Scott Watters - share your stories!

[SaintPav]

He sounds like a wanker

[spert]

My abiding memory of Mr Watters is this:

Like several hundred other brave/deluded(?) souls, I braved the elements at 5:00AM and made my way to the St Kilda boardwalk for the membership promotion video. Stood around with other Sainters waiting in the cold for the helicopter to sweep past and film us all holding up our scarves.

The filming was done in one take, and we made our way to the cafe for hot coffee and bacon and egg rolls. I was sat at the next table to where Michael Nettlefold and Scott Watters were sitting together. I sat drinking my coffee, maintaining ( for ME ) a discreet low profile, didn't want to barge in to their conversation. Next second, Nettlefold says to me "Thanks for coming along " and offers the paw! I shake his hand and say, "no worries Michael"

All this time, Watters sits there with an expression that radiates; "I'm too cool for school" and doesn't even glance at me, which I hasten to add, doesn't worry me one iota, Nettlefold then says to me: "Have you met our new coach, Scott Watters?" Just like that! I offer the paw and say "welcome aboard Mr Watters"

What I got in return was an expression from SW that hovered somewhere between being bored schitless and me trying to pick his pocket, the "handshake"( ) was a wee bit less than derisory. I was less than impressed.

Now I KNOW, these guys are professional, it's a job, meeting fans is part of the job description. I don't expect an invitation to his family barbecue, but CHRIST! I was almost 68 years old, worked all my life, brought up a family, and PAID MY MEMBERSHIP, all it needed was a WEE bit of warmth in the handshake.

On the other hand, my granddaughter and I attended open training at Moorabbin shortly after Richo was appointed as coach. He was walking around the boundary, signing autographs and chatting to people. I was amazed, ( and a little humbled ) when he stopped, signed my autograph book and posed for a photo with me. THEN, when hearing my accent, asked me why I'd turned to AFL? Why the Saints? How long had I been in OZ? AND...(quote) " did I still follow Liverpool FC?" I had to educate him by pointing out there are TWO teams in Liverpool!

Now folks, I KNOW it's not a popularity contest for coaches, BUT when a coach spends time with fans, and takes an interest in them, then I feel they are part of the club!

Watters? Well just how many coaching jobs were offered to him post-Saints? Same goes for Neeld?

I remember having a great chat to Blight about footy and coaching when he was our coach- pleasant, shook hands. I would rather have a premiership than worry about who is nice bloke or not

[SaintPav]

So Watters was going to get us a premiership?

Give us all a break.

[SaintPav]

[Waltzing St Kilda]

What worries me now is that when the team plays for one of their own -- as in Maddie's Match --
they really turn it on, kick straight, the works. As they did in Watters' last match (the Kosi/Milne send-off
game against Freo).

Otherwise, they don't look terribly impressive even when they win. So do they have problems with Richo now?
Is there another revolt brewing?

[thejiggingsaint]

I think you're way off the mark with that " is there another revolt brewing? " remark, Waltzing St Kilda

[thejiggingsaint]

spert, hard to disagree with your "rather have a premiership than worry about who is nice bloke or not" but having said that, it's also fair to say that the strength of character and attitude of a coach has crucial bearings on a club's ability to build toward winning a flag. Lyon was, results wise, a good coach ( apart from GF games of course!) but his mercenary nature saw him drop us like a hot snot when the going got tough ( aging list, early exit from finals) So yes, being a "nice bloke" should never be the sole criteria for selecting a coach........ just as "serving an assistant coaching apprenticeship under Malthouse" should not have been.

[dals_da_bomb]

Im really a 'people person'
Its maybe my greatest strength.
Reading some of these interactions just blow my mind. How can any one be so unprofessional and rude?

Im sorry you were treated that way Jig. Im actually really sorry - No one should ever be treated in such a way.

[spert]

So Watters was going to get us a premiership?

Give us all a break.

We'll never know will we. We are still waiting for the next premiership coach after how many years? I remember many down at Hawthorn including a few players who couldn't stand Clarkson when he started there- the style of play was ridiculous, crazy guy etc etc. but being a strong club- they put their weight behind the coach and got premierships. I'm not necessarily a supporter of Watters mind you, just thought he got shafted.

[thejiggingsaint]

So Watters was going to get us a premiership?

Give us all a break.

We'll never know will we. We are still waiting for the next premiership coach after how many years? I remember many down at Hawthorn including a few players who couldn't stand Clarkson when he started there- the style of play was ridiculous, crazy guy etc etc. but being a strong club- they put their weight behind the coach and got premierships. I'm not necessarily a supporter of Watters mind you, just thought he got shafted.

Yes, spert, many thought Watters got " shafted " However, I'd like to know just how much he contributed to his own demise.

