Pathetic end to a pathetic season

[st.mart]

Glad it's over, sick of watching a boring, reactive crap style of footy.....supercoach Ross obviously has a rule.....start dominating the game, close down and try to hold on.....team rule - win by less than three goals...not let any player with natural ability take a risk...

and on Ross......

How many games did we lose control of in the box in 2007.....I can count 5.....comfortable lead, then run over....

We routinely smashed sides in the recent past, why does that no longer happen??????

[Saints Premiers 2008]

its the season we were always going to have

we turned it on occassionaly and when we did it was awesome

look for a massive pre-season and a far more diciplined saints outfit in 2008 that can be all forms of footy and know what to do to win

don't stress we will be sweet

out nucleus is between 24-26

we will be sweet

[st_Trav_ofWA]

and on Ross......

How many games did we lose control of in the box in 2007.....I can count 5.....comfortable lead, then run over....

We routinely smashed sides in the recent past, why does that no longer happen??????

you dont think the players had somthing to do with being over run ???

and maybe just maybe the other teams are getting better ???
the teams we used to smash cause they had skinny kids not have semi grown men now

[evertonfc]

we will be sweet

On the strength of what has happened this season?

Next year is 2008 - it's not 2004 any more, folks.

We need to get our arses into gear.

NINTH IS NOT SATISFACTORY.

[st.mart]

Thursfield, Magaune and Edwards and Riewoldt and King looked pretty skinny to me, has ZERO to do with it......

Run over top of.....yes.......tactically and fitness wise....both Ross's responsibility......

Out of ten this year for the coaching

3/10

[1989 saint]

cant not say how glad i am that the season is over.

cant stand watching some players like raph clarke, clinton jones and ferguson and gwilt, so with the end of the season comes a list clean out which i am eagerley looking forward to

[st_Trav_ofWA]

Thursfield, Magaune and Edwards and Riewoldt and King looked pretty skinny to me, has ZERO to do with it......

Run over top of.....yes.......tactically and fitness wise....both Ross's responsibility......

Out of ten this year for the coaching

3/10

seriously getting over run is the fitness teams problem and seeing as though we changed just b4 the start of the year might have somthing to do with that

and as for todays game the players were not even trying the season is dead its crap mentallity i know but seriously if you think we couldnt beat those kids if it was for a spot in the finals your deluded

i would say ross is a good coach but given he came in as late as he did he really didnt get a good head start to try and control the team .. i could be wrong i hope im not but i think he will control the team better

[stinger]

Thursfield, Magaune and Edwards and Riewoldt and King looked pretty skinny to me, has ZERO to do with it......

Run over top of.....yes.......tactically and fitness wise....both Ross's responsibility......

Out of ten this year for the coaching

3/10

yep.....flowering disappointing......we are also playing guys not up to afl standard.......whether we ran out of other options i'm not sure.....

...but that side will not win a premiership......sorry to say....


we need to recruit some good fast young midfielders...ones with strong hands...who can hold on to the pill once they get it at the stoppages..........


....we were always going to lose ground this year......


.....

[Saints Premiers 2008]

we will be sweet

On the strength of what has happened this season?

Next year is 2008 - it's not 2004 any more, folks.

We need to get our arses into gear.

NINTH IS NOT SATISFACTORY.

yes it isnt 2004...we burst onto the scene and that was that...ala the hawks this year

2008 will see a major climb up the table and maybe 2009 will be a major tilt at the flag

[aussierules0k]

[lefty]

we will be sweet

On the strength of what has happened this season?

Next year is 2008 - it's not 2004 any more, folks.

We need to get our arses into gear.

NINTH IS NOT SATISFACTORY.

yes it isnt 2004...we burst onto the scene and that was that...ala the hawks this year

2008 will see a major climb up the table and maybe 2009 will be a major tilt at the flag

Why post something like that?

Every year, you have a chance, and we should be aiming for the big one. What, in 2009, we dont make the eight, and you'll say, "oh wells, 2011 will be our year".

Meh.

