had a feeling it was too good to be true. anyone understand the strategy behind getting the vets chatting with the current group? I think if anything Marty would be the one in need of a pep talk

No quotes from Boti in his article.
He is able to get quotes from maher when it suits him but can't for this article.
No quote from jan Stirling either.

A complete nothing article from a guy pissed he didn't get given the story on a plate.

Muzz Buzz did you once say Boti has an agenda? Hahaha? Glad you don't!

IF it is only a pep talk then it won't do shit. In fact Maher has already spoken to the group previously. As if a light bulb going off in the players head to the tune of 'ohh yeah, maybe we should try to play harder' is the answer.
Effort is not where the answer lies.

This is disappointing news. We all thought the club was actually being proactive and doing their best to show the fans some encouragement that we are moving in the right direction. However this really does nothing to help as the coach is still there and the players will still have to play to his poor coaching style regardless of what Davis, Maher and Stirling say.

I guess we can only hope that the reason the mentoring isn't happening (or perhaps was never going to happen) was due to money and that they are saving it so that they can afford to pay out Clarke.

see how Boti is bad for the club

The club IS doing something , engaging past players and a world champion coach into the program and he gets his back up because he was told about it.

His childish reaction is to write something negative about something that he has been calling for.

Ok - the way I see the state of the club at the moment watching from afar.

Yes the on court results have been dissappointing and the lions share of this ends up being lumped on the coach (as it does in all sports when a team is underperforming) Whether thats fair or not is irrelavant, its just the way it is.

Sure losing is far from ideal but IMO the clubs supporter base can accept poor results as long as they see people (ie the coach, players and club as a whole) actually standing up and accepting their short comings and openly working on these areas to improve. At the moment you seem to have a coach and assistant who are completely disconnected from the supporter base, grumpy and not willing to accept any resposibility

Ive said it before that Clarke needs media training and to actually give something back to the fans. Clarke just doesnt seem to get whats its all about being a 36er. You need to connect with the fans - EVERY WEEK. Talk of 3 year plans at the start of a season and then nothing again is just not good enough. OK so he doesnt get on with Boti, do something about it! Meet with him and work out your differences, even if Clarke cannot stand him he needs to be able to sork with Boti on a professional level and ensure that Clarke's message is getting out there.Whatevr Botis agendas are he always has and alwasy will want the Sixers to be successful - you him to your advantage!
You have the best supporter base by a mile - 5k fans are rocking up to see the team get thumped, other teams dream about that sort of turn out! Sure you cant win all the time but you have to be prepared to cop losses on the chin and accept your short comings and then be seen to be working on improving.

At the moment the coaches and some of the players just dont seem to be displaying the passion for the 36ers that I want to see. Its a priveledge to play for this club not a right and I as Im sure all the other long time supporters feel the same way. I want you to succeed Marty so get the chip off your shoulder, man up and start taking responsibility and show us how hard you are willing to work to get the job done!

Muzz Buzz, I don't get it. Unconfirmed rumours that Marty had been appointed 'mentors' were aired at large on here yesterday. Boti follows up the story and gets a comment from Sixers chairman, Darryl Simpson, denying the reported mentoring and confirming the real situation. The tone of the article in this regard is entirely neutral. The only person who says that it proves that Boti is pissed because he missed a big story (which was apparently NOT a story) appears to be you? How has Boti 'got his back up' because a bogus story, reported by others, turns out not to be true?

Boti's article is mostly about this weekend's games, where he has quoted our best performing current player as to what they need to do to win. Sounds like access to both high level management and a player for a reasonably well researched article (at least by current journalistic standards) covering several topical issues to me.

hey muzz are you having a bitch fit again ? whats your agenda to hang shit on Boti or are you just brown nosing the coaches either way get over it Boti gets paid to write you just say shit for shit sake

Statman - I agree, so many are willing to help and want to see Marty do well.

Muzz Buzz - not sure if I read a different article, but I didn't pick up any negative tone. Care to point out in what way it is negative?

That meeting would be pretty good.
A little bit at a time , then.
Helliwell leads the bigs up one end for a while ,
get Davis in there and a little bitta Maher up the other end , for a while.

