Binman,

Callum Ward

Chris Judd

Gary Ablett

Mitch Clark

Brendon Goddard

but these 5 didnt leave because they werent in their clubs 22... that 5 out of 13 - hardly "almost all"

You seriously can't see the difference between clubs who lose A player and us who could potentially lose 5 of our top 10 (or at least starting 18) in 2 years plays a number 1 draft pick the year before?

Edited May 23, 201312 yr by Dr. Gonzo

Nothing gives you the right to highjack every thread. Make your point. Make your point once. Then drop it. You're getting really really tedious, and I for skip your posts because you just say exactly the same thing (player manager, blah blah, Watts, blah blah, Neeld, blah blah) over and over. You are not doing your argument one iota of good.

As for being desperate, it's a football club. Desperate is when you don't have enough money to feed your kids or pay your rent.

Some of us want to hear what he's got to say and don't read every single thread on here so want him to keep posting. If you don't like it put him on ignore, simple.

Can't blame him if he wants a fresh start.

When our own supporters are so pathetic that they cheer when he gets subbed off, and our coach is such a stubborn moron that he berates him before he even steps foot inside the rooms, then proceeds to play him like a yo-yo, what do you expect?

I'd want to get the [censored] away from this basket case too if I had a limited time frame to have a successful career and I've been treated with such contempt.

This club is a joke. My anger and disgust towards it makes me ashamed, but I can't help it. Look at what the [censored] is going on around us!

Is it Neelds fault that Watts was played earlier than he should have been?

If it Neelds fault that Watts lacks hunger and heart?

If Jack leaves because he lays the blame for not living up the hype at MFC then I hope he has a good look at whether he has done everything to give the most to the MFC.

If Jack leaves because he wants to be part of a successful team I hope he understands he will be held higher creating that at MFC and not jump on the coat tails elsewhere.

Happy for him to stay but if he does want to leave there will be plenty of interest and we should benefit to position to get the mids we desperately need.

Watts was an absolute bottom age draft. He should have waited a year, but would have certainly gone to GCS.

Thus he went into the 2008 draft. Didn't want to go to GC.

A wandering talent since.

I would be absolutely RAPT to trade Watts in on a good midfielder. His pea-sized heart makes me ever so angry every time I watch him play.

(Not saying he won't end up a good footballer, but I think the number one thing we need right now is heart, and he has none of it. I would trade him - and it pains me to say it - for Mitch Robinson).

Oh for God's sake! You have to be joking. The Blues would grab hat deal.

Watch Watts in 2011 v Essendon. Forget about his games under Neeld

Is it Neelds fault that Watts was played earlier than he should have been?

If it Neelds fault that Watts lacks hunger and heart?

If Jack leaves because he lays the blame for not living up the hype at MFC then I hope he has a good look at whether he has done everything to give the most to the MFC.

If Jack leaves because he wants to be part of a successful team I hope he understands he will be held higher creating that at MFC and not jump on the coat tails elsewhere.

Happy for him to stay but if he does want to leave there will be plenty of interest and we should benefit to position to get the mids we desperately need.

I somewhat agree. However, I am not sure this is the point. The point is: How has it all come to this?

Edited May 23, 201312 yr by Grand New Flag

I know where you're coming from but we have a point of difference - JW is not in our best 22.

Of course he bloody well is!

Is the best kick for goal in the club, can run and mark.he needs coaching. Imagine if he was at Hawthorn. He'd be a star. I don't think you understand how terrible players can look when confidence is shot, .Makes them look tentative, even timid.

Ask the critics or supporters from other clubs and you will soon learn where Jack stands

Of course he bloody well is!

Is the best kick for goal in the club, can run and mark.he needs coaching. Imagine if he was at Hawthorn. He'd be a star. I don't think you understand how terrible players can look when confidence is shot, .Makes them look tentative, even timid.

Ask the critics or supporters from other clubs and you will soon learn where Jack stands

Not really. Reminds me a bit of Xavier Ellis. They haven't got the most out of him have they?

Is it coincidence the week we play Fremantle a rumour circulates that Fremantle in interested in Melbourne's Jack Watts?

