PAFC CEO Matthew Richardson

[Waspy79]

Look, that might be a sticking point

Did you get a response? I assume not.

 

[Doctor Feel]

He has a front office Hinkley of some variety writing him a response as we speak.

 

[The Terrible Thinker]

Did you get a response? I assume not.

Only "I told you so" if we have a good year next year.

 

[PA88]

welp, it’s been almost a week and I haven’t received any form of reply, so I’m going to assume he either instabinned it or it was automatically filtered out,

so this is what I sent to his club email address after receiving that binjuice ‘from the CEO’ mail of September 5:

View attachment 2423098

Matthew,

I’m going to cut to the chase. This part of your recent missive was nauseating.

I’m roundly sick and tired of hearing Mandela Effect-tier nonsense about how bad things supposedly were in 2012 (we didn’t even finish bottom-four!), particularly when shamelessly utilised as a ready crutch to lean on in the event of failures in the present. Time and again. Year after year. And I’m telling you, I’m not the only one.

As if Ken Hinkley didn’t walk into the plum situation of a freshly cashed-up football department and an exciting young playing list brimming with potential just begging to be unlocked.

As if Adelaide Oval wasn’t already greenlit and instead, its agreed redevelopment and associated restructure of South Australian football governance somehow hinged on Port winning 13 games out of 24 in 2013.

All told, a tantalising situation a world away from that endured by his predecessor, Matthew Primus. Who would’ve killed to have Alan Richardson and Darren Burgess at his left and right hand on day one, to help develop the likes of Boak, Gray, Wingard, Jonas and Hartlett and others, but the funds within the AFL’s previously agreed rescue package were denied to him.

We are a football club with a 155-year history of being one of the national game’s foremost institutions, renowned for the ruthless pursuit of excellence that not only resulted in 34 senior premierships and 4 national titles at SANFL level from 1877-1996, but saw us hit the ground running at AFL level — winning more games than any other club in our first eleven years in the national competition, and securing our one and only flag at the highest level.

Why then, is there such an urge to hyperfocus and fixate on the relative blip of 2010-12? As if Port were the only club to ever endure a temporary nadir on and off-field? Hear me out:

• As the clock struck midnight on 1 January 2000, Collingwood were millions of dollars in debt and the reigning wooden spooners. What’s more, just hours earlier a young Brendan Fevola had booted 12 goals for Carlton en route to a 88pt smashing of the Pies in the so-called ‘Millennium Match’.

• In 1996, the destitute Hawks almost merged as subordinate partner with Melbourne. They were 2,401 members’ votes away from extinction. All this a mere 5 years after their extraordinary run of 5 flags from 8 Grand Final appearances in 9 seasons (1983-1991).

Now apart from this email, when have these calamities ever been mentioned by anyone, let alone pushed by Collingwood or Hawthorn themselves every time it’s contemporarily convenient to make excuses for a poor season, or an upset September defeat, or any time the current coach is on the hotseat?

But at Port, our nadir is all we ever hear about, often free of context and with varying degrees of factual accuracy:

• “I guess you forget when Ken arrived!”
• “There were tarps on the seats!”
• “There was talk the club would be wound up!”
• “The club was broken!”
• “Nobody wanted to coach us!”
• “Everybody wanted to leave!”

Read this next bit back a good 3 or 4 times so it sinks in: Who cares?! It was 13+ years ago!

Revisionist, defeatist, failure-apologia such as this is a self-fulfilling millstone around the club’s neck, and anathema to a proud, confident, culture of winning and genuine success. And for emphasis: finishing top-2 and earning a home Prelim in back-to-back years only to miss the Grand Final twice (2020/21), is anything but.

Talk of ‘punching above our weight (you)’ and being a ‘little battler club from Alberton (Koch)’ is cut from the same cloth.

Cosplay as a minnow — we most certainly are not and never have been in what is a salary-capped league predicated on a draft — and you’ll perform like one.

Port people want to be inspired and dream big. Not be constantly marinated in misery, embarrassment and excuses while being relentlessly gaslighted with nonsense purporting that the Ken Hinkley Era was a wonderful decade or so to look back on with great fondness and pride actually, and that near enough is good enough.

“We never gave up”? The most recent Showdown and the string of disastrous home finals over the years begs to differ.

Ultimately, Port people have long memories, aren’t stupid, and are tired of being patronised and treated as such. Thus,

• Instil some pride in who we existentially are. Not what we are now relative to how bad things may or may not have been when today’s high school graduates were in kindergarten.

• Set some realistic goals (not hollow ones that only serve to embarrass us like ‘Chasing Greatness’ does). Actual consequences for failure. Don’t move the goalposts post-hoc with rationale such as ‘well nobody expected us to finish top-4!’ after blowing a home final by a record margin as Koch has done in the past.

• Draw some actual red lines. Actual consequences for transgression.

• Stop lionising mediocrity and gaslighting failure.

• Be honest. eg. Maybe don’t be afraid of admitting that getting smashed in a home Prelim against a squad of hotel detainees was unacceptable and a shameful disgrace instead of patting players on the head, pretending it was all a bit of bad luck, and just hoping that things will be different next time.

• If a certain player or coach bristles at hearing some home truths, they can always see if St. Kilda’s or South Adelaide’s hiring, etc.

• Oh, and this might seem pedantically churlish, but if you bring in a recruit as a salary dump, who previously antagonised Port fans while playing for the Crows in a Showdown, and he only plays 2 games for us in less than 12 months — they probably don’t need 3 days of retirement posts across the club’s myriad social media pages.

