FAREWELL LIAM JURRAH

[Weedster 174]

I wonder if he jumped or was pushed. Seems very strange that after everything the Club has done for him, he would just walk out and say he wants to play in SA. You'd think he would have gone to the Club confidentially and allowed them to try to trade with one of the SA Clubs which would have got us something. But by walking out like this he has made sure we get nothing.

I can't imagine Adelaide going after him with the state their list is in. Port might but given the court case you'd think the best they would do is the rookie draft with special dispensation from the AFL that they can drop him from the list if he goes to jail.

He has family in Adelaide, no-one here, not allowed to return to the NT,has a trial and potential gaol in March, uncontracted. I suspect football is far from his top priority at present ( and dare I say all this year.) Hardly surprising, anfd by no means a reflection on the club or the support it has offered him. Time for some perspective

[Norm Smith's Curse 2,593]

missing the point

Your suggesting that people should not be in any way angry with Liam because they arent seeing the big picture and just worrying about how it will effect the club. That is missing the point.

[binman 42,686]

I'm with Nasher on this one. To be honest i have a sense of relief about LJ going. Don't get me wrong, he is one of all time favorites. Reminds me in lots of ways to Allen Jackovich - brilliant, creative, entertaining - but destined to only give us a small dose of his magic.

But, with his off field stuff, the least of which probably being the court case, he would have continued to take the clubs focus away from where we need to be. If we were travelling better perhaps we could absorb some of that distraction, but at the moment it could only make the clubs chances of getting it right even more difficult. Put simply we are not in the sort of shape to be able to deal wit the distraction.

As for the way he has left, i understand people feeling a little aggrieved but really its just part of the whole package. He is got so much going on his life right now that his capacity to make well thought out, smart calls would be impaired. And besides in some ways he has done us a favor by quitting now - better than rumors of trades etc bubbling to the surface and being a further distraction. One thing i would say about the timing etc is that i reckon we would have got nothing trade wise from either Port or the Crows, so quitting later and holding out for a deal would have achieved little

All power to the club saying they would continue to provide personal support, its a terrific example of a mature response that is in keeping with the unfathomable complexity of what is going on for LJ. He is lucky he has got Rudeboy in his lfe and i concur with other posters who bristle at any implication he has got his own agenda. Of course though says more about a poster making that inference not Rudeboy.

I saw LJ turn it on and will always have those memories. I wish him all the best and if that means playing for the Crows or Port then good luck to him. However, unfortunately i don't think we will ever see hi play AFL again. I hoped to be proved wrong, but jeez he will be coming from a long way back. Port will hesitate because they, like Melbourne have enough to worry about at the moment and Adelaide have their forwards (even if they lose Tippet), he is unlikely ever to have the tank to play another role and if aunt broke don't fix it

[dazzledavey36 54,285]

Pretty sure Jurrah was also prepared to take on a job interstate when he joined MFC.....just saying

You have no proof of that.

[hardtack 10,515]

Your suggesting that people should not be in any way angry with Liam because they arent seeing the big picture and just worrying about how it will effect the club. That is missing the point.

Anger is one thing... the abuse being leveled at LJ by some in this thread is a whole other thing; or do you condone those comments regarding jail time etc?

PS. I thought the post at the top of the page was going to be your last post on this subject ;-)

[Norm Smith's Curse 2,593]

No I dont condone those comments or that abuse at all.

But I do understand the general feeling of frustration with the decision, even if I dont personally care because I think he has done us a favour in some ways.

And yes I keep getting drawn back in dont i...

[Sir Why You Little 36,985]

You lift the bar higher, and some can no longer get over it...

I understand that. But the club should be choosing who leaves. Its not a good look for prospective recruits.

[Norm Smith's Curse 2,593]

I understand that. But the club should be choosing who leaves. Its not a good look for prospective recruits.

Yeah it never looks good.

[PaulRB 6,351]

I understand that. But the club should be choosing who leaves. Its not a good look for prospective recruits.

You're assuming the club didn't choose to have Liam leave.

[Sir Why You Little 36,985]

You're assuming the club didn't choose to have Liam leave.

Yes. Do you know anything otherwise?

If the club made the call i am fine with it.

The club pays rhe wage.

Edited September 4, 2012 by why you little

[Norm Smith's Curse 2,593]

Yes. Do you know anything otherwise?

