Wheels, where are you?

[The Doctor]

My oh my, we seem to be a sensitive society these days. Someone says something then someone will take offence to it. Next thing you know we have public spats and the whole world turns upside down.

What is it with footballers these days? They're highly paid 'professionals' but so many just can't seem to handle the preceived pressure or think they can behave however they feel like at the time with no regard for the consequence. So they resort to drugs, alchohol, violence or other misdemenours as a release for their emotions or to fulfill their need for attention. Then hope for pity when it all goes to the scheizenhausen.

So the AFL adopt various codes for player behaviour, introduce policies to limit the number of incidences of racial or religious vilification issues, we have clubs employing welfare office to assist players when they go loopy. That's great. But what's this got to do with title?

What about ex footballers these days? We've seen the trouble with Ablett and Carey. Should the AFL and it's clubs be doing more for the ex-players? Look at us. In a different way we see the trouble we have recently had with Libba. But not only have we had trouble with Libba there seems to have been other alienations between the club and former players over a long period of time. Who's to blame? Well not me!

The Libba thing got me thinking. Why does this happen and what can we do to prevent it? We all know it does nothing for the club other than create negative media and some angst among swinging members and sponsors. To me our past players could and should play a valuable part in our clubs social fabric. This should be regardless of whether they go to other clubs to continue their footy careers as asst coaches, recruiters or administrators or boot studders.

Let's face it we all love our past players. THey toiled for many years in the mud and slush. They took poundings and beatings for our club. THey made us cheer for joy with a great goal, a great mark, a great smother or bump or even giving a backhander to a the opposition bad guy. We loved it most when they won for us.

I'm not close enough to the club to know what goes on in the past player department but whatever there is I think it is time to beef it up. We need someone who can rally the old boys and make them feel part of the club once again. Make them feel like they did when they wore our jumper and wanted us to win. We need someone who can link the present and the past. We need someone to make the present admin, coaches and players know the importance of the history of the players that have served our club yet also make our former greats understand what is going on at the club now. Make everyone feel a part of the club, a united club.

Terry Wheeler I'm talking about you.

There are few that I know of in my 35 years of supporting the dogs that have shown their passion for the club as strongly as Wheels. Surely he could play some kind of ambassadorial role as a past player for the past players and be the conduit between them and the club as it is now. After all, when as coach he invited back many of the old guard to help out like Bissett, Dempsey, Quinlan etc and they came didn't they? He got us up when we were down. He stood in front of the Whitten stand and rallied the crowd at 3/4 time when we needed a lift.

Maybe I'm getting too sensitive in this hyper sensitive age. But maybe in this new age we need a Wheels behind the scenes to keep the old wheels rolling smoothly.

[GVGjr]

Sensational post.

[westdog54]

What they said.

Any involvement the club could give to Wheels would be warmly welcomed.

[DOG GOD]

WOW!!! Awesome post Doc. VERY VERY well written. I ABSOLUTELY agree with you.

[Yankee Hotel Foxtrot]

Hear Hear!

These sentiments Doctor, should be forwarded to the club. these are the sort of heartfelt and well thought out comments that should be heard by our club.

[The Coon Dog]

Hear Hear!

These sentiments Doctor, should be forwarded to the club. these are the sort of heartfelt and well thought out comments that should be heard by our club.

I had the same thought & sent Doc's post to Rocket.

[BulldogBelle]

Fantastic post Doc always a pleasure to read your posts.

Wheels still bleeds the red, white & blue - my cousin plays golf with him every few weeks and they constantly talk about the Dogs. It would be good to have him at the club in some capacity but he is quite happy doing what he does at the moment. If the club ever called on him for something he would be one of the first to want to help out with no strings attached.

[Mofra]

I think it is a measure of the man that 100% of Bulldog supporters would love to see Wheels come back in some capacity.

How many other ex-coaches (non playing of course) would be welcomed at their former club? Not just tolerated, but trully welcome?

The sort of passion he'd deliver was sorely missing in the last 7 games last year.

[hujsh]

It's an interesting piece but sadly it is lost on me because i know very little about past players and what they expect ect.

[GVGjr]

I think it is a measure of the man that 100% of Bulldog supporters would love to see Wheels come back in some capacity.

How many other ex-coaches (non playing of course) would be welcomed at their former club? Not just tolerated, but trully welcome?

The sort of passion he'd deliver was sorely missing in the last 7 games last year.

I thought Peter Gordon did a great job all things considered but letting Wheeler go wasn't his best decision. I admire Wheels a lot. I spent 20 minutes talking to him one day and had the pleasure of being in the rooms listening to his speeches before and after the game and it was a terrific experience.
I was at the club the day Wheels got his marching orders and I was there when Alan Joyce arrived. Don't get me going about Wallace

The one thing about Wheels is that he didn't embrace past champions as well as he could have. I think Quinlan struggled with him because Wheels simply dismissed his suggestions.

