View Full Version : How Sad it is
Bucketeer
16 May 2006, 17:48
just wanted to write and say how disapointed i have become after reading some of the posts on this forum. i can believe how many band wagon supporters this club has. for a club that has always been so proud of its loyal supporters i find it most disapointing to see how many of these "loyal" supporters are so fast to turn around and throw the knife into choco the club and players. lets not forget that it was not long ago that we were 1 of the bench mark teams and choco was god. and where is the other benchmark team from this period? Brisbane are also strugling at the moment and i dont see their supporters jumping of the bandwagon. this i believe is because just like the REAL port supporters they can obviously see that their club is rebuildin after a very succesful period just as we are now.
so if you are a real port supporter cut out all the crap and support our great club and coach instead of bagging them. get behind choco and the boys cause these are the times when the clubs supporters matter most. i you want to keep heaping crap on choco and the boys - please do us all a favour and stop calling youself a port suporter, you will fit in beter with the crows mob.
I suggest you read the Port Adelaide ethos.
Paralowiepower
16 May 2006, 18:04
Someone from the club??
No seriously I'm not one to bag our club or players, but part of our success is due to our passion and our supporters have never accepted second best and nor they should.
I go back to the club win, lose or draw and I'm sorry but I wont sing the club song after a loss, and I wont make out Im happy with what is happening on the park atm.
relapse
16 May 2006, 18:06
just wanted to write and say how disapointed i have become after reading some of the posts on this forum. i can believe how many band wagon supporters this club has. for a club that has always been so proud of its loyal supporters i find it most disapointing to see how many of these "loyal" supporters are so fast to turn around and throw the knife into choco the club and players. lets not forget that it was not long ago that we were 1 of the bench mark teams and choco was god. and where is the other benchmark team from this period? Brisbane are also strugling at the moment and i dont see their supporters jumping of the bandwagon. this i believe is because just like the REAL port supporters they can obviously see that their club is rebuildin after a very succesful period just as we are now.
so if you are a real port supporter cut out all the crap and support our great club and coach instead of bagging them. get behind choco and the boys cause these are the times when the clubs supporters matter most. i you want to keep heaping crap on choco and the boys - please do us all a favour and stop calling youself a port suporter, you will fit in beter with the crows mob.
I dont know if you can comprehend this or not, but Port havent really been in this situation before. I remember there being a lot of unrest when Russell Ebert was coach. Other than that Port have been very successful and never really been in this position before (during modern day football). So its a bit rich to to say "its not Port Adelaide" blah blah blah when there hasnt really been a precident in modern day football for Port Adelaide to base this belief on. Dont put your head in the sand and pretend that you dont have supporters that turn negative when things go bad. Face it every club has them Port Adelaide included !!!! I am not even going to get into a debate about supporters of both teams.
As for your point about Brisbane supporters, their circumstances are slightly different to Port. Matthews delivered 3 flags whereas many Port supporters consider chocko (while he did win 1 flag) underachieved during Port's dominant period. Chocko in my opinion isnt in the same league as Matthews (4 flags) and understandably the Brisbane supporters would be totally supportive of Matthews considering the success he has brought to the club.
Anyway its not a troll just my 2 cents.
I also believe that supporters have a right to voice their concerns and not sit there like sheep believing whatever the club feeds to them.
What Bresh said.
Plus Bucketeer you seem to be confusing supporting the club with blind faith. On this forum we are straight to the point by and large. If the team plays like crap or the coaching/gameplan is crap we'll say so. If it's good we'll praise it. Burying our heads in the sand and saying 'Port is always right, don't worry' isn't going to help.
Most here (that live in SA) will continue to inflict pain on themselves by going along to matches - that's not bandwagon supporting.
Bucketeer
16 May 2006, 18:10
I suggest you read the Port Adelaide ethos.
i have and i know that the PAFC exist to win premierships but at the same time realise that it is totaly unrealistic to expect them to win every year - it just isnt possible. duringthese lean years the club needs its supporters more then ever
i have and i know that the PAFC exist to win premierships but at the same time realise that it is totaly unrealistic to expect them to win every year - it just isnt possible. duringthese lean years the club needs its supporters more then ever
I suggest you read it... again.
