Craig Crows coach till 2011

[Footy Smart]

Thoughts?

He has the best winning % of all current coaches in there first 100 games.... 62% yet to prove in finals but has done exceptional with the squad he was given.
Personally I think its a great move by the club and he will continue to develop as a coach and develop the young players to prepare them to take over and leadership after Mcleod, Godwin, Edwards and Bassett.

[Booney]

The challenge for our playing group....

The challenge that lies ahead of us....

(Insert sleeping smilie here)

[Footy Smart]

Hey he can say what he likes in his press conferences as long as he continues the development of our young

playing group....

[Dutchy]

He is a good consistent coach, dont think he can win a flag though....

Geez the board have a love affair with him though...

[Footy Smart]

He is a good consistent coach, dont think he can win a flag though....

Geez the board have a love affair with him though...

I think he has developed as a coach and isnt as stuborn as he used to be which helps.... If we had a key forward we would have gone very close the year we played West Coast at AAMII

[Hondo]

He is a good consistent coach, dont think he can win a flag though....

If he was coaching Geelong right now would you say he couldn't win a flag?

What you have said of Bomber Thompson in 2006? Or Choco at the end of 2003? Or Blighty before 2007? What about Malthouse after 8 years at the Pies (his 2 flags are now 15 years ago)?

My point being - there's so much that goes into a Premiership in addition to the coach. The players (equal importance IMO), his assistants, luck, injuries, the draw, etc.

I think to label a coach as "never going to win one" is too simplistic. Yes, you have to know what you are doing. But IMO there have been plenty of great coaches that have missed out due to circumstances and plenty of good ones that have had things fall into place.

[Dutchy]

Time will tell Hondo....

[overloaded]

Cant agree with you hondo. Its crazy that they resigned him. His game plan is weak and has many flaws. 3 more years of pretending

[hawks21]

Cant agree with you hondo. Its crazy that they resigned him. His game plan is weak and has many flaws. 3 more years of pretending

who would you suggest coach the crows then if they didnt resign him??

[Dutchy]

for one his contract doesnt expire for over 12 months, what was the rush?

[Psyber]

for one his contract doesnt expire for over 12 months, what was the rush?

Perhaps the Power was planning to poach him?

[JK]

Not surprisingly, I agree with you Hondo.

I think first time coaches also have a vastly greater learning curve of their own, than those who've been in the caper for 10+ years.

The Crows haven't had the cattle in Craigy's time to win a flag (exception possibly in 2005, but then he did take a team many predicted for the spoon end to a PF), so he needs to be given a chance to assemble his own group and then be judged on that, and how he's been able to get them to perfrom.

I've been as frustrated as any by his game day refusal to change style or alter the structure when it was apparently deficient in recent years, but I think he's improved in those area's this year.

[the wonder elephant]

good move by the crows but my only question is how long are we going to hear the devolping the list line .when will we see the finished product ?

[Browny25]

Good move by the crows i feel, but possibly some changes with the assistants. Would also like to see a goal kicking coach come to the club part time..

[Sojourner]

Interesting move by the Crows and most probably not all that unexpected a one either!

Neil Craig strength is that he has proven beyond any doubt that he is one of the best coaches in the AFL to "build" an AFL side and make them competitive, he has taken the club to various finals campaigns whilst a number of other sides have continually sat on the sidelines year after year.

My concern though is if Neil Craig is a "Finisher" as well as a builder.

Phil Carman is the classic example and I think that his situation is relevant here. He took Sturt to the finals and made them a competitive side yet did not see in his tenure Sturt win a premiership. So the club made the change and hired Brenton Honour who took the club to the premiership. It is my opinion that Brenton Honour was able to take a competitive side that Phil Carman had built and fine tune the game plan that got the ultimate result. I do wonder then if the Crows in their current form are the same scenario happening all over again. Craig has done so well with his win to loss ratio, yet in the finals has struggled to achieve a positive result.

If the Crows didnt choose Craig then who should if have been? Leigh Matthews most probably IMO.

Still Craig could well prove me wrong, yet if the Crows bow out in single or straight sets this time around, I think that trouble probably wont be to far away for the club.

[Hondo]

Soj I think the finisher and builder theory is a myth. There are so many examples where coaches in the past could have been labelled either at different stages of their careers, as per my earlier post in this thread. I could reel off 10 examples that don't fit the theory.

Phil Carman was was only 2 goals or so away from it in 1998, not 20. 4 years later Phillips (not Brenton Honour BTW) with a better list hit gold. Yet 4 years after that, Phillips the so-called "finisher" lead Sturt out of the finals for the first time in a long time and now MacGowan has them back up there again. So what does that make Phillips? Or MacGowan?

Plenty of coaches have gone through finals nightmares before getting it right - Chocko, Nunan, Bomber Thompson, Blight, even Pagan lost 4 prelims (I think) and 1 GF along with his 2 flags. What about Sheedy and the the un-loseable prelim in 1999?

You could recruit Matthews but unless he has the cattle he won't magically conjure a flag just because he is Leigh Matthews. As Malthouse has shown at Collingwood much to Eddie's frustration I am sure!

So what's my point? As I said before, many things have to go right to snag a Premiership and the coach is just one of those things, albiet an important one. It's Clubs that win premierships, not just coaches. Just IMO.