Mega Thread The Next AFC Coach?

[mattymac]

Oh FFS do we always have to be ultra left field and keep the masses guessing and choose some amazingly left of centre option that no one ever considered? Really? Is that our tired lame arse schtick?

I'm drunk and no Bassett makes me sad. Someone else is going to have a first class coach in the next few years.

 

[Drugs Are Bad Mackay?]

Should we great him like this guy if he gets hired?

Bing!

 

[Sanders]

Was actually just under 6 ft in reality. The French and English used different measurements. Napoleon was actually quite tall for the time period.

5'6

 

[The Sloane Ranger]

Seeing there's been so many Rucci mentions in here, I do recall that Rucci and Walsh actually hated each other during his first stint at the PAFC. It was odd with Rucci being such a big PAFC man. Rucci would always find subtle ways to pot him in his 'roast' or whatever it was called back then and Walsh would refuse to be interviewed by Rucci. I remember Rucci talking about it on 5AA one day. Could be different these days.

Walsh is known as a genuine footy mastermind but with no interest in media, marketing etc (as Macca said). As a result, he used to say he had 0 senior coaching ambitions. Definitely is fascinating to listen to and has lots of passion when he does do interviews though. Heard he can be a prickly sort of guy but think he probably just doesn't suffer fools.

Thanks for the post

From memory the knock on Hinkley before taking the Port gig was that he may struggle with the media and PR commitments however it's been quite the opposite

 

[CamFree]

Our next head coach is intuitively obvious if one does just a little bit of detective work. We've got Clarkson! Let me try and connect the dots here, and please feel free to expose the flaws in my reasoning. What we do know is that:

1) Fagan, the new CEO, has publicly said that we want the best available, i.e. the target is an experienced premiership coach. Fagan had a history of delivering on these bold promises in the NRL with the Brumby’s – he got the best coach in the world (a guy from South Africa). Make no mistake here, Fagan is ruthless and he means business. Honestly, do you really think his first move as the new CEO of the AFC would be to preside over the sacking of Sando (widely loved by the supporters) only to bring in another untried rookie coach? It’s a ridiculous way to begin one's tenure at the AFC, as well as totally out of character.

2) There's a lot of secrecy around this appointment. If nothing else, what we do know is that the AFC selection panel and board clearly have something major to hide.

3) The need for secrecy around the appointment of Clarkson has gone into major overdrive ever since Jars spilled the beans a few days before the GF. From this point forward, there have been absolutely no leaks from inside the AFC and plenty of red herrings (e.g. Bassett/Bolton). The AFC is like Fort Knox atm, something big is clearly about to happen. Jar’s untimely disclosure was a major, almost unforgivable ****-up, and is one major reason why the announcement simply had to be delayed until next week. (The other reason being that the Hawks, against most people's expectations, won the GF and so we need to wait for the dust to settle after the celebrations, travel to Tassie, and the Hawks B&F, before making the announcement).

4) Now this is slightly conjectural, but if we read between the lines (see below), we can also see that some in the local footy media (e.g. at least Rowe, Bone and obviously Roo) are aware of the Clarkson deal – and have been for some time. It's pretty clear to those who listen carefully to 5AA that Rowie and Bone are keeping very tight lipped about the Clarkson appointment – because, make no mistake, this is a massive appointment, a real game changer in the wider tapestry of the AFL.

Inside knowledge of the Clarkson deal has become a lot clearer in recent days, where since Jars' almost fatal blunder, we have seen the local footy media in major (if covert) damage control. Ever since this untimely leak, the local media (esp. 5AA) has gone out of its way to deliberately avoid any possible mention that Clarkson is our man. The silence is deafening, it’s well beyond the legitimate incredulity or reasoned disbelief of many folks here on BF. The way Rowe and Bone have been skirting around the Clarko question suggests a) they have been ordered to make amends for the Jars debacle, by way of b) a vigilant refusal to even suggest the possibility that Clarko is our man.

