Why was Rick Davies sacked from Sturt?

[Sojourner]

Does anyone know the details of what occured when Jumbo left the Sturt Football Club and became the Playing Coach at South Adelaide? Was he actually sacked from the club, or told his contract was not to be renewed or something else?

[Adelaide Hawk]

I can't remember why he was sacked from Sturt, but he didn't go to South as playing coach. He transferred as a player, then became coach when Don Scott was sacked. That's how I recall it.

I could be wrong though

[gadj1976]

In my opinion he was only ever appointed so as to not lose the Sturt faithful after the Keane non-extension/sacking. I heard stories about training that were disparaging to all concerned, especially the club. Whether this resulted in on field results not going our way or whether the stories about training were true I'm not sure, however I know that we were just about to go through our darkest period in club history thereafter.

My understanding was that he was told he was too old/decrepid to keep playing for Sturt, so went to South.

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From Sturt's website:

1989 Former Sturt champion Rick Davies is appointed coach and the events of the previous year and the disunity caused by it make Davies' job impossible and the Blues plummet to tenth, the first time Sturt have finished in this position.

From http://www.fullpointsfooty.net/south_adelaide_(3).htm

Cornes returned 'home' to Glenelg in 1985 and the Panthers endured a calamitous and much publicised start to the season under new coach, Don Scott, a former star ruckman with VFL side Hawthorn. South lost the opening 7 games of the season, and Scott was on his way, with ex Sturt star Rick Davies stepping into the breach with the unenviable task of trying to restore some respectability to the club. Over the remainder of the 1985 season, he actually succeeded to some extent in doing so: the Panthers won 8 of their remaining 15 games to clamber to 8th place on the ladder. The team also made a promising start to the 1986 season when it won its second Escort Cup grand final in three years courtesy of an 11 point victory over Graham Cornes' Glenelg. However, this achievement merely flattered to deceive, as over the course of the next three seasons the club's performances went from bad to worse. In 1986 and 1987, under Davies, South finished 9th and 10th respectively, before enduring the ignominy of another wooden spoon under Davies' replacement, John Reid, in 1988.

Wiki has part of it right (because he transferred as a player, then took on the coaching role when Scott departed):

The 1985 season saw him cross to South Adelaide where he took on the role of captain-coach. He played two seasons at the club before retiring.

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As for the truth, who knows!

[sapaul]

I was only 14 but from memory, Keane advised him a few weeks into the season he would struggle to be a regular in the league side. As for why, guess he just didn't fit into Merv's plans?

Pretty sure he did go to South as playing coach though, sat out of footy for a couple of weeks from memory and then the South stuff happened. That's my recollection anyway but I too could be wrong.

Might have to wack in The Way it was 85' tomorrow now.

[Magpiespower]

I was only 14 but from memory, Keane advised him a few weeks into the season he would struggle to be a regular in the league side. As for why, guess he just didn't fit into Merv's plans?

Sturt were a young, exciting team in '85.

IIRC, it was a generational thing.

Keane preferred the younger Ian Willmott in the goal-square.

Bagged 123 goals that year.

[Adelaide Hawk]

Whatever the reason, it didn't work. Sturt went backwards and stayed there for over a decade.

As for Davies being appointed as South coach, it reminded me so much of the Kerley sacking in 1966 and the appointment of Darley. They couldn't handle someone imposing discipline on the players and went for the nice guy who wouldn't tread on the toes of the committee ... and they got the same result both times.

Anytime anyone has tried to change the culture at South they've been sacked. It worries me that the same thing is happening at my club.

[gadj1976]

tail wagging the dog AH?

I'm a Parramatta Eels fan and it's been widely reported that the same thing happened there last year.

Keane would've taken us to a flag in the late 80's or early 90's and I was really disappointed in Sturt when they didn't reappoint him. Smithy and Popplestone left the club at the end of the Keane era too which didn't help.

[GWW]

^^Schache too, he was probably the biggest loss of the 3.