Once you lose the players, do you ever really get them back?

[SaltPeter]

Chat to mattymac about that, he’s got very different and specific ideas.

Whatever, I'm not a jump up and down, cartwheel kind of Neil Craig fan.

I am getting the feeling that you have some belief that a new senior coach should take a slash and burn attitude to the club. And this seems a little extreme/unrealistic

 

[Mismatched]

I would try changing all of those before changing Pyke. Pyke is the highest value asset we have at the club.

Throwing out the wheat and keeping the chaff would achieve nothing.

Broom through admin, tick.

Broom through assistant coaches, tick.

Hard to put a broom through the playing list but you can be surgical and take out ringleaders that drive lazy gameday habits.

I was of this belief, but watching on as we plug on through with the same gameplan that has failed us since the 2017 GF has got to me. Where once I was of the belief that Pyke was perhaps hamstrung by those around him, the more I think about his history, the more I believe that he's not the kind of man to put up if he hasn't got what he wants.

My wishful thinking was that at some point last year, he would have given the club an ultimatum effectively sidelining Burton and demanding more power to institute change for our club. Instead, we've doubled down on failing gameplan, on persisting with the same average, unimaginative players. Watching him on the weekend, I think he's at his wits end, he has no idea what to do next, how to fix this and his natural fall back is to "back the guys in".

Essentially, I've come to the belief that if Pyke genuinely doesn't have close to what he wants in his football department, as some suggest is the case, if he was the right man for the job, he would have left. Instead, he's either happy with what he's got, or he's put up and shut up. Neither scenario I want in the head coach. I hope I'm wrong, and that he's got a few rabbits to pull out of the hat, but that was never his game, he's a Neil Craig clone, not a Malcolm Blight clone.

Personally I think Pyke was the right choice as coach when we brought him in. We didn't need someone to revolutionise our list and structures, we needed someone who could build on what Walsh had started. Someone who could take an emotionally charged list, pull them together and help them finish what they started. He did a very good job, unfortunately we failed at the final hurdle and have come crashing down. The club is broken, the players are broken, we need to move on and essentially start afresh.

Sadly, I don't think Pykes the one to take us forward now. I think in the right climate, he could have taken us to the flag and probably could do so at another club. I hope I'm wrong, because if I'm right, I think we've just wasted another year when where our list profile suggests we should be challenging, certainly our list management has banked on this.

 

[Golumless]

I was of this belief, but watching on as we plug on through with the same gameplan that has failed us since the 2017 GF has got to me. Where once I was of the belief that Pyke was perhaps hamstrung by those around him, the more I think about his history, the more I believe that he's not the kind of man to put up if he hasn't got what he wants.

My wishful thinking was that at some point last year, he would have given the club an ultimatum effectively sidelining Burton and demanding more power to institute change for our club. Instead, we've doubled down on failing gameplan, on persisting with the same average, unimaginative players. Watching him on the weekend, I think he's at his wits end, he has no idea what to do next, how to fix this and his natural fall back is to "back the guys in".

Essentially, I've come to the belief that if Pyke genuinely doesn't have close to what he wants in his football department, as some suggest is the case, if he was the right man for the job, he would have left. Instead, he's either happy with what he's got, or he's put up and shut up. Neither scenario I want in the head coach. I hope I'm wrong, and that he's got a few rabbits to pull out of the hat, but that was never his game, he's a Neil Craig clone, not a Malcolm Blight clone.

Personally I think Pyke was the right choice as coach when we brought him in. We didn't need someone to revolutionise our list and structures, we needed someone who could build on what Walsh had started. Someone who could take an emotionally charged list, pull them together and help them finish what they started. He did a very good job, unfortunately we failed at the final hurdle and have come crashing down. The club is broken, the players are broken, we need to move on and essentially start afresh.

Sadly, I don't think Pykes the one to take us forward now. I think in the right climate, he could have taken us to the flag and probably could do so at another club. I hope I'm wrong, because if I'm right, I think we've just wasted another year when where our list profile suggests we should be challenging, certainly our list management has banked on this.

