he is welcome to pursue gigs elsewhere.
Todd Viney could feasibly keep the Melbourne hot seat warm for 2012, and then they will have not only Malthouse available, but also Ross Lyon and a plethora of other out of contract coaches.
A lot of water would have to go under the bridge of course, but football is a fickle business, things change, and there is a multiplex of scenarios which may well play out before our very eyes in coming days, weeks, months and even years…
Who’s in your ultimate team? Pick the best team and compete with other fans for daily prizes on Draftstars. For the best odds on the game try out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Think. Is this a bet you really want to place? Set a deposit limit.
Collingwood has made a proposal to the AFL to get officially sanctioned rings for winning the flag in 2023, but one Footy Classified host…
Tom Hawkins returns to familiar surroundings of Geelong - but is it the tonic he needs to regain some of his confidence back after a goalless four games.
Following in the lead of competitions like the NRL, NFL and NBA, the Australian Football League is considering introducing a radical plan to present…
Jeremy Finlayson should be a welcome addition to the Port Adelaide forward line after kicking four goals in the SANFL last week.
Sometimes after 120 minutes of blood, sweat, tears and momentum swings, our game makes it so that none of that really matters. With three…
Last, year in the second showdown, Adelaide destroyed Port by 47 points with a staggering 20 marks inside 50 with Tex Walker the main star.
