The Angry Thread

[Slippery Pete]

Come on, you know we have a say - the past 18 months has happened because we have a say - bums on seats.

Here's an example:

West Coast have an average attendance at Subiaco of 36840 since 97. In their last season that they made a GF pre Perth Stadium (2015) their average Subiaco attendance was 35987. In their lean years of 08-10, their average Subiaco attendance was 37653, 36377 and 34931 respectively. They finished 15th, 11th and 16th in those years (out of 16 teams).

Adelaide's average attendance at Football Park was 39640 since 97. In the last season we made the finals during the Footy Park era (2012) our average was 36829. The following year, with a 10/12 record our average was 33613. We finished 1 game out of the 8.

My point being that West Coast have bottomed out a few times in their history, retained the support of their fans, and bounced back to win flags not long after. Adelaide fans have been more fickle, dropping off as soon as it looks like we are not going to make the 8.

I contend that our club's unwillingness to bottom out has been commercially driven, as a result of fans not turning up when the team is sh*t. As a result, we are always "around the mark" but lack the currency to draw in top players. Our good times have been on the back of some astute (lucky) mid round and rookie picks. The fans have driven this, because it is clear that we dont turn up when our beloved team is out of contention.

Is it possible that Adelaide fans are their own worst enemy? If we want the club to focus on football, should we do out part when the team is not competitive? Im playing devil's advocate a bit here, but I think a cursory look at these numbers does add some weight to this perspective.

How do you know fans drop off if we’ve never bottomed out? I don’t think that 2013 stat is a big enough sample size...

I don’t have the stats to back this up (I’m sure someone here does) but I’d say our members are some of the most loyal in the comp, especially considering what they’ve got to be loyal about - which let’s face it, isn’t much.

 

[Drugs Are Bad Mackay?]

I agree with some of this, however I'd say that drop in attendance is probably one of the lowest in the league. Just look at teams like Richmond, Hawthorn and Carlton

Historically it is THE lowest in the league.

I remember Inside Sport doing an analysis of which club's home attendances rose/fell the most depending on on-field results.

Our attendances were the most inelastic

This article was 15 or so years ago mind you but that's where our attitude originated

 

[Deaneus!]

They should’ve tried Martin Pike and Kelly Clarkson. They couldn’t have done any worse.

That might have worked - Martin Pike belting idiots with Kelly Clarkson keeping it sweet

The club also has responded. Thre have been significant off and on field changes over the last 2 years. We asked for massive turnover and we asked for a genuine "bottom out". We're getting one.

My general interest in AFL has progressively waned each year since about 2015, but if you're going to follow the AFC then time to suck it up for a bit and see what happens.

The club had a plan of never having to rebuild, that magically became “we‘re half way through a rebuild already!”. We’ve told them not to run the list to into the ground, that we might have to strategically bottom out, instead we’re in free-fall...

I HATE MY MOTHER IN LAW AND HER STUPID BLOODY INDOOR PLANTS STOP BUYING THEM FOR MY HOUSE AND IF THE FATHER IN LAW TRIES TO 'FIX THE GRASS' ONE MORE TIME I WILL ACTUALLY SPEW. IT'S NOT BROKEN, IT'S RENOVATED YOU FOOL.

Thanks for the outlet thread

you’re welcome, keep it real

 

[Scorpus]

Historically it is THE lowest in the league.

I remember Inside Sport doing an analysis of which club's home attendances rose/fell the most depending on on-field results.

Our attendances were the most inelastic

This article was 15 or so years ago mind you but that's where our attitude originated

I think the issue comes from interpreting the West Coast data at Subiaco. They had no change because they were stadium capacity limited not because of their supporters. They had no shortage of people willing to take on vacated seats

 

[Southerntakeover]

I think it's time. We have the change we wanted, we have a bunch of kids, we have a good coaching group, reinvigorated back office. I've been a strident critic, but I think it's time to be balanced, realistic and objective. Otherwise we will be complicit in the ongoing failure of the club.

No. We don't.

 

[Southerntakeover]

The club didnt avoid bottoming out as a compromise to the fanbase from the best strategy. The club viewed not bottoming out as the best strategy. They legitimately believed the 'just make it and anything can happen' myth. They pursued this strategy wilfully, and were in no way compelled into it.

It all stemmed from the club not recognising the genuine brilliance of Malcolm Blight, and that it couldnt be replicated.

 

[rocket18]

You can't blame the supporters when its clear the club gives 0 shits about what we as supporters think.

They haven't been listening to us and avoiding bottoming out for that reason. They've been ignoring us and not bottoming out because they actually believed the 'make the 8 and anything can happen' bullshit.