Macca19
16 May 2006, 18:16
There is nothing wrong with criticism. Some people go overboard, myself included. No need to call us bandwagon supporters. I dont think anybody expects us to win the flag every year. What we do expect is a red hot go every week and at the moment a lot of us dont feel like that is happening.
I dont know if you can comprehend this or not, but Port havent really been in this situation before. I remember there being a lot of unrest when Russell Ebert was coach. Other than that Port have been very successful and never really been in this position before (during modern day football). So its a bit rich to to say "its not Port Adelaide" blah blah blah when there hasnt really been a precident in modern day football for Port Adelaide to base this belief on. .
Good call. But it really shouldn't come as a surprise to many people that we're hitting a trough right now. We peaked 6-8 years after entering the AFL - same as the Crows did, same as West Coast, same as Brisbane after they 'merged' with Fitzroy. Freo being Freo and the Old Brisbane Bears have been the only new clubs to not hit their stride in this timeframe.
The whole comp is geared towards not letting any one team stay on top for too long. The key is to see the trough coming and to prepare for it, minimising the impact (though possibly not too much because if you don't go too low you can't get the draft picks that will help you compete for the flag when you next 'peak').
I think what a lot of people here don't like is that our ageing list has been an obvious cause for concern for the past 3 years, with the only answer to blood our youngsters and let them get 40-60 games under their belts to see if they are up to AFL standard. From early last year up to this week it seemed like Choco didn't want to take this path. Now we're stuck with a number of old and infirm senior players, youngsters who don't have enough game time to compete at the top level and others in the middle that are going through a form slump. Triple whammy + gameplan that doesn't seem to work = 15th place.
People will bitch and moan on here about the coach and the form of some players, but we still go along each week and barrack our heart out for Port. :thumbsu:
Eddie Woloschek
16 May 2006, 18:48
i have and i know that the PAFC exist to win premierships but at the same time realise that it is totaly unrealistic to expect them to win every year - it just isnt possible. duringthese lean years the club needs its supporters more then ever
We are angry, we demand change, we seek results, we voice our opinion. But we do not walk away. Our club, right or wrong. (And it we'd prefer it was right.)
Porthos
16 May 2006, 18:59
Carlton has shown what happens to clubs who don't remain vigilant.
PJ Power
16 May 2006, 19:53
As I've said elsewhere - it is about supporting the club, not an individual coach, player, person involved, but the whole club.
What has happened to the club in the last 18 months is not in its best interests. Those of us who are passionate want to see it get better quickly, because we can't stand the pain of seeing it struggle so much.
My week still largely revolves around the footy as embarrassed as I am to say it - my mood for the start of the week is determined by how we go as a club on the weekend.
I didn't realise being a bandwagon supporter as you suggest many of us are, would involve so much emotion and pain when we lose.
I support Port Adelaide. I want us to be the best. Pre- Fos Williams we didn't exist to win premierships every year. He had the foresight to take us above the level of the rest of the competition. I don't buy that we have to be just like the other AFL clubs and wait our 5-10 year period to win the next flag. I expect us to be made up of people, unique people who will find ways to get to the top and stay there.
I think if you were directing your post at "bandwagoners" then it was a waste of the internet, as they would have all jumped ship ages ago. I dont expect you'd find many bandwagoners still here after last years results, and the tri-colours success so far this year.
Capital Power
16 May 2006, 20:12
Don't see too many bandwagoners here. I see a bunch of supporters who travel interstate (and even internationally) to see their team whenever they can; who sell raffle tickets to raise money for the Club; who spend their hard earned to benefit the Club whenever they can; etc etc
I can't go to the pub after a game and discuss the finer points with experts like I can here (firstly there aren't any pubs in Canberra and there certainly aren't many experts - in anything, let alone footy). So, this makes do. If my team plays crap then I have no problems saying so, or even arguing the point. Nor does the team (see this week's Josh Mahoney column on the website).
I'll be back for more next week. Like everyone else here. The only bandwagoners are all those coming out of the woodwork to gleefully tell me how crap we are. Memo to you all. We may be playing crap at the moment but we are Port Adelaide and we'll be back. Starting Sunday :thumbsu:
I think if you were directing your post at "bandwagoners" then it was a waste of the internet, as they would have all jumped ship ages ago. I dont expect you'd find many bandwagoners still here after last years results, and the tri-colours success so far this year.
