Opinion Where has the club gone wrong?

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HugeJohnson

Just hanging out
Apr 25, 2009
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Some point in space and time
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Port Adelaide
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I was at work tonight pumping out a few thousand schnitzels for the lovely customers of the Belair Hotel. I love our customers.

At about 8:15pm as I stare before plates for 6 chicken schnitzels (one no slaw add veg) 2 chicken parmys 2 beef schnitzels 4 kids nuggets 2 kids burgers 2 kids wraps 3 fish (1 grilled, gluten free fries) 4 salt and pepper squid a bowl of wedges, my mate working out in the bistro leans over the pass and let's me know port are getting pumped and it's not even half time.

But what I once would hear in shock and feel optimistic for a comeback in our more successful times and really disappointed with what was happening I now hear and I just don't even care. Don't get me wrong, I still check the score updates after every game I'm at work for (it's been most of them this year). But at the moment, it feels like it's just out of force of habit more than anything.

Maybe my interests in life are just changing, maybe the afl as a product just isn't appealing to me anymore. But I can still pick out mistakes that repeat and repeat and repeat and repeat and repeat and repeat and repeat and repeat and repeat and repeat and repeat and I'll stop now but gee whiz I mean why can they not see these things that we all see and if they can then why aren't they doing anything?

#1 I've had a personal conversation with a player at the club and he has flat out admitted to me that some of the players don't like Voss, including himself. But that's just rumours, right? There's no proof of that? True. Even still, the fact there's many people out there who are questioning Voss' ability even without hearing that surely hints toward a fairly obvious thing that we need to get right.
Either these players that don't like him need to leave, Voss needs to leave, or they need to be honest with each other, air their grievances, learn from each other and work as a ******* team. Done, simple.

2: The handling of John Butchers career so far as a representative of Port Adelaide. When I got home tonight I checked the magpies SANFL score today and was pleasantly met with a pretty good scoreline. Then I was going through the players stat's hoping to see a lot of sausage rolls for Butcher but when I saw 13 touches no goals one behind I genuinely felt sad for the guy. Why has his kicking action still as horrendous today as it was when we drafted him 7 years ago? If it's all mental, why have we not let him play every game anyway and show an unrelenting confidence in him instead of this bullshit of giving him 3 games here and then sending him to the magpies for 10 weeks before giving him another go or two before sending him back to do the exact same thing in the magpies as he does in the Power. We've seen this guys talent. We know he's got it in him to be a great player. Some won't agree with me, they'll say the same thing the club seems to think, that he's just not good enough yet or has things to improve on. But he's never even been given the chance.

Does the same selection policy apply to Butcher as every other player on the list? Actually think about that one for a minute. Because I've seen O'Shea as one player for example that's seems to have been given games in Power colours a lot more than Butcher has despite relatively similar outputs. You don't have to agree, but I think the whole thing has been handled pretty pathetically.

These are just two of no doubt a much wider range of issues that first came to my head when I lay down to write this.
It's pretty simple I reckon, you see your issues, you fix them, they're no longer an issue. Start with these two, it can literally be done in one day. Sign Butcher up for 2 years, play him every single game he is available for. We should have done this year's ago but if we've just wasted 7 years of our time with him. Now we owe him 2 years.

Get everyone at the club together, spend a day and just sit down and talk with each other honestly about what they are feeling frustrated or let down by and problem solve those issues.
If this group can't do something as simple as that then there needs sto be a massive broom pushed through the entire club, who's going to be pushing it?
 
Nov 6, 2014
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I think we see ourself as a Community club. We give back to the community in massive ways. It's a very large part of our club. Being community minded is a good thing but I am starting to think we have too many fingers in too many pies. Also our club has built up our supporter experience and expectations to a frenzy. I think the players find it hard to concentrate just on their footy.
 

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Nov 17, 2012
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Liartown, USA
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Too much faff surrounding 'gameday experience' and the incessant need to create positive PR instead of focussing on the most important gameday experience which is winning and letting the PR build up from that.

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Apr 27, 2008
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The 'Yabba
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Chael Sonnen: Moral Champion
We are too nice. Enough hand holding, beards,lates and Instagram likes.

As a male with hair far too long, it is possible I like to deflect from hairstyles affecting players to other equally ridiculous concepts (also, the parable being that longer and more flamboyant hairstyles are historically associated with a more feminine theme, not masculine), but boy I'd love to see every player with a beard made to shave until they start actually becoming an intimidating force, not through physical efforts and attack on the man, but through damaging play and big numbers on the stats sheet.

Like that bloke Gawn.

Dixon and Hoff are laughable. Nobody looks at Port and thinks "gee we better work out how to shut these boys down".
 

Magus

Cancelled
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Dec 31, 2013
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You're never going to like every boss you have or everyone you work with, but that's just a fact of life. Do your bloody job properly (play your role) and get on with the common goal. The fact we have SO MANY players down on form makes me think there are a lot of other factors involved in our downfall. I hope KT has another review in mind.
 
You're never going to like every boss you have or everyone you work with, but that's just a fact of life. Do your bloody job properly (play your role) and get on with the common goal. The fact we have SO MANY players down on form makes me think there are a lot of other factors involved in our downfall. I hope KT has another review in mind.
It's already well underway.
 

