Posted on April 27, 2009 | Category: Discussions
Facts:
- Wallace will get replaced if Richmond don’t make finals this year
- Richmond would need a minor miracle to make the finals
- If Wallace does get the Tigers into the 8, he deserves another year
- This is not about whether or not he should be replaced (that’s become an emotionless decision that is based purely on Round 22 ladder position), but about what should happen if/when he gets replaced
There are three things I want from any Richmond senior coach:
- A culture of discipline. If you don’t tackle once, you get dragged. Twice, dropped. Three times delisted. (OK – maybe not quite, but close)
- Players who kick to one another.
- The courage to go backwards (rather than kick backwards) to make 1 and 2 happen long term.
Wallace at first committed to number 3, but is didn’t last at all.
So: the candidates.
- Wayne Campbell – is as much a product of the problems that have plagued Richmond as he is a chance to fix them. I love him, but I don’t think he can possibly be our man. Nowhere near enough experience for me to feel comfortable about his abilities
- Nathan Buckley – don’t think he has enough experience to perform the sort of wide-spread culture change that the Tigers need.
- Leigh Matthews (suggested at Kick2Kick) – has the credentials, but I don’t know if he can easily be convinced that he wants to continue coaching. If he’s hungry, then we’d take him.
- Mick Malthouse – my ideal candidate. Tiny bit of Richmond blood, but only from the glory days. Is as tough and uncompromising as they come, and might be ready to make way for Buckley at Collingwood.
- Brad Scott – my backup plan. Wouldn’t put up with any poor discipline, and has played under Matthews and coached under Malthouse. Highly rated down at Collingwood, but unlikely to ever get a senior job there.
- Kevin Sheedy – Nup.
- David King – Has plenty of respect around Punt Road, but I really feel we need a clean break from the past administration if a new coach is to be appointed.
Have I missed anyone?
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April 27th, 2009 at 1:03 pm
Thanks for the link love man
I think besides Mathews (who if hungry could be interesting), Malthouse & Scott would be the best choices.
However it would not matter who coached if the board, culture etc stayed the same, you guys would have all the same problems and swap your coach again soon.
April 27th, 2009 at 1:07 pm
I don’t know what the board has got to do with it – there’s virtually nobody on the board who was there when Wallace was initially hired. There’s no doubt that the culture has to change, and that’s exactly why we need a strong personality to pull it off.
April 27th, 2009 at 1:28 pm
But there has been infighting and differences with the board since I can ever remember and for a club like Richmond to get out of the hole they are in, you need all these areas to be right and balanced…
April 29th, 2009 at 12:20 pm
[...] the Wounded Tiger wrote about who Richmond needs a coach who can make the hard decisions (read Who Should Replace Wallace for [...]
April 30th, 2009 at 9:48 pm
What about Tommy, Geoff? Only half jokin’.
I agree 100% on your assessment of Campbell.
Back in 1980 (a different era, I know), Essendon had run through a number of ex-Bombers as coach, flirted with change with Des Tuddenham, and then along came a bloke from Richmond with some novel ideas and a new culture! The Bombers were absolute crap during the 70s, but Sheedy brought some of the then-fearsome Richmond culture to Windy Hill. The rest is history. I also agree that Sheedy wouldn’t be the right fit, but there’s something about that story that screams Brad Scott. I don’t know if he has the smarts, the rat cunning or the personality, but being part of the all-conquering Brisbane couldn’t be a bad thing. He’s probably got a fair bit more enthusiasm than Lethal too!
May 5th, 2009 at 9:07 am
On SEN the other morning they were talking about Ken Hinkley (??!!)