Chris McDermott: Brenton Sanderson was a scapegoat for a panicked minority — perhaps former skipper Mark Ricciuto should be his successor
WHO is the best man to replace Brenton Sanderson? Perhaps it’s the former Crows captain who recently joined the board, writes Chris McDermott. TAKE OUR POLL.
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“SOMETIMES the bravest decision is to make no decision at all, a la Geelong”.
The tweet came from Crows supporter Craig to the FIVEaa sports show on Saturday and it said everything about the situation at West Lakes this week.
Regardless of the discontent at whatever level at the Adelaide Football Club, the decision to sack Brenton Sanderson as coach with two years left on his contract was brutal, premature and grossly unfair to a man who, in the two years since he took the team to within a kick of the Grand Final, has been dealt one kick in the guts after another.
Kurt Tippett’s departure, the loss of draft picks, the suspensions of key personnel, the injury to Taylor Walker, the tragic loss of right-hand man Dean Bailey, the absence of skipper Nathan van Berlo and the injuries to Brad Crouch, Kyle Hartigan, Ricky Henderson and Tom Lynch.
It would have been a tough time for even the greatest coaches of the game.
Sanderson did his best. That best produced the best win/loss record for a coach at the Crows in their history. That wasn’t good enough.
Robert Shaw got backed in during his dark days at the Crows in 1995/96 when the dogs were barking loudly. Malcolm Blight was quite rightly afforded the same support.
Neil Craig did, too. Not so Brenton Sanderson.
Perhaps, one day, Crows supporters will know why.
The players must not be held responsible for this decision. They need your support, not your fury. History shows disharmony can be repaired.
With the right people in place, it has been done before and can be done again.
Sacking the coach is the easiest thing to do. It is not always the best thing to do.
The actions at the Crows HQ this week suggests a ruthlessness and a commitment not to accept mediocrity anymore.
In this instance, it reflects panic and the need for a scapegoat to silence the disgruntled minority.
When Geelong faced its crisis in the early years of “Bomber” Thompson’s reign, the powerbrokers held firm.
It is widely rumoured that star defender Matthew Scarlett played a key role in Thompson’s survival, rallying the troops and backing his boss to the max.
The rest is history. All accepted their portion of blame. All vowed to do better.
Holes were filled, recourses provided and a superpower was born. The premierships flowed.
Not so for the Crows. No faith. No belief.
This is far from over and other departures would not surprise.
What started as a dream reunion between Sanderson, a former Crows player in the early ’90s, and the club has ended in tears.
Like it or not, nothing will change the events of the past few days.
It’s time to move on with haste as cracks begin to open at Essendon and the Gold Coast Suns. Coaches will very soon be in great demand.
Former Crows star Simon Goodwin is not a contender and while the pool of candidates is always large, the list of good fits for the Crows is not.
If it is time for change it must be for the betterment of this club, not just change for change’s sake. This is the club’s Malcolm Blight moment MkII but, unlike 1996, the messiah doesn’t appear to be in place.
I’m not sure he’s even in the country. Or is he?
Stuart Dew, John Worsfold, Brendan Bolton, Alastair Clarkson and Nathan Bassett have all had their names mentioned in the past 72 hours as the rumours begin.
None of it will do this club an ounce of good.
Perhaps the man doing the searching for the next coach should be looking in the mirror to find the right replacement.
Mark Ricciuto is a club great. The club’s greatest with a great football brain.
He has a magnetic personality and an aura that galvanises players around him.
Sometimes the man best suited is right under your nose.
Over to you, Roo.
Originally published as Chris McDermott: Brenton Sanderson was a scapegoat for a panicked minority — perhaps former skipper Mark Ricciuto should be his successor
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