Former Adelaide Crows superstar Andrew McLeod has reiterated that the club has a culture problem, which he says is evident by the way they responded to his criticism.
The recent hit out at the Crows by McLeod comes after former teammate and current board member Mark Ricciuto said McLeod's relationship with the club was โnot any better than what it was when he first said it.โ
In early June, McLeod stated a clear displeasure with the club's current culture and was asking for an improvement in that factor, saying the club was "not a particularly warm place".
Speaking on The Bunji and Brettster Showย during the week, McLeod again repeated that his concerns with the club weren't just confined to one thing alone, but a whole range of things.
โItโs not about the past player program, itโs not because Iโm not social and I need to get off my arse, or that Iโm a โtemperamental soulโ โ this twisting and deflecting just needs to stop, people need to stop changing the narrative,โ McLeod said.
โLast year, after the review, the club came out and admitted cultural changes were needed. My concerns are that I donโt believe the cultural shifts can only be in one part of the football club. That just doesnโt make sense, does it?
โMy feelings of detachment are due partly to this and also probably because of my personal experiences at the football club over the past seven years.โ
McLeod also shoved aside claims that he hadn't brought up these issues with the club before speaking out publicly about them.
โThereโs a perception that I never voiced my opinions to the club before, that I went straight to the public arena and aired this, that my comments came out of nowhere and that the timing was particularly bad for the club. So, lets clear up these misconceptions.
โI have had numerous tough conversations with AFC hierarchy, uncomfortable ones,โ McLeod said.
โBut (also) full-hearted conversations about the club and its values and the direction itโs going in, as well as honest conversations about my programs and what I perceive to be a lack of genuine interest for the contribution and the impact that our programs have had on community.
โAnd when youโve had enough of these fruitless conversations, you get to the stage whereโฆ that fire in your belly begins to burn out.โ
โFor me, thatโs how Iโve felt for the past few years when Iโve talked to those at AFC.โ
Speaking on Triple M, Ricciuto said McLeod and the clubs relationship still doesn't remain in a good place.
โUnfortunately itโs not any better than what it was when he first said it and Iโm really saddened by it,โ Ricciuto said.
โItโs been a very annoying couple of weeks for me.
โIve tried to get in touch with him probably five or six times since then, because I just want to sort it out, Iโve said that to him.
โI want him to be happy at the club... lets sort it out, thatโs all I want to do, just fix it up and move on and make the footy club better and give the current playing list and the coaches the best opportunity they can to have a good season.
โI have rang him and I have text him and Iโm looking forward to catching up with him. Weโre good mates, we always have been, weโve never spoken a bad word to each other so I want to keep it like that.โ
McLeod also said the response by club officials haven't helped the cause any further.
โIโve never called out anyone personally, I just implored them to heed the advice of their own internal review, to learn and improve,โ he said.
โBut in return, I received comments from club officials about my personality and my actions.
โThey tried to deflect conversations about ways in which they could improve and attempted to flip the narrative to be about me and my flaws and emotions.
โTo me, this is the exact problem with the club โ the lack of genuine willingness to listen, self-reflect and improve.โ
McLeod wants to continue to help repair the problems he believes the Crows have, no matter the positive or negative comments he receives.
โI love my club, and will continue to love my club. And if asking these questions means Iโll cop some criticism then so be it,โ he said.
โIf things improve, itโll be worth it.โ
