Adelaide’s new premiership coach Phil Walsh has spoken to the media a number of times since his appointment in October of last year. His major appearances have been on the day he took charge and 10 days later alongside new captain Tex Walker.
At the start of any season coaches endeavour to lift the spirits of the supporters by painting a positive and inspiring picture. Even those in charge of teams that are struggling will make sure there is hope in their sermon.
But the approach is different when the coach is new. They are not only selling the club’s chances for the upcoming season but they are also selling themselves as well.
From what I understand Phil is a no nonsense, no excuses, full on, 120 percent kind of guy. He’s already frightened many with his ‘I will be taking the players to the edge of the cliff’ comment and ‘I have had a number of man conversations with some players’ line as well.
In many ways he reminds me of former Australia cycling coach Charlie Walsh. Charlie also worked at the Crows as a specialist coach and was Neil Craig’s mentor.
So far the bulk of what Phil has trumpeted about himself and the club will give fans plenty of heart and confidence. But there was one thing that Phil said that I would have advised against.
When he sat alongside his newly appointed Crows captain Walsh proclaimed no spin from the Adelaide Football Club.
Spin, in this sense, is the practice of managing information between an organisation and the public or the media to suit the organisation. It is not lying about a situation, but it could be construed as telling the story so it does not sound as bad as is may be in reality.
As part of his pledge Phil did admit issues with the club’s list. On the FiveAA sports show in Adelaide, he indicated that the fruits will be best picked in 2017, but to soften the blow he didn’t rule out success straight away.
My problem with telling everyone there will be no spin is that it is just not possible. Every AFL club spins, every AFL club keeps information from its fans and the media. Some do it better than others.
For example Adelaide may want to hide an injury to a player, because they do not want the opposition to know. Or they will be protecting a player who is in poor form and set to be dropped by not speculating about that until the team is selected. There are many other examples of when a club does not want to reveal its hand, but you get the point.
As a fan it’s important that you have faith in what the coach and the club is doing, but also be aware you will not be told everything.
Is this being dishonest? No, it is just the way it is, and the way it has always been. And so if Phil had his time again he may consider telling the fans and the media about spin this way.
‘Our club is not into spin, we want to be completely transparent and honest, however there will be times when we need to keep things to ourselves. Please don’t take this personally and I ask you to trust that we know what we are doing.’
Walsh gets 9.5 out of 10 for his first three months, and there’s no spin in that.
Who’s in your ultimate team? Pick the best team and compete with other fans for daily prizes on Draftstars. For the best odds on the game try out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Think. Is this a bet you really want to place? Set a deposit limit.
We’re taking a look at one player from each team that needs to make a difference this week, starting with the ANZAC Day games.
Adelaide's Taylor Walker has thrown his support behind a 'captain's call' in order to prevent umpiring blunders, which the Crows have been on the…
Controversy has erupted following Essendon's thrilling three-point victory over Adelaide, with an umpire under fire for his decision to not award the Crows a…
Over the next few days, all discussion of Essendon's three-point win over Adelaide will likely centre on the decision, in the final seconds of…
Round 5 of the AFL provided plenty of action, from big scorelines to upset wins and pressure starting to build on some clubs and coaches already.
Former great David King has blasted Match Review Officer Michael Christian's decision to not suspend Port Adelaide star Zak Butters for his high bump…
