“Horror show” they called it in The West. “Unwatchable” said football legend Kevin Bartlett.
Carlton great Mark Maclure accused the Freo coach of destroying the game and said Lyon had “confused and bewildered” the players with his game plan.
The negative supporter comments were flowing on Freo’s social media forums, too, following the loss.
“We hired a new coach to change Freo for the better, not for the worst which is what's happening at this point in time,” said a fan on Big Footy.
It was a similar story on Facebook.
“If Ross thinks he is going anywhere with the "Ross Lyon" defensive style, he is completely delusional.”
Those rushing to crucify the coach in the infancy of his tenure should have been encouraged to use history as a deterrent from such hasty negativity.
It wasn’t new territory for Lyon.
He took over a St Kilda side in 2007 that had underperformed since a breakout 2004 preliminary final appearance with Grant Thomas as senior coach.
Under Lyon, the Saints began to implement his new aggressive defence and contested ball style of play that was not attuned to high scoring games.
A quick search on St Kilda’s Big Footy fan page back in 2007 shows a growing dislike for the then new-Saints’ senior coach.
“I think it's actually pathetic. It's crap to watch, we are not winning, and when we do, it's not convincing. We have not won any/many games convincingly. The style doesn't even suit our players. We are not Sydney. Oh how I wish we could have Grant Thomas back, sigh,” said one unhappy fan on the blog site.
Who could forget St Kilda’s infamous round 8 match against Hawthorn in 2007 when each side kicked just two goals to half-time.
The Hawks broke away in the second half, running all over the Saints with a six-goal final quarter to win 72-44.
Following this game, the detractors knocking Lyon’s game plan were out in force.
Sound familiar?
“The problem being... when it isnt working, there seems to be no way of changing it. They keep at it, even though it is obviously failing,” said a St Kilda fan on Big Footy in 2007.
The Saints did keep at it.
After a ninth-placed finish in 2007, one year later Lyon’s men were knocked out by eventual premiers Hawthorn in the 2008 Preliminary Final.
In 2009, with a couple of seasons of Lyon’s disciplined structures instilled into them, the Saints clicked.
A 20-win domination of the home and away season was cruelly blighted by a heart-breaking Grand Final loss to Geelong.
St Kilda backed up in 2010, running Collingwood to an epic Grand Final draw before losing the replay a week later.
Ultimately, Matthew Scarlett’s right foot and an unfriendly bounce of the ball were the only things to deny Lyon a Grand Final victory that no one could have begrudged him.
His effort in turning St Kilda into a genuine contender deserves respect and a few apologies from those who doubted him.
The moral of this story is quite clear. Don’t rush for the panic button. The education and application of a new game plan takes time.
Mark Thompson’s job at Geelong looked tenuous after his handball-happy Cats flopped in 2006.
Alastair Clarkson’s cluster at Hawthorn didn’t work when it was first being implemented.
John Worsfold’s Eagles won a wooden spoon in 2010, but he never wavered from his stance that the club was building a new game plan.
In each of the above examples, ample media articles and fan blog comments can be found calling for the respective coaches’ heads.
None of these examples are attempting to suggest that patience will guarantee Fremantle success.
Nothing is guaranteed in football.
But patience is a virtue.
Allow time to be the judge of the Ross Lyon era at Fremantle.
Already, just three months after that loss to the Eagles, Fremantle turned the tables with a crushing 65-point win over its cross-town rivals and qualified for the AFL finals with a clinical all-round display against North Melbourne in round 22.
Unwatchable?
Keep watching.
