Collingwood fans do not suffer a lack of success well, the president even less so.
No club has won more games in the history of the VFL/AFL – it currently sits three shy of its 1500th victory.
Unfortunately for Pies fans, and everyone associated with the club, 2016 is rapidly descending into an annus horribilis.
The season started with an 80-point thumping at the hands of the Swans in Sydney. Since then they have beaten the hapless Richmond by one point and the beleaguered Bombers by 69.
Around those wins there were losses to St Kilda, Melbourne, Carlton and West Coast in Perth.
On paper, the Magpies would have pencilled in the first three of those as wins at the start of the year. Not only did they lose those games against recent strugglers, they did so without much sign of a coherent game plan.
Yes, the side has been hit hard by injury.
The likes of Dane Swan, Tyson Goldsack, Travis Varcoe, Alan Toovey, Marley Williams and Jamie Elliott have all missed matches.
But West Coast were also ravaged by injuries last season. Key tall defenders Eric McKenzie and Mitch Brown did not complete a game, Jack Darling missed the first ten weeks, Sam Butler and Matt Rosa missed eight weeks each, and Jeremy McGovern, Will Schofield and Chris Masten were all out for three to four matches.
The loss of McKenzie – the 2014 best and fairest – and Brown forced coach Adam Simpson to remodel his team’s style of play, hence the emergence of the ‘Eagles Web’.
The altered game plan, forced upon the club one week into the season, proved a success with West Coast surprise grand finalists.
Presently it is difficult to get a handle on just what Collingwood’s game plan is.
The back half is leaking goals and the ball is being constantly rebounded from the side’s attacking 50 with little pressure being applied by the forwards.
Last season the club ranked third in the league for turnovers in the forward half. This season they are ranked 15th while also being smashed in the clearance count.
Too many times opponents have gone pretty much coast to coast as a result of turnovers with the Magpies incapable of stymying the opposition on transition.
Worse still, given the injury toll, several senior players over the past month have been badly out of form and running around in the VFL.
Heading that list is Travis Cloke.
A former best-and-fairest and dual All Australian, Cloke has spent the past three weeks in the VFL and by all reports while he has been solid, his performances have not demanded a recall.
He was one goal away last year from claiming the club’s leading goalkicker award for the fifth consecutive season. For much of that period Cloke has been a barometer with respect to his club’s performances. When on-song he straightens the Pies up and gives them a genuine focal point up forward.
In 2011 he led the competition in marks and the club played in a grand final.
In 2013 he booted 68 goals.
This season his first four games before being dropped netted five majors.
In his absence, the principal target inside 50 has been American recruit Mason Cox, who was only elevated from the rookie list as a result of Swan’s season-ending foot injury after Round 1.
While Cox has already become a favourite of the fans, they cannot expect him to be a leading player within the club in his debut season.
A return to form by Cloke is a must for the Magpies. Still only 29, he should be in the prime of his career as a big man.
Currently sitting in 14th spot, with a win-loss of 2-5 and a percentage of 79.5, Collingwood are effectively three matches out of the eight.
This week they play 16th-placed Brisbane at the Gabba, followed by games against current top-four sides Geelong and the Bulldogs.
If the season is not already a write-off it soon will be.
The last two seasons have seen 11th and 12th-place finishes. The club need a quantum lift in performance not to head further south this year.
Replenishing the stocks will not be easy. The trade that brought Adam Treloar south from Greater Western Sydney – and he has been arguably the Pies’ best player this year – cost them their first-round draft pick later this year.
The loss of that pick is going to the see the club take their first player well down the pecking order if they cannot improve their position during trade week.
The other decision that Eddie McGuire and his board will face come season’s end is what to do about the coach.
Nathan Buckley’s contract was extended by a year just prior to the season, but McGuire said recently he would have no compunction in sacking one of Collingwood’s favourite sons if he believed it would be for the betterment of the football club.
A bottom-four result – which is not out of the question – would place enormous pressure on the coach.
McGuire himself admitted he considered stepping down from his 18-year presidency in the wake of Saturday’s loss to recent cellar dweller and arch-rival Carlton.
If the Pies go down at the Gabba on Saturday night he is likely to become apoplectic, as will the fans.
Collingwood continues to search for that 16th flag that will see it join the Blues and the Bombers at the top of the competition tree. However, for now, premierships are not a concern.
