List Mgmt. Orazio Fantasia not requesting a trade, time to move on

Assuming this is true, I’m not sure how the club can continue to trumpet its Aboriginal Programs and ongoing quest for funding/leadership in that space if they’re prepared to jettison the kid less than 3 seasons into his career.

... and that's without even mentioning 'commercial liability' trumping 'on-field asset'.

"We're so totally Port Adelaide, guys. Now, lift your scarves and sway Power fans!"
 
Mar 1, 2014
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Maybe I have become tad too cynical but the Fantasia situation ( if true) has all the signs to me of a player, and or his manager trying to push up his price with his current club.
But even if it is true, any situation which meant we had to keep Bassett would get a big fat NO from me. :thumbsdown:
 

Kiss from a Rozee

Goddess
Bring Back the Bars
Nov 23, 2018
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Performance Improvement Program. It’s modern lingo for “you’re a spud but I can’t fire you for that”.
They are literally just a way to fire people.

I don’t think Ports have to justify firing people so in this case it’s just corporate idiots thinking they understand leadership.

Holy cow our board is horrible.
 
Yes, let's leave ourselves with 3 KPF's on our list. A 28 year old underperformer, a 20 year old who can't hold his place in the team, and an unproven forward who is also one of our best Key Defenders.We can count on Ryder being gone next year.. Neither he or Ladhams is a KPF. Lade was a KPF.

This is my fear that Hinkley and co will trade an underappreciated or unproven player who is crucial to our structural depth rather than getting rid of a player that we have plenty of. Several clubs have shown interest in Frampton probably because they realise that 200cm young forwards with potential don't grow on trees. Just because he is not being gifted games does not make him valuable to our list.

Counterpoint: Frampton isn't much good at football, Fantasia is. He's 22, 'potential' only gets you so far for so long. Club's have shown an interest in him because they know he'll be cheap depth.
 
Sep 20, 2007
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Performance Improvement Program. It’s modern lingo for “you’re a spud but I can’t fire you for that”.
Correct. You are bad but we don't have enough to fire you.....yet. Here is a series of KPI's we all agree to and failure to meet a number of these will give us grounds.

Edit: how that applies to footballers I have no idea as you can trade them... but POrts.
 

Gryllis

All Australian
Feb 12, 2011
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I would have preferred this to come out later in the season. Now the 'will he/won't he' will drag on for months, and we all know that anything said before the trade period is meaningless.
 
Correct. You are bad but we don't have enough to fire you.....yet. Here is a series of KPI's we all agree to and failure to meet a number of these will give us grounds.

Edit: how that applies to footballers I have no idea as you can trade them... but POrts.

Fair cheek, really. Can we put the Board on PIP’s for doing their best to derail the club and send it into that steelmill at the end of Terminator 2?
 

Powerage

Absurd Caricature
Aug 14, 2014
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Counterpoint: Frampton isn't much good at football, Fantasia is. He's 22, 'potential' only gets you so far for so long. Club's have shown an interest in him because they know he'll be cheap depth.

By all means get Fantasia, just don't give away young potential to do it. And a lot of forwards are still developing at 22 (think Schultz), especially when they originally played another role. He's not a born athlete, but he may well turn out to be more than competent as a forward. He is twice the set shot most of our AFL team are so at least he will make the most of his opportunities.

I'm saying let's offer something we already have plenty of. Atley or Drew, Bonner, Lienert depending on the offer on the table. We really have a minimum of KPP so I would prefer to keep them hands off.

My fear is that Hinkley and co will give up a KPP readily. his record shows that he just doesn't seem to value them the way he does say mobile small defenders.
 
I posted it last year and nothing has changed; he’s seen as a commercial liability.

He’s had a good preseason since then but he’s currently on a PIP so I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s floated as a pawn in any discussions going forward.

You can't very well say you're a club that respects women and put your hand out for commercial/government funding in that space when you've got a guy who got so drunk he can't even remember what he did after a game last year and inappropriately touched a female...which is something he admitted he did. He got suspended for matches because of his attitude - that sort of thing sticks. Especially when the club was probably seen as trying to cover it up when they had to go into bat for him. Companies wouldn't want to be associated with that sort of person.

But forget all that - he's also been dropped to the SANFL based on his performances for the second time in two years when his presence against the Bulldogs might have helped win us that game. I would have thought he would have had his head down this year and made sure that didn't happen again.

He's worth more than Fantasia though.
 

Duckimus Prime

Norm Smith Medallist
Apr 26, 2008
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Maybe I have become tad too cynical but the Fantasia situation ( if true) has all the signs to me of a player, and or his manager trying to push up his price with his current club.
A guy who signed a contract last year... and isn't out of contract until the end up 2021. Two and a half years away.
 