Is it though? right now, it's nowhere near that gameplan, it's more akin to Port s**t the bed 2015 after being close in 2014 style. Which is much more worrying of a development then us failing to recreate that 2017 style.

Slow, stagnant and trying to pick teams apart with skill was never our modus operani then. It's all we've tried to do in 2019. Naturally, it's failed miserably, like every team who has tried to replicate the Hawks.

 

[Mismatched]

“Highest value asset” that rolls over and accepts sub-standard coaches. Pyke is a pure Craig clone, he believes he can achieve with these coaches which makes him a liability. Your support of him is starting to reach Jenny/Trigg territory. At least she disclosed why she had zero objectivity.

This is my conundrum. If we believe that Pyke is hamstrung by the footballing department, then why is he still here? He doesn't need the money. I'm sure if he wanted, he could probably walk into another senior job in a year or two. He doesn't need to put up with any s**t. At most, you might argue that he's decided to knuckle down and slowly change things...

If we sack Pyke we'll just choose the coach who is most positive about our list and believes we can swiftly return to finals

This is truly depressing part. There's absolutely no assurances Pyke leaving would change anything.

 

[Mismatched]

Is it though? right now, it's nowhere near that gameplan, it's more akin to Port s**t the bed 2015 after being close in 2014 style. Which is much more worrying of a development then us failing to recreate that 2017 style.

Slow, stagnant and trying to pick teams apart with skill was never our modus operani then. It's all we've tried to do in 2019. Naturally, it's failed miserably, like every team who has tried to replicate the Hawks.

Yes it is. When clubs beat us in 2017, we looked exactly the same. What we're seeing is what the 2017 gameplan looks like when it is countered. A complete inability to move the ball forward and score. When our forwards can't get clear easy ball over the back from a fast break through the middle, we are useless. It was the same back then, only it took a little while for everyone to cotton on and when we had our confidence up, we were able to weather the pressure better.

This slow, stagnant play is our defenders having no f'ing idea how to move the ball forward, all our offensive plays have been cut off. Its all we're left with. It may be a little more deliberate, as if we've practiced it as a "plan b", but all that proves is that Pyke and co have no idea how to progress/evolve/adapt the gameplan.

 

[King Elvis]

Yes it is. When clubs beat us in 2017, we looked exactly the same. What we're seeing is what the 2017 gameplan looks like when it is countered. A complete inability to move the ball forward and score. When our forwards can't get clear easy ball over the back from a fast break through the middle, we are useless. It was the same back then, only it took a little while for everyone to cotton on and when we had our confidence up, we were able to weather the pressure better.

This slow, stagnant play is our defenders having no f'ing idea how to move the ball forward, all our offensive plays have been cut off. Its all we're left with. It may be a little more deliberate, as if we've practiced it as a "plan b", but all that proves is that Pyke and co have no idea how to progress/evolve/adapt the gameplan.

Even more concerning is that the apparent direction to address this was to 'slow the game down' - how could anyone think that is our problem?

We are slow, lacking movement, scared and playing without any dash, dare or drive.

Slowing down is the exact opposite of what we should be doing - we're already bloody slow!!!

 

[Golumless]

Yes it is. When clubs beat us in 2017, we looked exactly the same. What we're seeing is what the 2017 gameplan looks like when it is countered. A complete inability to move the ball forward and score. When our forwards can't get clear easy ball over the back from a fast break through the middle, we are useless. It was the same back then, only it took a little while for everyone to cotton on and when we had our confidence up, we were able to weather the pressure better.

This slow, stagnant play is our defenders having no f'ing idea how to move the ball forward, all our offensive plays have been cut off. Its all we're left with. It may be a little more deliberate, as if we've practiced it as a "plan b", but all that proves is that Pyke and co have no idea how to progress/evolve/adapt the gameplan.

Fair point.

 

[mattymac]

James_37 All interesting thoughts as I've come to expect from you. I have slightly different thoughts but not too different. We agree the players and club are broken to an extent. However, I'm still obviously of the belief Pyke is not the problem. I think if we dump Pyke now, we're not going to get anyone better. Whereas, it would be a relatively simple matter to get better assistants around him. Some men from outside that don't have long-standing personal relationships with senior players.

