View Full Version : The Worst at it again
dockers_bengals
5 Jul 2008, 11:48
Shockers is the back page title.
Exclusive:Founding Dockers board member demands inquiry into why the club is still an on-field basket case after 14 years in the A.F.L
Well Mr. Gore Why say now half way through the year?When changes have already started.Why not at the end of last year?
Duffield says there should be some public explanation after a thorough investigation but then says its not a witch hunt,nor about groveling and apologising.He also says further down that Freo have rationilised its failure with spin doctoring,excuses and in part legitimate reasons,to soften the blow.
Public explanation! what a joke.
No news weekend so lets whinge about Freo.:rolleyes:
Yeah, read that this morning and wondered why now?
In spite of our lowly position I actually think that Freo have turned things around this year.
And I think that is due to Harvey and the coaching staff.
Sandilands has become the premier ruckman in the AFL and with Warnock, forms the best ruck combination. Retaining Warnock is a must!
For once we recruited, and recruited well. Palmer is a class act, Mayne has shown that he can become more than just good, Ibbotson has some real class but needs a bit more meat on him and Hinckley continues to improve and one would assume that he would be a regular player next year.
Our defence is generally good albeit lacking one tall defender.
Pav is, well Pav.
Tarrant, while not a dominant player as we might have wished, is still a quality AFL player.
I certainly believe the nucleus of a good team is there.
Add a fit Hazelby (which may or may not happen), Headland, Solly, Drum etc and I don't think there is too much wrong.
We just need a few things to go our way.
Warnock, the draft, decent scheduling..
It then comes down to two critical areas: addressing our skill errors and game plan.
Those players who can't execute the kicks and handball skills consistently will have to go.
The game plan needs to be more adventurous. The stop start game is as boring as watching the Eagles and not productive. Geelong play on at all costs and that is the style that has surved Freo best.
Move it quickly downfield and Pav/Tarrant will beat most defenders.
But I think that is evolving.
Freo do need to improve, but as I said, I believe they are on the right path now - even allowing for the fact that Harvey is a Victorian.
Oh, and can I remind Mr Gore that it was his committee that oversaw the loss of McLeod, Farmer, Matera, Chick, Bell....shall I go on.
Look in the mirror sunshine.
chook2734
5 Jul 2008, 12:21
Sailor you are spot on with reminding Mr Gore of the part he played. It's like when Drum or Neesham come out and bag the club (as both have felt the unfortunate need to do so this year). The reality is, none of the people involved in the club have delivered any real success (ie premierships). The current admin is so far in front of any previous admin though, that it is simply laughable that any of them have the nerve to question the club. Lets see how long it is before Mr Gore is involved in something that requires a high profile - I'd bet my last cent he isn't doing this in the interests of the FFC.
ETA : Having just re-read dockers_bengals post, are you sure it was querying why we are an off-field basket case? Surely that should say on-field? :confused:
dockers_bengals
5 Jul 2008, 12:47
Thats true Chook so why have an complete investigation?Why ask the WAFC board to look at them?According to Duffield that we should of been in the finals every second year on average,made a prelim every four years and a grand final every eight years due to the draft.WTF is he on?O.k the draft will balance out the new players but you still have to build the right team,seniors,talls,mids etc...
Gave up buying the West 4 years ago.
I don't know why you'd support the mongrels by buying it.
Gave up buying the West 4 years ago.
I don't know why you'd support the mongrels by buying it.
Me too.
Someone told me that the back page was "Shockers", and I asked why, thought there must have been an incident over night, then they told me it was just about our 14 year history, I thought typical, and moved on.
Don't buy the West people.
chook2734
5 Jul 2008, 13:49
Thats true Chook so why have an complete investigation?Why ask the WAFC board to look at them?According to Duffield that we should of been in the finals every second year on average,made a prelim every four years and a grand final every eight years due to the draft.WTF is he on?O.k the draft will balance out the new players but you still have to build the right team,seniors,talls,mids etc...
The WAFC won't get involved. They know full well that if there was a thorough investigation into what has gone wrong since day 1, that the finger would be pointed in their direction more often than not.
Freo Shark
5 Jul 2008, 14:11
...I'd bet my last cent he isn't doing this in the interests of the FFC.
I'm curious too Chook as to why any foundation director\administrator of FFC would dare speak out and not want to hide their names less they are held responsible for their ineptitude.
