Choco Gone

[kaysee]

Grandpa Cornes spruiking the "he was sacked" line on AdelaideNow.

Williams was sacked - Cornes
Williams was sacked - Cornes

Respected? By whom

Love the caption under the accompanying pic;

All class

Would PAFC have grounds to sue/press charges (for defamation) against Cornes for such claims with no facts???

Honestly, it is as if he is loving every minute of it and taking out frustrations probably still lingering from his sacking.

 

[Ebert80]

My dad asked me just before if I knew where Choco's nickname came from.. I can't say i do... can anyone let me know, thanks.

I think it was from something he used to eat as a kid - an iceblock/icecream called choc-ice or something like that I think.

 

[The Flying Doormat]

Kelly Nestor and Graham Cornes are USELESS.

and CLUELESS

 

[tribey]

This is not an easy time for anyone.
I am both extremely sad and extremely pleased and I am not being hypocritical.
This time had to come for the good of the club and for people that wanted Mark to stay and those like myself, who wanted him gone a long time ago, for all of us, this is the end of the past and the beginning of a new chapter in our history.
This type of thing is never easy but it was, in my opinion, absolutely necessary.
What is not necessary is for people to gloat nor for people to seek retribution.

And this is it.

Once the emotion and proximity of yesterday fades, even Williams would admit that 2005-2010 was all but a disaster and if he had his time again there'd be an enormous amount he'd change or do differently.

And as with the last year or two of Peter Burgoyne, a favourite son had done his dash and had stayed 12 months or so too long.

Along with cliches like 'the club is bigger than the individual', people are passionate for Port Adelaide and want what's best for it. Sure these inflamed passions can lead to some regrettable or even personal comments at times, but at root they only want what's best for Port Adelaide - undeniably that was Mark Williams and the club parting ways after 12 seasons in the top job and the board agreed.

Which is why all the comments citing hypocrisy are silly.

Mark Williams will always be a Port Adelaide legend. He was an All-Australian, multiple-Premiership player and led the club to its first AFL premiership as senior coach. Folklore. Plain and simple.

Deserved criticism of the post-2004 period of his tenure will never change that fact nor the rightful acknowledgement and respect for him and his achievements.

 

[Mr Magoo]

Interesting bit of reading in the advertiser...

http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/port-...ch-mark-williams/story-e6frea6u-1225889746016

Power assistant coach Jason Cripps, a former St Kilda player and assistant coach, declared the media - rather than poor results on the field in the past three years when Port has not qualified for finals and won one game in three - had played a "large part" in Williams' demise.

He described two media personalities - but did not name them - as having a bigger part in forcing Williams out than the Victorian media had in undermining Grant Thomas at St Kilda in 2006

Anyway i just would like to wish choco & his family all the best for the future. Maybe if he takes a year out of football he will come back a refreshed man & coach somewhere else.

I also feel sorry for the girls who work the phones at the club as they copped a fair bit of abuse yesterday.

 

[PJ Power]

I hadn't realised there were so few people at the game. Watching on ESPN3, I had assumed there were around 30,000. Certainly made decent noise.

 

[Frank Spencer Clone]

Finally.......

Good riddance to bad rubbish. Only negative is that it is 10 years too late.

Hopefully this will be the impetus now for the other dead wood - Tredrea, Carr, Westhoff ( x2 ), D Stewart, Motlop and Chad Cornes to name a few, to be moved on or walk of their own volition, and for a long overdue change of direction at Port Adelaide, where talented kids ( Salter, Broadbent, Banner and the like in the current crop ) are groomed rather than hanging onto old hacks 5 years past their use by date and bringing in rejects from other clubs to plug holes rather than develop a kid.

Finally something to look forward to, not more same old, same old.

 

[wapower]

Finally.......

Good riddance to bad rubbish. Only negative is that it is 10 years too late.

Hopefully this will be the impetus now for the other dead wood - Tredrea, Carr, Westhoff ( x2 ), D Stewart, Motlop and Chad Cornes to name a few, to be moved on or walk of their own volition, and for a long overdue change of direction at Port Adelaide, where talented kids ( Salter, Broadbent, Banner and the like in the current crop ) are groomed rather than hanging onto old hacks 5 years past their use by date and bringing in rejects from other clubs to plug holes rather than develop a kid.

Finally something to look forward to, not more same old, same old.

I really hope you ban yourself from here for another four years. Pathetic.

 

[ZeroGlass]

Finally.......

Good riddance to bad rubbish. Only negative is that it is 10 years too late.