Also, if you do put a broom through the admin and list, you need some kind of timber to cling onto while rebuilding the ship. This point is academic though, since we won't clear out the admin or the list, it's always the coach who is scapegoated at the crows.

I do however think it is a bit naive to think Pyke can just walk into Burton's office and say "right, you, get out". The coach doesn't have power over the GM of football and appointments the board make. Should he accept that the ship is rudderless and throw in the towel in protest? Some seem to think so. Personally, I like someone who takes pride in the things they work toward and don't give up easily.

I think he has clearly made certain things known to the board and they have been drip feeding him to keep him on side while limiting disruption to their fiefdom. They finally gave him the coaching structure he wanted with a senior assistant. But, crucially, they didn't fork out for the man he wanted to fill that role and oversee the new assistants. Instead they elevated Campo.

I saw Pyke as angry as I think I've seen him on the weekend. I also saw players doing very peculiar things on field. I don't buy for a second this narrative from Campo saying we asked the players to not go so fast but didn't expect them to go so slow and that it's hard to control the players now because you don't have the runners.

Bollocks. This is one of the oldest, most experienced lists in the league. They know exactly how to attack and what pace to move the ball at. Yet they were constantly stopping at the mark, not playing on. Wasting time. Allowing the oppo to set up. Not even giving a whimper in the contest. Not even trying to tackle. Kicking sideways. No defensive running at all.

Rory Laird. I remember when he would cover half the ground at full pelt to smother balls with his face. He is now making zero effort to impact the game. Laird's obvious lack of effort is the biggest barometer for mine.

I have no doubt the players have gone on strike. I don't know if their beef is with Pyke or something/someone else at the club. Perhaps we need a review, like the one we should have had last year.

 

[jackster83]

James_37

Also, if you do put a broom through the admin and list, you need some kind of timber to cling onto while rebuilding the ship. This point is academic though, since we won't clear out the admin or the list, it's always the coach who is scapegoated at the crows.


I have no doubt the players have gone on strike. I don't know if their beef is with Pyke or something/someone else at the club. Perhaps we need a review, like the one we should have had last year.

Some things never change:

Stephen Trigg: Guys thanks for coming again. We’ll get started. The second half of the season is here and we’ve got to be proactive and clear in our thinking. Obviously there are lots of dramas around the place at the moment so we need to keep our heads and really concentrate on what is most important.

Neil Craig: The football club?

Stephen Trigg: No, keeping our jobs.

Neil Craig: Is it really that serious?

Stephen Trigg: I’m afraid it is. At the moment we’re staring down the barrel of a catastrophe.

Neil Craig: What do you mean by catastrophe?

Stephen Trigg: Well, it’s a scale. A ‘calamity’ is when there is a comprehensive review but everyone keeps their jobs. A bit worse than that is a ‘disaster,’ when the senior coach gets sacked but everyone else is unchanged.

Phil Harper: That sounds ok.

Neil Craig: Not from where I’m sitting it doesn’t.

Stephen Trigg: And then the worst is a ‘catastrophe’ when there is a top-to-bottom clean out. No one’s safe.

Phil Harper: So we’re aiming for a calamity then?

Stephen Trigg: It’s optimistic but I think it’s the best we can hope for. At worst I hope we can keep it to a disaster... sorry Neil.

Phil Harper: Where does a crisis fit in to the scale?

Stephen Trigg: A crisis is much lower down. The general rule of thumb is that if it makes the back page of the paper, it’s an issue. If it makes the front page, it’s a crisis. We can deal with a crisis no worries. In fact I’d love a crisis right about now… would be a welcome relief.

 

[Mismatched]

James_37 All interesting thoughts as I've come to expect from you. I have slightly different thoughts but not too different. We agree the players and club are broken to an extent. However, I'm still obviously of the belief Pyke is not the problem. I think if we dump Pyke now, we're not going to get anyone better. Whereas, it would be a relatively simple matter to get better assistants around him. Some men from outside that don't have long-standing personal relationships with senior players.