And it’s not just what they don’t say. In their public announcements about who the new coach might be, they’ve been bending over backwards to further amend the damage caused by Jar’s leak with a strategic decoy. Rowe, Bone and others have been going all out to distract us from the white elephant in the living room - i.e. they have been proclaiming any other coach in Australia that they could possibly imagine, except for the one in the bag: Clarkson. Some of the red herrings for coaching suggestions that they (and others) have been coming up with are borderline ludicrous - but it’s worked: the 19th man and BF have been thrown of the scent, we've bought into this strategic PR decoy hook, line and sinker... No one suspects a thing, and that's exactly how the AFC wants it.

5) Another uncanny fact: every single one of the other legitimate candidates for the AFC head coaching position has already been eliminated. Remember, Fagon/Roo publicly stated that they want an experienced head coach, preferably one with premiership credentials. Isn’t it bizarre, and seemingly contrived, how all other serious and experienced candidates available (Worsefold, Thompson, Ratten, Eade, Harvey, Williams, Voss, McKenna, etc...) have dropped out of the race like flies?

Now, what if this alarming lack of candidates is not because no one wants the job, but because we don’t want them! I maintain that every single one of the experienced and credentialed coaches in contention has been told (some in strict confidentiality) that we already have our man and so there's no need to apply. I mean seriously: not one of the names listed above has even got as far as the first round of interviews. It smells fishy...

6) It makes a helluva lot more sense when we realize that the interviews that are being carried out by the AFC coaching panel are clearly being undertaken in order to decide who will work under Clarkson - that's why we're going through all these rookies: ROK, Bolton, Dew, Sumich, Walsh, Bassett (gone), etc... We’re clearly looking for either a) a couple of assistant coaches to support Clarkson as head coach, or an up and coming head coach to learn the craft under Clarkson as the Director of coaching...

Keep the faith. This has all been planned in advance from a long way out. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if even Sando knew about Clarko coming to the AFC to fill in Dean Bailey’s role, well before he was sacked... And let’s be honest. Can anyone see Danger staying at the Crows beyond 2015 if we are not a legitimate top 4 contender? Getting Danger to sign long-term is one of the core drivers of this cunning stunt from the beginning. And, of course, Danger did have coffee with Clarko in Melbourne two days after Sando was sacked...

But make no mistake, the AFC is at the cross roads, we are right now facing a moment of truth. And not only is the appointment of Clarkson the only thing now that can justify the sacking of Sando, only Clarkson has the coaching ability to quickly turn this club into a top 4 contender and keep Danger at the club beyond 2015.

It's Clarkson or we’re completely and utterly screwed...

 

[Elite Crow]

Lots of presumptions. Getting Clarkson in is not the only justification for sacking Sando, he was an average coach. And without Clarkson we are not screwed.

 

[The Sloane Ranger]

Just wait for it

If we appoint Walsh and if it follows a similar success to Hinkley watch the coaching landscape change, the experienced assistant will become vogue and the preferred profile for a senior coach

 

[Jars458]

Our next head coach is intuitively obvious if one does just a little bit of detective work. We've got Clarkson! Let me try and connect the dots here, and please feel free to expose the flaws in my reasoning. What we do know is that:

1) Fagan, the new CEO, has publicly said that we want the best available, i.e. the target is an experienced premiership coach. Fagan had a history of delivering on these bold promises in the NRL with the Brumby’s – he got the best coach in the world (a guy from South Africa). Make no mistake here, Fagan is ruthless and he means business. Honestly, do you really think his first move as the new CEO of the AFC would be to preside over the sacking of Sando (widely loved by the supporters) only to bring in another untried rookie coach? It’s a ridiculous way to begin one's tenure at the AFC, as well as totally out of character.

2) There's a lot of secrecy around this appointment. If nothing else, what we do know is that the AFC selection panel and board clearly have something major to hide.

