News VB captain, Dangerfield and Sloane co-vice

[Drugs Are Bad Mackay?]

I asked this a while ago in the larger thread and was ridiculed by one the usual suspects. But now that this decision has been made and the same usual suspects are rolling in to justify it, the question is becoming less absurd. At least at the afc in regards to captain vb.

Will we be the first afl club to have a captain that is not even our primary list. Vb will be able to captain into his 50's as a mature aged rookie. Each week to play we can just send out an acting captain for the on-field portion of the role and vb can continue to do the marvellous work behind the scenes. By natural extension, does the captain of the club even need to be an elite footballer or sportsperson at all.

My purpose was to jar some of this rock-solid belief that most of what a captain does isn't represented on the field by extending it to the patently absurd. At least I thought it was absurd, but our club is getting closer and given your statement above, you and quite a few others will be along for the cutting-edge ride.

It always has to link back to performance.

Good leadership must equal good performances from the team.

Good training standard must equal good performances from the individual.

If the performance of the team and individuals are poor and there is no change, it completely undermines and undervalues the importance of leadership and training.

For whatever reason, the link to performance doesn't seem to be there at the club. They don't make that connection. We instead value things that aren't important. Or, more accurately, we don't value things that impact results.

 

[1970crow]

I'm reading it as we have a captain, and two vice captains. Our captains injured so the on field captaincy will be rotated between the two VC's...

Too simplistic? Or should I be studying more/reading between lines etc?

It can't be rotated. What if danger takes someone aside for a captains chat in sloaneys week. It cannot be divided like that. The only things that might be rotated are coin tosses and pressers. Even then the presser isn't solely the captains domain. The actual on field stuff will be fluid and happen naturally. They might have a quick chat at the end of the quarter to make sure that they don't tread on each other's toes, but they will need to be equals on the day in terms of captaincy.

 

[Elite Crow]

So in the wash up, are we the only club with three captains? Are we the only club with a footballer who is outside the top ten players at the club as a captain? What happens if our new tagger kills it? Which position does VB come back to?

So many questions, stay tuned for the next episode of Batman and Robin and the .......

 

[Slippery Pete]

So in the wash up, are we the only club with three captains? Are we the only club with a footballer who is outside the top ten players at the club as a captain? What happens if our new tagger kills it? Which position does VB come back to?

So many questions, stay tuned for the next episode of Batman and Robin and the .......

Someone in here had the sack to compare us with Hawthorn.

If we had a captain like Luke Hodge, this thread wouldn't exist. Nobody would notice what we're doing with our vice-captains.

Did Sando seriously say VB is a world-class professional?

The problem with a back-slapping, echo-chamber culture - which is what the AFC has become - is that you don't have the faintest idea when everyone is laughing at you.

It's like that scene from Seinfeld where George goes to get a rug.

Rug salesman: "I don't think your 'friend' here is being very helpful at all!"

Jerry: "Oh, I am the ONLY one here being helpful. I'm trying to stop my friend becoming one of those people who gets laughed at behind his back because he looks ridiculous, NO OFFENCE TO YOU PERSONALLY!"

 

[The Sloane Ranger]

I think to many people are making a mountain out of a molehill

As I said in another thread I have no doubts that prior to the VB decision the club came to a conclusion that at the age of 23 both Sloane and Dangerfield were another 12 months away from developing their own games and leadership to enable them to resume full duties in the role

Then came VB's injury and I have no doubt that the club reviewed its initial decision however decided that this was a good opportunity to further expose both Sloaney and Danger to the Captain's role in an acting capacity whilst minimising some of the initial pressure that comes with the full time position

Fast forward 12 months and I can see a press conference with VB and Sando with VB announcing time is right to step down and the club applauding VB for his selfless leadership decision

Personally I have no issue with this approach because

1. It allows the club to have a good look at both Danger and Sloaney in the role before the club needs to make a decision on who should be our next Captain and whether that should be one person or Co-captains which I sense the club is still undecided.

IMO both Danger and Sloane bring different strengths and qualities to the table which complements each other however the club needs to determine how they get the best out of both individuals as leaders and with this in mind is the Co-Captain model the best model...... No better opportunity to pilot / trial the model now

2. The other consideration in keeping VB as the nominated club Captain it that it does remove some of the external pressure and expectation that comes by nature with the title. We only have to look no further to Marc Murphy last year to understand just what impact the title and role can have on a high quality players game.