Also, if you do put a broom through the admin and list, you need some kind of timber to cling onto while rebuilding the ship. This point is academic though, since we won't clear out the admin or the list, it's always the coach who is scapegoated at the crows.

I do however think it is a bit naive to think Pyke can just walk into Burton's office and say "right, you, get out". The coach doesn't have power over the GM of football and appointments the board make. Should he accept that the ship is rudderless and throw in the towel in protest? Some seem to think so. Personally, I like someone who takes pride in the things they work toward and don't give up easily.

I think he has clearly made certain things known to the board and they have been drip feeding him to keep him on side while limiting disruption to their fiefdom. They finally gave him the coaching structure he wanted with a senior assistant. But, crucially, they didn't fork out for the man he wanted to fill that role and oversee the new assistants. Instead they elevated Campo.

I saw Pyke as angry as I think I've seen him on the weekend. I also saw players doing very peculiar things on field. I don't buy for a second this narrative from Campo saying we asked the players to not go so fast but didn't expect them to go so slow and that it's hard to control the players now because you don't have the runners.

Bollocks. This is one of the oldest, most experienced lists in the league. They know exactly how to attack and what pace to move the ball at. Yet they were constantly stopping at the mark, not playing on. Wasting time. Allowing the oppo to set up. Not even giving a whimper in the contest. Not even trying to tackle. Kicking sideways. No defensive running at all.

Rory Laird. I remember when he would cover half the ground at full pelt to smother balls with his face. He is now making zero effort to impact the game. Laird's obvious lack of effort is the biggest barometer for mine.

I have no doubt the players have gone on strike. I don't know if their beef is with Pyke or something/someone else at the club. Perhaps we need a review, like the one we should have had last year.

Yeah good post and I do hope that you're right. Up until very recently I've been supportive of Pyke in this regard, I guess I'm starting to question whether it really is Pyke trying to work within the system, or if he's actually content with what he's got.

There's no doubt things aren't happy down at West Lakes. The players are not playing for the coaches or themselves, they're playing selfish, survivalist football. I think we can all agree change needs to happen.

 

[Sanders]

Maybe Burton isn’t the problem?

 

[Murray2503]

See the thing is..... these players have been through so ******* much. First with the loss of Walsh.... I mean, how do you get over that? Then despite all vowing to stay together until they finished what he started, Dangerfield left. Then Lever, Charlie and McGovern.... The loss of the unlosable grand final.... we had all said for many months that our team was “mentally weak” - couldn’t win the close ones, or turned up thinking that’s all we needed to do to win... and not put the effort in. So the Club identified that we needed to work on their mental strength. Yay. Club chose CM. Booo. This was followed by an unprecedented attack by the media and speculation of what did or did not happen. Much stuff was made up. Then we have annus horribilus and injuries to key personnel. Then in the space two months, Sloane’s son is still born, and Tex’s girlfriend has a late term miscarriage. These fellas have truly suffered e-*******-nough. I’m not trying to excuse them... but maybe just explaining what they AND PYKE are up against.

Unlosable grand final? No grand final is unlosable. What gives anyone the right to presume we should have won it. You earn a flag by being the best team on the day, not by being the team that is expected to win. A grand final is a 50/50 game. I detest all this talk about 2017. By the way no playing group agrees to stay together regardless of the circumstances. If a club is well run players line up to stay. Said it before, look forward not back. People need to stop this 2017 was our chance and its not fair bullshit. Just stop it and grow up. A well run club contends regularly and expects to win when it matters.

 

[Murray2503]

James_37 All interesting thoughts as I've come to expect from you. I have slightly different thoughts but not too different. We agree the players and club are broken to an extent. However, I'm still obviously of the belief Pyke is not the problem. I think if we dump Pyke now, we're not going to get anyone better. Whereas, it would be a relatively simple matter to get better assistants around him. Some men from outside that don't have long-standing personal relationships with senior players.

Also, if you do put a broom through the admin and list, you need some kind of timber to cling onto while rebuilding the ship. This point is academic though, since we won't clear out the admin or the list, it's always the coach who is scapegoated at the crows.