[joffaboy]

Great game. Loved it. Big G's last game, fantastic. Kosi on fire!!! Roo being Roo!!!

Not gonna get down about not playing finals. Work in progress. Go Saints!!!

Good stuff AOK.

Obviously you dont measure your self worth and self esteem by how a football club performs.

Umm - but it wasn't a great game.

Still we ended the season with a healthy list for a change

Goose will get a fll pre season
Lenny will be better
raph and X will get a full PS
Gardiner will be up and about (hopefully)
Mabye Hamill
bj will be back early in the season (all going well)
luke ball may get his injury under control
Max can get his soft tissue problem right

And the rest are just about fit.

Add to that big hopes for Armo, Allen, and others and if we can get a fair crack at consistancy in the team re injuries we may go OK.

One thing we need is to do a heap of work on bloody foot skills and delivery to our forwards and get some pace into the team.

Our midfield is one paced and pedestrian. Ross Lyon has his work cut out for him in a big big way.

[sasaint]

Don't agree. 2007 was a very unlucky year for thr Saints and one of transition. The team is learning a new game plan. 2008 will have some priorities in the off season..

1 - Soft tissue injury management
2 - Fitness
3 - List management

There will be a significant pruning and I think Ross will be very keen to get some backups for
1 - Ruck
2 - inside midfielders

Look for a couple of Rookie promotions. Pencil in Geary for one.
Look for a couple of surpise departures.
Look for a well considered draft and another pile of rookies

I hate the off season... bring on 2008

[aussierules0k]

[St Fidelius]

Look for a couple of Rookie promotions. Pencil in Geary for one.

Yeah, I couldn't believe it when a poster suggested that the club should delist him next year.

IMO he has played well for most of the season, but he needs to some work in the gym and build himself up

[Oh When the Saints]

Glad it's over, sick of watching a boring, reactive crap style of footy.....supercoach Ross obviously has a rule.....start dominating the game, close down and try to hold on.....team rule - win by less than three goals...not let any player with natural ability take a risk...

and on Ross......

How many games did we lose control of in the box in 2007.....I can count 5.....comfortable lead, then run over....

We routinely smashed sides in the recent past, why does that no longer happen??????

You would lay the whole blame with Lyon st.mart?

Fitness was fine at St Kilda was it?

Players had the running base they needed? Hadn't bulked up too much?

Expect the loss of 9 players since 2005 to have meant no effect on performance?

Watch the last three games, when we played direct attacking football?

Listen to Denis Paga, Wayne Carey and Robert Walls all say that St Kilda's basic problem was fitness?

Listen to Fraser Gehrig praise Lyon to the point of embarrassment after the game?

Find the opening half against West Coast boring?

Bored to death by our pressure and attacking footy against Fremantle?

[Oh When the Saints]

Thursfield, Magaune and Edwards and Riewoldt and King looked pretty skinny to me, has ZERO to do with it......

Run over top of.....yes.......tactically and fitness wise....both Ross's responsibility......

Out of ten this year for the coaching

3/10

So Lyon is supposed to improve fitness when he arrives at the club in November and the training services guy leaves a month later ??

And he is supposed to lay his hands on a Thursfield and King, when the only young bloke at the club from the past three drafts worth anything was Gilbert?

[The Fireman]

Wasn't a good year but you can blame injury for that and we won't be beating sides like we have in the past few years, they are improving, even the cheating rabble.
Today the Tiges nearly ran us off our feet, this will be something that needs to be looked at for next season, prior to this game we have last 8 last Qrs in arow, not good.
To blame the coach outright for the move backwards is a bit rich and I'll wait to see how he goes with a full. fit team next year.
I will miss the G train and Tommo, still can't believe the G has pulled the pin.

[barks4eva]

[yep.....flowering disappointing......we are also playing guys not up to afl standard.......whether we ran out of other options i'm not sure.....

...but that side will not win a premiership......sorry to say....


we need to recruit some good fast young midfielders...ones with strong hands...who can hold on to the pill once they get it at the stoppages..........


