Freo oo, that is the explanation, but Lyon and his apologists don't seem to get it. Good coaches of winning sides don't allow opponents 5 meters of space to do what they want. We always seem to have a late arriving player getting to an unguarded opponent, all the way down the ground until the last line of defence.
Good players don't kick the footy to open space guarded by an opponent if they have a better option, and our opponents regularly have that better option all over the ground. We on the other hand, have all our players up around the footy when we get the ball, so have no other option but to go backwards, or down the line to at best a 2/3 on 1 contest, or worst an opponent on his own.
The failure to change this style of play is why the coach has to go. He is responsible for it, the players are doing his bidding, or they would not be playing. Any fringe player (eg Banfield) who comes into the side and shows some inclination for attack is soon sent back to Peel to learn the "Lyon Way".