Player Watch #13 Clayton Oliver – UNPRECEDENTED 4x B&F, 3x AA, 2x AFLCA Winner and Premiership Player (formerly)

[Scythe94]

OK, I've removed about three pages of posts.

Please do not use this thread to speculate about Oliver's private life – medical or otherwise.

Regardless of the veracity of your rumour, or what you know/have heard, if it's not public knowledge, just don't post it.

I don't want to turn this place into Demonland, but if you can't see the potential harm that this sort of rumour-spreading can cause (regardless of your intentions), then perhaps it's best if you take a bit of a break.

Thanks.

 

[Lord Nev]

I think the biggest issue is why did we sign him up for such a long deal when we knew this kind of stuff has been happening for years?

That's where the club is deliberately blurring the lines a bit I reckon.

The ADHD stuff they would have known about, but now they're (rightly or wrongly, we don't know) linking that to the off field issues he's been having. When they signed him things weren't obviously like they are now and the club probs thought they had the management of it all sorted. Turns out, maybe they didn't...

 

[Crimson Azure]

Well that didn't last long

As they say 'quality over quantity.'

 

[Crimson Azure]

Gawn may need to use his belt instead of the wooden spoon moving forward since the message isn't getting thru. Next is the extension cord.

Make him smoke a packet of darts and finish off the bottle of whiskey too. Ah, those were the days.

That'll learn him.

 

[PerfectFooty]

Make him smoke a packet of darts and finish off the bottle of whiskey too. Ah, those were the days.

That'll learn him.

 

[Demon 16]

Make him smoke a packet of darts and finish off the bottle of whiskey too. Ah, those were the days.

That'll learn him.

I’m not sure that ‘have all of those lines and finish off that crack pipe’ is exactly the same thing..

 

[pjfairbairn]

I just think that unless there are any insiders lurking on the board and posting real life truths, there's so much rumour and guesswork and assumption happening here that we're speculating on very little.

For example, and not all encompassing:

1. We assume Clayton has a drug addiction. Some say meth, some say party drugs. Could be both. Could be neither. The insinuation is that he has one so it appears most likely, but we don't know. Gambling has been mentioned but again, who knows, and we assume the fella loves getting on the piss as well.
2. We assume he is blaming ADHD. We don't know this for certain, though it appears to have been a key part of his story when he had the seizure.
3. We assume that the club have been across the full scope of his challenges for years. Clearly they have had some knowledge, but we don't know how long Richo has been mowing his lawn. The 7 year contract looks bad in hindsight, but we don't know what they knew when he was offered it.
4. We assume that they're not trying to tear it up as we speak. Who knows what is going on behind closed doors in negotations with him and the PA

The club's had a myraid of behavioural issues with players over the pasty 2-3 years, and is not blameless. Clarry appears to be making poor decisions and I hope he'e okay. They have said in their latest statement that he is making 'good progress', and perhaps he is, though the pics at Revs don't bode well. The Club and his agent and many teammates have gone out of their way to make positive commentary on how much they care about him so while he might be making poor decisions, he's clearly loved by many.

But the crux of my point is this.... there are very few people, myself included, who truly understand the scenario and what's happening, yet are posting about it like they know the full facts. It's all a bit of a casserole of nonsense and a cacophony of uneducated opinions and people almost hoping for the worst so that they can say "I told you so" about the likely disintgeration of the football career of one of our modern-day all time greats. All a bit sad isn't it?

 

[schmuttt]

I just think that unless there are any insiders lurking on the board and posting real life truths, there's so much rumour and guesswork and assumption happening here that we're speculating on very little.

For example, and not all encompassing:

1. We assume Clayton has a drug addiction. Some say meth, some say party drugs. Could be both. Could be neither. The insinuation is that he has one so it appears most likely, but we don't know. Gambling has been mentioned but again, who knows, and clearly the fella loves getting on the piss as well.
2. We assume he is blaming ADHD. We don't know this for certain, though it appears to have been a key part of his story when he had the seizure.
3. We assume that the club have been across the full scope of his challenges for years. Clearly they have had some knowledge, but we don't know how long Richo has been mowing his lawn. The 7 year contract looks bad in hindsight, but we don't know what they knew when he was offered it.
4. We assume that they're not trying to tear it up as we speak. Who knows what is going on behind closed doors in negotations with him and the PA

The club's had a myraid of behavioural issues with players over the pasty 2-3 years, and is not blameless. Clarry appears to be making poor decisions and I hope he'e okay. They have said in their latest statement that he is making 'good progress', and perhaps he is, though the pics at Revs don't bode well. The Club and his agent and many teammates have gone out of their way to make positive commentary on how much they care about him so while he might be making poor decisions, he's clearly loved by many.

