Any cost-issues aside, it would've been low risk to coach out the season, many games ago. Credentials include: might've done better than 1-13 across recent games?

The Sixers need to move into a period of consolidation.

Brett would do well in the position and create a sense of excitement and urgency that would aid to bolster crowd numbers and corporate support.

Brett being a good guy and player does not make a him a good coach... It does not also make it an instant club.

I believe that we need to invest in a reputable coach and Brett would be a great media manager and liaison for the club.. But suits an off court role with the club.

If Brett wants the job he might need to say this publicly and not just behind the scenes. make it count and tell us why he deserves it and what credentials he has for coaching this national team....don't forget the coach is an employee to and this role should be publicly advertised and handled like any other job interview.

May the most qualified and proven coach win! We will all invest in credentials and a proven winner in this role.

Amen, would love Brett to be given a crack, we cant get any worse than 1-13 imo.

Brett if you are able to do it financially please offer to coach the rest of the season for free, just so the club can get rid of Clarke, im sure us as fans would pass a bucket around and put in $10 each to pay you something, if we get 5,000 people again, which we would with you as coach thats $50k.

Come on 36ers surely even if you had to offer Brett say 800 per week there arnt many weeks left, so wouldnt cost much, but would rejuvenate interest in the fan base and have us excited about the next season! Again pass the hat around the crowd, i reckon you would easily get several thousand of dollars donated by the fans just to get rid of Clarke and pay for someone like Maher.

Call it the 'Maher coaching fund' fans would be right behind it,

2 things basically all 36ers fans have in common, dissatisfaction of the current coaches and a huge love and respect for Brett Maher, even if they continued the losing run we would be so excited just to have Maher back involved for the remainder of the season.

Great heartfelt letter!

Hope it works :)

Great OP! Really heart felt, honest, inspiring words.


Some of your best writing, Boti.

Firstly, I so miss One on One magazine

Secondly, I thought you were asking Brett to be a spokesman and be seen in SA more and we can all agree that seeing our NBL stars past on present on TV too much is still never enough.

Thirdly, this made me sad thinking about how the uphill climb other teams like Hobart, Geelong and Newcastle have in trying to bring back their fans if they get back into the league as they have no Brett Maher and hopefully Leroy Loggins is still recognizable enough to get bullets fans back (his statue at Brisbane Entertainment Centre should stand for something)

Lastly, I thought your letter was brilliant and hope something comes of it

Here's one for you. Imagine if we changed out our coach 13 games ago. Then during this time we went 7-6 or 6-7. In hindsight that is a massive improvement on what we have done under Clarke, but not knowing what we do, would that have been enough to get that coach a long term contract next season and beyond?

If we changed coach and still went 0-13 (which i doubt would have happened) then we realise a couple of things?

1. the new coach isnt the man for the job going forward,

2. Maybe the playing roster isnt as good and we need a bigger shake up than we think.

Both are positive things to find out asap, so that we dont waste next season realising these things.

To me thats more reason you put Maher in as coach, as what you got to lose, we go 0-13 basically the same as Clarke, we dont waste a season or 2 on Maher, we realise he isnt the coach of the future within half a season. It also allows you to evaluate the playing roster a bit closer, as at the moment Clarke is getting most/all of the blame, if Maher comes in and makes the obvious changes and we still go 0-13 we need more changes than we think.

Isnt that better than going into next season with basically the same roster as we are convinced its a playoff roster just coached poorly, and say Brett Maher as coach on a 2 or 3 year contract, then if he opens the season say 0-13 we have wasted another whole season, and would have to either stick with another coach who isnt up to it or waste more money buying him out.

Wouldnt you rather waste half a season, that is basically dead anyway than the next 2-3 seasons?

I also put this forward, what if the new coach comes in, makes the obvious adjustments and the team goes 7-6 or better and makes the playoffs? The crowd jump alone would have likely been enough to pay Maher to coach the 2nd half of the season.

We get 4-5 thousand fans to games after 3 losing seasons in a row, i reckon we would easily get 6 thousand + to games if the team is winning atleast half there games and in the playoff hunt/making the playoffs.

