Opinion Matthew Nicks: Adelaide's Coach (Part 2) - Full Support of the Board

Is Matthew Nicks the right coach for Adelaide?

  • Firmly yes (I love what I'm seeing)

  • Leaning yes

  • Can't decide either way

  • Leaning no (but don't sack him yet)

  • Firmly no (he should be sacked)

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Kane McGoodwin said:
Unfortunately we have to watch this shit though over & over... & I have reached my limit on the road to Nix where.
Click to expand...

The main problem is against any good side we get 3-5 goals down early in the game because that is when the heat is on and we are basically chasing our tails for the remainder of the game. At the end, due to Burgess’s conditioning we lose by only 2-3 goals.

Against scrubbers the pressure factor isn’t there so we come out of the blocks ok and then cruise to an easy win.

This is how we play.
 

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Scorpus said:
Nicks at his presser basically said the midfield was smashed, especially in the first half. That should be alarm bells for him given

First Half CBAs
Laird - 13 (3 clearances)
Berry - 9 (3 clearances)
Soligo - 9 (3 clearances)
Rankine - 8 (1 clearance)
Dawson - 5 (1 clearance)
Dowling - 5 (0 clearances)

He's shuffled the magnets around trying many different combinations of players (with the exception of Laird, who was almost always there) and it made little to no difference. Especially given his two best players contributed nothing.

His midfield structure failed (again)
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The best time to plant a tree was 5 years ago. The second best time is now.

The best time to develop a midfield which would be competitive was 5 years ago when we were rock bottom. The second best time is now. Under a new coach.

We are reaping what we have sown by neglecting top end midfield talent and thinking we can win a flag with a midfield made up of rookie picks, second rounders and defenders/forwards converted to midfield.

This is not how a premiership midfield is created. Its like trying to bake a cake with soggy newspaper.
 
Nicks' best ever season: 11 wins, 12 losses, 117%

Pyke's worst ever season: 10 wins, 12 losses, 101%

Sanderson's worst ever season: 10 wins, 12 losses, 108%

---

Craig's worst ever season: 7 wins, 15 losses (sacked at 4-12), 80%

Ayres' worst ever season: 8 wins, 14 losses (sacked at 4-9), 96%

Shaw's worst ever season: 8 wins, 14 losses, 96%

Cornes' worst ever season: 9 wins, 12 losses, 1 draw, 87%

Nicks currently: 5 wins, 10 losses, 1 draw, 103%
 
George Kramer said:
So has Nicks copped any media scrutiny for letting Neale run amok in the first half? Of course not
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Lyon had a dig last night on On the Couch. Unfortunately, he didn’t mention Nicks specifically, but more highlighted that our players didn’t run hard enough with him.

The fact that star mids tear us apart regularly is the lack of a tag which, of course, is a coaching issue.
 
TubbsFarquhar said:
Lyon had a dig last night on On the Couch. Unfortunately, he didn’t mention Nicks specifically, but more highlighted that our players didn’t run hard enough with him.

The fact that star mids tear us apart regularly is the lack of a tag which, of course, is a coaching issue.
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Thats weak as piss. Rowey can say he couldn’t do any better with the list but I’m sure he’s critical of letting Neale run amok. He’s been critical of gameplan, selection and development but he won’t tie any of it to Nicks.

I see Nicks rolled out the “he’s a very good player” line again. So that a Curnow, Stewart, Neale, have I missed anyone?
 
CrowBloke said:
Sack Nicks, headhunt Simpson (sacked by WCE) ...?

www.abc.net.au

Adam Simpson gone as West Coast Eagles coach after more than a decade at helm

Eagles coach Adam Simpson will leave West Coast after weeks of pressure on his leadership, with the club saying they have mutually agreed his 11-year tenure will come to an end.
www.abc.net.au www.abc.net.au
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Simpson is a premiership coach who should have moved on a couple of years ago.

Reckon he needs the remainder of the year off, but would be a huge upgrade next year for Nicks.
 
Kane McGoodwin said:
Simpson is a premiership coach who should have moved on a couple of years ago.