....we were always going to lose ground this year......


.....

agree 100% , our list is in desperate need of some quality kids coming through

Gilbert is an absolute blessing but unfortunately this year there wasn't much else

poor recruiting will do that to you, particulraly when we've recruited poorly for about five years

we need some pace through the midfield, currently we are probably the slowest team in the AFL with the possible exception of Sydney

this is our achilles heel and until this situation is addressed we won't be winning a premiership anytime soon

so much for planning for a decade of success

[st.mart]

No......but I found the second half of the game against WC infuriating......thanks for bring it up......that game + Coll.....&....WB.....&....Syd....all in winning positions and unable to put the final nail in the coffin by being too cautious.....


BTW - if it's good enough to blame lack of fitness on one coach, the same should be for the next....the coach oversees the entire footy dept...

[Oh When the Saints]

BTW - if it's good enough to blame lack of fitness on one coach, the same should be for the next....the coach oversees the entire footy dept...

I agree.

But surely Lyon earns a reprieve because he walked into an already planned pre-season that was underway? Over which he had little input?

And a reprieve because the bloke who planned that (Starcevich) drops everything and leaves halfway through?


Or is that being unreasonable, and he should have been able to sort it out along with everything else?

[maverick]

I must admit, looking back on the year, there aren't that many highlights, as in games to watch again etc.

Whilst I agree with you Marto that the footy often wasn't pretty, I honestly believe if GT stayed, we would have been very frustrated this year, because EVERYONE plays this auskick type moving pack type footy these days, and G and Roo would have been double teamed every week. Direct football is dead at the moment IMO.

If anyone wants to quote the Cats as playing direct free flowing footy, in Wallet's words, I will throw up, they are the BIGGEST flooders going round (OK next to Sydney).

[saint66au]

Bloody hell guys..sheesh...even the players and coach are taking a breath and having a beer tonight. Maybe a few here should do the same.

Fiftenn mnutes after the siren and the usual "football is a serious game not one to be enjoyed and watched as recreation" brigade are out in force, busily wringing their hands because we didnt win by 100 points.

Theres a group of supporters to whom theres only 3 types of football...

*St Kilda plays well.
*St Kilda played badly
*Umpiring is rubbish

Oppostion play well?? Pffft never..its all about St Kildas errors. I heard it today...people screaming abuse at Milney when he makes a great 2nd effort but his kick is brilliantly spoiled by a Tiger. No credit at all to him, just abuse the Saints player for not delivering it 60m lace out each and every time

NEWSFLASH: Richmond played very well in parts (as did we!!) They wont be on the bottom next year Ill stake my life on it. The are quick and run and support each other well. Yes their disposal is ordinary but they aint Robinson Crusoe. Last week they knocked over Essendon in their most emotional H&A game in their history probably.

I know it probably wont make me a serious proper Saints fan in some people eyes,. but for a few weeks I'm going to remember this game for Kosi's first qtr, Roo's frightening work ethic and the look on that girls face when Fraser gave her his jumper. Relax and hopefully watch some high-standard footy in the finals.

Plenty of time soon for angst and teeth-gnashing over this years performance and next years list

[st.mart]

With the same injuries GT would NOT have done any better with the list IMO.....

Just not happy with the style of footy.......ugly at best...and will not be successfull.....just keeps the opposition in the game, and reqiures belief, character and discipline - we have none of those qualities accross the board (some players have)

who will we copy next.....Geelong

After copying Brisbane in 04/05/06

and Sydney in 07/08

[rodgerfox]

look for a massive pre-season and a far more diciplined saints outfit in 2008 that can be all forms of footy and know what to do to win

What are you basing this on?

This seems to be the latest popular line, but to be frank I haven't seen any evidenceof it at all.

More disciplined? I haven't seen a less disciplined Saints team for years.

All forms of footy? We've lost when it gets tough, and been unconvincing when it hasn't been tough.

Know what to do to win? What suggests this? I'd say I'veseen the exact opposite this year. We simply don't know how to win.