RussellEbertHandball
Flick pass expert
Ford Fairlane I tried to find a thread on Andrew Russell but couldn't. He left before I joined Big Footy so I might be searching for the wrong thing. This post belongs in that thread if it exists, maybe moved there, so I will stick it in this general Port stuff thread.
Andrew Russell was on 5AA this evening as he is finishing up in footy. Didn't say where he was going, but is staying in sports.
Timmy G interviewed him and you could tell he knows Tim well, Tim has high regards for Andrew and Andrew talks fondly about his time at Port.
I was angry listening to the interview, as for the first time, he revealed why he left Port. Port farked up, and going back to Victoria for family reasons is a bullshit cover story, to hide our ineptitude at the time.
After 20 years, he for the first time in a public forum, explained what really happened.
Now I am farken ropeable at the moment after hearing the interview, as Greg Bolton, his board, Brian Cunningham and new CEO John James and the footy department just didn't get it and how important it was to employ an elite world class sports scientist at the time - well to retain one.
I have been saying for years on here, we need a world class sport scientist heading up our fitness department.
**** I knew it 35 or 40 years ago we did. Take out the drugs bullshit, but a lot of the Soviets and Eastern bloc sports success was because they invested so much into sports science. Then the rest of the world copied.
The AIS became a world leader, and Aussie unis and old Colleges of Advanced Education before they became unis, started opening up courses to feed young sports scientists into the AIS program, and then all the state based programs that developed, as state governments saw the benefit of having their own local expertise, rather than everyone going to Canberra.
Then Sydney winning the hosting rights in 1993 for the 2000 Games, the federal government funded the Olympic Athlete program to make sure of a super successful Games and a lot of funding was put into sports science and coaching.
Russell was up with the best of them. He had worked at the VIS before he got to Port in October 2000, and he was working with great athletes and a great sports science set up, as they were preparing for Sydney.
He basically told Choco and Phil Walsh in his job interview, both ex PE teachers, what the players should be doing training wise, which was different to what they told him they believed they should be doing for AFL. Remember 2000 was the first season of 100% full time footballers. Russell had come from an environment where people had been full time athletes for years.
Got to give it to Choco and Phil that they trusted and let a 24 year old take over the reigns. He said when he got to Port from Essendon which had just come off a 24-1 premiership season, he couldn't believe how well the Port players were skill wise and knew something special was coming, when people asked why would you leave a premiership side.
In the end, our dopey administration and board didn't understand and value of what an elite world class sports scientist can do. They would not pay him enough, made him a BS offer, then when the club found out Clarko was after him and that he had committed to him, they double the increase, but it was too late.
Jason Dunstall as acting interim CEO, came over to Adelaide and put the hard word on Russell, to prove he was a man of integrity or not, and to live up to his agreement with Clarko. How could Russell have turned it down when Port didn't value him??
Listen to Russell talk about how he also set up that our mid field play in a touch rugby competition in the park on a Tuesday, in the A grade comp over summer, on top of all their other training.
Andrew Russell was on 5AA this evening as he is finishing up in footy. Didn't say where he was going, but is staying in sports.
Timmy G interviewed him and you could tell he knows Tim well, Tim has high regards for Andrew and Andrew talks fondly about his time at Port.
I was angry listening to the interview, as for the first time, he revealed why he left Port. Port farked up, and going back to Victoria for family reasons is a bullshit cover story, to hide our ineptitude at the time.
After 20 years, he for the first time in a public forum, explained what really happened.
Now I am farken ropeable at the moment after hearing the interview, as Greg Bolton, his board, Brian Cunningham and new CEO John James and the footy department just didn't get it and how important it was to employ an elite world class sports scientist at the time - well to retain one.
I have been saying for years on here, we need a world class sport scientist heading up our fitness department.
**** I knew it 35 or 40 years ago we did. Take out the drugs bullshit, but a lot of the Soviets and Eastern bloc sports success was because they invested so much into sports science. Then the rest of the world copied.
The AIS became a world leader, and Aussie unis and old Colleges of Advanced Education before they became unis, started opening up courses to feed young sports scientists into the AIS program, and then all the state based programs that developed, as state governments saw the benefit of having their own local expertise, rather than everyone going to Canberra.
Then Sydney winning the hosting rights in 1993 for the 2000 Games, the federal government funded the Olympic Athlete program to make sure of a super successful Games and a lot of funding was put into sports science and coaching.
Russell was up with the best of them. He had worked at the VIS before he got to Port in October 2000, and he was working with great athletes and a great sports science set up, as they were preparing for Sydney.
He basically told Choco and Phil Walsh in his job interview, both ex PE teachers, what the players should be doing training wise, which was different to what they told him they believed they should be doing for AFL. Remember 2000 was the first season of 100% full time footballers. Russell had come from an environment where people had been full time athletes for years.
Got to give it to Choco and Phil that they trusted and let a 24 year old take over the reigns. He said when he got to Port from Essendon which had just come off a 24-1 premiership season, he couldn't believe how well the Port players were skill wise and knew something special was coming, when people asked why would you leave a premiership side.
In the end, our dopey administration and board didn't understand and value of what an elite world class sports scientist can do. They would not pay him enough, made him a BS offer, then when the club found out Clarko was after him and that he had committed to him, they double the increase, but it was too late.
Jason Dunstall as acting interim CEO, came over to Adelaide and put the hard word on Russell, to prove he was a man of integrity or not, and to live up to his agreement with Clarko. How could Russell have turned it down when Port didn't value him??
Listen to Russell talk about how he also set up that our mid field play in a touch rugby competition in the park on a Tuesday, in the A grade comp over summer, on top of all their other training.
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