samoht wrote:
My contention is he's a reasonable AFL coach who has coached 2 great sides.
Well they certainly were not great when he arrived at both. So why did they become great?
St Kilda was going backwards before he arrived.
Freo was known as a "weak" team before he arrived.
Both teams had talent, but lots of weaknesses. A good coach is what can make a difference in such a circumstance.
With the Saints my view remains that most St Kilda fans overate our teams that played off in the GF's under Lyon.
I mean look at the Swans at present. Their back-pocket is Rohan FFS. Now that is depth, that is a great list.
Lyon at the Saints also had:
* Crap training facilities (saints only moved into Linen House for 2011...after the horse had bolted)
* A dismal Board
* Probably the AFL's worst recruiting department
* Low spend on the football department
Talk about having to perform with one hand tied behind your back! Compared to other coaches of the better teams, Lyon had clear handicap to carry.
Contrast that with the other teams that have played off in Grand Finals in recent years:
* Top flight drafting and trading (St Kilda only was ok at trading)
* Big-spending football departments
* Superb training facilities
* Stable and high -performing Boards (Unlike
Football Farce at StKilda) and CEO ( "Job for Boys" in Nettlefold!!)
The Swans have also had a huge salary cap advantage.
So what was the point of difference at St Kilda? = Lyon and his coaching.
In assessing how good a coach is one needs to take a holistic approach.
Flying the World in comfort thanks to FF Points....