Some may see this as a safe decision however I see it as a smart decision with the club taking advantage of the best of both worlds which will provide a better transition and entry for either Sloaney or Danger, or both into the full time position in 2015.

 

[Elite Crow]

One possible floor with this approach, what happens if that press conference never happens? I bet you it doesn't hence the mountain is very real.

 

[1970crow]

So in the wash up, are we the only club with three captains? Are we the only club with a footballer who is outside the top ten players at the club as a captain? What happens if our new tagger kills it? Which position does VB come back to?

So many questions, stay tuned for the next episode of Batman and Robin and the .......

Vb will be sent to another position where the myth about his poor performance being caused by his role as the selfless mr fixit can be perpetuated. So far we've got the mr fixit and the Stallone body building program and we know what next years excuse will be. Sadly, it will be the only one that has any merit.

 

[Elite Crow]

The funny thing is all the preseason talk of VB burning up the track ready for a big preseason, when hasn't he burnt up the track?

 

[Slippery Pete]

One possible floor with this approach, what happens if that press conference never happens? I bet you it doesn't hence the mountain is very real.

I love how the club uses the word "unanimous" to convince us. You know folks, the same club that was unanimous in its support of Trigg.

That echo-chamber is alive and well. What does Shutts even do down there? If I was him, I'd be telling the club not to use the word "unanimous" in its media spin for a very, very long time.

 

[Elite Crow]

I love how the club uses the "word" unanimous to convince us. You know folks, the same club that was unanimous in its support of Trigg.

That echo-chamber is alive and well. What does Shutts even do down there? If I was him, I'd be telling the club not to use the word "unanimous" in its media spin for a very, very long time.

The new catch cry is worlds best

 

[Slippery Pete]

The new catch cry is worlds best

It's the new "as far as the eye can see."

 

[The Sloane Ranger]

One possible floor with this approach, what happens if that press conference never happens? I bet you it doesn't hence the mountain is very real.

I'm extremely confident that it will"...... However in the case it didn't both Danger & Sloaney are still our true spiritual leaders, they will be better prepared when either or both take the role and even if that wasn't until 2016 they will still only be 25

 

[The Sloane Ranger]

Inhave no doubt that the way VB trains is "Industry Best in Class" which I would be comfortable with however Sando's comment is much more difficult to defend

 

[1970crow]

I love how the club uses the word "unanimous" to convince us. You know folks, the same club that was unanimous in its support of Trigg.

That echo-chamber is alive and well. What does Shutts even do down there? If I was him, I'd be telling the club not to use the word "unanimous" in its media spin for a very, very long time.

Surely they're unanimous in support of the term though.

 

[King Elvis]

I love how the club uses the word "unanimous" to convince us. You know folks, the same club that was unanimous in its support of Trigg.

That echo-chamber is alive and well. What does Shutts even do down there? If I was him, I'd be telling the club not to use the word "unanimous" in its media spin for a very, very long time.

That is a very, very good observation.

They constantly claim everything is unanimous to prove that they're all on the same page - surely they need to realise that isn't actually a good thing; it's a dangerous, potentially destructive thing?

If you have a Board of Directors, you don't want 10 people who think exactly the same, from the same perspective, and arrive at the exact same conclusion - you want people who think differently, who view things differently, who aren't afraid to pull things apart and break them down, and who will argue vehemently for their point of view. Then, if the majority goes in the other direction, it's their responsibility to support that decision as best as they can.

If the Crows were smart, which they increasingly don't seem to be, then they'd come out and say that the decision was made after a series of robust discussions amongst the decision makers, where all options and all possibilities were debated in detail and at length, and this was considered the best outcome as a result.

 

[Drugs Are Bad Mackay?]

If we're already world's best at everything then how can we improve?

Enjoy it folks, we've peaked.

 

[StonesThrow]

I'm very much a fence sitter with this one.

No one but insiders at the club know what VB is like off field, so I don't think anybody can make any judgments there. However I agree with some that these press conferences are usually a load of PR transcripts and wouldn't be exactly accurate most of the time. So again, no one really knows exactly what player X thinks of VBs captaincy.