But the crux of my point is this.... there are very few people, myself included, who truly understand the scenario and what's happening, yet are posting about it like they know the full facts. It's all a bit of a casserole of nonsense and a cacophony of uneducated opinions and people almost hoping for the worst so that they can say "I told you so" about the likely disintgeration of the football career of one of our modern-day all time greats. All a bit sad isn't it?

Did the club not literally say 'Clayton has been managing these issues for a few years'?

 

[pjfairbairn]

Did the club not literally say 'Clayton has been managing these issues for a few years'?

But which parts of his issues have been for years and which are new and which are true and which are false, and which did the club know about and which didn't they, and the ones they did know about when did they know and what have they learnt recently? Can somebody who actually knows the ins and outs tell us? Cos it doesn't seem like it.

I mean, I know a forum is for speculation and opinion but I feel like we're all missing A LOT of fact on this one

 

[Demon 16]

But which parts of his issues have been for years and which are new and which are true and which are false, and which did the club know about and which didn't they, and the ones they did know about when did they know and what have they learnt recently? Can somebody who actually knows the ins and outs tell us? Cos it doesn't seem like it.

I mean, I know a forum is for speculation and opinion but I feel like we're all missing A LOT of fact on this one

I’m sorry if I’ve said too much pjfairbairn , as I’m usually very conservative on here.

But I can assure you that if you go to the Palace Hotel in Camberwell for the last 2 weeks or the next 2 weeks, you’ll see him playing in the pokies at 2am.

I’m a genuine supporter and wish to see one of my all time favourites succeed, but it’s clear that he hasn’t been able to turn things around after the club called him out publicly in the postseason. It’s not looking good.

 

[pjfairbairn]

I’m sorry if I’ve said too much pjfairbairn , as I’m usually very conservative on here.

But I can assure you that if you go to the Palace Hotel in Camberwell for the last 2 weeks or the next 2 weeks, you’ll see him playing in the pokies at 2am.

I’m a genuine supporter and wish to see one of my all time favourites succeed, but it’s clear that he hasn’t been able to turn things around after the club called him out publicly in the postseason. It’s not looking good.

That's distressing mate and no need to apologise - if you've seen it firsthand or on good authority, then that's a valid concern. Is gambling/pokies his number one vice?

 

[Demon 16]

That's distressing mate and no need to apologise - if you've seen it firsthand or on good authority, then that's a valid concern. Is gambling/pokies his number one vice?

No but unfortunately a lot of people that use coke or meth will play computer games (or pokies) into the early hours.

Ill leave it there but to genuinely wish Clarry the best.

 

[schmuttt]

Why was A11s post deleted?

 

[A11dAtP0w3R]

Why was A11s post deleted?

I deleted coz the person who told me that posts on BF and I shouldn't have said anything, really up to them if they want to divulge it to the board.

 

[Topkent]

Bennell had a high list of indiscretions and was aware we he came to the club any * ups would not be tolerated

Oliver who's come to the club via the draft but is building a list, and i would suspect he is walking a fine line now

That said and not to go full Dan mode, there are some people wanting to turf Oliver out quickly that are the same people that thought that Bennell would be a good pick up despite the clear already established red flags. I'm not defending Oliver's behaviour because it is clearly sub par and an issue, just something i find a tad amusing.

