News Pies to build stronger connections: Buckley.

[Old Spice]

The way Leon Davis was treated was probably the worst in the history of the Collingwood Football Club.

You like Scharenberg when it appears we can't get him, Reid (who must be) in defence when you learn Buckley wants him forward, Davis when he wants to go. It's a smart strategy - appearing to like players we seemingly can't get or tagging players in positions they won't play.

 

[ClaytonM]

Leon's 2011 was superior to anything Mcloud ever did as a defender.

According to my friends at Wikipedia McCloud played most of 2007 off the half back flank. He was All Australian Captain that year.

 

[the distributer]

According to my friends at Wikipedia McCloud played most of 2007 off the half back flank. He was All Australian Captain that year.

He was a high possession HB, hardly a defender.

 

[Kirby]

Fair dinkum, I love Leon, I really do, but he was not in the same post code as McLeod. I would think that 98% of the football public would agree.

 

[Robroy22]

Fair dinkum, I love Leon, I really do, but he was not in the same post code as McLeod. I would think that 98% of the football public would agree.

Zactly. I even think Leon would be embarrassed being mentioned in the same company as McLeod.
I loved watching Leon play, particularly in his defensive role (wish he'd been tried there earlier) but seriously McLeod was in another class altogether.

 

[Maggie5]

I thought the thread was about Buckley.

At first I thought it was about Leon but then I checked the title and realised it was about Buckley.

 

[Mental Magpie]

He was a high possession HB, hardly a defender.

Delusional I'm afraid.........

 

[mike123]

The way Leon Davis was treated was probably the worst in the history of the Collingwood Football Club.

Can you elaborate?

 

[Black_White]

The way Leon Davis was treated was probably the worst in the history of the Collingwood Football Club.

Haha!
He was offered a contract and refused it.
How the hell was that treated the worst in the history of CFC?

 

[mike123]

Haha!
He was offered a contract and refused it.
How the hell was that treated the worst in the history of CFC?

He wasn't offered a good contract.

 

[the distributer]

Fair dinkum, I love Leon, I really do, but he was not in the same post code as McLeod. I would think that 98% of the football public would agree.

I'm not sure how Leon could have been any better during 2011, he embarrassed his opponents, and remember it was Leon's 2011 V anything McLeod did as a defender, not overall careers, Iirc Mcleods very best best football was on the wing, happy to be corrected about that though.

 

[the distributer]

If Leon was as valuable as u think he was (the best in the AFL era) why did no other team pick him up? Hard to understand if that type of a player with no major injury or behavioural issues was on the market that no other club would pick him up. Defies logic.

The club (bucks) has been criticised for letting go players such as Davis, Jolly, Didak and Kraks. But if they had any real value another teams would have picked them up. Compare that to Geelong who let Chapman and Podsy go and other clubs picked them up. Could u imagine the outcry if Chapman was one of ours and we let him go and the Bomber picked him up. I think on the issue of letting ageing players go Bucks and the club have got it 100% right.

I like to think he wasn't interested in playing for anyone else, I know there were rumours about his manager approaching the WA clubs etc etc, but come on, do you honestly think neither club wanted him? Both WA teams at that time were in a finals window, to my knowledge Leon ended up in the WAFL on a 50k contract.

 

[the distributer]

If Leon was as valuable as u think he was (the best in the AFL era) why did no other team pick him up? Hard to understand if that type of a player with no major injury or behavioural issues was on the market that no other club would pick him up. Defies logic.

The club (bucks) has been criticised for letting go players such as Davis, Jolly, Didak and Kraks. But if they had any real value another teams would have picked them up. Compare that to Geelong who let Chapman and Podsy go and other clubs picked them up. Could u imagine the outcry if Chapman was one of ours and we let him go and the Bomber picked him up. I think on the issue of letting ageing players go Bucks and the club have got it 100% right.

I like to think he wasn't interested in playing for anyone else, I know there were rumours about his manager approaching the WA clubs etc etc, but come on, do you honestly think neither club wanted him? Both WA teams at that time were in a finals window, to my knowledge Leon ended up in the WAFL on a 50k contract.

 

[ClaytonM]

I like to think he wasn't interested in playing for anyone else, I know there were rumours about his manager approaching the WA clubs etc etc, but come on, do you honestly think neither club wanted him? Both WA teams at that time were in a finals window, to my knowledge Leon ended up in the WAFL on a 50k contract.

So Leon was so dedicated to the Pies that he would not play for anyone else, but he was not dedicated enough to take a pay cut as he entered the twilight of career. Seems a strange logic to me.

