Don't Cry for Melbourne

[ThePuppetMaster]

http://www.afl.com.au/news/newsarticle/tabid/208/newsid/107822/default.aspx

an aptly titled editorial on the melbourne/scully/gws situation.... on the afl website of all site's

am i wrong to be a bit disappointed and concerned by this article?

one, the fact that someone like AA or Vlad doesn't have the balls to say something like this publicly, but will condone it on their website... i find interesting

is this the afl trying to cover it's own tracks?

also some oversights in an attempt to make melbourne seem hypocritical (ie. jeff white's trade)

again, it hardly seems an appropriate piece for the afl's website

but maybe that's just me, would love to hear if my concern is justified or not

 

[Father Jack]

I'm struggling to find anything in that article that isn't common sense or that needs to be explicitly stated by by a senior AFL figure. Sees to me that all they are saying is that if Scully does go it won't be the end of the world for Melbourne, they'll get compensated and they move on. They can hardly change the rules now, and this sort of thing was always on the cards and anyway we want the new clubs to be competitive and not have the situation that existed when the Bears started.

 

[krusden]

it is strange how the articles justifying positions end up on the AFL website, and it should probably discourage the writing of such articles on its site and remain "apolitical" as it were rather than passing comment on the situation in a veiled manner or what may be interpreted by supporters as a veiled manner.
Really, they should stay an official news-reporting site rather than one with OP-ed pieces like this.

 

[ThePuppetMaster]

I'm struggling to find anything in that article that isn't common sense or that needs to be explicitly stated by by a senior AFL figure. Sees to me that all they are saying is that if Scully does go it won't be the end of the world for Melbourne, they'll get compensated and they move on. They can hardly change the rules now, and this sort of thing was always on the cards and anyway we want the new clubs to be competitive and not have the situation that existed when the Bears started.

it's mainly not the content that concerns me, it's the thought behind the writing of the article

 

[Scodog10]

Despite everything written in the article being factual I believe there's no place for an article like that on the official AFL website (it should be left to newspaper editorials and other such publications), it just reeks of propoganda.

 

[Father Jack]

Why would they ignore it when it is a bit of a burning issue at the moment, of course they should address it, and anyway they have to at least have the odd interesting/pertinent article on there otherwise no one would bother with the site full stop.

So should they either a) not address the issue at all, b) wail and gnash their teeth at how unfair it is to Melbourne, or c) empathise with Melbourne to a degree but defend the rule and try and evaluate (and perhaps minimse) the long term impact if such a move were to eventuate?

 

[krusden]

Why would they ignore it when it is a bit of a burning issue at the moment, of course they should address it, and anyway they have to at least have the odd interesting/pertinent article on there otherwise no one would bother with the site full stop.

So should they either a) not address the issue at all, b) wail and gnash their teeth at how unfair it is to Melbourne, or c) empathise with Melbourne to a degree but defend the rule and try and evaluate (and perhaps minimse) the long term impact if such a move were to eventuate?

they shouldn't express an opinion on this move or any possible move on the site at all.
but if they do they should defend the rule and evaluate the long-term implications without expressing any empathy at all.

 

[Father Jack]

why? Are we all unthinking children?

 

[krusden]

why? Are we all unthinking children?

beats me why the organization should share the feelings of the melbourne supporters with the possibility of losing scully.
that's their issue.

 

[Father Jack]

all they said is that it won't be the end of Melbourne if it happened. It was a reasonable article that put across a different side to the story than the emotive 'end of the world' stuff that you get in the mainstream papers. It would be remiss of the AFL not to address the issue. They need to put their side of the story across, and they can do by also addressing the feelings of the club(s) potentially affected

 

[Tas]

The new clubs have to get their players from somewhere, do we want them having all the first round to themselves? Because if they can't poach players then they would get compensation like that and then trade some picks for some players who would want to leave for the money... so the end result will be largely the same.

You just can't create a system which will always produce a fair compensation.

All the clubs knew that they might lose one or two players and agreed to it, I wouldn't feel sorry for myself even if Swallow and others had been lured, definitely not going to feel sorry for a club that abused the priority pick rule.

 

[Demonheart]

The Jeff White comparison is a crock of shit, Melbourne gave up picks 2 & 18 and were then forced to cough up another top 5 pick. So Freo received picks 2,5 & 18 while on the current system Melbourne will at most get pick 9 (at most) and another first rounder (nfi where), but that's not even guaranteed.