I do however think it is a bit naive to think Pyke can just walk into Burton's office and say "right, you, get out". The coach doesn't have power over the GM of football and appointments the board make. Should he accept that the ship is rudderless and throw in the towel in protest? Some seem to think so. Personally, I like someone who takes pride in the things they work toward and don't give up easily.

I think he has clearly made certain things known to the board and they have been drip feeding him to keep him on side while limiting disruption to their fiefdom. They finally gave him the coaching structure he wanted with a senior assistant. But, crucially, they didn't fork out for the man he wanted to fill that role and oversee the new assistants. Instead they elevated Campo.

I saw Pyke as angry as I think I've seen him on the weekend. I also saw players doing very peculiar things on field. I don't buy for a second this narrative from Campo saying we asked the players to not go so fast but didn't expect them to go so slow and that it's hard to control the players now because you don't have the runners.

Bollocks. This is one of the oldest, most experienced lists in the league. They know exactly how to attack and what pace to move the ball at. Yet they were constantly stopping at the mark, not playing on. Wasting time. Allowing the oppo to set up. Not even giving a whimper in the contest. Not even trying to tackle. Kicking sideways. No defensive running at all.

Rory Laird. I remember when he would cover half the ground at full pelt to smother balls with his face. He is now making zero effort to impact the game. Laird's obvious lack of effort is the biggest barometer for mine.

I have no doubt the players have gone on strike. I don't know if their beef is with Pyke or something/someone else at the club. Perhaps we need a review, like the one we should have had last year.

Saturday nights performance was the worst I've ever seen from a crows side and I have seen every match since the inaugural hawthorn round 1 smashing at footy park. Our performance this year shows what happens when the problems from last year are not adequately dealt with. I am not just talking about burton's camp but holes in our list that were not adequately fixed through trade, retirements and the draft. This club would fold if it existed in Melbourne, i am sure of it. They are very lucky that a majority of their supporters that turn up each week are easily satisfied. Onfield performance is the direct result of off field decisions. How can Pyke honestly feel that he is getting the best out of this squad? For starters he can't even pick the best team from our squad.

 

[Murray2503]

James_37 All interesting thoughts as I've come to expect from you. I have slightly different thoughts but not too different. We agree the players and club are broken to an extent. However, I'm still obviously of the belief Pyke is not the problem. I think if we dump Pyke now, we're not going to get anyone better. Whereas, it would be a relatively simple matter to get better assistants around him. Some men from outside that don't have long-standing personal relationships with senior players.

Also, if you do put a broom through the admin and list, you need some kind of timber to cling onto while rebuilding the ship. This point is academic though, since we won't clear out the admin or the list, it's always the coach who is scapegoated at the crows.

I do however think it is a bit naive to think Pyke can just walk into Burton's office and say "right, you, get out". The coach doesn't have power over the GM of football and appointments the board make. Should he accept that the ship is rudderless and throw in the towel in protest? Some seem to think so. Personally, I like someone who takes pride in the things they work toward and don't give up easily.

I think he has clearly made certain things known to the board and they have been drip feeding him to keep him on side while limiting disruption to their fiefdom. They finally gave him the coaching structure he wanted with a senior assistant. But, crucially, they didn't fork out for the man he wanted to fill that role and oversee the new assistants. Instead they elevated Campo.

I saw Pyke as angry as I think I've seen him on the weekend. I also saw players doing very peculiar things on field. I don't buy for a second this narrative from Campo saying we asked the players to not go so fast but didn't expect them to go so slow and that it's hard to control the players now because you don't have the runners.

Bollocks. This is one of the oldest, most experienced lists in the league. They know exactly how to attack and what pace to move the ball at. Yet they were constantly stopping at the mark, not playing on. Wasting time. Allowing the oppo to set up. Not even giving a whimper in the contest. Not even trying to tackle. Kicking sideways. No defensive running at all.

Rory Laird. I remember when he would cover half the ground at full pelt to smother balls with his face. He is now making zero effort to impact the game. Laird's obvious lack of effort is the biggest barometer for mine.