[thejiggingsaint]

If I hadn't heard it with my own ears, I'd have thought someone was having a lend of me, BUT.... he actually said it! Dermot Brereton on SEN, a day or so after Watters' dismissal: "I've known many, many blokes in footy, but to me, I've only known two with great football brains..... they are Yabby Jeans and Scotty Watters"

Now I know many folk think Dermie to be an inarticulate person, but ( for mine ) his eloquence on that occasion was SUPERB...... in describing the iq of himself and Watters!

[Linton Lodger]

Clearly the Board rated him as they gave him the job.
So he cant have been all bad. Someone liked and rated him.

That'd be Michael Nettlefold who didn't have a clue. He'd made a mess of the Lyon contract and was reamed by Lyon. So then he interviews Richo & Hinkley who told him a rebuild was in order, then Watters who told him what he wanted to hear, that we were a juggernaut! So based on that and the fact that he was an Assistant (although not a main one) at a Premiership team, ticked two boxes for Nettlefold. It could have been worse, thank god Melbourne had already snapped up Mark Neeld!

Just another act of idiocy from the second highest paid CEO in the League at the time.

[Joffa Burns]

I went to a corporate launch at Seaford and Scott was one of the speakers.
He likened Tom Ledger to Dane Swan
I swear as god is my witness!

He said he wasn't a great trainer but when the balls come out Tom comes to play, he predicted big things for Tom.
(He meant he wasnt a great runner, but hunted the ball in drills at training)

[Joffa Burns]

I find the vitriol or love to GT and Ross on this forum interesting, those two polarised forum punters opinion.

Scotty however barely gets a mention.

[Linton Lodger]

AR is well known to be an outstanding person in the industry..
Genuine and one of the nice guys... I have met him several times and had similar experiences.
Thejiggingsaint are you a scouser?
I was in Liverpool December last year, I'm part of the Red army..

I've only been to Liverpool once (briefly unfortunately), a maginificent part of the world that gave us The Beatles.

[Linton Lodger]

I went to a corporate launch at Seaford and Scott was one of the speakers.
He likened Tom Ledger to Dane Swan
I swear as god is my witness!

He said he wasn't a great trainer but when the balls come out Tom comes to play, he predicted big things for Tom.
(He meant he wasnt a great runner, but hunted the ball in drills at training)

Not defending Watters, but if Ledger had good foot skills, he would've been a gun.

[freely]

I find the vitriol or love to GT and Ross on this forum interesting, those two polarised forum punters opinion.

Scotty however barely gets a mention.

I guess as supporters we like to be able to 'see' the gameplan - and with GT and Ross it was so clear and particular. Same way you can point to Pagan's paddock or Malthouse loving the boundary. If it's obvious what they're going for, makes it much easier to get stuck in! Biggest problem I had with Watters was how disrespectful he was to the senior players. They'd just come off back to back grand final years and he talked about the team as if he had nothing to work with.

[Sainternist]

Jiggster's story of meeting both Watters and then Richo made this an enjoyable thread.

[thejiggingsaint]

AR is well known to be an outstanding person in the industry..
Genuine and one of the nice guys... I have met him several times and had similar experiences.
Thejiggingsaint are you a scouser?
I was in Liverpool December last year, I'm part of the Red army..

I've only been to Liverpool once (briefly unfortunately), a maginificent part of the world that gave us The Beatles.

Don't forget Superboot ! AND...... the Jiggster!

Gee I LURVE this quote function! If anyone needs a hand in getting it to operate, just drop me a PM!

[White Winmar]

Clearly the Board rated him as they gave him the job.
So he cant have been all bad. Someone liked and rated him.

That'd be Michael Nettlefold who didn't have a clue. He'd made a mess of the Lyon contract and was reamed by Lyon. So then he interviews Richo & Hinkley who told him a rebuild was in order, then Watters who told him what he wanted to hear, that we were a juggernaut! So based on that and the fact that he was an Assistant (although not a main one) at a Premiership team, ticked two boxes for Nettlefold. It could have been worse, thank god Melbourne had already snapped up Mark Neeld!

Just another act of idiocy from the second highest paid CEO in the League at the time.

It would be interesting if those who selected Watters over Hinkley and AR were to give their reasons for doing so. In the modern recruiting environment, personality flaws are getting harder to hide, especially when the process is as torturous as that when it comes to picking an AFL coach. Given coaches at the time were earning around $700K on average, the firm hired to run the process and make the recommended selection would be pocketing between $70K and $140K for the privilege of doing so, you'd hope that they didn't recommend Watters. Unfortunately, Linton Lodger is probably right.