After the Flag all teams struggle with the salary cap. I am sure the club would have kept Leon if the terms were in the best interest of the club. You blame Bucks for Leon leaving but at the end of the day it was Leon's decision. While he may have stayed for more money I am not sure his heart would have been in it. Perhaps his many finals failures had finally got to him, his ego, his manager pumping him up and providing poor advice. Or finally perhaps it was just time to move home.

 

[Jasper84]

You must be seeing things, I never made the comparison, McLeod clearly had the better career and will clearly go down as the better player, and rightly so, alls I'm saying is McLeod (IMO) never had a better year that Leon's 2011 as a defender.

Maybe you need glasses?

FTR, I don't think clement had a better year either.

Saying Mcleod never had a better year than Leon's is a comparison.

Maybe you need a dictionary?

 

[ClaytonM]

I never originally made the comparison numb nuts, that honour goes to someone else.

No you just claimed Leon was perhaps the best defender in the AFL era. I just provided McCloud as a clearly better alternative.

 

[the distributer]

No you just claimed Leon was perhaps the best defender in the AFL era. I just provided McCloud as a clearly better alternative.

Better? In what way?

I'll tell you now if defensive forwards were in vogue during Macleods HB days his numbers would have dried up dramatically, he relied heavily on uncontested ball, Leon thrived on contested ball, Macleod was a good disposer of the pill no doubt but Leon was better, Leon had more poise and more core strength.

As I've said I'm not saying Leon was overall better than Macleod over their careers, but give me Leon 2011 as a backman over Macleod any day of the week, Leon was on another planet as a defender IMO, the bloke had his AA locked by mid year FFS.

 

[rustyg70]

FFS. This thread IS NOT ABOUT LEON DAVIS.
Leon refused to sign on the dotted line when asked, shopped himself around to every other club, got no offers, promised a WAFL club he would play for them, renenged on that offer and then got fat and lazy.
CAN WE PLEASE GET BACK ON TOPIC?

 

[the distributer]

FFS. This thread IS NOT ABOUT LEON DAVIS.
Leon refused to sign on the dotted line when asked, shopped himself around to every other club, got no offers, promised a WAFL club he would play for them, renenged on that offer and then got fat and lazy.
CAN WE PLEASE GET BACK ON TOPIC?

You know you can easily skip over any content that doesn't suit your fancy don't you? Just scroll down bro.

Always worries me when people get so worked up over a bloody internet thread lol.

 

[Checkside35]

Malthouse admitted that he persisted with Leon in his early days due to what he did for Collingwood and aboriginal relations. In the mid 2000's, Leon wanted to go home but neither WA side wanted him. He stayed, got paid good money and had a great 2011. At the end 2011, the club is faced with a cash issue. Leon is offered less, he says no, goes home. Clubs aren't exactly lining up for his services. An AA defender is snubbed by clubs? Say it ain't so.
To me, the questions are...
Who owed who?
Did the club owe Davis another contract worth 300+?
Did Davis owe the club another year of his best despite a pay cut?
What was the extent of MM's muscle in terms of determining player payments? How much say would he have had when it came to Leon's contract? Not whether he plays another year but how much he gets paid.

Many have taken pay cuts in the last couple of years their contracts because they had done well out of footy earlier. From memory, Chris Grant, Brad Johnson, Rohan Smith, Scott West played for about 200 grand in the last years. Struggling club and more willing to take a hit for it. Food for thought.

 

[Vicky Park]

McLeod was one of my favourite players, ever. Outstanding footballer. I loved Leon, and his 2011 was exhilarating, but he did not deliver over the long term like McLeod. I was also disappointed when in 2012, after he left us, Leon commented publicly during the media beat up about Bucks versus Mick. Really didn't need to do that, but I still rate him as a great Pies player.

*edit: to try to bring this back to the topic, what happened between Leon and the club/Bucks at the end of 2011 followed immediately after Mick's departure. And maybe it wasn't handled so well. It could be an early example of a problem area for Bucks which, in his typically self-critical and reflective manner, he recognises. Interesting also that Geoff Walsh has moved on, who was handling player contracts/negotiations at the time (correct?). Again, with Bucks in his infancy as senior coach, he may not have then had the requisite know how for dealing with these matters. This is all supposition of course.

 

[Robroy22]

"This is all supposition of course."

Thankyou VP....in one sentence you've summarised this entire thread and life as so many seem to know it.

 

[speedytiger]

I remember Leon meeting with Port, my memory is they didn't offer him much money so he went back to WA.

 

[Checkside35]

"This is all supposition of course."

Thankyou VP....in one sentence you've summarised this entire thread and life as so many seem to know it.

If we dealt only with absolute facts, threads would last two posts.

 

[jonbe54]

If we dealt only with absolute facts, threads would last two posts.

And if we only dealt with fantasy we could start a book club.
As usual the truth lies somewhere between.