I have no doubt the players have gone on strike. I don't know if their beef is with Pyke or something/someone else at the club. Perhaps we need a review, like the one we should have had last year.

Hey but apparently during preseason we were the fun club. Was all about fun fun fun.

 

[SaltPeter]

This turned up online this morning



Caroline Wilson: Adelaide Crows players losing faith in coach Don Pyke

After starting the season as one of the premiership favourites, the Adelaide Crows find themselves in a 1-3 hole, on the back of a horror 2018 season.

According to AFL reporter Caroline Wilson, the poor start to the 2019 season has resulted in a lack of faith between Adelaide's playing group and coach Don Pyke.

"What's emerging now is just talk of maybe a lack of faith among some of the players and their coach," Wilson told Footy Classified.

"A lack of faith that began last year and transcended through to the footy boss Brett Burton after the Collective Minds debacle.

"We know that coaches left and some senior assistants left disenchanted with the club. There were deep divisions.

"What they've got now is a series of line coaches, all of whom are doing these particular jobs; defence, forward and midfield, for the first time."

While the Crows have made it clear that the drama surrounding the controversial pre-season camp that hampered the side in 2018 is in the rear-view mirror, Wilson suggested that the ill-effects of the camp still remain.

"They're calling it a crisis in Adelaide," she said.

"We know that around the time of the Grand Final the club extended Don Pyke's contract, as they did with Brenton Sanderson around the time he led the club to a Preliminary Final. That seemed like a smart decision at the time.

"Players are asking, 'Why didn't we go out and recruit a ruckman? Why didn't we go for someone like Braydon Preuss? Is the footy department spending capped?'

"All the things that we know and love about the Adelaide football club are letting them down. I don't know if the club is a particularly happy place at the moment.

"Guys like (Matthew) Clarke and James Podsiadly, the more popular coaches, haven't been around. I just wonder where it's going now for Don Pyke."

Pyke came under criticism prior to the Crows' Round 4 defeat at the hands of the Kangaroos for his decision to drop star midfielder Bryce Gibbs, and according to AFL great Chris Judd the move was a sign of trouble.

"I thought it was interesting that they dropped Bryce Gibbs," Judd told Footy Classified.

"It was the type of move you make when you want to send a message. What message that was, we don't know, but it looks like there's some trouble going on."

Adelaide's leadership group has also come under fire and Bombers great Matthew Lloyd raised questions surrounding the captaincy of Taylor Walker.

"If you're not kicking goals as a full-forward, it's a tough place to captain from," Lloyd told Footy Classified.

"I remember when I got given the job, there were some around the place that reckon a full-forward isn't the place for a captain because you're not in the action enough.

"Tex Walker has laid eight tackles in four games, so if you're not kicking goals, you're not applying pressure, you'd want to be doing a lot of things right around the football club."

After being the club's sole captain, Walker was forced to share the role with co-captain Rory Sloane this year, and Judd admitted that he found the move "strange".

"I thought it was strange in the end," he said.

 

[mattymac]

Geez she's thrown a lot of darts there.

Pyke
Collective minds
Burton
Players miss Pods
Players angry about no ruckman
Players angry about footy dept not spending on line coaches

At least one of them must be on target.

Sounds like she's been reading this board

 

[MRB37]

This is my conundrum. If we believe that Pyke is hamstrung by the footballing department, then why is he still here? He doesn't need the money. I'm sure if he wanted, he could probably walk into another senior job in a year or two. He doesn't need to put up with any s**t. At most, you might argue that he's decided to knuckle down and slowly change things...



This is truly depressing part. There's absolutely no assurances Pyke leaving would change anything.

You'd be surprised by how people think they can overcome others incompetence and drag them along through nothing more than pure determination. I have no doubt Pyke would think he can do that.

 

[Drugs Are Bad Mackay?]

Geez she's thrown a lot of darts there.

Pyke
Collective minds
Burton
Players miss Pods
Players angry about no ruckman
Players angry about footy dept not spending on line coaches

At least one of them must be on target.

Sounds like she's been reading this board

Did seem a bit a Rucci-esque article.

