Jordan Lewis says Melbourne’s skill execution simply isn’t at the required level to carry out Simon Goodwin’s game plan.
The Demons’ skill level and inability to kick a winning score has contributed heavily to their 1-3 start to the season with club great Garry Lyon particularly scathing following Sunday’s loss to Richmond.
Former Demon Lewis has urged Goodwin to make some alterations to his game plan to better accommodate the players at his disposal.
“He (Goodwin) is certainly under pressure. When the team doesn’t perform you look at players, you look at how they’re performing, but you also have to look at the coach,” Lewis told SEN Breakfast.
“It’s only natural to say, ‘Why aren’t these players performing to their absolute ability’ and his greatest strength is he’s got the players onside, the players love him. I think he’s got a good football brain.
“Now how does he then potentially change the way the Melbourne side are going at the moment? It’s clearly not the right game plan at the moment that suits this Melbourne side because their skill execution isn’t up to scratch.”
Lewis, who played under Goodwin for three years at the Dees, has backed his former coach to make the appropriate tactical adjustments.
“Over the course of my time in football I remember Clarko (Alastair Clarkson) came under some serious pressure, Damien Hardwick in 2016 was under serious pressure, so it’s the coach’s ability to get through this period is the toughest in their coaching career,” he said.
“I think he can coach, I really do, but he may need to tinker with a few things in terms of his game plan.”
Goodwin signed a three-year contract extension in March last year that ties him to Melbourne until the end of 2022.