FRAWLEY TO COACH IN 2004

[The Boss]

Very interesting article below, looks like Greg Miller has potentially saved Frawley from the axe.
Now that it has been confirmed by the club that Frawley will coach us next year it might be time for the "Sack Frawley" group on this forum to move on to another topic.

Frawley's job safe for now
By Greg Denham, AFL
July 03, 2003

AN amendment to Richmond coach Danny Frawley's contract this season may save
his job until the end of 2004.

Under the original terms of his deal, Frawley could have been sacked this
year if the Tigers missed the finals for the second year running.
It was revealed yesterday that Frawley's incentive-based contract initially
contained a special clause that said he could have been sacked if the Tigers
failed to play finals in either 2002 or 2003.
Richmond finished 14th last year and sit 10th. The Tigers were third after
round eight, but have declined rapidly after a five-game losing sequence.
The non-finals clause was inserted by the Richmond board at the end of 2001,
providing them with an option of not extending Frawley's three-year deal
into a final year because of poor performance.
It was struck off this year on the insistence of the club's new general
manager of football operations, Greg Miller.
Frawley's manager, Ricky Nixon, yesterday described the reworking of the
contract as smart.
"We raised it, but it was driven by Richmond because, sensibly, they were
looking for some stability," Nixon said.
Tigers football director, Tony Jewell, the club's last premiership coach, in
1980, said yesterday the board felt the clause put undue pressure on
Frawley.
"We wiped it because Greg Miller felt it was not necessary," Jewell said.
"Danny certainly didn't ask for it to be withdrawn."
Miller yesterday said it was a "negative" option. "I wasn't going to do the
job with that hanging over the head of the coach," he said.
Miller and president Clinton Casey yesterday declared Richmond would honour
Frawley's contract.
"Danny Frawley will be coach until the end of 2004 at the very least," Casey
said. "We'll begin negotiations for a new contract early next season."
The incentive-based contract was initiated by Casey during Frawley's second
year as senior coach at Punt Road when the Tigers showed marked improvement
and finished third.
In 2001, Richmond won 15 home-and-away games and played in three finals
before being knocked out by Brisbane in a preliminary final at the Gabba.
It was Richmond's first finals appearance since 1995.
Casey described Frawley as having the potential to be one of the great
coaches in the competition and wanted to secure him long-term at Punt Road.
Frawley's second contract with Richmond included financial incentives for
performance, increased membership and sponsorship, and bigger attendances at
home games.
Casey designed the incentives on top of a base salary of about $300,000.
Frawley would receive a bonus of $20,000 for every position above eighth on
the ladder, up to a premiership.
He could have earned $15 for every extra member over 28,000 last season.
Membership increased, but only marginally to 27,251.
And Frawley was put on bonuses for home crowds of more than 45,000 and for
sponsorship he directly introduced to Richmond.
Jewell said the Tigers' expanded football department was "in the best shape
it's been in for years".
"We recognise the fact that we're not flag challengers at the moment, but we
have an expectation of making the eight," he said.

 

[Laff]

Cleary now we have to turn our attention to the board then. They are deluded and to say we will start negotiations early next year to extend his contract is a joke.....he will be the longest serving losing coach in AFL history. As for Miller alls we here from him is I won't do the job with this and I won't do the job with that. He is to freindly with Frawley and I don't believe will make the hard decisions, its back to the hammerheads for him I'm afraid

 

[Dean3]

Very good news. They know what they're doing down there. I hope they can hold their nerve long enough to reap the rewards of sticking with Danny. He'll make a top coach — he just needs to get the list right and we'll be fine.

 

[diggler]

(Casey described Frawley as having the potential to be one of the great coaches in the competition and wanted to secure him long-term at Punt Road)

Dear Clinton
This quote proves to me you are clearly deluded. Its obvious to me that you should be living in one of your many property developments. Im talking about the upmarket old peoples homes you develop. Clearly you are senile and in the early stages of alzeimners disease!
If that dud coaches us next year, it will be a long long winter of raining memberships!

 

[Koalalill]

Finally, will people believe me now when I say the contract will be honoured

Agree Dean. Good to see a bit of stabilty down there for a change rather than our customary implosion.