If the club made the call i am fine with it.

The club pays rhe wage.

I think its pretty clear that he wasnt in a Neeld future. I cant imagine Neeld is the kind of guy who would want players around a club that ask not to play

And i say that without any malice or criticism of Liam - I acknowledge he had a LOT on his plate.

[Nasher 33,607]

I'm with Nasher on this one. To be honest i have a sense of relief about LJ going. Don't get me wrong, he is one of all time favorites. Reminds me in lots of ways to Allen Jackovich - brilliant, creative, entertaining - but destined to only give us a small dose of his magic.

But, with his off field stuff, the least of which probably being the court case, he would have continued to take the clubs focus away from where we need to be. If we were travelling better perhaps we could absorb some of that distraction, but at the moment it could only make the clubs chances of getting it right even more difficult. Put simply we are not in the sort of shape to be able to deal wit the distraction.

As for the way he has left, i understand people feeling a little aggrieved but really its just part of the whole package. He is got so much going on his life right now that his capacity to make well thought out, smart calls would be impaired. And besides in some ways he has done us a favor by quitting now - better than rumors of trades etc bubbling to the surface and being a further distraction. One thing i would say about the timing etc is that i reckon we would have got nothing trade wise from either Port or the Crows, so quitting later and holding out for a deal would have achieved little

All power to the club saying they would continue to provide personal support, its a terrific example of a mature response that is in keeping with the unfathomable complexity of what is going on for LJ. He is lucky he has got Rudeboy in his lfe and i concur with other posters who bristle at any implication he has got his own agenda. Of course though says more about a poster making that inference not Rudeboy.

I saw LJ turn it on and will always have those memories. I wish him all the best and if that means playing for the Crows or Port then good luck to him. However, unfortunately i don't think we will ever see hi play AFL again. I hoped to be proved wrong, but jeez he will be coming from a long way back. Port will hesitate because they, like Melbourne have enough to worry about at the moment and Adelaide have their forwards (even if they lose Tippet), he is unlikely ever to have the tank to play another role and if aunt broke don't fix it

Great post binman, your view mirrors mine almost 100%.

[Redleg 40,843]

What could Jurrah have done to engineer a trade?

As far as I can see he would have to first sign a new contract with Melbourne. Is that correct?

It would be easier if he was contracted, but all he needs to do is tell the club that wants him, do a trade with the Dees in trade week, or I am not going in the draft. Very simple really.

[PaulRB 6,351]

Yes. Do you know anything otherwise?

If the club made the call i am fine with it.

The club pays rhe wage.

Sometimes you know if you ease up things may be ok for a while.

And sometimes you don't ease up.

Edited September 4, 2012 by PaulRB

[Sir Why You Little 36,985]

Sometimes you know if you ease up things may be ok for a while.

And sometimes you don't ease up.

???

[sue 9,096]

It would be easier if he was contracted, but all he needs to do is tell the club that wants him, do a trade with the Dees in trade week, or I am not going in the draft. Very simple really.

thanks Redleg. But given the circumstances, why would Port (say) believe him? They know he will go in the draft unless he gives away AFL entirely. So unless MFC is prepared to take him (ie sign or commit to signing a contract), Port just calls his bluff. But since it is clear MFC is not prepared to take him if he insists on living in SA, Port will call his bluff.

So the only way what you suggest would have worked would be if he kept it secret that he waned to live in Adelaide and pretended he was keen to return to Melbourne (city). Are those posters jumping on Jurrah p*ssed off for him not doing that? But given what's happened over the last few months, who would have believed him?

I can understand disappointment in the whole situation being at the root of the anger of many posters. But I'm not convinced Jurrah could have treated MFC better. (Port and his managers are perhaps a different story.)

[McQueen 17,864]

This is my last post on this topic but here goes:

1. I very much doubt Liam would have been at the club next year irrespective of whether he chose to walk out or not. If you think otherwise I would respectfully suggest that you havent been watching the club develop in the last year under Neeld.

2. Jurrah walking out is probably a win;win situation - if we had dropped him at the end of the season we may have been put in an awkward no win situation via the media for not supporting him.

3. Whether we like it or not, Liam had some pretty massive off-field issues that have negatively effected his ability to perform this year. The club has done the right thing by Liam and done everythign we can to support him in his personal issues. We could have walked away given that he has been charged with indictable offenses.