The most plausible reasons include:

1. Melb thought Jack could do with a reminder that unless he lifts his game (and extends his contract) he might find himself at a new club next year of Melbourne's choice, and one potentially 3440.8 km away from his family and friends.
2. Freo marketing thought it might get more Freo fans turning out for an otherwise lack luster Sunday late arvo game...
3. Jack let slip that he'd always fancied moving to Perth's version of Geelong.

Edited May 23, 201312 yr by PaulRB

so watts, the bloke weve all defended for years and years, put our hope in, wants out. if he goes, [censored] the club, [censored] the afl and [censored] footy, im off.

Can't blame ya there. Been a while since i actually thought we might have a chance to win a grand final. Still havent seen one, wondering whether i ever will...

All arguments aside, it would be an unmitigated disaster for the club if Watts: our #1 draft pick, Watts: our poster boy, Watts: our great white hope, in the footsteps of former #1 draft pick Tom Scully, turned his back on the club. Regardless of your view of him as a player it would be a deliberating wound to the club.Despite talked up traded player(s), there would simply be no way to sugar coat it.

Edited May 23, 201312 yr by Grand New Flag

Is it Neelds fault that Watts was played earlier than he should have been?

If it Neelds fault that Watts lacks hunger and heart?

If Jack leaves because he lays the blame for not living up the hype at MFC then I hope he has a good look at whether he has done everything to give the most to the MFC.

If Jack leaves because he wants to be part of a successful team I hope he understands he will be held higher creating that at MFC and not jump on the coat tails elsewhere.

Happy for him to stay but if he does want to leave there will be plenty of interest and we should benefit to position to get the mids we desperately need.

I agree with the sentiments here and wish we had a football media with some decency that would raise points like these. Unfortunately the idea of a guy being loyal and giving back to the supporters is not as appealing to them as a guy looking for a "fresh start".

I personally can't fathom how someone could walk out on a club that has afforded them such great opportunities before they have given much back. Whilst I accept what some are saying in that he may have been put under some unfair scrutiny by his coach and perhaps the previous admin, what I'd love to see is Jack to be one stands up and says 'I want to be part of the group that turns the culture of this club', instead of being another who walks out on it. I've heard stuff first hand from former players about their disgruntlement at various aspects of the MFC and I've always thought well why not be someone who does everything they can to change it???

If some players don't like the coach well so what. The coaches position will be sorted soon enough if he's no good. It's the players who are long term custodians of the club and it's up to them to own the improvement.

I read somewhere (may have been here on Demonland) that Watts might be frustrated with the fact that he gets booed by his own supporters. I will say that I think it's a disgrace to boo your own players, but might add that if he ended up going to Carlton he might find a supporter group that can be even less appreciative if they feel they aren't getting 100% effort.

These young recruits....Watts, Frawley, Sylvia...even Trengove have all had a traumatic careers all ready playing for the dees.

Getting drafted by us was the worst thing that could have happened to them as 17 year olds.

Maybe best to let them go now and start compromising the talent of the next batch ASAP

What about relevant to how much he's being paid? In the end he's being paid as a professional - he should behave like one. Just because I don't like my boss, doesn't mean I'm not expected to earn my pay. Pretty simple really.

This is what I'm trying to explain, Crawf. Watts is behaving like a professional but his belief in himself has been hammered by how Neeld has managed him.

I'm sure he'd love to be performing according to his pay and winning games.

It's not as simple as you think.

Watts for pick 12 (Freo's 1st pick ) ... YES. It's sad to say he lacks what we need. hard work ethic. It was all too easy for him as a youngster.

Nothing gives you the right to highjack every thread. Make your point. Make your point once. Then drop it. You're getting really really tedious, and I for skip your posts because you just say exactly the same thing (player manager, blah blah, Watts, blah blah, Neeld, blah blah) over and over. You are not doing your argument one iota of good.

As for being desperate, it's a football club. Desperate is when you don't have enough money to feed your kids or pay your rent.

With all due respect, you sit on the other side of the spectrum in your closed mindedness to accepting that Neeld is damaging the club. You jump into threads to attempt to shut down any criticism of Neeld with little demonstration of being open to discussion. Glass houses mate. Blind faith won't get us out of this hole. It only takes us deeper into it.