No quotes, no specifics, generalities, linking a batch of negatives together randomly.

Having said that, I believe every word.

 

[Scorpus]

This turned up online this morning



Caroline Wilson: Adelaide Crows players losing faith in coach Don Pyke

After starting the season as one of the premiership favourites, the Adelaide Crows find themselves in a 1-3 hole, on the back of a horror 2018 season.

According to AFL reporter Caroline Wilson, the poor start to the 2019 season has resulted in a lack of faith between Adelaide's playing group and coach Don Pyke.

"What's emerging now is just talk of maybe a lack of faith among some of the players and their coach," Wilson told Footy Classified.

"A lack of faith that began last year and transcended through to the footy boss Brett Burton after the Collective Minds debacle.

"We know that coaches left and some senior assistants left disenchanted with the club. There were deep divisions.

"What they've got now is a series of line coaches, all of whom are doing these particular jobs; defence, forward and midfield, for the first time."

While the Crows have made it clear that the drama surrounding the controversial pre-season camp that hampered the side in 2018 is in the rear-view mirror, Wilson suggested that the ill-effects of the camp still remain.

"They're calling it a crisis in Adelaide," she said.

"We know that around the time of the Grand Final the club extended Don Pyke's contract, as they did with Brenton Sanderson around the time he led the club to a Preliminary Final. That seemed like a smart decision at the time.

"Players are asking, 'Why didn't we go out and recruit a ruckman? Why didn't we go for someone like Braydon Preuss? Is the footy department spending capped?'

"All the things that we know and love about the Adelaide football club are letting them down. I don't know if the club is a particularly happy place at the moment.

"Guys like (Matthew) Clarke and James Podsiadly, the more popular coaches, haven't been around. I just wonder where it's going now for Don Pyke."

Pyke came under criticism prior to the Crows' Round 4 defeat at the hands of the Kangaroos for his decision to drop star midfielder Bryce Gibbs, and according to AFL great Chris Judd the move was a sign of trouble.

"I thought it was interesting that they dropped Bryce Gibbs," Judd told Footy Classified.

"It was the type of move you make when you want to send a message. What message that was, we don't know, but it looks like there's some trouble going on."

Adelaide's leadership group has also come under fire and Bombers great Matthew Lloyd raised questions surrounding the captaincy of Taylor Walker.

"If you're not kicking goals as a full-forward, it's a tough place to captain from," Lloyd told Footy Classified.

"I remember when I got given the job, there were some around the place that reckon a full-forward isn't the place for a captain because you're not in the action enough.

"Tex Walker has laid eight tackles in four games, so if you're not kicking goals, you're not applying pressure, you'd want to be doing a lot of things right around the football club."

After being the club's sole captain, Walker was forced to share the role with co-captain Rory Sloane this year, and Judd admitted that he found the move "strange".

"I thought it was strange in the end," he said.

Normally I like a good bashing of the club but this article is s**t.

The first section is just rehashing past issues with no new insights. There is no extra information here that is specifically linking issues like Burton and CM to current issues. There are no sources, whether anonymous or not, that are making that link. The Burton/CM stuff is probably relevant but is it actually the cause of the current problems? No insights in this article into that. It's just placing these comments next to our current issues and letting readers fill in the gaps.

"What's emerging now is just talk of maybe a lack of faith" and "they're calling it a crisis in Adelaide" - who? Are those people within the four walls, or is she just talking about general discussion among fans?

The rest of it is just speculation. Gibbs being dropped, Sloane being made captain, popular coaches going missing: it's all "wondering" or "finding it interesting" about these things. There is no direct link being made between internal AFC comments and these exact facts. Nothing.

The only relevant part in the whole article is "Players are asking, 'Why didn't we go out and recruit a ruckman? Why didn't we go for someone like Braydon Preuss? Is the footy department spending capped?'" - but there is no word on whether she actually spoke to players or not. Is this just a roundabout suggestion as in "the players are probably asking these obvious questions" or does she have inside info?

Normally if you have inside information you specify at least how many sources and their positions within the corporation. "I spoke to 5 players who wished to remain anonymous and they raised concerns about football department decisions". That's standard for these sorts of articles. None of that here.