Go The C....
Sorry about that, I'll try again.
Go The C....
*clears throat*
Go The Mighty C.....
Sorry, but the only other letters that are trying to come out after the C shouldn't be posted on a public forum. :p
Nah, only joking, they are but one of 15 other teams. :p
Capital Power
16 May 2006, 20:14
I dont think anybody expects us to win the flag every year
PS .. Macca, not sure I've ever disagreed with you before ;)
Powerstufff
16 May 2006, 20:31
......My week still largely revolves around the footy as embarrassed as I am to say it - my mood for the start of the week is determined by how we go as a club on the weekend.
I didn't realise being a bandwagon supporter as you suggest many of us are, would involve so much emotion and pain when we lose......Me too. If you want to see some AA type confessions from other 'band-wagoners' here was a fun thread (http://www.bigfooty.com/forum/showthread.php?t=147560) from 2004. Perhaps start a 2006 Port version?
The funny thing is that when your club is cruising you are too busy worrying about the next game or the finals to feel content/happy.
Malibu#27
16 May 2006, 20:33
Gotta agree with Buckets and Macca to a degree that sometimes we too easily going overboard.
That being said - there's been times when the standard hasn't been up to scratch.... however whenever we have a dissapointing game (of which I expect this season to be very up and down from here on in) I dont see the point of coming on here and calling for the coaches head.
Capital Power
16 May 2006, 20:37
Go The C....
Sorry about that, I'll try again.
Go The C....
*clears throat*
Go The Mighty C.....
*PAF, my son will be around with his swear jar shortly for your contribution. Even the footy heathens at our place have learned to refer to "black raven-like birds"....
Mr Magoo
16 May 2006, 20:56
just wanted to write and say how disapointed i have become after reading some of the posts on this forum. i can believe how many band wagon supporters this club has. for a club that has always been so proud of its loyal supporters i find it most disapointing to see how many of these "loyal" supporters are so fast to turn around and throw the knife into choco the club and players. lets not forget that it was not long ago that we were 1 of the bench mark teams and choco was god. and where is the other benchmark team from this period? Brisbane are also strugling at the moment and i dont see their supporters jumping of the bandwagon. this i believe is because just like the REAL port supporters they can obviously see that their club is rebuildin after a very succesful period just as we are now.
so if you are a real port supporter cut out all the crap and support our great club and coach instead of bagging them. get behind choco and the boys cause these are the times when the clubs supporters matter most. i you want to keep heaping crap on choco and the boys - please do us all a favour and stop calling youself a port suporter, you will fit in beter with the crows mob.
At the moment i would like the Port bandwagon to be going in any direction at the moment but i would prefer it to go forward thanks as we seem to be stuck in neutral. :o
If a player plays like crap then i'm not going to say to him 'Great game well done' & then slap him on the back. I've never called for chocco's head & never will as while he's the coach he's got my full support but if you can't stand a little bit of constructive critiscm then get out of the kitchen.
As for the players well i believe that they are paid a very good wage in fact too well, as they have lost sight of what it means to be playing for the jumper. If they were employed in a normal job then do you think that their boss would be happy when they slack off?
I will be at the game this week come rain, hail or sunshine & i will be at every home game & a few interstate ones as well as long as funds are sufficent.
If we are rebuilding as you say then why are players that are nearly or over 30 years of age still in the side? ... Darryl Wakelin, Brendon Lade are excused here.
If the players give it their best shot during a game & still come up short then i'll be proud of the way they played, as an example see heritage game vs AFC last year, but when the players can't even be bothered doing the basics of football such as man up, chase, tackle etc. then i feel i should be able to offer some critiscm of the way they played after all football is not a hard game to play.
Powerstufff
16 May 2006, 21:00
.....If the players give it their best shot during a game & still come up short then i'll be proud of the way they played, as an example see heritage game vs AFC last year, but when the players can't even be bothered doing the basics of football such as man up, chase, tackle etc. then i feel i should be able to offer some critiscm of the way they played after all football is not a hard game to play.What he said. Sunday's loss wasn't so important in itself it's the way we lost and all that implies.
I love Choco's every tactical move and player selection he has ever done.
