Ryan O'Keefe Wants to Leave Sydney for Melbourne - All Discussion Here!

[scottwade]

Re: Ryan O'Keefe

We all could be shit and just don't know it... Except for me, i have written references

All written on prison notepaper and signed Bubba.

 

[whiteandred]

He is going nowhere ... he just wanted to know what he is worth (would have been more last year!), can't blame him, this is his last chance to sign a long term deal.

Blame his manager who went about it in a very clumsy way (that is probably being generous).

All is forgiven Ryan, just hurry up and sign!

 

[efcboy]

one major reason he'd consider leaving which hasn't been discussed much on this board is family. as most of you (being swans fans) would be aware ryan got married early this year, he is now on the verge of planning to start a family. if all your parents and family etc were in melbourne (coincidentally in strathmore/essendon) to support you when raising kids along with being paid more salary wise (and lower living costs compared to sydney) it seems quite reasonable why o'keefe would want to move back.

only reason he'll stay with sydney will be to avoid moving to perth or adelaide if they are in a position to secure him.

 

[nighthawk]

Yeah, I would be surprised if he did move. Essendon may not have a shot at a flag for a while. If things went well for us he could possibly be playing finals in a few years, but if another flag is his main aim, he'd probably be safer at Sydney.

The only other thing is that it does seem a little odd for someone to say that they want to move to Melbourne, then change their mind a few weeks later when it is made possible. If the reason he wants to move is stronger than his desire for a flag, then he would move. Otherwise he would probably stay.

Also, he may be afraid that things would be awkward staying at the club, and that he won't be taken seriously if he stays.

He may be afraid that Port Adelaide will take him regardless of his desire to move to Melbourne, but it is alot of money for someone who doesn't want to be there. But there could be a fear there.

I'm sure you can all guess what I would like to happen, but I'm not getting my hopes up.

 

[kira]

He is going nowhere ... he just wanted to know what he is worth (would have been more last year!), can't blame him, this is his last chance to sign a long term deal.

Blame his manager who went about it in a very clumsy way (that is probably being generous).

All is forgiven Ryan, just hurry up and sign!

you seem particularly optimistic

i'm losing hope, patience and hair waiting for this decision

htfu with a decision already

 

[scottwade]

one major reason he'd consider leaving which hasn't been discussed much on this board is family. as most of you (being swans fans) would be aware ryan got married early this year, he is now on the verge of planning to start a family. if all your parents and family etc were in melbourne (coincidentally in strathmore/essendon) to support you when raising kids along with being paid more salary wise (and lower living costs compared to sydney) it seems quite reasonable why o'keefe would want to move back.

only reason he'll stay with sydney will be to avoid moving to perth or adelaide if they are in a position to secure him.

Is his wife not from Sydney?

If so the exact same reasoning, regarding being close to family, would apply to her. Just replace Sydney for Melbourne.

 

[liz]

At $400k+ pa he can afford to hire a full-time nanny!

I reckon the "back-to-Melbourne" thing was just a smoke-screen for "I want to see if anyone will pay me more money". Clearly he must have got the idea from somewhere that some club would offer him more than the Swans were offering but it seems that maybe theoretical contracts and real contracts are different things.

The fact (or at least, the reported fact as per Petoro) that he is still talking at least to Essendon sounds like ROK is still waiting to see whether a better offer emerges.

 

[efcboy]

Is his wife not from Sydney?

If so the exact same reasoning, regarding being close to family, would apply to her. Just replace Sydney for Melbourne.

not sure where his wife is originally from and i get your point - however his wife was obviously happy to move to melbourne given he requested to be traded there. you'd assume he asked her!!!

 

[vonn]

Theres been a bit of an overreaction on here.

It's not like the guy has turned his back on the club, lied or stopped putting in 100% on the field. He obviously has legitimate reasons for wanting to move back to Victoria and he's worked his arse off for our club for the best part of 10 years. It would be nice to know his reasons for wanting to leave but at the end of the day he owes us nothing.

How many of you have changed local footy clubs? Did you go around to all the people that turn up to watch the team and explain to them why you left?

I'll be dissapointed in him and pretty pissed off if he goes into the PSD but if he re-signs then he has done nothing wrong in my eyes.

i want to see him stay too but like... seriously the embarrasment to not have been traded.

 

[DeadlyAkkuret]

Re: Ryan O'Keefe

hahaha i can't believe she said that about herself. One thing she said that really made me think 'eek' was "no-one would ever tell you if you were bad in bed"

We all could be shit and just don't know it... Except for me, i have written references

But they're all in your handwriting.

 

[DeadlyAkkuret]

Re: Ryan O'Keefe

All written on prison notepaper and signed Bubba.

LOL!!

 

[stimpy]

i want to see him stay too but like... seriously the embarrasment to not have been traded.

It's actually not embarassing because this year in particularly, clubs are wanting to hang onto their first round picks because a. this year is supposed to be a super draft and b. next years draft is compromised.

I guess if you take a shallow look at the ryan non trade you may see it as embarassing but i can assure you that ROK would have a deeper understanding why no club was prepared to offer a first round pick for him.