3) The need for secrecy around the appointment of Clarkson has gone into major overdrive ever since Jars spilled the beans a few days before the GF. From this point forward, there have been absolutely no leaks from inside the AFC and plenty of red herrings (e.g. Bassett/Bolton). The AFC is like Fort Knox atm, something big is clearly about to happen. Jar’s untimely disclosure was a major, almost unforgivable ****-up, and is one major reason why the announcement simply had to be delayed until next week. (The other reason being that the Hawks, against most people's expectations, won the GF and so we need to wait for the dust to settle after the celebrations, travel to Tassie, and the Hawks B&F, before making the announcement).

4) Now this is slightly conjectural, but if we read between the lines (see below), we can also see that some in the local footy media (e.g. at least Rowe, Bone and obviously Roo) are aware of the Clarkson deal – and have been for some time. It's pretty clear to those who listen carefully to 5AA that Rowie and Bone are keeping very tight lipped about the Clarkson appointment – because, make no mistake, this is a massive appointment, a real game changer in the wider tapestry of the AFL.

Inside knowledge of the Clarkson deal has become a lot clearer in recent days, where since Jars' almost fatal blunder, we have seen the local footy media in major (if covert) damage control. Ever since this untimely leak, the local media (esp. 5AA) has gone out of its way to deliberately avoid any possible mention that Clarkson is our man. The silence is deafening, it’s well beyond the legitimate incredulity or reasoned disbelief of many folks here on BF. The way Rowe and Bone have been skirting around the Clarko question suggests a) they have been ordered to make amends for the Jars debacle, by way of b) a vigilant refusal to even suggest the possibility that Clarko is our man.

And it’s not just what they don’t say. In their public announcements about who the new coach might be, they’ve been bending over backwards to further amend the damage caused by Jar’s leak with a strategic decoy. Rowe, Bone and others have been going all out to distract us from the white elephant in the living room - i.e. they have been proclaiming any other coach in Australia that they could possibly imagine, except for the one in the bag: Clarkson. Some of the red herrings for coaching suggestions that they (and others) have been coming up with are borderline ludicrous - but it’s worked: the 19th man and BF have been thrown of the scent, we've bought into this strategic PR decoy hook, line and sinker... No one suspects a thing, and that's exactly how the AFC wants it.

5) Another uncanny fact: every single one of the other legitimate candidates for the AFC head coaching position has already been eliminated. Remember, Fagon/Roo publicly stated that they want an experienced head coach, preferably one with premiership credentials. Isn’t it bizarre, and seemingly contrived, how all other serious and experienced candidates available (Worsefold, Thompson, Ratten, Eade, Harvey, Williams, Voss, McKenna, etc...) have dropped out of the race like flies?

Now, what if this alarming lack of candidates is not because no one wants the job, but because we don’t want them! I maintain that every single one of the experienced and credentialed coaches in contention has been told (some in strict confidentiality) that we already have our man and so there's no need to apply. I mean seriously: not one of the names listed above has even got as far as the first round of interviews. It smells fishy...

6) It makes a helluva lot more sense when we realize that the interviews that are being carried out by the AFC coaching panel are clearly being undertaken in order to decide who will work under Clarkson - that's why we're going through all these rookies: ROK, Bolton, Dew, Sumich, Walsh, Bassett (gone), etc... We’re clearly looking for either a) a couple of assistant coaches to support Clarkson as head coach, or an up and coming head coach to learn the craft under Clarkson as the Director of coaching...

Keep the faith. This has all been planned in advance from a long way out. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if even Sando knew about Clarko coming to the AFC to fill in Dean Bailey’s role, well before he was sacked... And let’s be honest. Can anyone see Danger staying at the Crows beyond 2015 if we are not a legitimate top 4 contender? Getting Danger to sign long-term is one of the core drivers of this cunning stunt from the beginning. And, of course, Danger did have coffee with Clarko in Melbourne two days after Sando was sacked...