It's really for the club and player to sort out at this point, we'll see how it all plays out, but not ideal in the meantime. It's more than a game and Oliver needs help, but he needs to be the one to take some of those steps. On the AFL side of things alone would be a major waste of his abilities, but that isn't the priority

I dunno, maybe because Bennell cost nothing and was able to be punted the second he ****ed up, meanwhile chrome heads taking over a million a year to keep ignoring help

 

[mickent1]

Heard from a very good source that a senior exec within the club told him that the situation is pretty serious and that there is a good chance now that he may never play AFL football again. Make of that what you will but it’s really not looking good. Would personally be devastated if that’s the case and really hope Clarry can get his life back in order first and then get back to footy ASAP

 

[Crusty Demon]

The reality is we wouldn’t have been actually able to trade him for a decent deal. We’d have been getting stuff all and probably paying a sizeable portion of his deal. That’s after a club did its due diligence.

Yeah trading him was literally off the table. No club would have offered anything once they did the tiniest amount of digging. His currency is zero really. Our best bet now is to hope he gets himself healthy and can play regular footy again. Could go either way. Hoping the guy can get back to his healthy best. He's a ripping footballer.

 

[Topkent]

At this stage it's looking like the only reason we haven't disciplined him is because without training he'd go off the rails even harder so he probably needs that schedule.

 

[Crusty Demon]

The last round of comments from Richo and Pert, after the Lorne stuff, was:

“Clayton is taking a break as he continues to deal with some issues. We are continuing to support Clayton and managing his program in a way that prioritises his health and wellbeing,” Richardson said.

“His teammates and staff remain confident he is making good progress.”

“The club has been aware of and supporting Clayton with his personal circumstances for some time and is committed to continuing to do so,” Pert said.

“While club leaders focus on the care and support Clayton needs, we also have a responsibility to uphold our strong club culture for the benefit of all our players and staff.”

More sounds like: There's issues, so he's not off the hook, but we're also trying to fix them.

IF we knew how serious his 'issues' were, then signing him up for 7 years could well be the dumbest thing this football club has ever done(maybe besides sacking Norm Smith or drafting Sam Weideman over Charlie Curnow). Mindboggling if true and I'm shocked deeper questions on this haven't been asked by journo's etc as yet. I love Clarry, but if his issues were well known prior to the long term contract, then that's unforgivable.

 

[pjfairbairn]

At this stage it's looking like the only reason we haven't disciplined him is because without training he'd go off the rails even harder so he probably needs that schedule.

What absolute wank shite talk. Do you know whats happening behind the scenes from Canada?

 

[Topkent]

What absolute wank shite talk. Do you know whats happening behind the scenes from Canada?

Here we go another PJs feelings hurt dummy spit

 

[PerfectFooty]

I dunno, maybe because Bennell cost nothing and was able to be punted the second he ****ed up, meanwhile chrome heads taking over a million a year to keep ignoring help

Fair, it wasn't specific to you

 

[Topkent]

Fair, it wasn't specific to you

Trust me, I would have had a problem with us signing Bennell to a 5 year 500k contract but we gave him bus change and punted him as soon as we wanted

By virtue of taking over a million Carrot top should be held to a higher standard. He's supposed to be the best player we've ever had according to some.

 

[pjfairbairn]

Here we go another PJs feelings hurt dummy spit

No hurt feelings, no dummy spit, I just think you don't know half as much as you like to think you do. You do you bro.

 

[Demon Attack]

“What Clayton needs to be really clear on is that we now have some minimum standards of behaviour that we want him to adhere to,” Goodwin continued.

“And if he can’t come along with our culture, there will be some consequences that come with that and we need to be in a position where we can drive our high-performance culture and Clayton is a big part of that.

“Teams that have great clarity on culture and team behaviours ultimately have success and there’s no individual that’s above that and we’re going to build that around Clayton.”

This is what Goodwin said to SEN in that debacle of a PR interview with Pert. How's that going for them.

 

[Lord Nev]

IF we knew how serious his 'issues' were, then signing him up for 7 years could well be the dumbest thing this football club has ever done(maybe besides sacking Norm Smith or drafting Sam Weideman over Charlie Curnow). Mindboggling if true and I'm shocked deeper questions on this haven't been asked by journo's etc as yet. I love Clarry, but if his issues were well known prior to the long term contract, then that's unforgivable.

I mentioned in another post, I reckon the club is deliberately blurring the lines there. My opinion is when they say they 'have known the issues for some time' I believe they're referencing just the ADHD stuff, whereas it seems pretty clear they didn't envision things becoming like they have lately for him.