Opinion Matthew Nicks: Adelaide's Coach (Part 3) - The Biggest Loser

[Scorpus]

No other AFL club would even look at nicks unless that club is mediocre like Adelaide is. Less than 40% winning record over his 5 years any other club would have gotten rid of him by now.

Except Gold Coast or St Kilda

So we're in great company

 

[ABAB]

No other AFL club would even look at nicks unless that club is mediocre like Adelaide is. Less than 40% winning record over his 5 years any other club would have gotten rid of him by now.

Very harsh judgement for his first 2 years given what happened and the situation he was dealt out of his control but a very big step backward this year especially what we know happened in the first 4-5 weeks of the season with the change to a stupid game plan which he had control after building momentum in the last few years.

 

[GreyCrow]

Very harsh judgement for his first 2 years given what happened and the situation he was dealt out of his control but a very big step backward this year especially what we know happened in the first 4-5 weeks of the season with the change to a stupid game plan which he had control after building momentum in the last few years.

EVERY CLUB PLAYED UNDER COVID RULES

 

[ABAB]

EVERY CLUB PLAYED UNDER COVID RULES

DID EVERY CLUB CUT AS MUCH PLAYERS AS US END OF 2019 AND 2020.

 

[GreyCrow]

DID EVERY CLUB CUT AS MUCH PLAYERS AS US END OF 2019 AND 2020.

Show me the figures

 

[adelaidecrows]

Which makes our need to extend his contract so early in the season, such a poor management decision.

It was so he didnt get hurty feelings and in turn distracted by all the media talk from taking our club to the promised land.

What I love most about this season is the rolling list of excuses brought out this year
1. The players are shite
2. The assistant coaches need to be turned over
3. Our recruitment has been poor
4. Our rookies are not good enough

Basically everyone in the club is acting like Nicks is the messiah and everything he says is correct while every other department has been poor.

 

[MRB37]

Very harsh judgement for his first 2 years given what happened and the situation he was dealt out of his control but a very big step backward this year especially what we know happened in the first 4-5 weeks of the season with the change to a stupid game plan which he had control after building momentum in the last few years.

That first month was a massive red flag to me. Spent an entire off-season drilling into a team a gameplan that had already failed once and took a team that looked like it could beat anyone and turned it into a team that looked like it could beat no one.

The biggest worry is that he can't or won't let that gameplan go because it's so ingrained in how he thinks footy should be played and we'll be in the same position next year where he thinks another off-season running drills will get it to work.

 

[FullyBigKPro]

Can we just stop the excuses and statistical defensive gymnastics for Nicks...

He's been a total failure. Mediocrity for 5 years.

 

[ABAB]

Show me the figures

And we cut even more end of 2020.

‘Embarrassing, bruise-free footy’: Matthew Nicks’ scathing assessment of Crows’ record loss

‘Embarrassing, bruise-free footy’: Crows’ early warning signs - and a list issue to keep an eye on

www.foxsports.com.au

"The Crows’ huge list turnover at the end of last season – which saw the likes of Eddie Betts, Josh Jenkins, Hugh Greenwood, Alex Keath and Sam Jacobs depart the club – has meant they’ve gone from the second-oldest list in the AFL to the sixth-youngest, as well as the third-most experienced list to the sixth-least."

 

[adelaidecrows]

DID EVERY CLUB CUT AS MUCH PLAYERS AS US END OF 2019 AND 2020.

20 players on the list from 2019 still remain until this day. We didnt do as much cutting as you think.

 

[ABAB]

That first month was a massive red flag to me. Spent an entire off-season drilling into a team a gameplan that had already failed once and took a team that looked like it could beat anyone and turned it into a team that looked like it could beat no one.

The biggest worry is that he can't or won't let that gameplan go because it's so ingrained in how he thinks footy should be played and we'll be in the same position next year where he thinks another off-season running drills will get it to work.

The worst was blaming the players for not executing and then went on to admit they eventually had to "tweak" it.

