You're a brave man talking about brainwashing, Jezza...
you've done a fairly good job of being a spokesman for the brainwashed in all of these Roly debates and I'm not having a go at you in that, your optimism and team spirit is to be admired.
When it's not giving me a dead set case of the Thai chillies after too many Changs, that is... due to my complete disillusionment with FFC and its head coach..
This IS rock bottom mate. Freo have had one season in their history with worse results. Consider that history... and consider what it takes to be a contender for worst year ever within that. Then consider the result last year... if you're the sort that looks only at results instead of trends. Although they limped home, they finished on top a year ago and the fall from that achievement is... no-one has fallen further or harder. Ever. This year, injuries aside, is the culmination of a trend. You could even include the injuries as part of the overall trend because the soft tissue management of Freo players has been a major bone of contention for years...
but the pattern has been apparent for the last couple of years at least. As impressive as Roly's game plan appears at first, as many have said it's limited, severely so due to the demands it places on players' running and the sheer neglect of skills development.
you yourself outlined why Roly's argument rings hollow at best and more like a freshly whacked turd at worst... the sheer talent at his disposal is impressive and he's talking rebuild. A team of players good enough to grab a minor flag last year is suddenly no good. If I was a player singing the praises of a bloke so ready to shaft me and my group in public to justify his own non performance then I reckon I'd need my head read.
I don't want to be rude... yes, I do. It's ingrained in every cell in my DNA to be honest, so I'll just put it out there...
it's time to wake up and smell the bacon on the breeze.