There, am I a true Port Adelaide supporter now? :rolleyes:
Now THIS (http://www.theadvertiser.news.com.au/footy/story_page/0,8747,19148941%255E25397,00.html) is sad.
Port on wrong side of records
16may06
PORT Adelaide was on the wrong end of two all-time stats records against the Western Bulldogs on Sunday. And they raise serious questions about the Power's lack of accountability.
Not only did the Dogs have a record amount of handballs in their 76-point demolition job, they set a new benchmark for running bounces. In a performance which looked like circle-work at times, the Bulldogs found time and space to have a staggering 213 handballs - 22 more than the previous record set by the all-conquering Carlton team of 1995.
Rodney Eade's outfit also had 52 running bounces, eclipsing the record of 48 set by the Kangaroos in 2001. The Dogs' total disposal count of 421 was the second highest since the AFL started officially keeping stats in 1993. The Crows still hold the record with a massive 431 against Richmond at AAMI Stadium in '93.
*PAF, my son will be around with his swear jar shortly for your contribution. Even the footy heathens at our place have learned to refer to "black raven-like birds"....
Hehe.
I'll have to teach that one to my kids as well. :D
Santos L Helper
16 May 2006, 23:16
Yay, I love my team losing and I love Choco because he's an inovator.
This thread is worse than ANY that criticise what is obviously going wrong. You need to understand the meaning of 'bandwagon' supporters before you bandy the word about.
Arabian Goggles
17 May 2006, 00:17
So what positives did Chooko find out of the weekend? Word for the week: Implode.
Bucketeer
17 May 2006, 00:52
All I am trying to say is that I don’t see why our supporters need to come on here and start throwing the knife into choco. Bandwagon was a poor choice of words I wasn’t what I meant at all. I used to laugh at the other clubs when all their supporters started ripping into the coach and team – no need to bag them out they did a good enough job themselves. Now I see it happening here with our club and it is so frustrating. I agree with the people who have said constructive criticism is a good thing, but the posts on here like calling for chocos head are not constructive.
All I wanted to say is discuss what is going wrong at the moment but remember when posting that this is our club that we are talking about not an opposition team that we are trying to bag out.
So get behind the club cause im sure the guys are hurting just as much as we are at the moment – after all they dedicate there life to this game.
And to anyone that was offended by what I said I am sorry its not what I wanted to do
PAFC2004
17 May 2006, 02:35
Bresh summed it up perfectly.
Why should we continue to put effort it (althought I will continue to do so) when they choose not to?
Mr Magoo
17 May 2006, 02:46
I don't know about anyone else here but i'm sick & tired of reading that Carr, Hardwick, Pickett, Stevens, James & who ever have either left the club or retired. Stop making excuses & get on the job with the players you've got to work with chocco & company. Point in case in today's advertiser articles...
http://www.theadvertiser.news.com.au/footy/story_page/0,8747,19161515%255E21545,00.html
http://www.theadvertiser.news.com.au/footy/story_page/0,8747,19161509%255E21545,00.html
Facts don't lie, Power is soft
By MICHELANGELO RUCCI
17may06
PORT Adelaide's players are dealing with the biggest insult in AFL football - that they play soft.
They do not deny it.
And they cannot when statistics from the Power's first seven games this season give credence to this damning conclusion.
The Port players have won less contests and hard-ball gets than their rivals.
Against this backdrop, Port's training session at AAMI Stadium at 3pm today is again to be brutal, this time at the players' calling.
This can be taken as an admission that the Power players - who have won just 13 of 31 premiership matches since claiming the 2004 AFL flag - have self-analysed that their football has become soft.
"We have to bring aggression to the training track," emerging Power forward Damon White said yesterday. "We have to come to training willing to train like we want to play.
"Obviously, that may mean people will cop cut eyes (again)."
White yesterday drew the short straw of being the first Port player to carry the team's message to a frustrated supporter base in the aftermath of coach Mark Williams' state-of-the-club address on Monday.
In less public forums - that is said to have included an inevitable meeting of the team's leadership group on Monday - Port's players have concluded:
THEY MUST PLAY HARDER.
They dismiss they have no hard men since 2004 premiership players Josh Carr, Byron Pickett and Damian Hardwick have left the club and Michael Wilson has been limited by injury.