Hopefully this will be the impetus now for the other dead wood - Tredrea, Carr, Westhoff ( x2 ), D Stewart, Motlop and Chad Cornes to name a few, to be moved on or walk of their own volition, and for a long overdue change of direction at Port Adelaide, where talented kids ( Salter, Broadbent, Banner and the like in the current crop ) are groomed rather than hanging onto old hacks 5 years past their use by date and bringing in rejects from other clubs to plug holes rather than develop a kid.

Finally something to look forward to, not more same old, same old.

Self-fulfilling I hope.

 

[BWST]

Finally.......

Good riddance to bad rubbish. Only negative is that it is 10 years too late.


.

You idiot !!! Won a flag six years ago. Imbecile

 

[Frank Spencer Clone]

I really hope you ban yourself from here for another four years. Pathetic.

Yes, a bit like 2007 Grand Final
the entire 2000 season
Finals losses in 2001 02 03 05
The exodus of talented players out the door while we hang on to burned out broken down hacks and import rejects
Boring, ultra defensive game plan
Gold passes
Pig headed approach to selection...

This is the big problem with nepotism. It polarises people.

 

[Frank Spencer Clone]

You idiot !!! Won a flag six years ago. Imbecile

Hmm same old nonsense that gets thrown up every time.

1. Against a club that was as battered up as the Berlin Wall physically. Another opponent would have killed us.
2. The foundations of that flag were built by Jack Cahill.
3. Had we had another coach we'd have won flags well before 2004.

Build a bridge. It's now 2010. 2004 is history.

 

[Natman]

Finally.......

Moron.

 

[wowlace]

Choco is/was my fav coach. What a funny guy. Hope he is still around footy in some sense, he was so much better than the robo coaches.

 

[Gillian Batty]

Finally.......

Go and spin your shit somewhere else you flog.

 

[Enviable Tradition]

Finally.......

If this shit doesn't earn this w%$ker a ban then there is something wrong.

We wouldnt accept this from any other fans and I dont see why we should accept it from this fool who claims to be a Port supporter.

 

[Ford Fairlane]

These are opinion boards and sometimes posters will post an opinion others don't agree with - sometimes that is a forceful opinion, but in the end he is saying things that I have seen plenty of others post here.

By endlessly quoting him and responding, all you are doing is empowering the very person you do not want to thrive. And really, I am sure some of you are better than personal insults as the only response made. There is a 'report post' button if you are that offended.

How do you put out a fire? Deny it oxygen.

 

[footyfreak]

And this is it.

Once the emotion and proximity of yesterday fades, even Williams would admit that 2005-2010 was all but a disaster and if he had his time again there'd be an enormous amount he'd change or do differently.

And as with the last year or two of Peter Burgoyne, a favourite son had done his dash and had stayed 12 months or so too long.

Along with cliches like 'the club is bigger than the individual', people are passionate for Port Adelaide and want what's best for it. Sure these inflamed passions can lead to some regrettable or even personal comments at times, but at root they only want what's best for Port Adelaide - undeniably that was Mark Williams and the club parting ways after 12 seasons in the top job and the board agreed.

Which is why all the comments citing hypocrisy are silly.

Mark Williams will always be a Port Adelaide legend. He was an All-Australian, multiple-Premiership player and led the club to its first AFL premiership as senior coach. Folklore. Plain and simple.

Deserved criticism of the post-2004 period of his tenure will never change that fact nor the rightful acknowledgement and respect for him and his achievements.

I'll try to tread carefully being that I'm on your board but I've got to say I've never seen such nasty and hateful comments as i have seen by Port people in the lead up to this. A quick read of the Official sack Williams thread verifies that. It was pretty full on, and there was plenty of criticism of his efforts pre 2004 as well.

I guess i find it a little hypocritical because it wasn't just that people thought his time was up, there was real hatred for what he had done to the club and that he had driven it in to the ground and that his success was largely based on Jack etc etc.

Anyway the greatest tragedy is the loss of your avatar, not sure how you will top that mate

 

[FishingRick04]

I'll try to tread carefully being that I'm on your board but I've got to say I've never seen such nasty and hateful comments as i have seen by Port people in the lead up to this. A quick read of the Official sack Williams thread verifies that. It was pretty full on, and there was plenty of criticism of his efforts pre 2004 as well.

I guess i find it a little hypocritical because it wasn't just that people thought his time was up, there was real hatred for what he had done to the club and that he had driven it in to the ground and that his success was largely based on Jack etc etc.