But make no mistake, the AFC is at the cross roads, we are right now facing a moment of truth. And not only is the appointment of Clarkson the only thing now that can justify the sacking of Sando, only Clarkson has the coaching ability to quickly turn this club into a top 4 contender and keep Danger at the club beyond 2015.

It's Clarkson or we’re completely and utterly screwed...

That was a nice fairy tale. Clarkson or we are screwed? Ridiculous.

 

[baldandbroke]

Our next head coach is intuitively obvious if one does just a little bit of detective work. We've got Clarkson! Let me try and connect the dots here, and please feel free to expose the flaws in my reasoning. <snip>

It's Clarkson or we’re completely and utterly screwed...

TLDR;

You are making one big mistake here (and lots of medium sized ones) - you appear to be thinking that what is being reported is fact, when it is actually all made up by people who are trying to fill webpages and radio air-time with something.

Also, Clarkson is not the answer. He is a great coach at Hawthorn, with that group of players and that setup ... but he isn't the coaching messiah for every club just because of his success in recent years.

 

[intheknowcrow]

Our next head coach is intuitively obvious if one does just a little bit of detective work. We've got Clarkson! Let me try and connect the dots here, and please feel free to expose the flaws in my reasoning. What we do know is that:

1) Fagan, the new CEO, has publicly said that we want the best available, i.e. the target is an experienced premiership coach. Fagan had a history of delivering on these bold promises in the NRL with the Brumby’s – he got the best coach in the world (a guy from South Africa). Make no mistake here, Fagan is ruthless and he means business. Honestly, do you really think his first move as the new CEO of the AFC would be to preside over the sacking of Sando (widely loved by the supporters) only to bring in another untried rookie coach? It’s a ridiculous way to begin one's tenure at the AFC, as well as totally out of character.

2) There's a lot of secrecy around this appointment. If nothing else, what we do know is that the AFC selection panel and board clearly have something major to hide.

3) The need for secrecy around the appointment of Clarkson has gone into major overdrive ever since Jars spilled the beans a few days before the GF. From this point forward, there have been absolutely no leaks from inside the AFC and plenty of red herrings (e.g. Bassett/Bolton). The AFC is like Fort Knox atm, something big is clearly about to happen. Jar’s untimely disclosure was a major, almost unforgivable ****-up, and is one major reason why the announcement simply had to be delayed until next week. (The other reason being that the Hawks, against most people's expectations, won the GF and so we need to wait for the dust to settle after the celebrations, travel to Tassie, and the Hawks B&F, before making the announcement).

4) Now this is slightly conjectural, but if we read between the lines (see below), we can also see that some in the local footy media (e.g. at least Rowe, Bone and obviously Roo) are aware of the Clarkson deal – and have been for some time. It's pretty clear to those who listen carefully to 5AA that Rowie and Bone are keeping very tight lipped about the Clarkson appointment – because, make no mistake, this is a massive appointment, a real game changer in the wider tapestry of the AFL.

Inside knowledge of the Clarkson deal has become a lot clearer in recent days, where since Jars' almost fatal blunder, we have seen the local footy media in major (if covert) damage control. Ever since this untimely leak, the local media (esp. 5AA) has gone out of its way to deliberately avoid any possible mention that Clarkson is our man. The silence is deafening, it’s well beyond the legitimate incredulity or reasoned disbelief of many folks here on BF. The way Rowe and Bone have been skirting around the Clarko question suggests a) they have been ordered to make amends for the Jars debacle, by way of b) a vigilant refusal to even suggest the possibility that Clarko is our man.