[FrediKanoute]

Agree with the Doc's sentiments about how good Wheeler was. I think the club acted prematurely, but then again we'd just been flogged by the kangas on the weekend (I know I was there) and I think in hindsight it was the correct decision. Wheeler was an inspirational leader who gave players their head and let them go out and play. He turned Simon Atkins and Libba from slow wet weather reserves fodder into top AFL midfielders. His problem though was that the Doggies of the early 90's lacked discipline and leadership necessary to work with that level of freedom.

As for past players. Nostalgia often exagerates their contribution and thus by definition exagerates the debt owed by the club to these players. I admit its nice to see a lost dog come home to the kennel and coach/assist the team that he started with. Yes it does build a culture of tradition and history and makes the current players aware that they don't own their jumper, but have inheireted it on trust for future bulldogs players. However, past players remain "past". Their connection to the club is historic. Their deeds done set a precendent for those that follow, but the club's destiny is shaped by the current and future players.

The problem with "past" players is that their time at the Bulldog's ended for one reason or another. the lucky ones (Granty, Crofty, Wynd, EJ, Smith, Kennedy, Libba) got to finish their careers at the Bulldogs, stepping aside when their body could carry them no futher. Other past players are crippled by injury and their time at the club is cut short. Some are traded away, either to make way for up and coming players or for draft picks and the majority are discarded after a few games as not being up to the standard required. Critically though, whilst these players become past playes the club endures and continues. Hence the culture of the Bulldogs, the personnel, the direction etc is not the same as when the past player left.

The question I pose then is that what happens when a coach, a president and a CEO come together with a vision for the Bulldogs that is different to the past? When that vision wont settle for second best and just surviving, but is prepared to embark on projects which could sustain the club long term? What happens when the club recognises that spending money on a football department for little result, without tangible measures of success is akin to flushing money down the toilet? How can a past player, not in touch with this vision, not in touch with the current administration assist this process?

Nostaligia demands that we recognise our past players as the hero's they are for having worn the RWB and toiled for the club through good times and bad. Winning however demands that we consign our past players and their achievements to history and move forward, because past glory's aren't going to matter in September, its the deeds which Cooney, Griffin, West, Johnno et al perform that are going to matter, and if they don't already want to bleed RWB then we're stuffed.

[Go_Dogs]

Good read Doc. I agree with the thoughts you presented.

[Mofra]

Nostaligia demands that we recognise our past players as the hero's they are for having worn the RWB and toiled for the club through good times and bad. Winning however demands that we consign our past players and their achievements to history and move forward, because past glory's aren't going to matter in September, its the deeds which Cooney, Griffin, West, Johnno et al perform that are going to matter, and if they don't already want to bleed RWB then we're stuffed.
That may present a difficult situation on the surface, however if the club are going to make an obvious attempt at a homecoming for a past player/coach, you'd have to assume they would be doing so for the right reasons, picking a select few that have something positive to offer the club (for example, your list above of Granty, Crofty, Wynd, EJ, Smith, Kennedy, Libba).

Someone who has worked hard & bled for the club on numerous occasions, despite perhaps coming from a different era, still has plenty to offer. Kretiuk is an obvious example for mine - he was often outsized for much of his career, just as some of our players were last year. Diferrent era (predominately Gordon vs Smorgan) but he certainly would have been welcome & would have had a positive effect.

[BulldogBelle]

Great read.

l have been a little bit lucky as l have an assoicate membership to the Past Players.
There is one thing l have noticed in my 3 years of membership there is hardly a single player who played after the mid 70's who turns up.
From speaking to some of the PP members they have tried their guts out to get them to join.
They usally have 2 scenario's they just cant be bothered or they say they will join but never do, despite receiving numerous reminders by post (This means you NK who lives just arond the corner).
The only time these players do turn up is if they are personally invited to the mid year PP function/lunch.

Now onto Wheels.
He actually attended the 2007 PP function/lunch as it was on past coaches of the Dogs.
He LOVES the dogs with passion. The way he recounted his times with the dogs and the passion he showed was amazing. Our whole table wanted run out and play a game, very inspirational. Must have been a great motivator.

He would be the perfect person to get more old dogs onboard.

But who knows maybe they just dont have the time??

[FrediKanoute]

That may present a difficult situation on the surface, however if the club are going to make an obvious attempt at a homecoming for a past player/coach, you'd have to assume they would be doing so for the right reasons, picking a select few that have something positive to offer the club (for example, your list above of Granty, Crofty, Wynd, EJ, Smith, Kennedy, Libba).

Someone who has worked hard & bled for the club on numerous occasions, despite perhaps coming from a different era, still has plenty to offer. Kretiuk is an obvious example for mine - he was often outsized for much of his career, just as some of our players were last year. Diferrent era (predominately Gordon vs Smorgan) but he certainly would have been welcome & would have had a positive effect.

I think Mofra that is the point, not every past player, champion or journeyman, will provide a positive contribution or be in tune with the direction brains trust want to take the club. Kretiuk though is one I would definintely have back in an instant.

[bornadog]

Actually where is wheels? He was with AIS but is he still there?