A club that cares about the opinion of fans doesn't tell them to go support another team if they don't like how things are run.

I think it was more a case of their (Chapman, Board & throw in Trigg) egos that didn't allow us to undertake a decent rebuild. They loved "being in the finals mix" even if it was just for the first week of the finals.

Trigg the arrogant tosser didn't want to deal with sponsors when the team was uncompetitive and then poor old Fages left the football side of things to Roo...... and we now how that turned out.

 

[Drugs Are Bad Mackay?]

I bet the clubs who have been through rebuilds and come out the other side successfully didn't have fans lapping up the down times saying How awesome is this

 

[Sanders]

Every journey begins with a single step, and continues likewise

that included a journey to nowhere, to the bottom of the table

i still maintain one of the rottenest of all our rotten things, maybe not the biggest, but the most symbolic was when a board member briefed, and OK’d a hit piece, a drive by smear fest by her journalist husband on our greatest player because he didn’t feel welcome. Because he had the nerve to say what a number of former players thought.

Don’t these has-beens know who they are dealing with, this is the BOARD they are messing with

we never really knew how right he was, but Walshy was bang on, we need to be, to act as an authentic football club

I’m liking John Olsen’s work a lot, maybe he’s our Jeff. Our new CEO seems a low profile, unexciting people person who wants to do the job, get on with things.

Here’s hoping for unassuming competence, of the kind we’ve not seen since the days of Bill Sanders and Bob Hammond

 

[Sanders]

I think there is zero merit in a supporters complicit theory

our renovate not rebuild approach was based on flawed ideas at the top, that make the 8 and anything can happen

it was arrogance not market sensitivity

and we’re bottom because our excellent recruiting dried up with the recruiting manager we sacked at the end of 2011

Tim Johnson => James Fantasia => Matt Rendell => Hamish Johnson

we had 2 periods of outstanding talent acquisition:

1. opening startup concessions and the bartering of those gifts
2. Matt Rendell who we arrogantly sacked thinking, in our Jerry Krause moment, that we had a good organisation

 

[Sanders]

That might have worked - Martin Pike belting idiots with Kelly Clarkson keeping it sweet

Not sure she’s that sweet

 

[kulak]

The Ricciuto smear on McLeod explains how our club works at present. Prioritise protecting personal reputation ahead of the greater good.

At least in the Neil Craig years we could expect good honest effort and home finals to choke.

 

[WetCrow1991]

The focus on stats rather than actual impact speaks to the delusional mindset as well, mainly because it isn't consistent.

Fact is we have had some great down hill skiers at the Crows, who absolutely melt at contest against good opposition in high pressure games.

And the club loves them.

 

[mistylake]

I think the commercial realities are different outside of Victoria. Also, that drop was when we finished 11th, not basket cases like your examples.

Are you sure it wasn’t when we were about to leave footy park for the razzle dazzle of Adelaide Oval. There was a sharp decline in attendances somewhere around that time.

 

[WetCrow1991]

The Ricciuto smear on McLeod explains how our club works at present. Prioritise protecting personal reputation ahead of the greater good.

At least in the Neil Craig years we could expect good honest effort and home finals to choke.

Roo knows all about choking home finals. Like when we went all in on a dead rubber rnd 22 2005 and Roo decided to be a tough guy and get suspended for the Qualifying final (which we choked in).

2005 was the year to win it all. West Coast were too good for us the following season.

 

[Deaneus!]

Not sure she’s that sweet

Makes me like her even more

 

[FR0GGY]

Wheres the Covid thread!

 

[Southerntakeover]

I bet the clubs who have been through rebuilds and come out the other side successfully didn't have fans lapping up the down times saying How awesome is this

I think the truth is that the happy clappers deep down know that we're not going to pull this off quickly. That we're going to be one of those death spiral clubs that ends up having to rebuild to fix a botched rebuild upon botched rebuild. This could be a decades long sink Melbourne style.

We're already most of the way into that spiral, with a need to draft to replace recent top picks and senior players still to work out of the club.

That's why they want no criticism now, no expectation for signs that we've recruited correctly etc. Because they know worse is to come, and if the heat starts now, imagine just how ugly things might get.

 

[mistylake]

Not sure she’s that sweet

I had a bit of a friendship going with my hooker neighbour a while ago. I contemplated playing this awesome Steel Panther song for her but I doubted she had the same sense of humour as me. I probably should have in hindsight. They’re a pretty cool band.

 

[Vhaluus]

I think the issue comes from interpreting the West Coast data at Subiaco. They had no change because they were stadium capacity limited not because of their supporters. They had no shortage of people willing to take on vacated seats

that is certainly a confounding variable.