I expect better

 

[Samcro24]

I expect better

There's your problem right there.

 

[SaltPeter]

Normally I like a good bashing of the club but this article is s**t.

The first section is just rehashing past issues with no new insights. There is no extra information here that is specifically linking issues like Burton and CM to current issues. There are no sources, whether anonymous or not, that are making that link. The Burton/CM stuff is probably relevant but is it actually the cause of the current problems? No insights in this article into that. It's just placing these comments next to our current issues and letting readers fill in the gaps.

"What's emerging now is just talk of maybe a lack of faith" and "they're calling it a crisis in Adelaide" - who? Are those people within the four walls, or is she just talking about general discussion among fans?

The rest of it is just speculation. Gibbs being dropped, Sloane being made captain, popular coaches going missing: it's all "wondering" or "finding it interesting" about these things. There is no direct link being made between internal AFC comments and these exact facts. Nothing.

The only relevant part in the whole article is "Players are asking, 'Why didn't we go out and recruit a ruckman? Why didn't we go for someone like Braydon Preuss? Is the footy department spending capped?'" - but there is no word on whether she actually spoke to players or not. Is this just a roundabout suggestion as in "the players are probably asking these obvious questions" or does she have inside info?

Normally if you have inside information you specify at least how many sources and their positions within the corporation. "I spoke to 5 players who wished to remain anonymous and they raised concerns about football department decisions". That's standard for these sorts of articles. None of that here.

I expect better

It was just a piece written based off of conversations and opinions taken from Footy Classified last night.

 

[Scorpus]

It was just a piece written based off of conversations and opinions taken from Footy Classified last night.

Yeah, the title suggests there is information that the Crows players are losing faith in the coaches which isn't backed up at all in the article

 

[SaltPeter]

It’s a s**t article. Unfortunately for those that read it, this will largely become their truth

 

[TexForPM]

Pyke and his merry band of incompetents lost the players by blaming them entirely for the GF loss and bringing in the mind ‘experts’ to address their ‘obvious’ weakness. At some point they’ve kissed and made up, but will the players ever believe in the coaches and guernsey again to put it all on the line to the level needed to climb the mountain? There are other issues with the coaching group, lack of ideas, lack of game day nouse, unwillingness to change, rewarding mediocrity, arrogance, inept footy manager, horrendous club culture and probably others. But what we’re seeing on the park is a consistent lack of the kind of effort required across the board to match it with the heavy hitters. And this is a result in the players not playing for the coach and club any more. The drive has gone and only personal pride and talent at each contest is keeping us from being completely s**t. But we’re not a group that is manic about succeeding any more and working our butts off to achieve great things.

Christ.

 

[Murray2503]

Normally I like a good bashing of the club but this article is s**t.

The first section is just rehashing past issues with no new insights. There is no extra information here that is specifically linking issues like Burton and CM to current issues. There are no sources, whether anonymous or not, that are making that link. The Burton/CM stuff is probably relevant but is it actually the cause of the current problems? No insights in this article into that. It's just placing these comments next to our current issues and letting readers fill in the gaps.

"What's emerging now is just talk of maybe a lack of faith" and "they're calling it a crisis in Adelaide" - who? Are those people within the four walls, or is she just talking about general discussion among fans?

The rest of it is just speculation. Gibbs being dropped, Sloane being made captain, popular coaches going missing: it's all "wondering" or "finding it interesting" about these things. There is no direct link being made between internal AFC comments and these exact facts. Nothing.

The only relevant part in the whole article is "Players are asking, 'Why didn't we go out and recruit a ruckman? Why didn't we go for someone like Braydon Preuss? Is the footy department spending capped?'" - but there is no word on whether she actually spoke to players or not. Is this just a roundabout suggestion as in "the players are probably asking these obvious questions" or does she have inside info?

Normally if you have inside information you specify at least how many sources and their positions within the corporation. "I spoke to 5 players who wished to remain anonymous and they raised concerns about football department decisions". That's standard for these sorts of articles. None of that here.

I expect better

I expect less from that nasty witch.