'Imagine you changed coach and we went 0-13' is the comment i was responding to. Thats where the 13 games reference came from.

You wouldnt purely judge Maher/new coach on that half of the season, especially the w/l ratio but would give a good indication on whether or not they can coach, run a good game plan, get the most out of the players they have, put them in a position to use there strengths, communicate and motivate, etc. If a team as talented as the 36ers still went 0-13 that would be a very strong indication they are not the person to turn the club around imo.

An example was Heal at the kings last season, he made a noticable difference in the way the team played in all areas, tactics, rotations, effort in a short space of time with a team he had no say in picking and some players he wouldnt have selected. Regardless of the w/l ratio. That gave a very strong indication that he could be a decent coach. Then look at this years results have had injuries to key players all season long and still in the top 4, if the team was injury free id say they would be locks to make the playoffs.

To me thats the ideal way to try someone out, and not waste a season doing so as the current season was already basically dead, sure its not the ideal situation, but you would get an indication one way or the other of there coaching ability. It also tests how the coach will perform in less than ideal circumstances and handle a crisis, which happen in sports.

It's obvious the club needs a new hero, and the fact is we have not really had one since Brett (IMHO anyway). I do not necessarily think he should be the next coach (unless of course he is proven to be able to do so and is genuinely a contender) but possibly an assistant coach or any other role where he can bring a positive culture back to the club.

Culture and self belief is desperately lacking and as that transfers more and more through the fans who watch the games and examples of this and react, it then transfers further back through to the club / players. It's a rotten circle that MUST be broken.

Fans - stop booing our team FFS. Be frustrated - yes, don't clap at all if you feel it's not deserved.. but quit the damn booing - its destructive, embarrassing and immature.

Players - Do whatever you can to adopt a positive culture. Find your fight! We know you all have it! I think we all agree new coaching staff may assist this, but a lot will still be up to you as individuals to promote, spread and maintain a club culture that works and breeds the success we all know we can have.

Ownership structure and leaders - you simply MUST guide and promote this culture change. If you can't do it.. leave - We don't want you. We want people who WILL do this. Simply WILL, not try, or plan to; WILL. It won't be instanant, but benefits should be evident to all pretty quickly. Re. the topic of this thread - Brett Maher would likely be ideal involved in this aspect of the club.

My 2c. Doesn't happen often :-)

While the fans are throwing ideas around and even writing open letters to our heroes, what are the Sixers management doing - sweet FA. They want us to continue supporting and continue spending money despite the fact that the entertainment is gone and they are just plodding along waiting for the end of another failed season. How many business structures could survive with the same disregard for its customers?

One more home game to endure and then we wait for the outcome of the post season debrief. We all live in hope that they have learnt from this waste of a season and provide us with something, some hope and something to cheer about.

Why would Brett Maher take over on an interim basis?

If he has aspirations as a NBL coach, taking on his first job in this situation would be risky.

Say Adelaide went 2-11. The book on Maher would be that he is not up to NBL coaching standards, and he would not get another chance (if ever) for a long time.

The smart thing would be to extract a long term deal - say 3 years - for some security but also time to perform with his systems and roster.

Unfortunately the 36ers are not able financially to sack Clarke, and sign someone to a long term deal. No coach - Maher or otherwise - would come to Adelaide without a multi-year option.

Forget coaching Mahersy, get back on court we need you!

As heart felt and as good natured as this letter is, I can't help but think this attempt is pathetic.

My rationale being :

a) Brett Maher's poster? Taking dates to see Brett play? Really? I think this crossed the line into the creepy-zone.

Especially this line ---> "There is one person, who when I think of those qualities I think of and that person is you."

I would have stopped at I have been a supporter of the Sixers since 19NN.


b) Calling a servant of the club a Lame Duck is not going to endear Brett to your 'calling'.

c) Brett's legacy won't be tarnished?

I can GUARANTEE you that if Brett went through a 1 - 14 stretch, these 'most knowledgeable' fans would fire up the same Sack Maher Threads, Maher is cr@p, SOS are a joke. God forbid if Maher's assistant is shorter and a redhead.