Sep 20, 2007
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You can't very well say you're a club that respects women and put your hand out for commercial/government funding in that space when you've got a guy who got so drunk he can't even remember what he did after a game last year and inappropriately touched a female...which is something he admitted he did. He got suspended for matches because of his attitude - that sort of thing sticks. Especially when the club was probably seen as trying to cover it up when they had to go into bat for him. Companies wouldn't want to be associated with that sort of person.

But forget all that - he's also been dropped to the SANFL based on his performances for the second time in two years when his presence against the Bulldogs might have helped win us that game. I would have thought he would have had his head down this year and made sure that didn't happen again.

He's worth more than Fantasia though.
Sure you can. One young man out of an entire squad made a mistake and we investigated and took swift and appropriate action. This can sit comfortably alongside of a platform of respecting women.
 
This is a beat up lead by a so called experienced journo on afl.com.au Marc McGowan, rather than the work experience kids there. His whole argument of why he is correct is because of what he wrote in his 3rd paragraph ie

The Bombers are understood to have long known Fantasia would request a trade home at some stage in his career, but wouldn't give the young star up without a fight.

He does clarify things a bit in his 4th paragraph
The biggest stumbling block is that Fantasia signed a two-year contract extension in August last year to remain at Tullamarine until the end of 2021.

He also talked about Port being his preferred club because in the 8th and 9th paragraph as well as in the 2nd and talks about his relationship with Bassett in these 3 paragraphs.

But the media just went off that he wants to go home at the end of 2019.

The journo is technically right until Fantasia's career ends. He could be at Essendon for 11 years and then say he wants to go back home to SA and plays his last 3 years in SA and then in 2024 Mark McGowan can say, see I told you so. But he nicely muddies the water by saying the following in the 2nd paragraph.

Both the Power and Crows are aware of Fantasia's wish, but the Norwood product's longstanding relationship with Nathan Bassett has Port Adelaide in the box seat if Essendon agrees to trade him in 2019.

Has McGowan asked Essendon if they are willing to trade him? Nope.

Thought it was an interesting discussion this morning between Nick Riewoldt getting stuck into the journo and Sam McClure (filling in for Whateley) defending the journo. You can listen between 16.30 and 25.10 at link below, and you will hear Mark McGowan defend himself at 21.02, and calls it, a misconception from the first time his story was reported by other media people. He also has a go at the 2 journos who went out to Essendon to get down Fantasia's statement, and complains they only asked 2 questions and they were wrong.


Typical slow media type day, put out there a maybe, hope its reported as a definite, and enjoy the storm it creates hoping its a bit controversial in the way its reported. Mission Accomplished.
 
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Nov 6, 2014
60,455
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You can't very well say you're a club that respects women and put your hand out for commercial/government funding in that space when you've got a guy who got so drunk he can't even remember what he did after a game last year and inappropriately touched a female...which is something he admitted he did. He got suspended for matches because of his attitude - that sort of thing sticks. Especially when the club was probably seen as trying to cover it up when they had to go into bat for him. Companies wouldn't want to be associated with that sort of person.

But forget all that - he's also been dropped to the SANFL based on his performances for the second time in two years when his presence against the Bulldogs might have helped win us that game. I would have thought he would have had his head down this year and made sure that didn't happen again.

He's worth more than Fantasia though.
Yet the club chose him to design our 2019 Indigenous guernsey. That doesn’t signal to me he’s on the outer.
 
Yet the club chose him to design our 2019 Indigenous guernsey. That doesn’t signal to me he’s on the outer.
Football Department - Board - Community programs - Administration are the 4 different divisions within the club. The first one is the most important one if you are a player and they will have the upper hand in any decision.
 
Sure you can. One young man out of an entire squad made a mistake and we investigated and took swift and appropriate action. This can sit comfortably alongside of a platform of respecting women.

My point is that he's not exactly setting the world on fire with his performances this year, so him possibly being up for trade wouldn't surprise me at all. It would be a football department decision if it happens, and it would be based purely on that aspect.

I'm hoping he pulls his finger out.
 

Kiss from a Rozee

Goddess
Bring Back the Bars
Nov 23, 2018
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Port Adelaide
Yeah there is a pretty big difference between wanting to get rid of a player because he has shown s**t behaviour towards women (this hasn’t actually happened AFAIC) and trading a young Aboriginal player because they don’t market well.

Our board members are overall just plain awful, and the fact we don’t want them anywhere near football decisions at a football club is a clear cause for concern.

Their job should be to win premierships, not make mad dosh.
 
Sep 20, 2007
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My point is that he's not exactly setting the world on fire with his performances this year, so him possibly being up for trade wouldn't surprise me at all. It would be a football department decision if it happens, and it would be based purely on that aspect.

I'm hoping he pulls his finger out.
Regardless of what your point is you said the following and I was responding to it.

You can't very well say you're a club that respects women and put your hand out for commercial/government funding in that space when you've got a guy who got so drunk he can't even remember what he did after a game last year and inappropriately touched a female
 
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