I also strongly go against Vaders brief that VB was not even close to being near the tail end of the best 22. I can easily think of 15 regulars last season that were in better form than him. Probably more.

 

[Adelaide Cows]

I don't disagree at all that "unanimous" is spruked often. The alternative is factions coming out and giving the alternative view which just undermines a decision that has been made, in which the club would look unstable.

I think a united front is a much better look, even if we can cynically think "I bet that's not the case".

I can disagree with a boards decision but I still need to relay this to my staff in a positive way.

If you want the "in club" story send the club your resume.

 

[StonesThrow]

I don't mind the fact that danger and Sloane are both getting this exposure. Hopefully one or both really step up and put pressure on what seems is the inevitability of VB being captain again next year.

Can't wait to see how they go!

 

[King Elvis]

I don't disagree at all that "unanimous" is spruked often. The alternative is factions coming out and giving the alternative view which just undermines a decision that has been made, in which the club would look unstable.

I think a united front is a much better look, even if we can cynically think "I bet that's not the case".

I can disagree with a boards decision but I still need to relay this to my staff in a positive way.

If you want the "in club" story send the club your resume.

Strong, professional organisations can have robust debates and can have opposing viewpoints without it being destructive. Saying it was a decision that wasn't unanimous isn't a bad thing - and I sincerely doubt anybody involved is going to come out from the inner sanctum and pot the Club if that was the case.

I don't believe the decisions are unanimous anyway; if they are, they're even more useless than I thought, and we haven't had anyone come out and stir the pot.

 

[Slippery Pete]

I don't disagree at all that "unanimous" is spruked often. The alternative is factions coming out and giving the alternative view which just undermines a decision that has been made, in which the club would look unstable.

I think a united front is a much better look, even if we can cynically think "I bet that's not the case".

I can disagree with a boards decision but I still need to relay this to my staff in a positive way.

If you want the "in club" story send the club your resume.

I don't have any issue with unanimous decisions except when both of the below caveats exist:

1. "Unanimous" is at odds with the vast majority of outside football opinion. (How could not ONE board member have officially questioned Trigg's position? That seems absolutely unfathomable and speaks volumes of the culture we've long suspected exists down there.)

Now - you can even get away with caveat number one.... Blighty often did... Except when:

2. You've won nothing for the best part of two decades, including the entire tenures of every significant leadership position at the club.


And that there is the clincher, girls and boys.

Unanimous decisions from the Adelaide Football Club mean less than zero right now.

 

[Rory Walkerfield]

I don't mind the fact that danger and Sloane are both getting this exposure. Hopefully one or both really step up and put pressure on what seems is the inevitability of VB being captain again next year.

Can't wait to see how they go!

I'm on the same page. I don't think VB is captain material given on field performance over a long period of time, no matter how good his off field leadership is. But I really like that we get to road test both PD and RS. Whilst Danger obviously has a large public persona, there is something about the way Sloane goes about it that I think all of us love. Either way, we should count ourselves blessed to have two guys like this waiting in the wings versus 4 years ago when...

 

[King Elvis]

They're both brilliant, and either of them would make a fantastic Captain.

Which is why it's even more weak that we haven't made the move - show some faith in the lads, back them in, embrace the expectation and let them develop into the champions they will be.

 

[JP Sauce]

Have you ever played sport?

If so, you would know it's everyone responsibility to get the attitude right, the talking, the communicating, the motivation, spirit and enthusiasm of the playing group. Not just the captain.

So vB being the captain makes even less sense. If his onfield performance is average, his leadership on the track is irrelevant and he's not the face of the club, then why is he captain?

 

[Southerntakeover]

For whatever reason, the link to performance doesn't seem to be there at the club. They don't make that connection. We instead value things that aren't important. Or, more accurately, we don't value things that impact results.

It's entirely possible that other aspects have been identified as the cause of poor performance.

It's not the case that a failure to give you the change you want is forced to be wrong. It could equally be the case that changes are required and you have not identified them.

The fall down is accountability though. If they make a call and they're wrong the decision maker should fall on the sword. That was previously the player group, now it's Sando. If Sando is wrong, feel free to get the pitch forks.