The comment from Gore in the article "It has been difficult to convince the Fremantle community that we are truly Fremantle, with our history of ex-Melbourne administration and coaching staff". He goes on to include Port's Williams being a ex-SANFL player as an example. Why didnt he ensure Fremantle was more tied into the culture and ethos of the Freo clubs rather than the current semi-franchise club we have. Its at the foundation of a club that you instil and develop a clubs culture and ethos. He is one of a group of directors but if you dont agree with the direction you resign and he obviously didnt for 5yrs so he couldnt have disagreed that much. There was plenty of small but still significant things he could have done to have been more Fremantle inclusive. As to Victorian influence well arguably Malthouse steered the weevils to where they are now, Alexander and Todd werent able to. Brian Cook was a Victorian too. You cant be xenophobic.
If he has taken the effort to complain to the WAFC why hasnt he had the balls or the initiative to run for a members elected director. He would probably be welcomed onboard. Ben Allan should be WAFC appointed.
Good post Sailor. Agree completely. I hope the players and coaching staff realise there are plenty of us who think they are on the right track. Keep the faith.
chook2734
5 Jul 2008, 14:40
The comment from Gore in the article "It has been difficult to convince the Fremantle community that we are truly Fremantle, with our history of ex-Melbourne administration and coaching staff"
And yet, where were the people who took us a to an $8m debt from? IIRC they weren't Victorians.
Judgey just said that both clubs would have informed the players who would be unlikely to be there next year.
The WAFC won't get involved. They know full well that if there was a thorough investigation into what has gone wrong since day 1, that the finger would be pointed in their direction more often than not.
Ken Judge said on ABC Saturday morning sports talk a few weeks ago "The WAFC is ran by the West Coast Eagles, thats the way it is"
Last Sat after grumpy John's effort with blood-nut the previous Monday, Judge laid it on the line about how soft the media have been to the Club over the years.
To sell more copies of The Worst and without anything positive to say about the slime they give the whole back page of our (WA's) main Saturday newspaper to sink one into Fremantle FC from the perspective of a bloke who was a Board Member 10 years.
Suppose thats their job, to sell newspapers. They have probably seen the trends.
(i) Write good stuff about Eagles
(ii) Write crap about Freo
= Sells more papers.
DOCKER CLINT
5 Jul 2008, 17:06
Gave up buying the West 4 years ago.
I don't know why you'd support the mongrels by buying it.
It took me until 4 months ago to work that one out. It's rubbish.
If there's any real news, you can get that online. If I want to even look at that rag, then there's free copies laying around at a cafe I go to.
Keep their readership sales plummeting. Printing The West is a waste of a perfectly good tree.
DOCKER CLINT
5 Jul 2008, 17:08
Suppose thats their job, to sell newspapers. They have probably seen the trends.
(i) Write good stuff about Eagles
(ii) Write crap about Freo
= Sells more papers.
A West Coast supporter messaged me the other day and she said she has finally noticed the bias against Freo in there.
It's like when the commentators are noticing how bad the umpires are against one side, you know you're not just being paranoid.
Billy Hunt
5 Jul 2008, 20:41
I take it everyone is satisfied with our on field performance over the last 14 years?
docker_azza
5 Jul 2008, 20:45
Just because they are Freo people doesn't mean that they will be more sucessful then anyone else. Our non-Freo admin have not been perfect, but they have been much better then the Freo people we have had on board in the past.
And for the record the Eagles have taken much of the Freo talent before Freo entered the competition, so restricting our choices to Freo people will not be that successful. We have to look for the best in the business, regardless of who they are and where they come from, simple as that.
I take it everyone is satisfied with our on field performance over the last 14 years?
No...
However, some muppet who got us into the shit in the first place should replace his head up his posterior and never be seen again
chook2734
5 Jul 2008, 21:35
No...
However, some muppet who got us into the shit in the first place should replace his head up his posterior and never be seen again
It would certainly be nice to know how we could contact this Mr Gore and put a question or two to him. You'd think perhaps a journalist with some kind of insight may have thought of that?
Duffield gets a certain amount of 'respect' on this board and from Freo supporters in general, but in my mind, he's no better than the others. He may not stoop as low as the likes of Hackdorn and co, but he's been behind some pretty ordinary articles on our club over the years.
It would certainly be nice to know how we could contact this Mr Gore and put a question or two to him. You'd think perhaps a journalist with some kind of insight may have thought of that?
Duffield gets a certain amount of 'respect' on this board and from Freo supporters in general, but in my mind, he's no better than the others. He may not stoop as low as the likes of Hackdorn and co, but he's been behind some pretty ordinary articles on our club over the years.
Exactly. Like:
"Hey muppet, how did Fremantle get $squillion in the poo under your watch?"
"How come you let the WAFC bend them over?"
Muppet
Pav for AA
5 Jul 2008, 23:00
No...
