Andrew McLeod’s concerns should have been discussed with Crows behind closed doors – and his motives must be questioned
Andrew McLeod shocked everyone this week by saying he no longer felt welcome at Adelaide – a club at which he is a legend. But his public comments have placed unnecessary heat onto the Crows, writes former coach Graham Cornes.
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We expected Andrew McLeod to back down, to rescind those inflammatory comments about his football club – our football club. But he didn’t.
If anything he further inflamed the issue.
He doesn’t feel comfortable walking into his own club.
There are many within the Crows family – players, past players, administrators and volunteers who are bitterly disappointed with the defiant stance this club legend has taken.
However, those are his personal feelings.
You cannot walk in another man’s shoes or see the world through his eyes.
Unfortunately that’s how he feels.
How did it come to this?
This is a player who has been revered by all since the time he announced himself with that precocious dribble kick goal against Hawthorn in round nine, 1996.
It was just his second game.
His legend soared higher and higher as he starred in the Crows only premierships.
He is universally loved and respected.
Only Tony Modra would have more appeal in the popularity stakes, although Eddie Betts did perhaps challenge as the Crows most popular player for those few seasons he was in Adelaide. Incidentally, Modra said yesterday he always feels welcome at the club.
“I love the club. Our kids love going to watch. The supporters and players always make our family feel very welcome”, he said.
He also made a point of adding: ”Footy clubs mean many things for many people. It’s impossible to meet everybody’s expectations all the time. For me, the good experiences with the club far outweigh the bad.”
Those words, from someone who was sacked as a player, are in total contrast to the comments of Andrew McLeod’s who still works at the football club, both as a mentor and a coach.
He is at the club much more than most other past players.
How could he not feel loved and appreciated as Mods does?
“When you walk into the Adelaide Football Club, it’s not a particularly warm place, they’ve taken most of the old photos down, the board room, like an old office you find around,” McLeod said on Thursday night, reading from a prepared statement.
There’s a valid insight.
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It hasn’t always been like that, but the move from West Lakes to Adelaide Oval has isolated the Crows.
When the Football Park precinct was one of the best in Australia, it was a vibrant, exciting place to be.
When those clubrooms, gym facilities and administration offices were the best in Australia it was a great place to come to work.
But the Adelaide Football Club and the SANFL were blinded-sided by the move to Adelaide Oval.
It’s never been the same.
The Crows Museum, so painstakingly curated by Trevor Jaques, was packed away to make room for more desks as the corporate side of the club grew.
None of that would surprise Rob Chapman and his board or chief executive, Andrew Fagan, which is why they are fervently exploring locations for new, authentic clubrooms where that memorabilia can be on display for all members to see.
But surely it doesn’t come down to photos on the wall.
Footy clubs are about people.
Is there anyone who seriously thinks Andrew McLeod is not loved and respected at the Crows?
So why the rancour?
Part of that answer may lie in the psychological challenges footballers face when they retire. In this day and age of the professional AFL competition it’s a full-time job.
When the end comes, either by choice or by termination, the mental challenge is enormous. Regardless of your history, it’s difficult to go back to your old club.
Things change.
There are new coaches, new players and often, new administrators.
I never felt comfortable going back to Glenelg after the Crows started.
One, I felt a little guilty that we were all moving on to this new adventure and leaving the old club behind.
But mainly it was because most old retired players and coaches don’t want to be seen interfering or critically assessing.
The old mates have moved on and you barely know the new players.
Port Adelaide legend, Warren Tredrea, admitted to the same sort of reservations this week. Strangely, the media didn’t seize on his admission as an indictment of the culture at Port Adelaide.
This issue is further complicated if the player has been sacked or delisted.
It hurts and the recriminations are always close to the surface.
It’s never comfortable walking back into a place from which you have been sacked.
Having said that, the Adelaide Football Club has always extended the welcome mat.
The hesitation may stem from self-consciousness – shyness even.
You can take the welcoming hand or you can shun it.
There is no greater example of that than the impasse between the Richmond Football Club and Kevin Bartlett, one of their greatest players.
Bartlett never forgave the club for sacking him as coach.
The standoff lasted for over 15 years until sanity prevailed and he returned to the club in 2006.
Every club has its disenchanted ex-players, coaches and staff.
It’s not hard to find them.
However, Andrew McLeod has not been sacked, although there does appear to be some uncertainty about the funding for the McLeod Centre of Excellence, the program he runs at the club for indigenous students.
If, as is feared, the government withdraws its funding for the centre, it is unlikely, in this current climate, that the Crows will be able to fund it.
It would be a significant financial loss, but not one for which the club should be held responsible.
Furthermore, given the need for ongoing indigenous programs it would seem an unconscionable act by the government.
Surely McLeod is not holding the club accountable for a government decision?
McLeod must surely have known his comments would release a cascade of criticism, particularly after his second statement of “clarification” which seemed more inflammatory than the first.
It’s the last thing the club needs as it attempts to work its way back from the sagas of the past few years.
“Please don’t be misconstrued, I love my club”, he said.
Do you really Andrew? If you truly love the club surely those issues could have been discussed and resolved behind closed doors.
Andrew McLeod’s legend status is unchallenged at West Lakes and beyond.
It is inconceivable that he doesn’t have the respect and influence to have his opinions listened to and respected.
His concerns could and should have been handled better.
Originally published as Andrew McLeod’s concerns should have been discussed with Crows behind closed doors – and his motives must be questioned