Reckon he needs the remainder of the year off, but would be a huge upgrade next year for Nicks.
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I’d say he’d take this year and the next off before looking at an opportunity. 2 GF’s for 1 flag, proven coach. His mistake was not reading the writing on the wall like Hardwick and getting out when he should’ve but he obviously thought he could steer the ship back on course. Their injury list at one stage though was insane
 

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adelaidecrows said:
Nicks does have us competitive.
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Good post; really got me thinking.

Depends what "competitive" means to you.
To me, it means around 9th or 10th but with the personnel and Coach to win a few more than we lose and make 7th or 8th. A team which finishes 7th or 8th has been 'competitive'.
We could debate for hours about being 'competitive' in 2023 or not, but I am confident to say that in 2024 we are not.
adelaidecrows said:
We are back to playing an attacking brand of football. Which suits our list profile. But why did it take us half a season for us to start playing this way? I can tell you that it was because Nicks spent all of preseason, undoing everything he built last season so he could build a structure and game plan around an ultra defensive mindset.
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I have no insider info, but I think you're right.
Our style in the first 4 games was awful and painful to watch. The players were lost and I reckon they were torn between what they wanted to do (play attacking footy) and what Nicks had been drilling into them, ie Defence first.
The problem with that is it's a negative mindset which partially allows opponents to get the ball, then we defend. It's cart-before-the-horse stuff.
I'd prefer a nearly-balance of eg all out run, overlap and attack when we get the ball, making contested footy the goal ie GET the ball and use it well.
Players have got to be clear about what to do, and when.
We have the ball? Run like Hell, overlap, create loose men, attack, attack, attack!
The flip side is defending when the oppo gets the ball.

They have the ball? RUN LIKE HELL (especially mobile mids to help in defence), man up, plug gaps, chase, scrag, harass, tackle hard, let the bloke know if he gets near the ball he'll be tackled hard and make it stick.
adelaidecrows said:
Why did he do that? i guess no one really knows but Nicks has always coached to avoid being flogged. He has always come with a defensive mindset.
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I think he started out like that in 2020 to avoid getting flogged, which can crush player confidence. Everything about his game in 2020 and 2021 was about loss minimisation:
--- clog contests, create congestion
--- force throw-ins, ball-ups <== they use up time.
--- bomb deep into our F50. If we score, great. If we don't the oppo has to use up more time to go end-to-end.
--- that act of bombing high and deep also uses up time when the ball is actually in the air.
It's as if he knew they were gonna lose, so keep it to a minimum <== another negative mindset.
adelaidecrows said:
They were only rumours, but in 2022 it was rumoured that several players were unhappy with the ultra defensive attitude. Last season in 2023 we went with an attacking game plan on the back of Tex and Rankine in some ripping form. We missed the finals.
Click to expand...
I dunno about the rumours.
Back then, I felt like every time we played attacking football the players lit up. I could see they loved it, loved scoring, loved winning. If anything their attack mode came from Rahilly and from the players themselves, not Nicks.
adelaidecrows said:
So did we go back to this team defense counter attack game plan? my theory is his job was on the line, he thought we were good enough to become a dour defensive side and with Tex and Rankine, we'd score heavily on the counter attack. Basically assuring that we stayed in games a majority of the time. But he over estimated our midfield.
Click to expand...
I reckon he made another big, big mistake --- he assumed on the back of 2023 that we'd make Finals.
Even with Rahilly gone, he assumed the forwards would keep scoring high (with ex-defender Burns taking over, which was as dumb as having Hart as forward Coach), even as he told them all to be more defensive.
You can't do both.
There's a time to attack ie when we have the ball.
The time to defend is when they have the ball. I don't think Nicks sees that, oddly.
adelaidecrows said:
... its got me stumped as to why he has let the team off the leash and we can play an attacking game plan from the start, instead of this flick the switch come back style crap he had at the beginning.
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Again, all I can say is that I don't think Nicks "let's the team off the leash". I don't think he knows how to; remember, he was a defender himself. I reckon any attacking we do comes from the on-field leaders (mostly Dawson and Walker) and naturally attacking players like Rankine and Soligo.
It was infuriating to watch us play well, only for Nicks to send out the go-slow, chip-chip signal during which time oppo teams scored 2 or 3 red time goals :mad:.
adelaidecrows said:
All I can say is, no point looking like a great team if we cant win matches and we still aren't winning.
I honestly dont know what to think.
Click to expand...
All I can say is, I don't think Nicks 'gets' it, except for footy basics and defence.
No way am I a Coach, but the nuances of the game, the ebbs and flows, seem to escape him. In simplest terms, I think he should be looking at what other really good teams do and get our players to emulate the best of it.
Why do Collingwood rally and beat us (and other teams) in close games? McRae coaches them how to do that and they practice it.
Other teams often play a loose tall in defence against us. Solution:
--- get one of our now-loose (tall) blokes to man up on him, and
--- do not, ever, bomb the ball high into where that loose tall defender is. Tell our players to look for that bloke and never kick it near him. Nicks should know that; it's Footy 101.
What does Nicks do? He puts PEDLAR on Stewart, ffs, and we haven't seen Pedlar since then.