However, some muppet who got us into the shit in the first place should replace his head up his posterior and never be seen again
It matters not whether he is a hypocrite he's a hypocrite with a point. And in regards to the model outlined by Duffield, he's correct, the AFL have a dossier which is available upon request demostrating their method in regards to an even competition.
The Draft, the draw so on and so forth.
Personally I think Bell and Macmanus should be given the arse, along with Black and Farmer.
Build on the draft momentum achieved this year and cut deadwood.
docker_azza
5 Jul 2008, 23:56
Exactly. Like:
"Hey muppet, how did Fremantle get $squillion in the poo under your watch?"
"How come you let the WAFC bend them over?"
Muppet
Bingo.
NiGHTFuRY
6 Jul 2008, 01:04
Exactly. Like:
"Hey muppet, how did Fremantle get $squillion in the poo under your watch?"
"How come you let the WAFC bend them over?"
Muppet
Dead Set Correct... :thumbsu:
Freo Shark
6 Jul 2008, 01:32
Gore - Pot kettle black.
Lach your deadright, hes got absolute cheek even raising his head.
It took me until 4 months ago to work that one out. It's rubbish.
If there's any real news, you can get that online. If I want to even look at that rag, then there's free copies laying around at a cafe I go to.
Keep their readership sales plummeting. Printing The West is a waste of a perfectly good tree.
Join the club, I Quit years ago and I didn't need patches ...
The way the West is going, it is going to put Sorbent out of business !!!!!.
FFS, journalism is not better than bay 13
http://www.news.com.au/perthnow/story/0,21598,23973222-5005401,00.html
I take it everyone is satisfied with our on field performance over the last 14 years?
Clearly no-one is happy with our on-field performance, Mr Hunt. Except maybe the WAFC.....
But I tend to think such "reviews" as suggested by Gore/Duffield tend to be those that cost millions of dollars and reveal nought that we didn't know already.
"There should be more Freo in Freo" is the call. Do we really want Hardie, Slappo or Judge calling the shots at the FFC? Heaven help us.
chook2734
6 Jul 2008, 15:09
Clearly no-one is happy with our on-field performance, Mr Hunt. Except maybe the WAFC.....
But I tend to think such "reviews" as suggested by Gore/Duffield tend to be those that cost millions of dollars and reveal nought that we didn't know already.
"There should be more Freo in Freo" is the call. Do we really want Hardie, Slappo or Judge calling the shots at the FFC? Heaven help us.
Given that the review into west coast and the drug saga found that virtually everything was fabulous, you have to wonder at the worth of it. In the end, 99.9% of them are purely PR exercises.
http://www.thewest.com.au/default.aspx?MenuID=12&ContentID=83007
Gore demands inquiry into Dockers
5th July 2008, 13:15 WST
Foundation Fremantle board member and respected WA businessman Daryl Gore has launched a stinging attack on the on-field performance of his club and the WA Football Commission’s handling of it, calling for a “total review” of performance over its 14-year history.
Gore, a director at Fremantle from 1994-98, said the performance now was as bad as it was in 1995.
He questioned the club’s habit of looking to Victorians to solve problems and queried why players who left Fremantle to go to other clubs tended to play better, while the reverse applied to those recruited to the club.
The claims were made in two letters to the commission — the first in late April and the second last week.
Gore, described by business associates as conservative, decent and ethical, has been advised by WAFC chief executive Wayne Bradshaw that the WAFC does not get involved in the day-to-day operations of the Dockers but holds the board accountable for reaching performance goals.
“We hold regular discussions with Cameron Schwab, with the CEOs of both (AFL) clubs,” Bradshaw said. “It’s an equalised competition and there will be ups and downs. The cycle of our clubs is in sync and Fremantle have lost six games by less than 10 points.”
Fremantle have opted not to comment on Gore’s calls, which are likely to spark more debate on the team’s performance as the club searches for a chief executive to succeed Schwab.
Gore noted that Geelong held a searching review after their disappointing 2006 and were rewarded with a premiership.
“The WA Football Commission appears to be silent on the performance of the Dockers, which ignores the concerns of our members,” he said in his first letter.
“Kerry Stokes only owns 20 per cent of WA Newspapers and is questioning the performance of the paper in a meaningful way.”
Gore met Bradshaw on April 22, but fired off a second letter repeating and expanding on his concerns. He stood by them in an interview with The West Australian.
“It has been difficult to convince the Fremantle community that we are truly Fremantle, with our history of ex-Melbourne administration and coaching staff,” he said.
“By comparison, Port’s coach Mark Williams is a former Port Adelaide SANFL player.”
