Source: www.adelaidenow.com.au
In May I wrote a piece asking what has happened at the Adelaide Crows and are changes required at Adelaide to arrest the slide in the 2011 season. Well two months down the track and after witnessing Adelaide’s recent performance against St. Kilda it would indicate that the situation has gone from bad to worse.
There are now constant rumours about Neil Craig’s future not only in Adelaide, but in Melbourne as well. This is probably justified as there has been no change to the Adelaide Crows game plan. This suggests that Craig has undeniable faith in his game plan and presumes that as the playing group improves so will the results. Or worse, Neil Craig is unwilling to make changes to a plan that is clearly not working through stubbornness.
Players have gone off the boil and there is a lack of belief in the playing group. The hierarchy will tell you that the playing group is solid, but this is pure spin. Nothing shows up more in team performance than despondency and the coaching staff has not been able to fix this within the playing group. There is no fluency within the play on the field with constant “stop-start” football and the Crows are often exposed by the opposition team’s forward press.
With these facts in mind, the board at Adelaide seriously need to consider Craig’s future and quickly. The Adelaide performances of late have been below standard and look to be getting worse. The supporters want the coach to be dismissed after a string of horrible performances and the playing group are showing signs on the field that the messages from the coach are having no effect. Leaders should demand respect of the playing group and the supporters and it appears that Craig has lost this respect. The best answer to this situation is for Craig to be removed from the post.
Ex-Victorian Premier Jeff Kennett recently wrote an article on leadership to which he held the theory that those appointed to leadership positions should remain in that position for approximately 6-8 years. In that time the person is able to stamp their authority in the position with the impetus to add innovation without the need to defend what has been established. Kennett suggests that after this time there is a shift towards protecting everything that has been previously gained. After that they should distance themselves completely from the organisation to allow the new leader to make his mark. Craig has been at the helm for seven years at Adelaide so from that perspective his time is now up.
If the Adelaide board has someone in mind then appoint them now and give them a few weeks with the playing group before the end of season to determine which players to keep and which to delist. The captain needs to be changed as his exploits on field are not inspiring enough. This did prompt a friend of mine to suggest that Van Berlo is the “softest” captain in the AFL and I could not agree more.
Personally I would delist Tambling (looks all at sea), Van Berlo (softest Captain in the AFL and simply not hard enough), Walker (very talented but does not apply it), Doughty, Symes, Sellar, Knights and Moran (all form based) just to name a few off the top of my head.
It will be interesting to see what decisions are made by the Adelaide board over the next few weeks.