 

[nighthawk]

Ummmm.... to those who think ROK was just doing all this to see if he could get more cash, maybe consider the following. He asked to be traded. If he actually had no intention of leaving Sydney, this is a bold move. Actually, it's just stupid. This alone pretty much completely disproves the theory he never wanted to move.

Also, if he had intended to stay at Sydney all along, why would he damage the relationship he had with the coach, the team, and the fans by saying he didn't want to stay.

As far as I can see there's no logical reason you would think O'Keefe wasn't sincere in his request to move, and you would only possibly believe that if it's what you wanted to believe.

 

[scottwade]

http://news.realfooty.com.au/sport/okeefes-afl-future-still-undecided-20081015-51fk.html

Sydney premiership star Ryan O'Keefe remains undecided about his AFL future, despite Carlton indicating they are unlikely to be able to recruit him.

The Swans are still awaiting word from the 27-year-old forward on whether he now wants to stay after he last week indicated his desire to be traded to a Melbourne club.

"We're keen for him to stay and we hope he will," Swans coach Paul Roos said.

But he admitted he was unsure of what O'Keefe's intentions were or whether the Blues were definitely out of the picture.

Carlton expressed interest in picking up O'Keefe after the Swans failed to reach terms with interested clubs over a trade deal for him during last week's exchange period.

O'Keefe had also indicated a desire to join the Blues.

But chief executive Greg Swann said the Blues did not believe they could work out a way to have O'Keefe fall through to their No.6 selection in December's pre-season draft.

"We can't see how O'Keefe would still be available at selection six," Swann said.

Essendon, who have the No.5 selection, are now the most likely destination should O'Keefe leave Sydney.

The Bombers said they had been in discussions with his manager but remained undecided whether they would use that pick to recruit him.
"We haven't ruled it in or out, no decision's been made," an Essendon spokesman said.

 

[Tedeski]

Not sure if anyone has read this Richard Hinds article yet.
But here it is for those that haven't seen it.

O'Keefe finds game is played hard, on and off the field


RICHARD HINDS
15/10/2008 11:42:11 PM


WHEN Ryan O'Keefe decided to turn down what he considered a sub-par deal with Sydney and test the waters in the AFL's trade week, he was clearly unaware he would be swimming with sharks.

However, as O'Keefe's career remains in limbo with the hard-working forward uncertain whether to run the gauntlet of the pre-season draft or accept the Swans' revised contract offer, the 27-year-old has found the game is sometimes played much tougher off the field than on it.

Predictably, O'Keefe has been cast as a mercenary by Swans fans for his post-season walkout. However, his initial disillusionment with a contract offer he did not believe matched the service he had given the club over 10 years - believed to be for about $400,000 a season - was understandable as he had earned the same money for the past three, very successful, seasons.

But somewhat naive was O'Keefe's apparent belief that, should better offers come from Melbourne clubs, the AFL's trade mechanism would ensure he would find the lucrative new home of his choosing.

After the Herald carried the first report that O'Keefe was disillusioned with the Swans' contract offer late last month, he and his new management received plenty of tempting offers. However, what O'Keefe was not told was that few clubs would be willing to give up their first-round pick or a quality player who would represent a fair trade for a player included on this year's All-Australian short list.

As one Swans official said: "What Ryan was told and what was actually put on the table during the week were a long way apart. He was being led to believe clubs were making genuine offers to get him, and we didn't get one."

What seems obvious is that the clubs that made lucrative contract offers to O'Keefe - believed to be up to $600,000 a season - did so in the hope that they could get him in the pre-season draft.

That would leave O'Keefe in the uncomfortable position of leaving the club that awarded him life membership just two weeks ago empty-handed - something his agent Tom Petroro said was never his intention. "Ryan has been with the club for 10 years and he has been determined all along to do the right thing by the Swans," he said.

Sometimes in these circumstances, a player might rationalise leaving a former club empty-handed on the basis that he had given them every chance to strike a fair deal. But, again, it was not the Swans but the clubs that told O'Keefe they coveted his services who would not play ball at the trade table - not with the value of draft picks inflated by the impending arrival of the new Gold Coast and western Sydney teams.

So O'Keefe has been left in an awkward position. He must either put a hefty price on his head and hope to get to a preferred team in the pre-season draft or make an embarrassing backdown and return to the Swans, who have increased their initial three-year contract offer to more than $450,000 a season.

Petroro yesterday declined to discuss reports that Carlton, one of the teams that had told O'Keefe it would pursue him vigorously in trade week, had withdrawn its interest. Nor would he say whether O'Keefe had decided to go into the pre-season draft or accept the Swans' revised offer.
Either way, it is a case likely to ensure a few players who think the grass looks greener will check twice before jumping the fence for fear they are being fooled.









Source: http://www.realfooty.com.au/articles/2008/10/15/12237501 ...