I somewhat agree. However, I am not sure this is the point. The point is: How has it all come to this?

Things are not always as bad as they seem. Scully gone for Hogan, Dawes, Barry and the buckets of cash we saved paid for Clark. Like Scully, If he goes he goes let's just ensure we do well out of it and get it right this time.

All arguments aside, it would be an unmitigated disaster for the club if Watts: our #1 draft pick, Watts: our poster boy, Watts: our great white hope, in the footsteps of former #1 draft pick Tom Scully, turned his back on the club. Regardless of your view of him as a player it would be a deliberating wound to the club.Despite talked up traded player(s), there would simply be no way to sugar coat it.

Deliberating? Or debilitating? Neither. This post is the most alarmist bs I have ever read on a forum.

He's not a champion, he's not a star, he's not the heart and soul of the club, no player is.

If he wants to move on, move on.

I'm just blown away that people buy into these fluff pieces just designed to sell papers about us in dire straits.

Greg Denham this morning saying all these players will 'walk out of melb'. Only one who can at the end of 2013 is Sylvia. If frawley, watts or gawn want to leave - and btw nothing I have heard about two of the three indicates that they do - it will be disappointing but we will get trade worth for them

Sad situation all round. I would be sad to see Jack go but the bloke's confidence is shot nine ways from Sunday. He is the posterboy for the red and blueprint and everything that was wrong with it.

.... a well known ex AFL recruiting manager, told me months before the Draft, in which we took Watts,,, that 'they' were concerned about his ability to play the physical side of the AFL game...

we keep recruiting boys instead of young men.

watts can play, but IMO he only wants to play the way HE likes to.... Not the way we may need him to. just another tail shaking wildly.

if he's not willing to lead, & commit to help the change,,, then he just wants to Run... any one who wants to Run, better skee-daddle. before the boogie man gets them.

If he wants to Man Up, than he better get a move on... I wonder if he just wants to get his picture in the fashion pages, & be seen... cafe` latte?

I somewhat agree. However, I am not sure this is the point. The point is: How has it all come to this?

Because people previously at the club and Jack himself have to carry a large portion of the blame for how it got to that stage

I'm just blown away that people buy into these fluff pieces just designed to sell papers about us in dire straits.

Greg Denham this morning saying all these players will 'walk out of melb'. Only one who can at the end of 2013 is Sylvia. If frawley, watts or gawn want to leave - and btw nothing I have heard about two of the three indicates that they do - it will be disappointing but we will get trade worth for them

Norm please take your sanity somewhere else, I thought Pies fans were lacking in intelligence but some on Demonland are giving them a run!

IF he plays a blinder this week, he's gone

in the footsteps of former #1 draft pick Tom Scully, turned his back on the club

i'm not necessarily disagreeing with you entirely.. but I wish people would stop mentioning this as if it somehow adds weight to this Watts situation.. If anything it SUBTRACTS from it, for 2 reasons: 1) it is completely irrelevant as a reflection of our club, everybody in Australia knows he was offered and accepted an obscene amount of money and that's all it was about. Whoever had the number 1 pick that year would have lost Tom Scully to GWS 2 years later. Surely that is not up for debate. 2. We ended up being major beneficiaries out of that situation for a number of reasons. I thought this was generally understood around here? As many others have said, there is no reason to suggest that the departure of Watts, if it happens, won't end up being a positive event in the end.

Don't get me wrong, I very much want to keep him, but attaching Scully to the situation in order to make it seem worse is poor play IMO

Is it coincidence the week we play Fremantle a rumour circulates that Fremantle in interested in Melbourne's Jack Watts?

The most plausible reasons include:

1. Melb thought Jack could do with a reminder that unless he lifts his game (and extends his contract) he might find himself at a new club next year of Melbourne's choice, and one potentially 3440.8 km away from his family and friends.
2. Freo marketing thought it might get more Freo fans turning out for an otherwise lack luster Sunday late arvo game...
3. Jack let slip that he'd always fancied moving to Perth's version of Geelong.

i don't think any of these reasons are plausible. I'd suggest the plausible reason for this rumour is the same as the one about Roos. To destabilise Neeld.