And it’s not just what they don’t say. In their public announcements about who the new coach might be, they’ve been bending over backwards to further amend the damage caused by Jar’s leak with a strategic decoy. Rowe, Bone and others have been going all out to distract us from the white elephant in the living room - i.e. they have been proclaiming any other coach in Australia that they could possibly imagine, except for the one in the bag: Clarkson. Some of the red herrings for coaching suggestions that they (and others) have been coming up with are borderline ludicrous - but it’s worked: the 19th man and BF have been thrown of the scent, we've bought into this strategic PR decoy hook, line and sinker... No one suspects a thing, and that's exactly how the AFC wants it.

5) Another uncanny fact: every single one of the other legitimate candidates for the AFC head coaching position has already been eliminated. Remember, Fagon/Roo publicly stated that they want an experienced head coach, preferably one with premiership credentials. Isn’t it bizarre, and seemingly contrived, how all other serious and experienced candidates available (Worsefold, Thompson, Ratten, Eade, Harvey, Williams, Voss, McKenna, etc...) have dropped out of the race like flies?

Now, what if this alarming lack of candidates is not because no one wants the job, but because we don’t want them! I maintain that every single one of the experienced and credentialed coaches in contention has been told (some in strict confidentiality) that we already have our man and so there's no need to apply. I mean seriously: not one of the names listed above has even got as far as the first round of interviews. It smells fishy...

6) It makes a helluva lot more sense when we realize that the interviews that are being carried out by the AFC coaching panel are clearly being undertaken in order to decide who will work under Clarkson - that's why we're going through all these rookies: ROK, Bolton, Dew, Sumich, Walsh, Bassett (gone), etc... We’re clearly looking for either a) a couple of assistant coaches to support Clarkson as head coach, or an up and coming head coach to learn the craft under Clarkson as the Director of coaching...

Keep the faith. This has all been planned in advance from a long way out. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if even Sando knew about Clarko coming to the AFC to fill in Dean Bailey’s role, well before he was sacked... And let’s be honest. Can anyone see Danger staying at the Crows beyond 2015 if we are not a legitimate top 4 contender? Getting Danger to sign long-term is one of the core drivers of this cunning stunt from the beginning. And, of course, Danger did have coffee with Clarko in Melbourne two days after Sando was sacked...

But make no mistake, the AFC is at the cross roads, we are right now facing a moment of truth. And not only is the appointment of Clarkson the only thing now that can justify the sacking of Sando, only Clarkson has the coaching ability to quickly turn this club into a top 4 contender and keep Danger at the club beyond 2015.

It's Clarkson or we’re completely and utterly screwed...

Go get some sleep Cam, it obviously been a big night for you

 

[Crouch#44]

So how not fun would this be, Crows get Walsh then Bass accepts senior assistant role with Port

 

[pjcrows]

Our next head coach is intuitively obvious if one does just a little bit of detective work. We've got Clarkson! Let me try and connect the dots here, and please feel free to expose the flaws in my reasoning. What we do know is that:

1) Fagan, the new CEO, has publicly said that we want the best available, i.e. the target is an experienced premiership coach. Fagan had a history of delivering on these bold promises in the NRL with the Brumby’s – he got the best coach in the world (a guy from South Africa). Make no mistake here, Fagan is ruthless and he means business. Honestly, do you really think his first move as the new CEO of the AFC would be to preside over the sacking of Sando (widely loved by the supporters) only to bring in another untried rookie coach? It’s a ridiculous way to begin one's tenure at the AFC, as well as totally out of character.

2) There's a lot of secrecy around this appointment. If nothing else, what we do know is that the AFC selection panel and board clearly have something major to hide.

3) The need for secrecy around the appointment of Clarkson has gone into major overdrive ever since Jars spilled the beans a few days before the GF. From this point forward, there have been absolutely no leaks from inside the AFC and plenty of red herrings (e.g. Bassett/Bolton). The AFC is like Fort Knox atm, something big is clearly about to happen. Jar’s untimely disclosure was a major, almost unforgivable ****-up, and is one major reason why the announcement simply had to be delayed until next week. (The other reason being that the Hawks, against most people's expectations, won the GF and so we need to wait for the dust to settle after the celebrations, travel to Tassie, and the Hawks B&F, before making the announcement).