PJ Power

Brownlow Medallist
Oct 13, 2003
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The self congratulations at the end of 2014 when nothing had been achieved started the rot. We drunk the kool aid that AFL360 and others had poured for us.

Ken allowed standards of excellence to drop on the training track which then extended to the field.

The Brisvegas style of recruiting of Ryder and Dixon, which we thought wrongly would solve our problems. We haven't drafted/recruited a midfielder since Polec which is terrible list management.

Koch's walk of shame through the goal square with the Farris brothers in round 2 2015.

Half time of the round 6 game vs WCE in 2015.
 

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Magus

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Heard Kane say recently that KT had started a review back as early as April. Apparently he already had concerns then about how things were unravelling.
This gives me some hope.
 
Nov 6, 2014
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I just cannot believe the club could have made mulltiple errors of judgement as it appears from the outside right now
I am hoping maybe getting in a couple of new coaches ..an experienced one and one from a currently successful club plus trading out some players will create a massive turn around. KT and Kochie have done great things for our club but the really hard and brave decisions are ahead of them and we will soon learn what they are made of.
 

Leaveit2charlie

Club Legend
Jan 29, 2016
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Over exposure perhaps doesn't help it's a subconscious thing for some players. They are not nor should they ever believe they are part of some fairytale.

We didn't go to Dubai why not?

At least 3 players tested positive to illicit drugs off season we suspended Krak for 6 weeks because he went out for a quiet drink with family when he went home. That really bothered me I wanted those who tested positive to put their hand up. Bad luck Krak you bad.
 

ab56452001

Club Legend
Aug 23, 2009
1,643
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salisbury
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Over exposure perhaps doesn't help it's a subconscious thing for some players. They are not nor should they ever believe they are part of some fairytale.

We didn't go to Dubai why not?

At least 3 players tested positive to illicit drugs off season we suspended Krak for 6 weeks because he went out for a quiet drink with family when he went home. That really bothered me I wanted those who tested positive to put their hand up. Bad luck Krak you bad.
And its quite possible that some of thos drug takers stould in judgement of the Krak , unbelievable !
 

blaargh

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Mar 4, 2009
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At least 3 players tested positive to illicit drugs off season we suspended Krak for 6 weeks because he went out for a quiet drink with family when he went home. That really bothered me I wanted those who tested positive to put their hand up. Bad luck Krak you bad.

Basically, I agree with this post - but getting your jaw broken outside a nightclub doesn't really count as a quiet drink with family.
 

Leaveit2charlie

Club Legend
Jan 29, 2016
2,110
2,004
AFL Club
Port Adelaide
Basically, I agree with this post - but getting your jaw broken outside a nightclub doesn't really count as a quiet drink with family.

Krak went out for a quiet drink with relatives.
Not sure we haven't had players do worse since then just not caught out. Actually pretty sure we have had players do worse since.
 

Dalphonso

Premiership Player
Oct 10, 2009
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Alice Springs NT
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I was at work tonight pumping out a few thousand schnitzels for the lovely customers of the Belair Hotel. I love our customers.

At about 8:15pm as I stare before plates for 6 chicken schnitzels (one no slaw add veg) 2 chicken parmys 2 beef schnitzels 4 kids nuggets 2 kids burgers 2 kids wraps 3 fish (1 grilled, gluten free fries) 4 salt and pepper squid a bowl of wedges, my mate working out in the bistro leans over the pass and let's me know port are getting pumped and it's not even half time.

But what I once would hear in shock and feel optimistic for a comeback in our more successful times and really disappointed with what was happening I now hear and I just don't even care. Don't get me wrong, I still check the score updates after every game I'm at work for (it's been most of them this year). But at the moment, it feels like it's just out of force of habit more than anything.

Maybe my interests in life are just changing, maybe the afl as a product just isn't appealing to me anymore. But I can still pick out mistakes that repeat and repeat and repeat and repeat and repeat and repeat and repeat and repeat and repeat and repeat and repeat and I'll stop now but gee whiz I mean why can they not see these things that we all see and if they can then why aren't they doing anything?

#1 I've had a personal conversation with a player at the club and he has flat out admitted to me that some of the players don't like Voss, including himself. But that's just rumours, right? There's no proof of that? True. Even still, the fact there's many people out there who are questioning Voss' ability even without hearing that surely hints toward a fairly obvious thing that we need to get right.
Either these players that don't like him need to leave, Voss needs to leave, or they need to be honest with each other, air their grievances, learn from each other and work as a ******* team. Done, simple.

2: The handling of John Butchers career so far as a representative of Port Adelaide. When I got home tonight I checked the magpies SANFL score today and was pleasantly met with a pretty good scoreline. Then I was going through the players stat's hoping to see a lot of sausage rolls for Butcher but when I saw 13 touches no goals one behind I genuinely felt sad for the guy. Why has his kicking action still as horrendous today as it was when we drafted him 7 years ago? If it's all mental, why have we not let him play every game anyway and show an unrelenting confidence in him instead of this bullshit of giving him 3 games here and then sending him to the magpies for 10 weeks before giving him another go or two before sending him back to do the exact same thing in the magpies as he does in the Power. We've seen this guys talent. We know he's got it in him to be a great player. Some won't agree with me, they'll say the same thing the club seems to think, that he's just not good enough yet or has things to improve on. But he's never even been given the chance.