© SMH

 

[kira]

^^^tedeski, your post is the same as vonn's link.... real slap in the face, for her post imho

but richard hinds' opinion just reflects what alot of us are thinking....

rok has been a goose and should be rightfully embarrassed... the only dilemma now, is what the goose will do

 

[Tedeski]

^^^tedeski, your post is the same as vonn's link.... real slap in the face, for her post imho

but richard hinds' opinion just reflects what alot of us are thinking....

rok has been a goose and should be rightfully embarrassed... the only dilemma now, is what the goose will do

Sorry Cowfever & Vonn! I just quickly looked to see if it was posted but I obviously didn't look thoroughly enough & didn't even see the link. 'Cos I'm at work I just quickly posted the article in a little break.

Apologies! Only trying to quickly pass on any 'new' info.
I think everyone seems to eventually find out in the end so I'll leave that to others to do in the future!

Cheers!

 

[Parky79]

Interesting story, ROK on SEN today.

Does not want to leave Sydney empty handed!!! How can he leave now then?

A FEAR of being drafted by a non-Victorian club could see Ryan O'Keefe stay at Sydney rather than enter the draft.
The Swans' star forward tried to force a move back to Victoria during last week's trade period, but Sydney couldn't find a suitable deal.

The only way he can move from the Harbour City now is to enter the Pre-Season Draft where any team could take him. Melbourne has the first selection, but the next three picks are held by non-Victorian clubs - Fremantle, West Coast and Port Adelaide.

Speaking on radio station SEN today, O'Keefe said while he hadn't yet decided whether he would take his chances, he was concerned that he might not end up back in Victoria.

"That's probably one thing I have to go through. I'm not so certain I'll be able to get through (to a Victorian club), so that's something we have to weigh up," he said.

O'Keefe said he expected to announce his decision in the near future.

"Something will be made up very shortly, probably by next week," he said.

"Next week, but I'm not quite sure when yet."

The 27-year-old said he hadn't wanted to leave the Swans' empty handed if he flew the nest.

"It's something where we tried to get the job done through the trade so that Sydney actually got something for me, so if I was to sort-of walk out on Sydney and them not get anything for me, then that's probably something I would feel a little bit bad about," he said.

But if he decides to stay, O'Keefe is confident the team will welcome him back.

"They've got no dramas with me if I was to go back," he said.

"(Coach Paul Roos and I) spoke pretty closely through the whole period, and he's obviously said whatever the decision, if you want to come back that's fine and all that sort of stuff, so he's been really great throughout the whole process."
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[bomba4eva]

We could accomodate him at Essendon through our Pick 5 in the PSD. Salary cap space is not a problem at all and if we were to be fighting for a flag by 2011, O' Keefe should still have reasonably good form by then. At that stage of the draft much of the talent would be gone and we would be wise to take a proven performer like O' Keefe over a youngster who is more then likely to fail. Certainly warming to the prospect of snaring O' Keefe for free.

 

[bomba4eva]

i want to see him stay too but like... seriously the embarrasment to not have been traded.

How is it embarrassing or are you referring to Sydney's inability to get a trade done? It is not his fault you failed to get a suitable trade and now you face the ugly prospect of losing him for free.

 

[Sanecow]

We could accomodate him at Essendon through our Pick 5 in the PSD. Salary cap space is not a problem at all and if we were to be fighting for a flag by 2011, O' Keefe should still have reasonably good form by then. At that stage of the draft much of the talent would be gone and we would be wise to take a proven performer like O' Keefe over a youngster who is more then likely to fail. Certainly warming to the prospect of snaring O' Keefe for free.

Why would you want him, he's "rapidly aging".

 

[Corpuscles]

We could accomodate him at Essendon through our Pick 5 in the PSD. Salary cap space is not a problem at all and if we were to be fighting for a flag by 2011, O' Keefe should still have reasonably good form by then. At that stage of the draft much of the talent would be gone and we would be wise to take a proven performer like O' Keefe over a youngster who is more then likely to fail. Certainly warming to the prospect of snaring O' Keefe for free.

It will be interesting to see whether he nominates PSD with the likelihood of taken at least by pick 5. It will say a lot!!!!.... as to how determined he was to move back to Vic (OR A FOOTY STATE) and get more money!... as none of those teams have a hope in hell of seriously contesting finals/ top 4 in the next 3 yrs!

 

[bomba4eva]

Why would you want him, he's "rapidly aging".

Our list is young enough to accomodate his experience and he happens to be an extremely talented footballer also. Having been chosen in the AA squad shows that he is still in very good form. No doubt you have your reasons for deriding Essendon's youth policy but the truth is that you would love to be in our position where the list is only going to improve

 

[bomba4eva]

It will be interesting to see whether he nominates PSD with the likelihood of taken at least by pick 5. It will say a lot!!!!.... as to how determined he was to move back to Vic (OR A FOOTY STATE) and get more money!... as none of those teams have a hope in hell of seriously contesting finals/ top 4 in the next 3 yrs!

He has given you a decade of supreme service and you should not begrudge him wanting to move back home. Your clubs ineptness in not securing a trade is not his fault. Whilst it would be very disappointing for you if a player of his quality was let go for free, the club would be the only one to blame for not securing something for him in this last uncompromsed draft for a number of years.

 

[Sanecow]

you would love to be in our position where the list is only going to improve

I'm sure losing Lloyd, Fletcher and McVeigh over the next few years will improve things immensely. If Knights goes too, it might compensate.