4) Now this is slightly conjectural, but if we read between the lines (see below), we can also see that some in the local footy media (e.g. at least Rowe, Bone and obviously Roo) are aware of the Clarkson deal – and have been for some time. It's pretty clear to those who listen carefully to 5AA that Rowie and Bone are keeping very tight lipped about the Clarkson appointment – because, make no mistake, this is a massive appointment, a real game changer in the wider tapestry of the AFL.

Inside knowledge of the Clarkson deal has become a lot clearer in recent days, where since Jars' almost fatal blunder, we have seen the local footy media in major (if covert) damage control. Ever since this untimely leak, the local media (esp. 5AA) has gone out of its way to deliberately avoid any possible mention that Clarkson is our man. The silence is deafening, it’s well beyond the legitimate incredulity or reasoned disbelief of many folks here on BF. The way Rowe and Bone have been skirting around the Clarko question suggests a) they have been ordered to make amends for the Jars debacle, by way of b) a vigilant refusal to even suggest the possibility that Clarko is our man.

And it’s not just what they don’t say. In their public announcements about who the new coach might be, they’ve been bending over backwards to further amend the damage caused by Jar’s leak with a strategic decoy. Rowe, Bone and others have been going all out to distract us from the white elephant in the living room - i.e. they have been proclaiming any other coach in Australia that they could possibly imagine, except for the one in the bag: Clarkson. Some of the red herrings for coaching suggestions that they (and others) have been coming up with are borderline ludicrous - but it’s worked: the 19th man and BF have been thrown of the scent, we've bought into this strategic PR decoy hook, line and sinker... No one suspects a thing, and that's exactly how the AFC wants it.

5) Another uncanny fact: every single one of the other legitimate candidates for the AFC head coaching position has already been eliminated. Remember, Fagon/Roo publicly stated that they want an experienced head coach, preferably one with premiership credentials. Isn’t it bizarre, and seemingly contrived, how all other serious and experienced candidates available (Worsefold, Thompson, Ratten, Eade, Harvey, Williams, Voss, McKenna, etc...) have dropped out of the race like flies?

Now, what if this alarming lack of candidates is not because no one wants the job, but because we don’t want them! I maintain that every single one of the experienced and credentialed coaches in contention has been told (some in strict confidentiality) that we already have our man and so there's no need to apply. I mean seriously: not one of the names listed above has even got as far as the first round of interviews. It smells fishy...

6) It makes a helluva lot more sense when we realize that the interviews that are being carried out by the AFC coaching panel are clearly being undertaken in order to decide who will work under Clarkson - that's why we're going through all these rookies: ROK, Bolton, Dew, Sumich, Walsh, Bassett (gone), etc... We’re clearly looking for either a) a couple of assistant coaches to support Clarkson as head coach, or an up and coming head coach to learn the craft under Clarkson as the Director of coaching...

Keep the faith. This has all been planned in advance from a long way out. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if even Sando knew about Clarko coming to the AFC to fill in Dean Bailey’s role, well before he was sacked... And let’s be honest. Can anyone see Danger staying at the Crows beyond 2015 if we are not a legitimate top 4 contender? Getting Danger to sign long-term is one of the core drivers of this cunning stunt from the beginning. And, of course, Danger did have coffee with Clarko in Melbourne two days after Sando was sacked...

But make no mistake, the AFC is at the cross roads, we are right now facing a moment of truth. And not only is the appointment of Clarkson the only thing now that can justify the sacking of Sando, only Clarkson has the coaching ability to quickly turn this club into a top 4 contender and keep Danger at the club beyond 2015.

It's Clarkson or we’re completely and utterly screwed...

Nah

 

[Elite Crow]

So how not fun would this be, Crows get Walsh then Bass accepts senior assistant role with Port

How's all the "just you wait guys big things are happening this preseason" going?

