BigMart wrote:Thommo has better coaching record than patrick.....better than all bar a few coaches in our history.....bit of respect.
Ross is one of those few...
I was extraordinarily happy when I heard Thomas got the ass, because I believed it was absolutely time, but the fact still remains that if he'd had the same run with injuries during 2004/2005 that Lyon had in 2009/2010 and Lyon had had the sort of injuries in 2009/2010 that Thomas got in 2004/2005, you can pretty much guarantee it would have been Thomas who got us to two GF's (and probably won at least one of them) and that Lyon wouldn't have gotten us to a GF.
In 2009 alone we barely had an injury, yet still only just got over the Doggies in the Prelim. David Missen probably was the major difference between the two.
Thomas had a better list to work with (in 2004/2005), but he also took over a team that had finished last the year before and second last the year he took over and was a complete "basket case" and took them to within a kick of a GF in one year and to leading a Prelim at 3/4 time in the next, despite major injuries that would most likely have wiped us out last year, or in 2009.
Look at this year. Losing Lenny and Gardi looks to have wiped us out, yet we lost many more of our "guns" in the lead-up to the finals (and in those finals) in 2005, yet still led the Prelim till 3/4 time. Did that team coach themselves?
Ross, on the other hand, was handed a team that had just played in finals 3 years in a row and had some of the best young talent (Riewoldt, Dal Santo, Ball, Montagna, Goddard, Gram, Fisher, Gilbert, Raph Clarke, Kosi) in the comp, most of whom had finals experience, plus the likes of Gehrig, Harvey, Hayes, Milne, Hughton, Baker, Blake.
So for mine, I don't believe there's very much in it.
Some are obviously still carrying a lot of hatred for Thomas around, though, and really ought to get over it, because it was years ago and the hate will eat you alive. If you hate him that much, though, you really ought to talk to him about it, or write him a letter, or find a healthy way of dealing with it.
He was someone who was passionate about his club and did his best under the circumstances, but wasn't perfect. Time to deal with it and move on, surely, unless of course, we're all perfect ourselves.
YOU GET WHAT YOU SETTLE FOR.