Rather, they admit they have stopped playing hard - perhaps a remnant of a premiership hangover.
THEY MUST NOT GIVE UP ON FINALS.
"The top eight is definitely still in our sights," said White. At 2-5, Port must win at least 10 of its next 15 matches to reach the AFL finals for the sixth consecutive year.
"The next match (with 2004 grand final opponent, Brisbane) is pretty important," added White. "The next three weeks are important for us."
Port plays bottom-eight clubs Brisbane (home), Essendon (Telstra Dome) and Carlton (Dome) in the next three weeks.
THE AGENDA.
"First," said White, "we must stick together. And we are a tight bunch. That will go a long way to getting some wins on the training track.
"(Second), we need to bring some aggression to the training track. And then, the 22 (picked to play Brisbane), have to bring that intensity on the weekend.
"We saw in the second quarter (against the Western Bulldogs) when we fought back, that if we play tough, if we have that intensity, if we tackle . . . we will get results.
"(Third), we need to get some wins on the board."
ON WILLIAMS.
Asked if Williams' call-it-as-it-is assessment of the Power on Monday had irritated the players, White said: "No, not at all."
Fellow forward Josh Mahoney said: "There are times that we all have to be told some home truths and we all have to be brave enough to face those times.
"Let it be known that nobody at the club is happy at the moment, nobody wants the club to be where it is, and we all are doing everything we can to turn our season around."
While Williams' frankness will not have appeal throughout a player group, one senior member of the Port team has privately applauded Williams for taking the debate out of the team room and into the public to test the players' pride.
White described Williams as a coach who instilled confidence throughout the player base.
ON THE PLAYER LIST.
It is, according to the players, under-performing rather than under-standard.
"We are more determined to get things right," said White. "This list is capable of doing so.
"As a player group, we are aware we need to turn things around. We're going to put things in place to do that."
First, the Power players must determine why they are failing - particularly with their lack of hardness at the football.
"If we could put a finger on what it is," said White, "we would not be in this situation. On the training track we will start putting things in place to turn it around."
___________________________________________________
Williams agrees - the hardness has gone
17may06
PORT Adelaide coach Mark Williams agrees - the Power has lost its hard edge.
Responding to Port supporters in his web forum, Williams accepts a fan's view that his players do not seem "to be committed to the hard things as in previous years" and have lost confidence.
Williams says: "Every time you lose and have a string of losses, it looks bad. Certainly the confidence isn't as high as when you win, there's no doubt about that. I'd agree that without question a lot of our hardness has gone out of our side. Starting with Matthew Primus, Roger James, Josh Francou, Byron Pickett, Damien Hardwick and Josh Carr.
"They're outstanding, hard players and are very hard to replace and we're looking at how we can do that as quickly as possible because we know that that's how we want to play at Port Adelaide."
Williams also responds to a supporter asking if he and his coaching staff are to blame for Port's slide, or the players. He says: "It's always been very much that we win together and lose together. No-one is dodging responsibility.
"We obviously don't have the same team as we have had in the past and we're trying to build a side that is very, very talented and able to stick at their tasks for a long time. At the moment we're not showing that."
__________________________________________________________
All they have to do is improve their overall work rate & the results will take care of themselves. :thumbsu:
PowerKat
17 May 2006, 13:16
I don't know about anyone else here but i'm sick & tired of reading that Carr, Hardwick, Pickett, Stevens, James & who ever have either left the club or retired. Stop making excuses & get on the job with the players you've got to work with chocco & company. Point in case in today's advertiser articles...
Very strongly agree. I am totally sick of hearing it & reading it, especially from Choco. Move on ffs!!
So what positives did Chooko find out of the weekend? Word for the week: Implode.
How about you Mods give this monkey another word for the week: suspension. Long overdue.
How about you Mods give this monkey another word for the week: suspension. Long overdue.Finally, something we can agree on.
dyertribe
18 May 2006, 01:12
So what positives did Chooko find out of the weekend? Word for the week: Implode.
A Melbourne fan?
What next? A Woodville diehard to come in and troll about finals hopes, perhaps?
How about you Mods give this monkey another word for the week: suspension. Long overdue.
Good work Macca19.
Maybe you can persuade Applehead to do the same on an across the board basis.