Statman

as allways a well prepared response and right on the money, pity others cant see it that way as well

Statman, it's not about missing what it means to be a 36er as such (as though that is any different to being a Wildcat or a Hawk, etc), it's about realising that the 36ers are in the business of entertainment and part of that is selling a brand and its component personalities - the coach, the players, etc. It's a bit tragicomic that in a focus on process (to achieve results), Marty hasn't ended up with either the results or the public persona he's ignored.

I imagine that if he had been charming from the beginning, open about mistakes or things he could've done differently, if he wore the tech on behalf of Radford, etc he might have a touch more support than he does.

Facts were reported by channel ten in their story that had Grantham and Clarke talk about the positives of the move

Boti says that the moves made by the club are untrue and has no quotes from anyone

The quotes from DJ where leftovers from another story

Well if things don't turn around and SOS make serious changes to the coaching, then the supporters are the ones that will bring this club with a rich history to an end. Regardless of history of the club, it is what's happening now that will make people walk away. Everyone are at their wits end with frustration and embarrassment in supporting a failing venture. Many changes were made to the roster this season, yet the results are if not the same, worse. What is the answer for next season if you don't release the current coach? Do you keep the same roster and do exactly the same thing all over again next year (minus many of the current supporters who won't put up with another year of the same) or do you make changes to the roster again? It is obvious that the coach is the one responsible for the results because he is the only constant in a changing roster. We have seen not a scrap of difference from day one to today under the same coach. What evidence is there that improvements are coming? If there are no changes to next season, I will put my season ticket on hold for a year and come back when another coach comes in. I am not that excited about another year which will no doubt resemble the last 2 years under the same coach.

You are preaching to the converted EC, you are spot on but we already know this.

Change the coach or results will never change!!

We had that same team last year and basically finished last. Only difference was Hill for Weigh but Hill played as good as Weigh is playing

Bit torn on that, KJ. Yeah, no doubt that we struggled and some key players were not dissimilar, but Johnson didn't have as big a role and at least one import spot wasn't used particularly well (no, not even to the level of Simpson for 25 MPG).

This season, I really do think that being down Crosswell and a fit Ballinger (not the Ballinger we saw in the first few games) has to hurt. We weren't killing it with them there (Balls at 30% tops), but two players of that level would help now. If we're light on at SG, Ballinger in for Simpson next year frees up a spot to use there as anon said. I'd still be going for Dellavedova though somehow.

Clarke needs fresh support though, regardless.

Yeah got the email today which is basically the same as what Boti wrote.

I think bringing in Jan Stirling is the only shining bit of hope we have as an organisation.

Jan has been extremely successful in her roles as coach for Adelaide and Australia.

She has been working with the Port Adelaide Power players in a mentoring type role the past year or two and is extremely professional.

If anyone can give some good advice as to whether we need to change the coach, change management, change playing personnel, give Marty a rocket, then she's our Man...I mean Woman.

Quote from the email

There is no question that the results we have seen are not the results any of us want. Along with the rest of the Board, I know the results have not been good enough, but let's not forget the journey we are on.

We have made no secret that our team is rebuilding, and although progress is slower than we would like to see, we are working together to address the issues and support our coaches and players to make sure we get this right. And, we will get it right.

IMO bringing Stirling in for the mentoring/review process is a great move. It shows me that they are taking a professional approach to the issues.

Strong points for me

Stirling working with the coaches

Backing the coaches in for this season "only"

Its f-------g nice to hear the club saying the results are shit and they "will" fix it.

And it was f-------g nice to get an update as a member

The trouble with "rebuilding" in the NBL is that 50% of the team changes every season!!!
If they can't re-sign Johnson and Creek then they will have to "rebuild" all over again.

It doesn't solve anything, but that's an insightful post '252.

This really concerns me that the board is trying to convince the supporters with this it is a "rebuilding" phase so that they have an excuse to hang on to Clarke for another season. I hope that is not true.

There is no such thing as rebuilding in the NBL as someone else mentioned players continue to move around, there is no draft system, players are not locked into more then 2 year deals.

If I was Mitch Creek I would not be staying here next season as his stock is plummeting. His minutes have gone down to 15. He could easily be picked up by Sydney, Hawks or possibly another team and get 30 minutes a game and probably another 40k on what he is currently getting. Mean while his team mates from the AIS are doing excellent in college and look like Europe bound or at the least a starting spot in the NBL where they will be successful.