 

[gdbarrett]

Miller has taken the correct approach. Richmond needs to get some credabilty in the football world for it's treatment of coaches. I'm not exactly a Frawley fan but knee jurk reactions have done us no good in the past. Rest assused though, changes will be made with the playing group.

 

[shawry]

That article and news is genuinely a "breath of fresh air" and i feel more confident about our future. We've got Danny, lets all back him and the football department and then make our assessment at the end of their term. To do so now in the early stages of this new regime is extremely unfair.

 

[Koalalill]

Rest assused though, changes will be made with the playing group.

100% right Bazz - there will be changes to the list- some may not sit too well with some people. It will be interesting to see who they go after.

 

[Rosy]

I'm a bit in two minds over this. I'd hoped we were past the mentality of extending or amending contracts before they have expired.

In a "what if" scanario, what if we didn't win another game this year? What if it was decided Danny wasn't getting the message though to the team?

I don't see how altering the contract clauses could be of any benefit at all.

We've been caught out because of it before. I'm concerned this was done at the instigation of someone very new to the club.

I wonder what stage the contract was amended?

I am also concerend at negotiating a new contract for Danny early next season.

I hope nothing is signed until it's very clear how the season will end up. The last thing we need is a contract renewed on the basis of a flying start to the year only to be stuck with it if the team implodes and finishes down the ladder again.

 

[Dean3]

I think that's just the point Rosy. For too long at Richmond the tail (the players) has wagged the dog. If we lose every game from now on, then surely that just highlights the deficiencies of the playing list even further then they are being highlighted at the moment. If players don't want to play for Richmond, then let's show them the door.

It is the playing list that needs drastic action, not the coaching. Danny can't make premiership players out of also-rans who struggle to play well for Coburg. That's the biggest contradiction of those that criticise Danny - they are savage about most of our playing list, yet blame Danny for negative tactics and bad decision making. All coaches look bad when they've got a bunch of duds making up the numbers. Conversely, even Alan Joyce was able to coach Hawthorn to a flag when given a champion team.

Some say that the poor list is Danny's fault. Well, some of his decisions haven't come off, but a big percentage of our "list problems" were never part of Danny's area. I mean, do people seriously blame him for the Bourke/Daffy style arrangements and for contracts badly negotiated during his first or second season as a novice coach?

Yet through all of this, plus a very bad run with injuries, he's managed to get a very ordinary 2nd and 3rd tier list into a finals series, and knocking on the door of a couple more.

The absolute worst thing we could do at the end of this season is sack Danny Frawley, laying at his feet the blame for a litany of administrative and recruiting stuff-ups. I can guarantee that, if we sack him, we will be delaying a crack at a premiership for another 5-10 years. At long last we have a sensible, active and cohesive off field set up, a very solid base from which to rebuild our list and set our sights high.

Go Tiges.

 

[Tenacious Tiges]

I tend to agree with you Rosy.

We do need stability at the club so keeping the coach until the end of 2004 somehow seems a must, but getting sucked into another term after that before the end of that season doesn't sit well with me. I don't have much faith now as this season seems lost and enduring another crap one is just plain misery. The main problem with Spud is that he doesn't seem to have developed any new talent and I fear that guys like Rodan will get burned by his current style.

However doing the change the coach thing now just won't work this time for Richmond, no matter how much our friends come up with reasons for his beheading. We have burned ourselves over the years. I think we all see the current short comings, but we have to unfortunately just suck it. At the end of 2004 then that's a different thing, so hopefully no gimme's on the contract front after Rd 6 next year.

 

[TigerFurious]

I'm dissappointed to say the least.

Firstly to all the Frawley supporters who say he needs time to get the list right.

WTF has he been doing then since 1999??

Secondly, to talk of contract extensions early next season when we have one of the worst lists in the league, senior players who clearly have not improved, a recruitment and development program that is abysmal, and a gameplan that is so negative and down right boring to watch is really disturbing to say the least. Do the admin and board watch the games? Do they listen to supporters? Do they realise we only kicked 9 goals in near ideal conditions last week???

I hope Frawley proves all us doubters wrong but if he can't get his act together in 4 seasons what makes everyone think another one willmake all the difference??

Remember that all recent premiership coaches won their first premiership within 3 years of joining the club.

 

[Dean3]

No new talent? Coughlan? Newman? Krakouer? Rodan?