Gore said the Dockers’ average finish was 11th to 12th.
“To me, that is a total failure,” he said. “Richard Goyder is a director of the Fremantle Dockers. If one of the companies in his group had performed like that he would have pulled them apart years ago. The WAFC … their silence is deafening.
“I would have expected them to authorise, or tell them to do, a review.
"Don’t you think the Fremantle members deserve more? I mean, we have stuck by them for 14 years and I would have thought we deserve better than nothing.”
Gore conceded the club’s off-field performance had improved in the past seven years, doubling in size overall and setting membership records.
“I’m not arguing about that,” he said. “But what the members are really interested in is the scoreboard. Every other non-Melbourne club has won premierships in that 14 years.”
I just subscribed.. good deal $3 a week and I get Calvin and Hobbes and Zits.
I don't disagree with that article. Freo at the moment is in shambles, we make bad trade decisions and still suffer from being headcases on the field.
I don't want to go through another rebuilding phase with the same/similar administration, someone who is a passionate fremantle person needs to review every aspect of the clubs off field endeavours before we attempt to rebuild.
chook2734
6 Jul 2008, 15:46
I don't disagree with that article. Freo at the moment is in shambles, we make bad trade decisions and still suffer from being headcases on the field.
I don't want to go through another rebuilding phase with the same/similar administration, someone who is a passionate fremantle person needs to review every aspect of the clubs off field endeavours before we attempt to rebuild.
Do you have anyone in mind Reveler?
Do you have anyone in mind Reveler?
Not off the top of my head.
I hope Peter Bell can one day do it, he seems to love Freo and has the smarts to make it.
chook2734
6 Jul 2008, 16:11
Not off the top of my head.
I hope Peter Bell can one day do it, he seems to love Freo and has the smarts to make it.
I guess that's a part of the problem - bit like when people want to sack the coach, but don't have a suitable replacement.
I think a lot of us agree with parts of the article - no one can argue that our lack of success hasn't been disappointing. I think the biggest issue we have with it though is that the guy calling for it, is one that quite probably played a very big role in some of the biggest reasons for it.
Freo Shark
6 Jul 2008, 16:22
I'm hoping the new external CEO firstly does have a strategic plan and that will inevitably involve a review that takes the place apart and review the whole structure and culture.
We dont need some professional, paid "Freo Identity" to do a formal review. It all ends up an expensive PR exercise and achieves nothing a in house one can accomplish if done honestly, independently and searchingly hence a external CEO.
This year has been disturbing and questions whether CC was the problem and whether Harvs has the goods or not and whether he should have been a lock on the coaching position and not appointed after an extensive interview process. This will need time but he wont be allowed alot of it by the media, Freo MOB and fans.
The media obviously sees us as the whipping boys and easy targets. I think the content of the criticism is extremely poor professionally and lacks credibility we let ourselves get targeted time and time again and generally bent over.
chook2734
6 Jul 2008, 16:38
I'm hoping the new external CEO firstly does have a strategic plan and that will inevitably involve a review that takes the place apart and review the whole structure and culture.
Do we know if that is a likely outcome Freo Shark? The club doesn't seem to be in any rush to make an appointment, so that does perhaps point to someone external given they know they 3 internal candidates well already.
We dont need some professional, paid "Freo Identity" to do a formal review. It all ends up an expensive PR exercise and achieves nothing a in house one can accomplish if done honestly, independently and searchingly hence a external CEO.
Agreed
This year has been disturbing and questions whether CC was the problem and whether Harvs has the goods or not and whether he should have been a lock on the coaching position and not appointed after an extensive interview process. This will need time but he wont be allowed alot of it by the media, Freo MOB and fans.
I think Harvs is on the right track and hasn't had an easy run this year. A lot of players have let him down and he needs to make them pay for that. You're right in saying that he won't get a lot of time, and would want to be seeing some results early next year or the heat will be on. There are some big decisions ahead for him and I think we will learn a lot more about whether he is up to it or not in the next 6-12 months.
The media obviously sees us as the whipping boys and easy targets. I think the content of the criticism is extremely poor professionally and lacks credibility we let ourselves get targeted time and time again and generally bent over.
I don't think the media criticism is something that either bothers or really hurts the club anymore. It's not keeping the members away and it's not keeping the sponsors away. I think the vast majority of people who know anything about Fremantle or AFL realise that 90% of the media is rubbish.
Freo Shark
6 Jul 2008, 18:31
No Chook, I meant hopefully external.
Freo Shark
6 Jul 2008, 18:33
No Chook, I meant hopefully external. I'm not convinced an internal candidate can make the changes necessary.