Brett....if you are reading this and haven't initiated an AVO against Mr Stats after reading the first paragraph, please look at how the fans have treated Marty and Mark.

The 'fans' want success and are NOT prepared to wait for it.

If you can guarantee a Championship in 2013/2014 please come on board.

But if you require a building phase, time for your team to gel and understanding from your fans , please coach another NBL team.

These fans will throw you under a Bus the same as they did with Syth, Ninnis and Marty.

Thank you.

d) This letter smacks of desperation.

Let me put the logical thinking succinctly.

Brett Maher is synonymous with the Sixer Golden Age.
Therefore Brett Maher MUST bring winning to the Sixers.

This thinking is flawed.

I trust I have covered the points eloquently.

Re: Spinner

what are the Sixers management doing

Camby, you seem not to understand the frustration of the Adelaide fan.

It is the inability of the club to make changes when they are required. Appointing Maher as coach is not done solely on coaching ability - it is to show the fans, the league, the opposition that the 36ers do not accept poor results.

Maher's appointment would have brought excitement, a link to championships, someone with a bit of fire. And one of the greatest players in the history of the league back to an official role with the club.

All we want is a coach that will look his players in the eye during a timeout, command their respect and expect them to give everything. Who wouldn't respect Maher with all his accomplishments both on and off the court?

Instead we have a coach who spends every damn timeout, head down, scribbling another convoluted diagram on the whiteboard.

Sure, Maher may struggle, but I would bet the house that if he went 22-50 or whatever after 2.5 seasons, he would step down and take full responsibility.

Why would Maher require a multi year deal? That is stupid. He hasn't coached to my knowledge at even ABL level. If anything I'm sure he'd be happy with a one year deal with expectations of certain results or he is out of the job.

He would know what plays actually would work from past seasons as a player, plus be able to implement anything from a good assistant coach.

However, if him signing loses the interest of players who we need to resign or want to get on board, then he would be best suited as an assistant with a reputable coach who can get guys like Gibson, Petrie back, and get us a good import and other locals.

I don't care if Bert and Earnie take over. Have you heard smarty Clarke speak? Just hearing an interview confuses the crap out of me. His stuttering and mumbles area joke, he would struggle to order a big Mac meal.

We need a leader who command respect, looks the troops in the eye and holds EVERYONE accountable. It might not be Brett but I'm counting the sleeps till this joke and his little cronie are gone.

Well agree totally with Jiordan as much as love Brett I dont know enough how well he could coach .
But think that with team we had this year anybody could do better than done and not only Abbot and Costello cant coach they have shown a total disdain for supporters and pure arrogance to not only not changing coaching style which after 3 years still not working but no resemblance of concern re the results or future of our great club.
I refuse to go to another game although season ticket until these two sail into the sunset.
If wanted a experienced coach then having Brett as a assistant would give us a reason to believe again .

I think Maher would've taken an interim position earlier in the season. Where else is he going to get a head coach position in the NBL? No one's making a move. Bickley has been put forward as an example of doing this in the AFL to test someone out.

Could've tested him without needing to hand over a three year deal as has proven problematic previously.

Not doing so could well prove to be more expensive than making the change. There might've even been long-time sponsors who would've chipped in to make it happen with a golden child like Brett.

Next year, a one year tenure may not cut it or be fair unless there are KPIs tied to a longer contract. You could do that with another coach, but I think there'd be a backlash for doing it with Maher and not giving him the three years granted to Clarke.

Would have been great to have brought in Brett several weeks ago. It meant that he could have shown what he can do in a no risk situation because the season was going to be written off anyway by keeping Clarke and Radford. A missed opportunity by the owners. It could have made their jobs very easy for next season.

Kickstarter project. If it raised enough money, the deal was done. Tongue in cheek, though I think it could've worked even if it made the club look a bit ridiculous.

Maybe Maher should coach Adelaide, good idea!

I'm looking forward to seeing how Tom Maher goes with coaching men