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 “not any better than what it was when he first said it.”
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 Show 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.
“It’s not about the past player program, it’s not because I’m not social and I need to get off my arse, or that I’m a ‘temperamental soul’ – this twisting and deflecting just needs to stop, people need to stop changing the narrative,” McLeod said.
“Last year, after the review, the club came out and admitted cultural changes were needed. My concerns are that I don’t believe the cultural shifts can only be in one part of the football club. That just doesn’t make sense, does it?
“My 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.”
McLeod also shoved aside claims that he hadn't brought up these issues with the club before speaking out publicly about them.
“There’s 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.
“I have had numerous tough conversations with AFC hierarchy, uncomfortable ones,” McLeod said.
“But (also) full-hearted conversations about the club and its values and the direction it’s 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.
“And when you’ve had enough of these fruitless conversations, you get to the stage where… that fire in your belly begins to burn out.”
“For me, that’s how I’ve felt for the past few years when I’ve talked to those at AFC.”
Speaking on Triple M, Ricciuto said McLeod and the clubs relationship still doesn't remain in a good place.
“Unfortunately it’s not any better than what it was when he first said it and I’m really saddened by it,” Ricciuto said.
“It’s been a very annoying couple of weeks for me.
“Ive tried to get in touch with him probably five or six times since then, because I just want to sort it out, I’ve said that to him.
“I want him to be happy at the club... lets sort it out, that’s 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.
“I have rang him and I have text him and I’m looking forward to catching up with him. We’re good mates, we always have been, we’ve never spoken a bad word to each other so I want to keep it like that.”
McLeod also said the response by club officials haven't helped the cause any further.
“I’ve never called out anyone personally, I just implored them to heed the advice of their own internal review, to learn and improve,” he said.
“But in return, I received comments from club officials about my personality and my actions.
“They 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.
“To me, this is the exact problem with the club – the lack of genuine willingness to listen, self-reflect and improve.”
McLeod wants to continue to help repair the problems he believes the Crows have, no matter the positive or negative comments he receives.
“I love my club, and will continue to love my club. And if asking these questions means I’ll cop some criticism then so be it,” he said.
“If things improve, it’ll be worth it.”