 

[Doctor B]

Are you sure it wasn’t when we were about to leave footy park for the razzle dazzle of Adelaide Oval. There was a sharp decline in attendances somewhere around that time.

2013 we were down to an average 33,600 crowd at home.
2014 48,000.

AFL Tables - Adelaide - Crowds

 

[craig crowing]

Good thread to post my frustration about a really well paid official that in past been escaping a lot of criticism and who only just behind Burton who has led our club in the demise it got itself .
But unlike all those pathetic assistant coach etc , we still have Hamish on board and trying to do a rebuild with all his bad decision top draft picks .
And every time we play the other mob it is thrown in our face and not only just the super draft.
Posters criticise the CC , Lever ,Mac man trades but we got in principle good value for, just didn't get player reward for and really if you seriously look at not really got 1 first round pick right yet with so so many opportunities.
Even those who point to Milera ,Fogarty and Doedee as successful haven't been able to have impact due to injuries etc etc.
The Jones Ned decisions and letting PA to outsmart us to get Rozee defies logic and even those with greater knowledge than me who defended Jones McHenry calls are starting to question that recruiting.
Even the last draft with over flowing hand although looking ok ,does seem to gone with same get ball type Pedlar etc and maybe missed out on a bit of class like Bruhn which we badly need and not seen since Danger.
There it is

 

[ftmch]

Hard to argue with any of that. Unfortunately the club seems so frightened of criticism that they refuse to have any real transparency about what they do, and so it's impossible to tell what, if anything, we are doing about it. Change only ever seems to come when it is utterly unavoidable, and even then only in the smallest increments possible.

Thank goodness for our women's team, they have singlehandedly kept my love for the club alive over the last few years. I've probably watched more AFLW matches than AFL matches in that time. Honestly, I couldn't even tell you half of our mens players' guernsey numbers anymore.

This is putting you dangerously close to 'fairweather supporter' status.

You do realise it's the same board and administration that oversee the women, yeah?

Sent from my SM-N986B using Tapatalk

 

[ftmch]

I have mentioned this before in passing but the club has no ethos. in 97 and 98 we had players from all over country but there was a real feeling of SA vs VIC. We were scrappy underdogs who in the eyes of the VFL should have just been thankful to be playing not winning. In those years there was something ruthless about the club, the cuts in at the start of 97, modra being dropped in 98. Pittman getting yelled any chance Blight got. The players adapted, they learnt a new style and there was something palpable about what they were trying to achieve.

Now i dont want to live in the past but i want emphasize how important it is to have an identity tied to a plan. Every successful AFL club over the past 15 years has a strong culture, an ethos about who they are and what they want to achieve. They havent become a strong club because they won a premiership they won premierships because they were a strong club before (possible exception in the Bulldogs) and here we are chewing through coaches every 2 &1/2 years and drifting between disaster after disaster. there is a pattern here and to place any blame on shitty coaches misses the bigger point.

This club is so afraid of failure that they are paralyzed from growing.For the crows to fail to win a premiership in the last 22 years, with the membership, resources and the collective audience in SA, it is nothing short of an unmitigated failure. There is no reason this should be happening yet it is. And while it is easy to bag Roo the real problem are the inept SA power brokers on the board who keep mediocrity on the menu because they know nothing else. We hire soft chined CEOs and people that will do an ok job, but god forbid they rock the gravy boat. Jesus christ we just appointed a "dishonest" 75 year old ex premier as our chairman, to me this doesn't scream cream of the crop it says to me just another person who is happy with the satus quo. if the club thinks that appointing people like olsen will help transition them to success then they will get everything they deserve. My main concern is that this lack of direction filters through all aspects of the club, what type of football do the crows want to play ? what is the drafting plan ? what was the transition plan from one of the oldest club in the AFL? how do we asset manage players? who the hell knows. there is no top down ethos, no significant planning and no strong identity to the club. until that changes success on the field will be fleeting at best.

Great post

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[Kane McGoodwin]

Well the sight of Brett Burton

Brett Burton

Age

45

Ht

185cm

Wt

83kg

Pos.

Fwd

Career

Season

Last 5

D

13.2

3star

K

10.4

4star

HB

2.8

2star

M

6.0

5star

T

1.6

4star

G

2.2

5star

No current season stats available

D

14.4

4star

K

12.0

5star

HB

2.4

3star

M

8.4

5star

T

1.0

3star

G

2.8

5star

at my cousins 50th last night made me a little angry... but thought best not to let him know my personal thoughts... & any way he had protection of Roo, Goody, Callinan, Reilly & Dogga.

Wonder if the rumours on Goody are true or he just flew in for the night...