What matters at present is merely finding a way to become a competitive outfit once again.
Currently, the players lack spark and across the board the intensity needed to compete successfully at AFL level.
The Magpie Army will only tolerate so much.
dan in devon
Guest
Well I assume that the players want to play to the best of their ability. But if Buckley has lost the players, then McGuire should act one way or the other. Back Buckley or axe the the suspect players. But i think the real problem is confidence and a few wins can change that. I do note that the players' skill levels are pretty poor but that seems to be a problem across the AFL and in part I blame the obsession with stats - needs to be more focus on quality. Mt late father used to say Daicos only needed 10 kicks to be the best player on the ground.
Gecko
Guest
Thoughtful post Dan, and good analysis of the game plan. Your assumption about Buckley is that the players enjoy playing under him and the only problem is the game plan. I'm not sure about that assumption.
Ben
Guest
False theory. The other Black and White team, players had just as much pressure pulling on the prison bars. However in the last 50 years Port Adelaide won 14 premierships. Collingwood are simply not a successful club outside of their membership count.
Jimbob1972
Roar Rookie
Totally agree. The comparison with Chris Scott is brilliant. Chris Scott has man management skills in abundance . Eddie needs to accept responsibility for the failure of his coup
Don Freo
Guest
None of those guys cost anything. Lynch broke a leg. Greenwood has missed a season with injury. Aish is just starting his journey. There are plenty doing well. Plenty of trades and drafts that are working. Dane Swan has let the club down by breaking his foot...and it wouldn't have happened under Mick. That's essentially what you are arguing.
dan in devon
Guest
I thought Buckley coached well during the second and third quarters against the Eagles. The wheels fell off when Collinwood made some elementary mistakes. Evidently, the game plan is not working; the zone defence requires a lot of understanding and intuition and the unsettledness has prevented its success. Collingwood should return to basics and look at playing a loose man in defence - I think Howe would fit that role. They need to move Cox into the ruck as Grundy is getting beaten to easily at the centre bounce and allow Grundy to play a David Cloke style game around the ground. Further, they should leave Moore one on one in the forward square and allow him to lead out etc - the high press does not suit the Collingwood forward line. Lastly, the transition from the half back needs reviewing. The ball is being held up for too long, allowing the forwards to be checked - hence my point about Moore. I going to stick my neck out here - Collingwood should persist with Buckley - he has conducted himself with dignity and gravitas in very testing times. If Buckley can come out of this patch, we will have the makings of a long-term coach.
Kt
Guest
The Buckley reign is a complete disaster, and the McGuire hand over a shocking move that railroaded the end of the 2011 season. Collingwood lost 7 of it's last 52 games in 2010 and 2011. They have lost 5 of 7 in 2016, and in the 2nd half of seasons 2015 & 2014 they have played 24 games and lost 18 of them. That is a serious decline. The truth about Collingwood is that they have hastily recruited average players after offloading better players. They are simply no good. Forget injuries. Buckley wanted his own team and has got what he and McGuire deserve - a rubbish team. Ego driven behavior. Maybe looking at what Chris Scott has done at Geelong would be of benefit, he also took over a successful team - he merely tweaked it in 2011 and scored a flag in his first year - he then carefully spread the retirements and delisting of the aging stars and has regenerated the list by attracting talent and today is back near the top of the ladder.
Kt
Guest
Please explain the cultural issues? What were they? I believe they were concocted by McGuire to justify trading and retiring the majority of a premiership team. It is not just the loss of individual players, it is also the disruption to structures, game plan and leadership that results from off loading too many players too quickly. Rightly or wrongly they were the youngest premiership team in the history, so they should have achieved a whole lot more from 2012-2016. Then there are the sub standard players that have replaced those gone: Jordan Russell, Quetin Lynch, Patrick Karnesis, Tony Armstrong, James Aish, Jesse White, Levi Greenwood, just to name a few. It is fatal to just get rid of players en mass if you have no plan to replace their talent
Gecko
Guest
Good discussion re Buckley's credentials (or lack thereof). But I'm a bit dirty on Jay for writing so much negative stuff about our forward line without mentioning Moore. Cloke's return to form is not a must for Pies supporters - it's a dream. Let's stop thinking about Cloke and start thinking about Moore.
