do not ever curse the great phil read!!!! :angry:

Bell, Bode, Bruce, Frawley, Green, CJ, Wheat, Wheels and I think maybe Petterd and Jmac all spent time on a half back flank this year. Add Cheney, Grimes, McNamara? and now probably Rivers as potential back flankers and Brown , Bizzel and Ward as recently departed back flankers and you have the reason I never rated CAC. Although he was good at recruiting flankers

Bell or CJ had to go anyway, CJ just made the decision easy. I don't have either of them in my starting back 6 next year and they'd be borderline for the 22 at best.

Well Chris, close the door after you. Your dad didn't like getting caught between the ball and an opponent steaming in either. It is more metaphorical with you.

AJ was a great servant for the club, a very good player for Melbourne. One wonders if you ever saw him grace the turf.

Just lost a promising HBF flanker off our underwhelming list , after years of development for nothing in return... more terrifying is the fact not even the son of a former champ wants to play for our club

You have a point Schtaker. Disconcerning that he didn't opt for the contract put in front of him to stay at a proud club who his father played for. Regardless of the contents of that 2 year contract.

Seems some may have missed a little snippet. Allegedly CJ's new contract with Melbourne may have contained a performance clause to activate the second year. Add that to a higher unconditional two year contract from the Blue scum and we can begin to understand why CJ may have declined our offer.

The real question is have we been outbid or have we manufactured his departure leaving his dignity intact as the son of a former club great.

As a side issue, he has to get past a few clubs before he gets to the Blue scum, unless of course they use pick 40 in the draft, which would be a heavy payment for a player they offered pick 100 for.

So what if there was a clause. The fact is CJ has opted to leave Melbourne. Despite what was put in front of him. That is disappointing.

If "we" (mfc) have manufactured his departure in some way, leaving his dignity intact - that would be very cunning by the mfc. They would of had to be very careful IMO.

I would of thought Carlton would of outbid us with an unconditional 2 year contract. CJ may have been more comfortable in his decision with Mark Riley and Ratten at Carlton too. Who he knows well.

Totally hypothetical but what would happen if the MFC re-drafted him in the PSD and matched Carlton's offer?

That is disappointing.

But I thought it was disconcerning

Totally hypothetical but what would happen if the MFC re-drafted him in the PSD and matched Carlton's offer?

he would either play for the dees/casey or sit out of football until the end of that contract. i am not sure if the afl would compensate us with an extra player because i cannot remember it happening before (not since ben holland and fitzroy anyway )

but seriously, we offered him a contract, he didnt want it. we could have offered him more, why would we pay him more in the psd?

Can he go in National draft and we pick him instead of Watts?

The Carlton supporters are absolutely salivating at the prospect of getting CJ to the extent where one of them has put together an 8 minute YouTube compilation of the highlights of his 31 game career. Well, it's actually confined to two games - Rounds 14 & 15 of '08.

He went well in those games did our CJ, but it's fairly obvious from the vision that he's very much an outside player who doesn't get the hard ball and, while you can pick up heaps of possessions in such a role these days, I wouldn't be offering a two year contract to just anyone based on that sort of CV.

Not when we have the likes of Jack Grimes and Ricky Petterd waiting in the wings with a young team desperately in need of learning a hard, winning brand of footy.

The Carlton supporters are absolutely salivating at the prospect of getting CJ to the extent where one of them has put together an 8 minute YouTube compilation of the highlights of his 31 game career. Well, it's actually confined to two games - Rounds 14 & 15 of '08.

He went well in those games did our CJ, but it's fairly obvious from the vision that he's very much an outside player who doesn't get the hard ball and, while you can pick up heaps of possessions in such a role these days, I wouldn't be offering a two year contract to just anyone based on that sort of CV.

Not when we have the likes of Jack Grimes and Ricky Petterd waiting in the wings with a young team desperately in need of learning a hard, winning brand of footy.

THAT is a HIGHLIGHTS package? At least half of what they showed was made up of him kicking to a contest with no advantage to us, him handballing to teammates under enormous pressure or just nothing moments like when his man beat him on a lead.

If I was a Carlton supporter i'd be less than excited seeing that

one of my mates was speaking to a dees player out the other night, talking about johnson the player revealed (as expected) that there is a fair amount of ill feeling towards Johnson after ditching the team. he also said Baily made Johnson stand infront of the entire playing group and tell them he was leaving for more money.... apparently didnt go down well with the group. Good move from Baily, maybe Johnson's greatest legacy at the club was helping bring the team closer together! ahha

one of my mates was speaking to a dees player out the other night, talking about johnson the player revealed (as expected) that there is a fair amount of ill feeling towards Johnson after ditching the team. he also said Baily made Johnson stand infront of the entire playing group and tell them he was leaving for more money.... apparently didnt go down well with the group. Good move from Baily, maybe Johnson's greatest legacy at the club was helping bring the team closer together! ahha

Not the classiest move, but now a precedent has been set.

