David King: The November Bully

[CarringbushCigar]

It takes a big man to admit an error of judgment

[Member 7167]

King has always given us a reasonable shake in the past. Last year the injuries had a profound effect and we slipped from 3rd to 11th in half a season. The latter part of the year saw us with a game plan that seemed fragmented at best and a team that imposed little defensive pressure. Our skills we down and we were a team with too many young players, a lack of experience with little continuity week to week,

The games we have pumped into new players should put us in good stead and I feel that Greenwood, Varcoe, Crisp and pick 5 will more than cover the loss of Beams. That said we need to impose an effective game plan, improve our disposal and play as a team. King is right as the indicator for 2014 were bad but that was 2014.

The Pies and Buckley have a pivotal year ahead of them and it is imperative that we see significant improvement in all areas in 2015.

[AN_Inkling]

I don't have a major issue with the article aside from a couple factless digs. On the bare stats King is correct. Bare stats though are rarely enough to make a considered judgement. There are definitely doubts on how we'll perform next year, but there is plenty of improvement in this team through naturally development and the returning injured. Our list is ok, though still on the young side, and even if it doesn't happen next year it will happen.

[Jezza]

I think it's an interesting article and it will certainly create some discussion of where the club is heading under Buckley.

The article is very negative and slanted towards this idea that we're directionless under Buckley but I don't think the time has come to reach such a conclusion. Yes, we were poor in 2014 especially in the second half of the year as our inexperienced players burnt out and couldn't handle the rigours of a full season but to say there isn't any hope is ridiculous and too premature for my liking.

I certainly have issues with where the club is tracking at the present time and I'm quite fearful that we may further slide before we jump back up under this current squad despite what others here have been saying during the off-season. We have some great youngsters coming through like Moore, Langdon, Freeman, Scharenberg, Marsh, Grundy and Broomhead and we have managed the list quite well and this must be credited to Hine and his fellow colleagues, but it's now up to Buckley to get the best out of his squad as Hine suggested last month. Our game plan has been the biggest worry under Buckley and this needs to improve in the next twelve months and with the way we've declined in the past few years the supporters need a sense of hope and rejuvenation that success isn't too far away again.

King does get reactionary and knee-jerk in some points of his article. He seems to suggest that if we don't improve that Pendlebury will explore his trade options. That is provocative at best and shouldn't be taken seriously. Pendlebury has constantly reiterated his intentions to have success with Bucks and lead us to glory in the future and hence there's been no hint that he would ever leave the club.

The idea that Cloke is now declining rapidly is also a knee-jerk assessment by King. Just because Cloke had a relatively poor year by his standards does not mean he will continue to fade and become a worse footballer than he is currently. For all we know he may very well continue to decline but he may also be a rejuvenated player in 2015 and kick more goals next year but again 2015 is a big year for him and I'm excited to see how it plays.

King does acknowledge the positives of 2014 but because of what happened in the second half of the year, too much emphasis is being placed on that part of the year rather than what we did in the first half of the year. As a result of our season being a tale of two halves this year it's very difficult to assess and determine where we could finish next year as the extremes of our best and worst football are too large in my opinion.

[yin-YANG]

Prove him wrong Pies!

[jackcass]

I don't get the angst. Just a fluff piece based purely on external observations with some stats thrown in to make it seem more relevant. I rate King as a commentator and this is hardly his best work but reasonable given the parameters.

[Jezza]

David King got his predictions right about our chances in 2010 but this year he totally got it wrong when he thought Sydney would smash Hawthorn in the Grand Final.

He's paid to write an opinion on football-related matters so I wouldn't take what he says too literally.

[Dave The Man]

[Bob Sugar]

Cloke is a concern, dude didn't come close to earning his salary this year, but I don't think he was fully fit either, hopefully he's fully fit next year and gets a bit of support from Reid, both those guys are capable of kicking 60+, if that happens we'll make the 8 on our ear.

[RudeBoy]

[Jezza]

I love your optimism Rudeboy but I can't say I share the same outlook on the club next year as you do but I really hope I'm proven wrong and we exceed expectations from most people's point of view.

I can still find plenty of positives with the young list we're developing but the biggest improvement we need to see is the game plan. That's something I still think Buckley has struggled at in a coaching level but I'm not sure whether that because he hasn't implemented a proper game plan or the game plan he's trying to implement isn't being executed properly by the players. I guess time will tell as the say.

[John Wren]

[RudeBoy]