Sorry for the long rant. I am really pissed off by Nicks' tactical ineptitude.
I know what to think: sack Nicks asap, but we're stuck with him courtesy of that ridiculously premature 2-year extension.
 
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Scorpus said:
Nicks' best ever season: 11 wins, 12 losses, 117%

Pyke's worst ever season: 10 wins, 12 losses, 101%

Sanderson's worst ever season: 10 wins, 12 losses, 108%

---

Craig's worst ever season: 7 wins, 15 losses (sacked at 4-12), 80%

Ayres' worst ever season: 8 wins, 14 losses (sacked at 4-9), 96%

Shaw's worst ever season: 8 wins, 14 losses, 96%

Cornes' worst ever season: 9 wins, 12 losses, 1 draw, 87%

Nicks currently: 5 wins, 10 losses, 1 draw, 103%
Click to expand...
When you spell it out like that, they'll give Nicks until 2028.
 
CrowBloke said:
Good post; really got me thinking.

Depends what "competitive" means to you.
To me, it means around 9th or 10th but with the personnel and Coach to win a few more than we lose and make 7th or 8th. A team which finishes 7th or 8th has been 'competitive'.
We could debate for hours about being 'competitive' in 2023 or not, but I am confident to say that in 2024 we are not.

I have no insider info, but I think you're right.
Our style in the first 4 games was awful and painful to watch. The players were lost and I reckon they were torn between what they wanted to do (play attacking footy) and what Nicks had been drilling into them, ie Defence first.
The problem with that is it's a negative mindset which partially allows opponents to get the ball, then we defend. It's cart-before-the-horse stuff.
I'd prefer a nearly-balance of eg all out run, overlap and attack when we get the ball, making contested footy the goal ie GET the ball and use it well.
Players have got to be clear about what to do, and when.
We have the ball? Run like Hell, overlap, create loose men, attack, attack, attack!
The flip side is defending when the oppo gets the ball.

They have the ball? RUN LIKE HELL (especially mobile mids to help in defence), man up, plug gaps, chase, scrag, harass, tackle hard, let the bloke know if he gets near the ball he'll be tackled hard and make it stick.

I think he started out like that in 2020 to avoid getting flogged, which can crush player confidence. Everything about his game in 2020 and 2021 was about loss minimisation:
--- clog contests, create congestion
--- force throw-ins, ball-ups <== they use up time.
--- bomb deep into our F50. If we score, great. If we don't the oppo has to use up more time to go end-to-end.
--- that act of bombing high and deep also uses up time when the ball is actually in the air.
It's as if he knew they were gonna lose, so keep it to a minimum <== another negative mindset.

I dunno about the rumours.
Back then, I felt like every time we played attacking football the players lit up. I could see they loved it, loved scoring, loved winning. If anything their attack mode came from Rahilly and from the players themselves, not Nicks.

I reckon he made another big, big mistake --- he assumed on the back of 2023 that we'd make Finals.
Even with Rahilly gone, he assumed the forwards would keep scoring high (with ex-defender Burns taking over, which was as dumb as having Hart as forward Coach), even as he told them all to be more defensive.
You can't do both.
There's a time to attack ie when we have the ball.
The time to defend is when they have the ball. I don't think Nicks sees that, oddly.