Pumping Dougie
Roar Guru
Good post Martin. Ablett has played in flags and I rate him a significantly better player than Buckley. He sets high standards like Buckley but isn't a great leader because other people can't follow his example. He's too good, and he does things his own way. But he seems like a very likeable bloke. Buckley has something about his persona that makes some people not like him. I think it's that even when he smiles, he looks like he thinks he's better.
mattyb
Guest
That is brilliant Martin. That's the playing career of Buckley I couldn't put my finger on. The Ablett comparison is perfect,terrific post.
Rocko
Roar Guru
Pumping Dougie great assessment and agree. I actually think a second sign of this problem dates way back to late 90s early 2000s- Buckley couldn't inspire as the best player in the team at Collingwood. I remember watching countless games of Buckley - he was exceptional to the ball, exquisite user and terrific competitor, but you rarely saw him inspire others to follow so to speak. I think it is a similar problem Gold Coast are experiencing with Ablett at the moment - he did everything for the first couple of years there without a backbone and now the rest of the team are rabbits in the headlights now he is slowing down/succumbing to injuries. However Ablett has not inspired or built others around him, just shone as an individually brilliant footballer. The other thing, through no fault of his own, was not serving an apprenticeship outside the club - I think this has hurt him to not complete an assistant role elsewhere. Shame - he is still presenting strongly to the media and doing the things right on the outside, but clearly has lost his playing group over the last couple of years.
Pumping Dougie
Roar Guru
Hird is actually an exception, because he looked like he really could coach. He had enormous charisma and clearly powerful man-management skills and got his players performing to their best, until the last year of his tenure when the whole club was living on death row. However he very clearly lacked another leadership attribute - ethics. Hird's problem was not his ability to coach. It was his inability to show integrity (by trying to gain an advantage on the competition through the use of drugs) and the club's inability to properly govern mavericks who were given responsibility for presiding over the stupid program, that was the problem. Not his coaching.
Onside
Guest
Jimmy Hird ?
Pumping Dougie
Roar Guru
If any person in an organisation - in or out of sport - is gifted an executive position on account of their lineage (e.g. family links) or personal friendships, or their resume doesn't indicate appropriate experience for the role, then there will nearly always be an issue of the rank and file within that organisation (in this case, the players) not fully respecting the individual; and that persons begins their role on the back foot. Talented naturals to the role might quickly win people over. Buckley is a smart dude, savvy media performer, club legend with plenty of good leadership traits - intelligence, ethical, committed, hard-working. But he has always struggled to motivate and inspire, partly because there has always been this aura about him that he thinks he's better than others, and partly because many people perceive he was gifted a job without adequate justification. The best coaches are all brilliant at people-management. They demand high standards, but they exude a warmth to their players and everyone involved at the football club. They win people over to them and get everyone 'on the same page'. They are highly respected by all and they are usually charismatic. Buckley has the players to be Top 8. He just doesn't have the man-management skills and is yet to also prove he has any strategic nous. Massive blunder by the Collingwood Board.
Axle an the Guru
Guest
Malthouse would tell them to get f&-@:;d I'd think, this side is years away from a premiership.
Paul H
Guest
Hold your fire on Scharenberg. Two knee reconstructions is nothing more than bad luck - no-one at the club is to blame for that. If he gets back to full fitness I reckon you will see him become an exceptional footballer.
Carl Spackler
Guest
Collingwood has already been on the front foot replacing Buckley. They interviewed the Hawks coach, Al 'The Dwarf' Clarkson. They should get Malthouse back to rescue them. Couldn't do worse.
Reccymech
Roar Rookie
Quote "If or when Buckley goes it will be messy and painful for Eddie and the Pies." Unquote. That is the 'Elephant in the room'. More so, Eddie. I believe his pride will come before the fall. I understand that he (Eddie) has close to two decades with the club as part of the corporate management, it's his perceived dalliances' into the coaching world that is Collingwood's problem.
Paul D
Roar Guru
Howe has a big leap and Aish has a famous name. That's their only qualifications to be AFL level footballers, I can't see any other reason why they're there. Agree with everything you say DG, he deliberately tossed out blokes he didn't like in the side, and the people he has brought in have not performed at the same level. Scharenberg and Freeman in particular have to be two of the biggest wastes of top ten draft picks in a single year I can remember.