Its not quite a line in the sand, but any player in the future thinking about leaving for more $$$ will feel that much more sh!t about the decision, because of this one act.

Good move.

Not the classiest move, but now a precedent has been set.

Its not quite a line in the sand, but any player in the future thinking about leaving for more $$$ will feel that much more sh!t about the decision, because of this one act.

Good move.

CJ was entitled 2 get the best deal and Carton are willingly paying.

End of story.

Not the classiest move, but now a precedent has been set.

Its not quite a line in the sand, but any player in the future thinking about leaving for more $$$ will feel that much more sh!t about the decision, because of this one act.

Good move.

B#llshit. If a player wants to leave the club for whatever reason, he will. But in the future, they won't stand up in front of the other players and give the reasons for their decision.

I'm sure that 90% of the players would be supportive of any player who chooses to leave a club. It's the reality of sport.

Not the classiest move, but now a precedent has been set.

Its not quite a line in the sand, but any player in the future thinking about leaving for more $$$ will feel that much more sh!t about the decision, because of this one act.

Good move.

It won't be the last time, there will be plenty more to follow. People change jobs or take similar jobs at other work places, footy is no different.

CJ was entitled 2 get the best deal and Carton are willingly paying.

End of story.

I think you completely missed my point...

B#llshit. If a player wants to leave the club for whatever reason, he will. But in the future, they won't stand up in front of the other players and give the reasons for their decision.

I'm sure that 90% of the players would be supportive of any player who chooses to leave a club. It's the reality of sport.

You missed my point totally, but not to be unexpected. Wouldn't be the 1st time.

It won't be the last time, there will be plenty more to follow. People change jobs or take similar jobs at other work places, footy is no different.

I agree. But I still think a seed has been planted.

I think you completely missed my point...

Yes, I agree that you were struggling to make a point and it's possible that I might have missed it (whatever it was) but, that said, I think you misunderstand what professional sport is all about.

You missed my point totally, but not to be unexpected. Wouldn't be the 1st time.

Well obviously your point wasn't well made if more than one person missed it. So what exactly was your point?

CJ was entitled 2 get the best deal and Carton are willingly paying.

End of story.

Of course he was! .... but a Club that is really struggling financially, is entitled to a bit of loyalty as well IMO, especially given that CJ was recruited under the father & son rule. Compare CJ's decision to leave for more $s, to Chooka's decision to donate $10k to the Debt Demolition fund, and you may get a feel what I mean.

End of story? Definitely! ... but not a particularly satisfactory ending IMO.

It won't be the last time, there will be plenty more to follow. People change jobs or take similar jobs at other work places, footy is no different.

I understand where you are coming from HT but I would like to believe that footy first and foremost is a sport based around passion rather than primarily a workplace.

Of course he was! .... but a Club that is really struggling financially, is entitled to a bit of loyalty as well IMO, especially given that CJ was recruited under the father & son rule. Compare CJ's decision to leave for more $s, to Chooka's decision to donate $10k to the Debt Demolition fund, and you may get a feel what I mean.

End of story? Definitely! ... but not a particularly satisfactory ending IMO.

If we weren't prepared to re-sign him before the trade period, doesn't that send a message to the player that he's on shaky ground? He's a fringe player who's trying to prolong his career and maximise his earning capacity.

And conversely, does the club have to show loyalty to CJ just because he's a father-son? The answer is NO.

he was no good anyway.. and i dont mean that in a nasty way, he is just not a great player. He will look like a better player in a better team, but he is not that good.

Harsh, but fair i like to think!

Chris Who?? He Chose to play for Carlton over Melbourne. I have always HATED Carlton and always will so CJ is now an enemy. That is all. Next....

If he was better than the fringe player that he is, we would all be livid. But unlike most fringe players, whose capabilities I've been fairly sure of, I feel Johnson was on the way up. That's what's getting to me.

If Carlton do end up using one of their low picks in the National Draft, then I cant understand why this couldn't have been traded to Melbourne.

I don't blame Carlton for going after him, but it's insulting that they swooped after the trade period. As a matter of principal, I hate losing him for nothing.