 

[Crouch#44]

so going from media is this likely to play out (only drawn from media)

Senior Coach= Walsh
Senior Assistant = Bolton
Forwards = ROK
Ruck = Clark
Mids = Campo
Defence= Milburn

Bickley to coach reserves

could use a refresh on defence & mids

 

[The Sloane Ranger]

So how not fun would this be, Crows get Walsh then Bass accepts senior assistant role with Port

Can't happen, is under contract at Essendon

 

[The Sloane Ranger]

so going from media is this likely to play out (only drawn from media)

Senior Coach= Walsh
Senior Assistant = Bolton
Forwards = ROK
Ruck = Clark
Mids = Campo
Defence= Milburn

Bickley to coach reserves

could use a refresh on defence & mids

Bolton is not going to take a Snr Asst role after missing out on the top job

 

[Crouch#44]

How's all the "just you wait guys big things are happening this preseason" going?

any new news has been locked out sorry, last thing i heard was we put an offer to clarko but wasn't convinced to go through !

 

[Gets!]

Everyone knows that Walsh is the true brains behind the port 'success' story.

 

[Crouch#44]

Bolton is not going to take a Snr Asst role after missing out on the top job

your prob right, but bolton did say he needs a long healthy apprenticeship, this could be a good career move

how do you see the panel playing out then.

 

[Crouch#44]

How's all the "just you wait guys big things are happening this preseason" going?

I still think we are on track trade wise, big things will happen in the trade period.

 

[Sanders]

Our next head coach is intuitively obvious if one does just a little bit of detective work. We've got Clarkson! Let me try and connect the dots here, and please feel free to expose the flaws in my reasoning. What we do know is that:

1) Fagan, the new CEO, has publicly said that we want the best available, i.e. the target is an experienced premiership coach. Fagan had a history of delivering on these bold promises in the NRL with the Brumby’s – he got the best coach in the world (a guy from South Africa). Make no mistake here, Fagan is ruthless and he means business. Honestly, do you really think his first move as the new CEO of the AFC would be to preside over the sacking of Sando (widely loved by the supporters) only to bring in another untried rookie coach? It’s a ridiculous way to begin one's tenure at the AFC, as well as totally out of character.

2) There's a lot of secrecy around this appointment. If nothing else, what we do know is that the AFC selection panel and board clearly have something major to hide.

3) The need for secrecy around the appointment of Clarkson has gone into major overdrive ever since Jars spilled the beans a few days before the GF. From this point forward, there have been absolutely no leaks from inside the AFC and plenty of red herrings (e.g. Bassett/Bolton). The AFC is like Fort Knox atm, something big is clearly about to happen. Jar’s untimely disclosure was a major, almost unforgivable ****-up, and is one major reason why the announcement simply had to be delayed until next week. (The other reason being that the Hawks, against most people's expectations, won the GF and so we need to wait for the dust to settle after the celebrations, travel to Tassie, and the Hawks B&F, before making the announcement).

4) Now this is slightly conjectural, but if we read between the lines (see below), we can also see that some in the local footy media (e.g. at least Rowe, Bone and obviously Roo) are aware of the Clarkson deal – and have been for some time. It's pretty clear to those who listen carefully to 5AA that Rowie and Bone are keeping very tight lipped about the Clarkson appointment – because, make no mistake, this is a massive appointment, a real game changer in the wider tapestry of the AFL.

Inside knowledge of the Clarkson deal has become a lot clearer in recent days, where since Jars' almost fatal blunder, we have seen the local footy media in major (if covert) damage control. Ever since this untimely leak, the local media (esp. 5AA) has gone out of its way to deliberately avoid any possible mention that Clarkson is our man. The silence is deafening, it’s well beyond the legitimate incredulity or reasoned disbelief of many folks here on BF. The way Rowe and Bone have been skirting around the Clarko question suggests a) they have been ordered to make amends for the Jars debacle, by way of b) a vigilant refusal to even suggest the possibility that Clarko is our man.