We are Port Adelaide. For the love of god, Start acting like it.

Regards,

Tribiscus O’Malley III
(Platinum Member # xxxxxxx)

No response yet? For a communication of this nature, from a longtime member, written with such sagacity, I would have expected any CEO to promptly reply, and perhaps even extend an invitation to respectfully discuss it with you in person at your convenience.

 

[Doctor Feel]

Bitcho probably opened it and went tl;dr time to go bitcho mode and logged off.

 

[Powerade 08]

Bitcho probably opened it and went tl;dr time to go bitcho mode and logged off.

To be fair I pretty much did the same 5 minutes ago when I read the word 'sagacity'

 

[tribey]

No response yet? For a communication of this nature, from a longtime member, written with such sagacity, I would have expected any CEO to promptly reply, and perhaps even extend an invitation to respectfully discuss it with you in person at your convenience.

his pauciternity of loquacianapoulos eludes salubrinacity

 

[TazD]

These words are utter woke nonsense.

 

[rogerjames]

Yeah, I doubt you will get a response. As a Club Employee so eloquently told me "It is easy to be critical and to say we haven't been successful if you choose to just focus on Premierships and winning finals" I didn't really know how to respond to that statement.

But its way more than that. Its the way the club is treated by externals. There is clearly a lack of respect from umpires, the tribunal, Afl house & TV commentators. We do not project a strong, take no prisoners attitude like successful clubs do. Sucessful clubs also do not allow their head coach to continually embarass their club.

 

[Portmagpies36]

But its way more than that. Its the way the club is treated by externals. There is clearly a lack of respect from umpires, the tribunal, Afl house & TV commentators. We do not project a strong, take no prisoners attitude like successful clubs do. Sucessful clubs also do not allow their head coach to continually embarass their club.

My God that is so true, on and off the ground we are so submissive.

 

[soafraid]

Bitcho probably opened it and went tl;dr time to go bitcho mode and logged off.

Bitcho mode ACTIVATE:

 

[PA88]

But its way more than that. Its the way the club is treated by externals. There is clearly a lack of respect from umpires, the tribunal, Afl house & TV commentators. We do not project a strong, take no prisoners attitude like successful clubs do. Sucessful clubs also do not allow their head coach to continually embarass their club.

Exactly. Which in turn gives the club the audacity to direct the same towards its own diehards. Hard to gauge from the outside but it seems that these successful clubs are not at odds with their own supporter base. I want Port to be like it always was, a club that meaningfully acknowledged and embraced its supporters in the pursuit of the next flag.

 

[Interstater]

Why would you respect the members if they don't have a vote?

That would change if their job depends on us.

 

[Enviable Tradition]

Why would you respect the members if they don't have a vote?

That would change if their job depends on us.

100% this

 

[Shaucob_Burjan]

Richo seems to be doing more as an interim Head of Footy Ops than Davies ever did?

 

[bomberclifford]

Richo seems to be doing more as an interim Head of Footy Ops than Davies ever did?

Pressure is on him now because he’s the next on the block. If it brings about a better performance from him on the football side of things, then I’m all for it.

 

[Shaucob_Burjan]

Pressure is on him now because he’s the next on the block. If it brings about a better performance from him on the football side of things, then I’m all for it.

Offer Bartel the CEO role so he can WFH

Move Richo to Head of Football

 

[Peninsula Boy]

This clown has got to go.

We've brought in too much talent to have this mug hanging around.

 

[VineValerian]

Offer Bartel the CEO role so he can WFH

Move Richo to Head of Football

OMFG no

Make him fully responsible for acquiring all properties within 1Km of Alberton oval for future development. It's the only thing he's shown any aptitude for.

 

[RussellEbertHandball]

3 flags in 5 years - his goal - he failed. He offered Ken 2 extensions, January 2021 for 2022-23, and in August 2023 for 2024-25. He now has to help fix up some of the **** ups, he CD and the board have made.

He has taken charge on some of these deals. But I hope he doesn't get involved with trades, other than when players have to be shown around Alberton and $$$ negotiated with managers. The horse trading isn't his remit.

Richo and CD offered themselves up as a double act in 2020 when KT announced he was leaving ( sacked / not offered a new contract because he couldn't sign on new sponsors). CD's gone, so if he isn't employing anyone over the next few weeks, he has to fill the void.

 

[Grave Danger]

3 flags in 5 years - his goal - he failed.

His KPIs must be to have these aspirations, not to actually achieve them.

 

[RussellEbertHandball]

His KPIs must be to have these aspirations, not to actually achieve them.

Consistent with Koch's sound good, say something positive but ignore the facts media trained personality.

 

[240volt]

3 flags in 5 years was always a ridiculous statement.
Saying we want to achieve premiership success in the foreseeable future sounds a lot more plausible.
People is high positions can come out with some really stupid things.

 

[RussellEbertHandball]

3 flags in 5 years was always a ridiculous statement.
Saying we want to achieve premiership success in the foreseeable future sounds a lot more plausible.
People is high positions can come out with some really stupid things.

I have heard it was 1 AFL flag in the next 5 years and Koch stepped in and pushed that it wasn't a bold enough strategy.

So it became 3 in 5 years, but the club kept it quiet that they would accept 3 across all 3 grades, not just 3 AFL flags.

Deliberately murky. But still failed.

 

[bomberclifford]

Deliberately murky. But still failed.

It’s like they deliberately tried to do it in such a way to magnify the failure.