How do we come back from this?

As I posted in the priority pick thread, our current percentage ranks us in the vicinity of such luminaries as Neeld-era Melbourne, the inaugural seasons of the expansion clubs and the dying whimpers of Fitzroy. Even still, all of those teams managed to win a game, so we’re potentially setting a new benchmark for awful-ness.

The biggest problem that I can see is that there’s not 1, or even 2/3 defining factors that have led to current events. While I appreciate that a football forum is a melting pot of differing opinions by definition, a scroll through the first page of this board can attribute our current state to:

- Nicks
- Our coaching team as a whole
- Our midfield structure
- Our forward structure
- Lack of overall talent
- Player retention
- Player development
- Drafting under Ogilvie
- List management under Reid
- Selection philosophies/
- Fitness under Hass
- Unaccountability of the board
- Chapman/Fagan/Ricciuto
- General contempt/indifference for fans
- Loss of trust between players & club (the camp)

The scariest part about this? All of these viewpoints have some validity to them to varying degrees, and solving a couple of them will have minimal effect on the club’s fortunes while the others are left unchecked.

I don’t see any way out of this mess without a clean out of the club from the top down, and as we’ve seen already, one of the few things the higher-ups are competent at is covering their own backsides ie the sham review of everything but themselves.

Anyone got any ideas on any meaningful change that can be impacted to stop us circling the drain? As much as I enjoy taking the piss out of the club, it kills me that we’ve turned into the laughing stock/punching bag of the comp.

The good news is we're not the first club to go through this. Also clubs have seen the other side of the tunnel (i.e. Brisbane and Gold Coast at the moment)

What it does come down to is - new board, new competent fitness staff and fixing the assistant coaches. That should primarily be this year.

Get capable people in there and let it stabilise for a year (seeing it'll take 2 years to fix fitness). Then we work out if our drafting is up to snuff seeing if we get good people in these roles and talent isn't materialising, that's the next logical point along with looking at Nicks.

It's going to take time.
 

PCORF

Norm Smith Medallist
Jul 3, 2007
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There is no repairing this diabolical mess.

I remember I made a post on here last year at halftime vs Melbourne saying that we were our own worst enemies and I did not post on here for another month after we somehow still managed to win that game in unlikely fashion but at halftime I was perhaps the most frustrated I had ever been following this club. Got a few wins before the bye and then the season collapsed dramatically after the bye as the team gave up on itself. They were indeed their own worst enemies at times. It is certainly not easy repairing this mess and it requires a lot of patience. I just hope next week the guys come out with some fight and not just turn up thinking they have an easy game. I don't care if we finish 18th or go winless, I want to see some real fight in this team.
 

Sack Chapman

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There is no coming back from this. If a Pine Forest gets Pine Beetle, all infected trees are cut down and burned. Scrap all the football department, and basically start a new

The only hope for this club is a challenge to the current regime from another group of influential people who truly do love the AFC. I don't see that happening.
 

Sack Chapman

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All of this crap goes back to 2 people: Rob Chapman and Stephen Trigg.

It all started with the Tippett debacle.

Don't forget John Reid the architect of the Tippett debacle. I can almost 100% guarantee that Neil Craig would have also known about and rubber stamped the deal. The AFC has been the play thing of the Adelaide private school boys club.
 

Sack Chapman

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Also underachieving during the Craig days as well. 2005 was such a darn good team and then Roo lost his temper, got suspended and cost his team dearly that year.

He should have lost the captaincy for that.
 

Brett Cummings

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Sep 13, 2019
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stop picking the wrong players.

with b crouch and sloane being injured the midfield should be: jones, schoenberg, m crouch

key forwards: walker, frampton (2nd ruck)

doedee in, hartigan out

mcasey in, straughn out
 
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Schulzycrow

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As long as we keep picking players ala Mackay, Atkins, Hartigan, Kelly, Gibbs, Lynch, Knight that aren't up to it or just don't give a rats anymore instead of getting games into players that are the future of the club then this clusterf will continue for a good couple of year yet.

All line coaches need to be gone, our midfield setups, contested ball work, forward structure and kick-ins and fitness has all be a disaster for two seasons.
Our recruiting has been questionable for 3 seasons. When have we picked a recruit that was ready to go in their first season? Big issues with our higher picks for a long time.

Reid has been a bust, the Gibbs deal stinks to high heaven, letting players walk out the door to perform at other clubs shows lack of judgement and also speaks to how rubbish our vaunted development has been.

Leadership has been weak for years. Mistakes made have been compounded upon and here we are. Not even at rock bottom yet.
Roo might be a good businessman and a champion of the club, but as a director of football, he is hopelessly out of his depth. We know Chapman is gone soon, but who can they get to fill his position.

The fact that as members we have no say on the direction of the club mean I feel more of the same will continue.
It's going to be a long painful, frustrating time of which we have never seen. Expecting bottom to bottom 4 for at least the next three seasons. Don't hold much hope we will pick the right players to get us out of this hole in the short term.

Now we know how Richmond and Carlton's fans have felt for years.
 
Oct 17, 2002
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Don't forget John Reid the architect of the Tippett debacle. I can almost 100% guarantee that Neil Craig would have also known about and rubber stamped the deal. The AFC has been the play thing of the Adelaide private school boys club.

Both were under Trigg and Chapman. I agree with you though. Those 2 ran the show and told the minions like Reid and Craig exactly what to do. It's actually the ADELAIDE CLUB that run things in this city.
 
Jul 6, 2017
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Rendell didn't deserve to be sacked but WHO made the decision? Trigg. Who condoned it? Chapman.
But demetriou was the bastard behind it all as he happily let rendell move to collingwood. He effectively leant on trigg to sack him so a vic club coukd directly benefit. Demetriou should have been investigated for corruption
 
Oct 17, 2002
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But demetriou was the bastard behind it all as he happily let rendell move to collingwood. He effectively leant on trigg to sack him so a vic club coukd directly benefit. Demetriou should have been investigated for corruption

Trigg and Chapman didn't show any balls to stand up to him. Dimwit screwed us more than any other VFL commish. Mongrel bloke.
 
You don't.

After a decade of mismanagement the 2017 GF was make or break. They went with break.

Enough of you will keep going and paying your money. They'll finish high enough to give you a little bit of hope and suck a few more in.

Do you really think the people who got you into this situation are all going to give up their cushy positions for you?
 
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