And it’s not just what they don’t say. In their public announcements about who the new coach might be, they’ve been bending over backwards to further amend the damage caused by Jar’s leak with a strategic decoy. Rowe, Bone and others have been going all out to distract us from the white elephant in the living room - i.e. they have been proclaiming any other coach in Australia that they could possibly imagine, except for the one in the bag: Clarkson. Some of the red herrings for coaching suggestions that they (and others) have been coming up with are borderline ludicrous - but it’s worked: the 19th man and BF have been thrown of the scent, we've bought into this strategic PR decoy hook, line and sinker... No one suspects a thing, and that's exactly how the AFC wants it.

5) Another uncanny fact: every single one of the other legitimate candidates for the AFC head coaching position has already been eliminated. Remember, Fagon/Roo publicly stated that they want an experienced head coach, preferably one with premiership credentials. Isn’t it bizarre, and seemingly contrived, how all other serious and experienced candidates available (Worsefold, Thompson, Ratten, Eade, Harvey, Williams, Voss, McKenna, etc...) have dropped out of the race like flies?

Now, what if this alarming lack of candidates is not because no one wants the job, but because we don’t want them! I maintain that every single one of the experienced and credentialed coaches in contention has been told (some in strict confidentiality) that we already have our man and so there's no need to apply. I mean seriously: not one of the names listed above has even got as far as the first round of interviews. It smells fishy...

6) It makes a helluva lot more sense when we realize that the interviews that are being carried out by the AFC coaching panel are clearly being undertaken in order to decide who will work under Clarkson - that's why we're going through all these rookies: ROK, Bolton, Dew, Sumich, Walsh, Bassett (gone), etc... We’re clearly looking for either a) a couple of assistant coaches to support Clarkson as head coach, or an up and coming head coach to learn the craft under Clarkson as the Director of coaching...

Keep the faith. This has all been planned in advance from a long way out. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if even Sando knew about Clarko coming to the AFC to fill in Dean Bailey’s role, well before he was sacked... And let’s be honest. Can anyone see Danger staying at the Crows beyond 2015 if we are not a legitimate top 4 contender? Getting Danger to sign long-term is one of the core drivers of this cunning stunt from the beginning. And, of course, Danger did have coffee with Clarko in Melbourne two days after Sando was sacked...

But make no mistake, the AFC is at the cross roads, we are right now facing a moment of truth. And not only is the appointment of Clarkson the only thing now that can justify the sacking of Sando, only Clarkson has the coaching ability to quickly turn this club into a top 4 contender and keep Danger at the club beyond 2015.

It's Clarkson or we’re completely and utterly screwed...

Why did you spend so much time on that rubbish?

 

[baldandbroke]

The assistants will be very interesting - essential that there is a clean out and the new coach has a massive say in who fills the seats.

 

[JimmyBeerCans]

Everyone knows that Walsh is the true brains behind the port 'success' story.

That's what they said about Richo last year lol

 

[Mattrox]

Not a fan of this line of thinking. Just because they're the "professionals" doesn't mean they always make the right decisions. Sometimes the "commoners" such as us would make better decisions than the "professionals do (case in point Sando's team selections this year when we were all crying out for something different). GROTTO and others here may well be right - Bassett may be the best man for the job. We'll have to wait and see whether the club made the right decision turning him down.

But you know better, right?

Sure, professionals make mistakes in all fields. But would you ask anyone on this forum for a serious legal opinion or to diagnose an illness because the professionals sometimes get it wrong?

 

[The Sloane Ranger]

your prob right, but bolton did say he needs a long healthy apprenticeship, this could be a good career move

how do you see the panel playing out then.

I would be surprised if most of the current panel remains

I would like Dasher to stay, ROK would be a good get, Lade is another I would target and if it is Walsh he would need to chose his own right hand man