 

[ABAB]

20 players on the list from 2019 still remain until this day. We didnt do as much cutting as you think.

What's your point? 20 players isn't a lot when you have club champions in Walker and Laird still on this list and Smith and M.Crouch then we know Nicks favourite in McHenry and Murphy who aren't AFL quality so that's already 6 players out of those 20 and then there's ROB and Jones who we thought eventually turn a corner last year establishing himself as best 18 before his Lisfranc injury.

 

[adelaidecrows]

The worst was blaming the players for not executing and then went on to admit they eventually had to "tweak" it.

He was trying to starve the opposition of scoring, he was prepared to even lose the centre to do it as our first instinct was to flood the backline seeking a turnover. Then we'd chip around controlling possession until we scored. It was a 2005 era type game plan. The players didnt gel with it because it turned them into kick and catch robots. Plus he found out it really didnt stop the opposition scoring as much as he hoped, it only stopped us.

But that alone should have been a sackable offence.

 

[adelaidecrows]

What's your point? 20 players isn't a lot when you have club champions in Walker and Laird still on this list and Smith and M.Crouch then we know Nicks favourite in McHenry and Murphy who aren't AFL quality so that's already 6 players out of those 20 and then there's ROB.

You asked if any clubs had as much turnover as us. The answer is actually we are one of the least. I wasnt having a go.

My point is Nicks didnt do a full rebuild. 10 players are in our best 22 that played under Pyke. Well they were. Injuries changed it since I last looked earlier in the season. We have been lied to as a fan base and we bought it.

 

[Drugs Are Bad Mackay?]

Which makes our need to extend his contract so early in the season, such a poor management decision.

It was unfathomably dumb

It trumps Massie on Franklin imho. Sits just below the decision to go on a mental strength training camp and the secret side deals contract.

Nestled comfortably in the top three club all time howlers.

 

[Doctor B]

What's your point? 20 players isn't a lot when you have club champions in Walker and Laird still on this list and Smith and M.Crouch then we know Nicks favourite in McHenry and Murphy who aren't AFL quality so that's already 6 players out of those 20 and then there's ROB and Jones who we thought eventually turn a corner last year establishing himself as best 18 before his Lisfranc injury.

Jones was a terrible pick 9.

We shouldn't celebrate pick 9 eventually turning a corner and making the 18, 80 games into his career.

 

[ABAB]

You asked if any clubs had as much turnover as us. The answer is actually we are one of the least. I wasnt having a go.

My point is Nicks didnt do a full rebuild. 10 players are in our best 22 that played under Pyke. Well they were. Injuries changed it since I last looked earlier in the season. We have been lied to as a fan base and we bought it.

Not sure about that, Betts, Jenkins, Greenwood, Keath and Jacobs who were in our best 18 were traded end of 2019, Otten retired and Douglas got delisted (ended up retiring) then end of 2020, Gibbs retired, Hartigan got traded and CEY and Atkins got recruited to other clubs as FA. That's 7 players in the best 18 and another 4 as borderline best 22, that's a full rebuild and why we went from one of the most experience team contending for the premiership to one of the youngster within 2 years of making the Grand Final.

 

[ABAB]

Jones was a terrible pick 9.

We shouldn't celebrate pick 9 eventually turning a corner and making the 18, 80 games into his career.

Did I state otherwise? And would you prefer him to be a total bust like he is looking this season?

 

[adelaidecrows]

Not sure about that, Betts, Jenkins, Greenwood, Keath and Jacobs who were in our best 18 were traded end of 2019, Otten retired and Douglas got delisted (ended up retiring) then end of 2020, Gibbs retired, Hartigan got traded and CEY and Atkins got recruited to other clubs as FA. That's 7 players in the best 18 and another 4 as borderline best 22, that's a full rebuild and why we went from one of the most experience team contending for the premiership to one of the youngster within 2 years of making the Grand Final.

