Michael Voss: Terrible Commentator = Terrible Coach?
August 16th 2008 04:09
Listening to Michael Voss’s commentary in the game against Hawthorn, I felt that the new Gold Coast team had dodged a bullet by not securing him as its first coach.
This might seem like a harsh assessment of a Brownlow-winning, triple-premiership captain. But playing ability doesn’t always equal coaching ability, as several high-profile examples will attest. Does anyone even remember Tim Watson’s stint at St Kilda? And the less said about Tony Shaw’s time at Collingwood, the better (unless, of course, you despise Collingwood and remember Shaw’s tenure with the kind of fondness usually reserved for firstborn grandchildren).
Voss’s commentary revealed the sort of one-eyed blindness that makes regular spectators shout barely comprehensible gibberish, or compels them to call for “ball!” whenever one of their players lightly brushes an opponent. However, where the average spectator will gnash their teeth and wail when their team is playing badly, Voss can be optimistic to the point of delusion.
“Well done, Brisbane Lions”, he declared at half-time, despite the fact that Hawthorn were beginning to establish a comfortable hold on the game against a tepid opposition. Then, with roughly three minutes left to play in the third term – and with the Hawks charging ahead – he stated that Brisbane were “a couple of minutes from having to change their gameplan”. The time for changing tactics had passed about ten minutes prior, where it became clear that a Hawks surge was quickly becoming a romp.
There’s nothing wrong with refusing to give up. In that sense, if Voss were to pass along a ‘never say die’ attitude to any team he eventually coaches, it can only be a good thing. But the refusal to let go of a failed plan shows a worrying stubbornness that doesn’t belong in a coaching box; an equally worrying sign was his praise for Brisbane in the first half. Brisbane weren’t playing to win: they were playing not to lose, which is a dramatically different mindset.
Voss was unquestionably a great player. However, unless tempered, the same attributes that made him a great player could easily land him on the coaching scrapheap.
This might seem like a harsh assessment of a Brownlow-winning, triple-premiership captain. But playing ability doesn’t always equal coaching ability, as several high-profile examples will attest. Does anyone even remember Tim Watson’s stint at St Kilda? And the less said about Tony Shaw’s time at Collingwood, the better (unless, of course, you despise Collingwood and remember Shaw’s tenure with the kind of fondness usually reserved for firstborn grandchildren).
Voss’s commentary revealed the sort of one-eyed blindness that makes regular spectators shout barely comprehensible gibberish, or compels them to call for “ball!” whenever one of their players lightly brushes an opponent. However, where the average spectator will gnash their teeth and wail when their team is playing badly, Voss can be optimistic to the point of delusion.
“Well done, Brisbane Lions”, he declared at half-time, despite the fact that Hawthorn were beginning to establish a comfortable hold on the game against a tepid opposition. Then, with roughly three minutes left to play in the third term – and with the Hawks charging ahead – he stated that Brisbane were “a couple of minutes from having to change their gameplan”. The time for changing tactics had passed about ten minutes prior, where it became clear that a Hawks surge was quickly becoming a romp.
There’s nothing wrong with refusing to give up. In that sense, if Voss were to pass along a ‘never say die’ attitude to any team he eventually coaches, it can only be a good thing. But the refusal to let go of a failed plan shows a worrying stubbornness that doesn’t belong in a coaching box; an equally worrying sign was his praise for Brisbane in the first half. Brisbane weren’t playing to win: they were playing not to lose, which is a dramatically different mindset.
Voss was unquestionably a great player. However, unless tempered, the same attributes that made him a great player could easily land him on the coaching scrapheap.
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Comment by Norm
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