DJ is another one that could move next season as he is only going to get better. How good would Sydney be if they had Khazzouh at power forward and Johnson at center!

So DJ and Creek could be gone next season and where is the rebuilding gone then? This term rebuilding is a delusion in the NBL.

Anonymous/Isaac, I disagree.

The fans are not working from Championships. All the fans want is to be competitive with a coach that actually knows how to coach, takes some responsibility, interacts with fans!

2010 - Last
2011 - 2nd to last, worst season record in history
2012 - Probably last, Worst season record in history

Are the fans meant to just accept mediocre performance? With those sorts of performances how could you not expect fans to behave like they are?

I don't see how the boards starting point makes any relevance because

1. We still have the money to spend the cap
2. We still have quality players

So there is no difference to whether or not the team nearly went under or if that situation never happened because they face the same circumstances.

If the case was

1. We can now only spend 70-80% of the cap
2. We lost all our players during this time and now don't have the players to compete

then the board could use that as an excuse but that is not the situation so they can't

KingJames, perfectly valid points and observations.

The likes of DJ, Creek etc. going to other teams for more time and money is an obvious solution to their individual requirements; however keep in mind that some people want to be involved in the rebuilding process, regardless of the fallout that comes from it.

If I categorized myself; I'd be a "stick it out and build something" guy. My point is; regardless of the team situation, my hope is that the young talent we have are willing to stay for longer. Keep in mind that DJ and Creek, barring injury, have more than a decade left in their careers; so there's plenty of time to move on later down the track.

@King James i think the Perth Wildcats prove the opposite. A number of those players would be offered much bigger deals than what they are on yet they chose to stay for less than their market worth to be part of Perth.

You could also argue Gold Coast as well demonstrate this. They have a core group determined to be successful as a group and have sacrificed the lure of bigger money to stay together and achieve their goal as a unit.

Yes Perth is currently better and what the 36ers are striving to be. As Big Marty said some players want to be part of the 36ers resurgence. I know one who is keen to return to Adelaide purely for that reason.

Re the email from the Board:

I took it as a plea for fans to put down the picks and forks and put our trust in the Organisation to make the correct decision at the end of the season. Not a bad tactic for settling down the less aggressive/emotional sections of a mass and might prevent the castle being burnt down.....for the time being at least. Recent history is however working against the club (as efficiently pointed out earlier by an Anon poster)

Nevertheless the email left me with the impression the club is presenting a united front from the board down to the players, which I don't mind. If I were a passenger on a cruise ship trying to avoid an iceberg I'd feel more confident seeing the captain and all the crew working together then seeing in-fighting, crew jumping ship or wasting time looking for someone to pin the blame, all the while showing no endeavour to avoid the hazard.

If I was going to be critical of anything, it would be the timing, I think the email should have come out at least a fortnight ago.

Still its now understood that the club expect the next 10-12 months to provide a further test to the character of the club and many of its fans, so for the time being I'm taking my pick and fork home and going back to bed. Someone wake me when the season is over.

Big Marty/BJF, you both made some good points and I hope that Creek and Johnson do stick it out however with it being a business and their careers only lasting not that long (compared to normal job) they have might have other ideas about sticking around. Also I understand players wanting to stay at Perth as that is a winning organisation but I think it would be a lot different then wanting to stay in a losing organisation with no signs of things getting better.

Big Ads, well said. I hope management is actually just showing their support for Clarke for the remainder of the season and then will make the decisions whether he should continue or not at the end of the season. As I mentioned before I hope that their email was not just a way to soften fans so that they will give Clarke another "try" next season just to save them selves some money.

Fair points there Anon but of that list of 6 players you mention, seeing them getting picked up by other clubs and making a much more valuable contribution to their new teams then they did as a Sixer, well that just adds to the frustration of a losing season. Helliwell might be the only exception on that list.

Although many fans were not disappointed that Bruce and Holmes were not retained, i think most would agree that it has been somewhat bitter sweet watching them do so well for their respective teams.

For mine AB was a WC player before he was a 36er so it showed he was capable of being a good NBL player. I think J Ho himself is even surprised at the numbers he has been getting Tville. Lemons and Lemonade.