Sloppy journalism.


Tas, you really need to let it go, as Chewy proved in that other thread North have done their own fair share of tanking. Stop being so pathetic

 

[Falchoon]

The Jeff White comparison is a crock of shit,

absolutely

Melbourne cheated to get Jeff White, GWS will do their recruiting within the rules.

 

[Demonheart]

absolutely

Melbourne cheated to get Jeff White, GWS will do their recruiting within the rules.

Fremantle cheated to get Jeff Farmer a couple of years later in exactly the same circumstances however they weren't forced to give up an extra draft pick like we did.


It's best to have all the facts when you try to play this game

 

[Father Jack]

How did Freo cheat?

 

[krusden]

The new clubs have to get their players from somewhere, do we want them having all the first round to themselves? Because if they can't poach players then they would get compensation like that and then trade some picks for some players who would want to leave for the money... so the end result will be largely the same.

You just can't create a system which will always produce a fair compensation.

All the clubs knew that they might lose one or two players and agreed to it, I wouldn't feel sorry for myself even if Swallow and others had been lured, definitely not going to feel sorry for a club that abused the priority pick rule.

hate to say, but i totally agree with you.

No matter what happens, someone will not be happy in re: compensation.

 

[Falchoon]

Fremantle cheated to get Jeff Farmer a couple of years later in exactly the same circumstances however they weren't forced to give up an extra draft pick like we did.


It's best to have all the facts when you try to play this game

Fact: Melbourne cheated to get Jeff White. GWS will not.


Your eye for an eye absolvement argument is a year off.

 

[The Old Dark Navy's]

Probably not appropriate. It smacks of the AFL having inside knowledge and trying to smooth the path along the way.

Also, making out it is not as bad as the Cats losing Ablett, well I beg to differ.

Age wise, Ablett is at least half way through his career. The Dees fans had at the very least a decade of watching Scully go around to look forward to. As a number one pick, he represents hope, he represents solace for the indignity of finishing last at the time, he represents the start of their revival.

Now that revival potentially is set back a couple of years (years in which they develop Scully), and they will receive compensation that has nowhere near the same guarantees as Scully does.

The Dees will end up wearing it, and they will not be happy, and everyone else would tell them to suck it up. I reckon they are entitled to be aggrieved about it though. It takes time to process something like this.

 

[Father Jack]

How does it smack of the AFL having inside knowledge? What have they suggested might happen that no one else has?

 

[Brilliant]

If he does go Scully is choosing to go. No one will be putting a gun to his head Harry O style

It's no one but Melbourne's fault that their best player is a 2nd year player. They decided to tank and start again.

There are no guarantees with anything football. Scully might not live up to his potential, he might get injured, he might have asked for a trade anyway.

When Deledio won the rising star award, if he had of been poached from Richmond it would've been a similar situation. Scully might kick on better than Deledio but there is no guarantee on how good he will be.

 

[Allbetsroff]

To be honest, you can't blame Tom Scully for wanting to leave if in fact he does. Imagine all that pressure, a team devoid of success for so long who had a career coach for nearly a decade, things finally start to turn around and you're the young kid with all this pressure heaped on you.

 

[The Old Dark Navy's]

How does it smack of the AFL having inside knowledge? What have they suggested might happen that no one else has?

Well everyone else can only speculate. The AFL are probably in a better position to know how their newest club is progressing as far as players being signed up.

Even if they do not know, them speculating about it can give the impression they might know because they would have the ear of GWS and a vested interest in their success.

It is far better that they do not speculate.

 

[Riders of Rohan]

 

[The Old Dark Navy's]

To be honest, you can't blame Tom Scully for wanting to leave if in fact he does. Imagine all that pressure, a team devoid of success for so long who had a career coach for nearly a decade, things finally start to turn around and you're the young kid with all this pressure heaped on you.

How is all the pressure on Scully? What about Watts, Trengrove, Grimes, Jurrah, Frawley, Ate, Jones, Gysberts etc etc. All are expected to be part of a group growing together to lead the Dees back up the ladder. The same happens at every AFL club.

I can understand that after a season, he isn't particularly tied to the Dees just yet, so loyalty is not a real issue. I understand that the offer might be too good to refuse. It doesn't mean I have any less sympathy for the Dees and their supporters though. It's a crappy situation to be in, no matter how pragmatic other BigFooty posters want to be about it.

 

[Byron_Clanger]

I won't be