I think if you look more closely at the time line of everything. Nicks was the common problem in not playing players and forcing them out. Only 2019 he was not involved with.

As for rebuild, Nicks is doing a shocking job if thats the narrative you want to run with.

 

[George Kramer]

And we cut even more end of 2020.

‘Embarrassing, bruise-free footy’: Matthew Nicks’ scathing assessment of Crows’ record loss

‘Embarrassing, bruise-free footy’: Crows’ early warning signs - and a list issue to keep an eye on

www.foxsports.com.au

"The Crows’ huge list turnover at the end of last season – which saw the likes of Eddie Betts, Josh Jenkins, Hugh Greenwood, Alex Keath and Sam Jacobs depart the club – has meant they’ve gone from the second-oldest list in the AFL to the sixth-youngest, as well as the third-most experienced list to the sixth-least."

That doesn’t justify a 0-13 start and wooden spoon

 

[ABAB]

I think if you look more closely at the time line of everything. Nicks was the common problem in not playing players and forcing them out. Only 2019 he was not involved with.

As for rebuild, Nicks is doing a shocking job if thats the narrative you want to run with.

What? So end of 2020, you wanted Gibbs not to retire, Hartigan not to be traded and then keep Atkins who left as FA and then end of 2021 you wanted to keep Kelly and B.Crouch who both left as FA when we were still in a rebuild?

Nicks has left a core of quality youngsters for the next senior coach to work with and no he isn't credited for the development of Nankervis (didn't play him until he earnt his spot in the senior again when he showed AFL quality last year), Dowling and Taylor (didn't play them until injuries), Worrell (didn't play him until Doedee was injured). He is credited for Soligo (played him round 1 in his first season and has gone up a level this year), Rachele (also played him round 1 in his first season, went up another level when he was moved into the midfield last year but has somewhat stuffed up his development this year playing him in a different role), Cook (has AFL quality), Murray and Butts (has gone backward since 2020 though). Fogarty, MM and Thilthorpe always had the talent.

 

[ABAB]

That doesn’t justify a 0-13 start and wooden spoon

How much win were you expecting from "all 10 pundits had the Adelaide Crows in their bottom-two teams" especially after the turnover of that many experience players and with a senior coach in his first rookie year? Why do you think they all had us finish bottom 2 despite making the Grand Final the previous year? Probably just basic football knowledge I guess.

 

[George Kramer]

How much win were you expecting from "all 10 pundits had the Adelaide Crows in their bottom-two teams" especially after the turnover of that many experience players and with a senior coach in his first rookie year? Why do you think they all had us finish bottom 2 despite making the Grand Final the previous year? Probably just basic football knowledge I guess.

All pundits had us finishing bottom 2, got a source for that?

Did any of these pundits have us losing 0-13?

And have you actually looked at our side? Forget the turnover of players, look at who we actually had in the team.

 

[ABAB]

All pundits had us finishing bottom 2, got a source for that?

Did any of these pundits have us losing 0-13?

And have you actually looked at our side? Forget the turnover of players, look at who we actually had in the team.

From that article I posted which also stated the players we lose and compounded by training restriction with a rookie coach so I'm not sure why you were expecting anything different to them? There were a few loss by 3 points which could have gone either way and looking at the players still playing, we even loss more experience players than I thought end of 2020 with Nicks starting to play the youngsters toward the end of 2020. Surely, you weren't expecting us to lose all these experience players end of 2019?

 

[George Kramer]

From that article I posted which also stated the players we lose and compounded by training restriction with a rookie coach so I'm not sure why you were expecting anything different to them? There were a few loss by 3 points which could have gone either way and looking at the players still playing, we even loss more experience players than I thought end of 2020 with Nicks starting to play the youngsters toward the end of 2020. Surely, you weren't expecting us to lose all these experience players end of 2019?

You mean you’re discounting close losses which could go either way as an excuse? Seriously? Facts are we went 0-13, I repeat 0-13. No one predicted that, stop throwing up excuses. Our side was better than that.