Anyway the greatest tragedy is the loss of your avatar, not sure how you will top that mate

I supported him in the 01-03 era but he did land us the chokers tag didn't he, a tag alot of Collingwood supporters threw our way It was also something alot of our supporters couldn't get over and therefore Mark lost them then and there.

All clubs go through it, what were Collingwood supporters like with Tony Shaw?

What do you find hypocritcal? That certain supporters bashed him o nthe forum?

 

[Black Falcon]

Choco is/was my fav coach. What a funny guy. Hope he is still around footy in some sense, he was so much better than the robo coaches.

agree wowlace. Well done to Choco for giving us all some mirth
hope he gets a good gig in his next post

 

[tribey]

I guess i find it a little hypocritical because it wasn't just that people thought his time was up, there was real hatred for what he had done to the club and that he had driven it in to the ground

No-one's saying he did it deliberately, obviously, but if you were to infiltrate the club with an enemy agent doing it for the lulz I'm not sure they could've achieved much more than the reality of the past 5 and a half years:

2005: 12-1-11 + 117pt loss to WCE worst since 1870; 83pt loss in 'Dream Final'.
2006: 8-0-14
2007: 17-0-8 + 119pt loss to Geelong worst since 1870/record VFL/AFL GF loss since 1897.
2008: 7-0-15
2009: 9-0-13
2010: 5-0-10* + Current 8-loss streak worst since 1870; 3 consecutive years without finals worst since 1870.

Total: 58-1-71 @ 44.6%

And can you ever remember the 'Port brand' being in a worse state? We're two parts laughing stock, one part pariah.

and that his success was largely based on Jack etc etc.

This is more contentious, sure.

He recruited plenty of guys who were a huge part of the 2001-2004 period and groomed the rest of those that were already there, but personally, it's concerning that similar to Kevin Sheedy who walked out in 2007 with his best players being guys recruited in the stone age (Hird '91, Fletcher '92, Lloyd '94, Lucas '95), to a man the very best players of our AFL-era were all recruited way back when Jack was senior (Tredrea, Wanganeen, Primus, Lade, Francou, P. Burgoyne, Wilson, Cornes) - with Williams' contribution in that stellar stratosphere being Montgomery and then Kornes, Shaun and Pickett who were as roundly frustrating as they were good.

Currently, not one player on our list will be selected in the AA squad of 40, with only Jacob Surjan possibly scraping in if his excellent performances against the tide are rewarded. And apart from the handful of kids who might reach that tier in future - as at every club - there is just no star power whatsoever.

 

[footyfreak]

As usual tribey, excellent post!!!!

I like throwing stuff up to you coz i know i will always get a quality reply

 

[The Flying Doormat]

Finally.......

Good riddance to bad rubbish. Only negative is that it is 10 years too late.

Hopefully this will be the impetus now for the other dead wood - Tredrea, Carr, Westhoff ( x2 ), D Stewart, Motlop and Chad Cornes to name a few, to be moved on or walk of their own volition, and for a long overdue change of direction at Port Adelaide, where talented kids ( Salter, Broadbent, Banner and the like in the current crop ) are groomed rather than hanging onto old hacks 5 years past their use by date and bringing in rejects from other clubs to plug holes rather than develop a kid.

Finally something to look forward to, not more same old, same old.

Before I get howled down, while the Clone's (should we call him Phantom of the Opera ?) views are extreme, he (or she) does raise many points that have been posted on this board by others over many years. I dont agree with all of them, I suspect some of them are just there for the shock factor and the desired reaction is obtained.
I enjoy reading them, they certainly question accepted 'norms' and conventinal wisdom. Without opposing arguments we may as well accept views such as those half baked, opinionated half truths spouted by Cornes, Rowe and even KG as being gospel.

 

[Power King]

Sad to see him go as he's been a part of our club for so long, but his time had run its course with the club, and at the end of the day he still coached us to our first premiership. A lot of 'what ifs' about his tenure at the club, as we could've/should've had more success. At the end of the day though, we're the third most successful club of the past decade.

 

[klem22]

Yes, a bit like 2007 Grand Final
the entire 2000 season
Finals losses in 2001 02 03 05
The exodus of talented players out the door while we hang on to burned out broken down hacks and import rejects
Boring, ultra defensive game plan
Gold passes
Pig headed approach to selection...

This is the big problem with nepotism. It polarises people.

Agree with the observations FSC im finding that the dents williams has left in me outweighs the advantages i think it was the fact that he was not moved on sooner exacerbates the negatives. Im glad he is gone but i wish him and his family all the best.

Interesting williams put a part of his resignation down to ill health i think even he knew that he overstayed and it is best for everyone to move on.