I have no evidence, but I get an uneasy feeling that Nettlefold probably made a captain's call to the Board. Just because someone is recommended, doesn't mean the organisation will ultimately choose them. Same goes in recruiting players. In the end, the call needs to be made by someone and then the Board has to ratify that decision. I've seen some howlers in my time in terms of poor senior appointments, both in the private and public sectors. I remember the recent story of the manager and senior engineer on a major state government construction job. He was in charge for 18 months and the project was a disaster. Turns out the manager wasn't a very good manager, nor was he an engineer! Seems he'd pulled the same stunt in Canada and the U.K. Another $360K per year well spent! It happens.

If AR had been appointed in the first place, perhaps we'd be challenging already. The Watters / Pelchen / Nettlefold "Trinity" set us back a fair way. Ah, Mickey Nettlefold. A bit like herpes. The gift that keeps on giving. First, he lost the second most successful coach in our history (very careless), then he compounded the problem by hiring one of the worst coaches in our history. As another Malthouse disciple, surely Mark Neeld should have been warning enough. He and Scotty were accused of eerily similar behaviours towards the players. In the end, we got AR, who rightly told the board he wasn't going through the process again. I often wonder what would've happened if AR got picked first, or if Luke Beveridge had been considered experienced enough for the gig.

[Sainternist]

Watters is best mates with Dermie, so it makes sense if he's a sh!t dude.

[skeptic]

Clearly the Board rated him as they gave him the job.
So he cant have been all bad. Someone liked and rated him.

That'd be Michael Nettlefold who didn't have a clue. He'd made a mess of the Lyon contract and was reamed by Lyon. So then he interviews Richo & Hinkley who told him a rebuild was in order, then Watters who told him what he wanted to hear, that we were a juggernaut! So based on that and the fact that he was an Assistant (although not a main one) at a Premiership team, ticked two boxes for Nettlefold. It could have been worse, thank god Melbourne had already snapped up Mark Neeld!

Just another act of idiocy from the second highest paid CEO in the League at the time.

It would be interesting if those who selected Watters over Hinkley and AR were to give their reasons for doing so. In the modern recruiting environment, personality flaws are getting harder to hide, especially when the process is as torturous as that when it comes to picking an AFL coach. Given coaches at the time were earning around $700K on average, the firm hired to run the process and make the recommended selection would be pocketing between $70K and $140K for the privilege of doing so, you'd hope that they didn't recommend Watters. Unfortunately, Linton Lodger is probably right.

I have no evidence, but I get an uneasy feeling that Nettlefold probably made a captain's call to the Board. Just because someone is recommended, doesn't mean the organisation will ultimately choose them. Same goes in recruiting players. In the end, the call needs to be made by someone and then the Board has to ratify that decision. I've seen some howlers in my time in terms of poor senior appointments, both in the private and public sectors. I remember the recent story of the manager and senior engineer on a major state government construction job. He was in charge for 18 months and the project was a disaster. Turns out the manager wasn't a very good manager, nor was he an engineer! Seems he'd pulled the same stunt in Canada and the U.K. Another $360K per year well spent! It happens.

If AR had been appointed in the first place, perhaps we'd be challenging already. The Watters / Pelchen / Nettlefold "Trinity" set us back a fair way. Ah, Mickey Nettlefold. A bit like herpes. The gift that keeps on giving. First, he lost the second most successful coach in our history (very careless), then he compounded the problem by hiring one of the worst coaches in our history. As another Malthouse disciple, surely Mark Neeld should have been warning enough. He and Scotty were accused of eerily similar behaviours towards the players. In the end, we got AR, who rightly told the board he wasn't going through the process again. I often wonder what would've happened if AR got picked first, or if Luke Beveridge had been considered experienced enough for the gig.

It's interesting isn't it. I disagree on one point. As you're aware my background is in mental health and a decade in, I've learned that even the worst candidates... the narcissistic, sociopathic etc are often just as, if not even more so, capable excelling in even the most stringent interview process.

The reality is doing the job and talking about how to do the job are two vastly separate things and excelling at one does not in anyway suggest that you're capable of the other.

[Stian]

AR is well known to be an outstanding person in the industry..
Genuine and one of the nice guys... I have met him several times and had similar experiences.
Thejiggingsaint are you a scouser?
I was in Liverpool December last year, I'm part of the Red army..

Believe it or not, I met AR's cleaning lady shortly after AR joined the Saints and she LOVES him. She has been looking after his family for about 10 years. Now, I know that the recommendation of your cleaning lady does not make you a good coach but we are talking about character here. You can't hide from somebody who sees the skid marks on your undies.

[stonecold]

Can not understand how Scotty never made it?????


He was 'On Fire' after he got sacked!!!!!

[SaintPav]

Didn't Luke Ball and Max Hudghton have huge wraps on Scott Watters?