Again, all I can say is that I don't think Nicks "let's the team off the leash". I don't think he knows how to; remember, he was a defender himself. I reckon any attacking we do comes from the on-field leaders (mostly Dawson and Walker) and naturally attacking players like Rankine and Soligo.
It was infuriating to watch us play well, only for Nicks to send out the go-slow, chip-chip signal during which time oppo teams scored 2 or 3 red time goals :mad:.

All I can say is, I don't think Nicks 'gets' it, except for footy basics and defence and no way am I a Coach.
The nuances of the game, the ebbs and flows, seem to escape him. In simplest terms, I think he should be looking at what other really good teams do and get our players to emulate the best of it.
Why do Collingwood rally and beat us (and other teams) in close games? McRae coaches them how to do that and they practice it.
Other teams often play a loose tall in defence against us. Solution:
--- get one of our now-loose (tall) blokes to man up on him, and
--- do not, ever, bomb the ball high into where that loose tall defender is. Tell our players to look for that bloke and never kick it near him. Nicks should know that; it's Footy 101.
What does Nicks do? He puts PEDLAR on Stewart, ffs, and we haven't seen Pedlar since then.

Sorry for the long rant. I am really pissed off by Nicks' tactical ineptitude.
I know what to think: sack Nicks asap, but we're stuck with him courtesy of that ridiculously premature 2-year extension.
Click to expand...

Couldn't agree more.
 
Isn't it comforting to know we won't be part of this crazy end of year scramble to secure a coaches services (Can you imagine the noise!) Good luck West Coast & Port.. we've not only got a coach, we've got a PREMIERSHIP winning coach. Deal.With.It 😎
 
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the_inknkwn said:
Nick's has the crows competitive in most games. Don't see you guys getting flogged like Port have this season
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Hooray! I love watching honorable losses year in year out!

My dad’s an old Roosters fan and he’s talked to me before about our 1984 season where we finished 8th on the ladder with 6 W and 16 L… however, our percentage was a tick above 50.

He said while it was annoying to finish so low after losing so many close games, there was still a real feeling about the club that they had a great platform on which to build and weren’t far away from big things. The following year North were Minor Premiers and over the course of the next 6 years, made 5 GFs, winning 2.

While it’s true that last year the Crows had an exceptional percentage - indicating we were competitive in almost every game - we have gone no where this year and continue to tread water. We seem incapable of turning those honourable losses into wins and I’m not sure I see this changing.

So what’s the difference between the Crows now and North circa 1984? I feel pretty confident saying the difference is in the quality of coaches. Mick Nunan was as good a tactical coach as a team could ever hope for, while Nicks… isn’t.

Given we seem stuck with him for a while yet, I hope he proves me wrong, but unlike North fans at the end of 1984, you’d be hard pressed to find many Crows supporters who feel bullish about the next couple of years.
 
Mr_Moogle said:
This Simpson thing will test Sanders theory that there is some kind of exit clause in Nicks's contract and Olsen doesn't completely suck balls.
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This requires one important factor; whether we have the want to change.

If we wanted an experienced premiership winning coach and we were the very least the arseh*le of a ruthless and elite football club we'd have already approached someone like Simpson well before this date. I for one actually think we are so arrogant in our methods, we dont approach anyone. We expect them to come to us. Its a formula that has really served us well....hmmm
 
adelaidecrows said:
This requires one important factor; whether we have the want to change.

If we wanted an experienced premiership winning coach and we were the very least the arseh*le of a ruthless and elite football club we'd have already approached someone like Simpson well before this date. I for one actually think we are so arrogant in our methods, we dont approach anyone. We expect them to come to us. Its a formula that has really served us well....hmmm
Click to expand...

I think our inexperienced group of administrators means we lack the connections to approach anyone

Ricciuto - only ever been at the Crows or in the media
Kelly - no prior AFL experience, only SANFL and WAFL
Nicks - played at Sydney 20 years ago, coached almost entirely at Port with a brief stint at GWS (neither club had success)
Van Berlo - almost entire career at Adelaide outside of a brief stint at West Coast
Godden - only SANFL experience
Burns - would have some connections at Collingwood, West Coast and Hawthorn
Hombsch - would only know people from his playing days
Silvers - entire career at Hawthorn, mostly in finance


Our CEO, head of football and board have virtually no connections at any recently successful AFL club, and neither do most of our coaches
 
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