Does the same selection policy apply to Butcher as every other player on the list? Actually think about that one for a minute. Because I've seen O'Shea as one player for example that's seems to have been given games in Power colours a lot more than Butcher has despite relatively similar outputs. You don't have to agree, but I think the whole thing has been handled pretty pathetically.

These are just two of no doubt a much wider range of issues that first came to my head when I lay down to write this.
It's pretty simple I reckon, you see your issues, you fix them, they're no longer an issue. Start with these two, it can literally be done in one day. Sign Butcher up for 2 years, play him every single game he is available for. We should have done this year's ago but if we've just wasted 7 years of our time with him. Now we owe him 2 years.

Get everyone at the club together, spend a day and just sit down and talk with each other honestly about what they are feeling frustrated or let down by and problem solve those issues.
If this group can't do something as simple as that then there needs sto be a massive broom pushed through the entire club, who's going to be pushing it?
Can someone please forward this to Keith Thomas and the board please.
I also think Hinkley is a one trick pony and can't or won't change his game plan through stubbornness.Maybe we don't have the cattle on the list?
We are dead last at 18th in kicking efficiency and it certainly showed last night.Last week Hinkley said our skill level isn't up to AFL standard.Well who the bloody hells fault is that? I am sure it is not mine or the other paying supporters. Boak has been like the Captain of the Costa Concordia Franscesco Schettino this year.he has abandoned us of any Captain courageous skills. Well he actually doesn't have very god football skills anyway and what about "the incredible Hulk" Ollie Wines?His disposal skills are deplorable. We are completely shot and as a whole the players seem completely disinterested.
Butcher gets dropped and a one legged Dixon with butter fingers is left to kick goals.Not even Schulz could get a Guernsey. I used to think Hinkley knew what he was doing and all the Big Footy crowd knew nothing but Hinkley has lost the plot and has no idea.I assume all our coaches have nice bigfat contracts with 2 years to run so sacking them won't be happening any time soon. What a waste of time going to China will be if we keep serving up this shite.Once we would have bounced back and shown some balls playing Adelaide but I predict another spiritless flogging to be served up by those that don't care anymore and are thinking of trips to Bali or some hippie retreat in upper Mongolia.
 
Sep 24, 2008
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Unfortunately you cant blame one thing its been a year of shittsandwidges served up by all involved.

: Ryder and Gus susspended.
: no back up ruck picked
:krack brakes jaw
:no top up player alowed
:lobbe out of form
:frampton gets injury
:white tears pec
:shultz back goes
:captain cant get a kick
:bobby brakes wrist
:Tommey out for 6
:rumour about rift spread
:Hombush hamstring
:dixon ankle
:hartlett calf
:Hombush calf
:tommy hamstring
:white broken jaw
:wingard hamstring
:my depession kicks in about hear......
 
Mar 1, 2014
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Koch and Thomas backing Hinkley and Burgess so hard in 2014. They can't afford to question them right now because a question to them is actually a question of their own judgement.

We over committed on Ken Hinkley early in 2015 and now we cannot get out of it. We all thought Hinkley was something he isn't, a messiah come to lead us from oblivion. Hinkley's original contract would have expired at the end of this year not the end of 2018 had we not jumped the gun.
What is interesting is that if you look at the article in the link below Keith Thomas says that Hinkley was not going anywhere, 'I don't think anyone was seriously thinking that Ken was available in the very near future' . Hinkley confirms this, saying 'there was no need to worry about losing me'. That being the case you wonder why the rush to extend Hinkley's contract.

http://www.afl.com.au/news/2015-03-26/hinkley-resigns

Darren Burgess' contract also expires at the end of 2018 and he also is not the guru we thought he was. A long list of soft tissue injuries and our in ability to run out last quarters suggests something is not right. We beat a number of other clubs for Burgess' signature and again we over committed. Had we stuck by the original deal Burgess' contract would have expired at the end of 2015.

http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-ne...comes-highest-paid-in-afl-20140617-zsajj.html

Burgess is reported to be on 4M over the term of his contract and Hinkley is probably around 500k per year so paying these guys out would be expensive.

if I had to point to one thing we have got wrong over the past four years over commitment to certain personnel would be it.
 

Kingfish73

Premiership Player
Mar 24, 2014
4,869
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Adelaide, South Australia
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Heard Kane say recently that KT had started a review back as early as April. Apparently he already had concerns then about how things were unravelling.
Hope so. Any half decent leader would have seen it.

Ken is a one trick pony. He motivated first 2 years. Now he is showing how he lacks as a genuine strategist.

Our leadership group was significantly over rated. But not now!

Our list management has been disastrous.

Our gameday experience is now cringe worthy. I actually did not even raise the scarf last night.

Selection night is a circus.

F###, I am tired of even thinking about this club at the moment
 

*PAF

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