 

[Tenacious Tiges]

No new talent? Coughlan? Newman? Krakouer? Rodan?

D3 is that development or just a necessity?

I think Rodan burst onto the scene and is now loosing confidence due to being shoved all around the place and being benched when he tries to use his natural flair and it doesn't come off.

Cog's stood up because there was no-one else last year and Newman has as well. They are both good players that would come through anywhere.

Krak, I think he can and would be a real gem anywhere as well, maybe better in a better team. Work's hard defending in the forward line, something Richo needs to have a good look at. Maybe I'll give you this one as
Spud has let him try and develop in the pocket.

 

[Tigerblood]

No matter what you think of Frawley, you have to face the following facts:

A) If he's sacked, Richmond's reputation for beheading the coach when things go wrong will be reinforced. Anyone who thinks the football public no longer think of us in those terms is absolutely kidding themselves.

B) Point A will impede our ability to find a good replacement if Spud did get chopped. It did before, so the proof is there - don't stick your head in the sand and pretend no-one will think that way anymore. It would also impede our ability to attract players like Judd.

C) Sacking the coach will send a message to the playing group that they are not the reason for poor permformance. It is THEY who must be held accountable first and foremost at the season's end, should it end in tatters. Keeping the coach, trading a Joel Bowden type, and sacking the likes of King WILL send the right message.

 

[Dean3]

TT, this is part of the problem with those criticising Danny (not lumping you in there, by the way). Our deficiencies and failures are sheeted home to him, but our successes are not. Give him credit where it is due, and all of those players have emerged under his tenure.

As for development, along the same lines, you would have to give Danny credit for the development of Chaffey, Andy Kellaway, Tivendale, Ottens...to name a few...you can't have it both ways.

 

[tiga]

I agree with Deano and KL on this one.

Whilst I have been stirring the pot with the frawley sacking debate with my parodies in the past, I think this is a good decision to keep Frawley on for another year. People have to understand that sometimes it takes a couple of years to determine whether a young player is actually up to the grade in AFL footy or whether a more experienced player is capable of coming out of a form slump. I think Frawley understands now that there are a few players in the firing line both senior and less experienced and I believe he is ready to make the tough decisions and clear the cupboard where he can at the end of this season.

 

[Tenacious Tiges]

D3,

I here what you say and maybe I am having it both ways, but I get the impression that Frawl's doesn't understand how to build confidence in players and allow them to grow. Some need a kick up the rear end to get going and I'm sure his passion does that, but some need to be treated with kid gloves to give the confidence to grow. Everyone is different and everyone responds differently. A good coach does that intuitively.

A good coach makes ordinary or even crap players good ones and good players champions. The guys you have mentioned are good players and I feel they would be good players under any coach. Ottens should be a champion and you can only really rate him as a good player at the moment. Maybe injuries have had something to do with that so time will tell.

I hope that I am wrong and Frawley does become a great coach with us, but at the moment I'm now starting to fall off the fence.

 

[hutstar]

I'm appalled. Gotta wonder how it is in the best interests of the glub to sacrifice flexibility in contract negotiations. "putting too much pressure on Danny"? Greg, the guy is an AFL senior coach. I suspect the pressure of a third year option on his contract is not a huge weight compared to 30,000 people baying for his blood, should the team meander along for another 12 months.
I am NOT saying we should sack Danny at the end of the year (though we probably should), just that why on earth would you make a conscious decision to take out a performance clause from a contract, when chances are this clause will come into affect and possibly be required?
Crazy stuff. How dumb are we?
It really can't be that hard.

Boys, please save the breath of fresh air stuff- I am not with you in spirit.

 

[hutstar]

I'm appalled. Gotta wonder how it is in the best interests of the glub to sacrifice flexibility in contract negotiations. "putting too much pressure on Danny"? Greg, the guy is an AFL senior coach. I suspect the pressure of a third year option on his contract is not a huge weight compared to 30,000 people baying for his blood, should the team meander along for another 12 months.
I am NOT saying we should sack Danny at the end of the year (though we probably should), just that why on earth would you make a conscious decision to take out a performance clause from a contract, when chances are this clause will come into affect and possibly be required?
Crazy stuff. How dumb are we?
It really can't be that hard.

Boys, please save the breath of fresh air stuff- I am not with you in spirit.