4. Being angry at Liam does not make anyone a racist. Suggesting people are being outrageous for being angry with Liam is just juvenile. Few of us understand the personal circumstances of Liam and his community.

Your suggesting that people should not be in any way angry with Liam because they arent seeing the big picture and just worrying about how it will effect the club. That is missing the point.

No I dont condone those comments or that abuse at all.

But I do understand the general feeling of frustration with the decision, even if I dont personally care because I think he has done us a favour in some ways.

And yes I keep getting drawn back in dont i...

Yeah it never looks good.

I think its pretty clear that he wasnt in a Neeld future. I cant imagine Neeld is the kind of guy who would want players around a club that ask not to play

And i say that without any malice or criticism of Liam - I acknowledge he had a LOT on his plate.

You said what?

[Nasher 33,607]

Presumably Liam will remember to nominate for the ND this time

[jnrmac 20,055]

I'm assuming you are sarcastically trying to say that Jurrah was prepared, just like a modern westerner to move interstate, so therefore what I said about the difference in the cultures is bunkum. If so, that is a silly rebuttal. Clearly he tried to be 'western' and failed - I would have thought that strengthened rather than disproved my argument.

Wow that's a patronising post.

And wrong too. If he 'failed' at being a westerner moving to Melbourne, moving to Adelaide will be OK will it??

Think you're trying to be too clever by half.

[daisycutter 29,604]

thanks Redleg. But given the circumstances, why would Port (say) believe him? They know he will go in the draft unless he gives away AFL entirely. So unless MFC is prepared to take him (ie sign or commit to signing a contract), Port just calls his bluff. But since it is clear MFC is not prepared to take him if he insists on living in SA, Port will call his bluff.

So the only way what you suggest would have worked would be if he kept it secret that he waned to live in Adelaide and pretended he was keen to return to Melbourne (city). Are those posters jumping on Jurrah p*ssed off for him not doing that? But given what's happened over the last few months, who would have believed him?

I can understand disappointment in the whole situation being at the root of the anger of many posters. But I'm not convinced Jurrah could have treated MFC better. (Port and his managers are perhaps a different story.)

Sue, I think when some posters are critical of LJ that that includes his manager. We can't know whether actions or statements come from Liam or his manager.

It does seem disappointing that the media and Port Melb got stories out on this yesterday before MFC met with Liam last night

This follows on from his shift to Adelaide recently allegedly without informing MFC first

BTW i'm yet to hear any actual public statements or interviews from Liam directly

[sue 9,096]

Wow that's a patronising post.

And wrong too. If he 'failed' at being a westerner moving to Melbourne, moving to Adelaide will be OK will it??

Think you're trying to be too clever by half.

The OP had ended his remark with a flippant '...just saying' without making it clear to me at least what his point was. So my response was under an assumption of what I felt he was most likely to have meant, ie he was being sarcastic. Not unknown on this board. Maybe that is patronising, but he hasn't contradicted my assumption.

I didn't say anything about moving to Adelaide being OK. But I will now. Clearly if a large part of his family is in Adelaide (apparently as refugees from their home town) he is clearly less likely to 'fail at being a westerner' in Adelaide than in Melbourne.

[PaulRB 6,351]

???

Breaking up is hard to do.

And the ambivalence was/is rife in our relationship with Liam.

[sue 9,096]

Sue, I think when some posters are critical of LJ that that includes his manager. We can't know whether actions or statements come from Liam or his manager.

It does seem disappointing that the media and Port Melb got stories out on this yesterday before MFC met with Liam last night

This follows on from his shift to Adelaide recently allegedly without informing MFC first

BTW i'm yet to hear any actual public statements or interviews from Liam directly

Yes it would be good to here from him directly but I doubt we will.

Sadly I don't agree that most 'abusers' had the managers in mind as well as Jurrah. But anyway, my point is that I'm not convinced Jurrah (or his managers) could have done anything to force a trade, so the abuse hurled at him/them for that may be unwarranted.

Jurrah is unlikely to have total control over what his managers and Port do and say. So I wouldn't blame Jurrah for the bad way it was released to the press without knowing more. He may be as p*ssed off as we are.

[PaulRB 6,351]

Sue, traditionally all players move between clubs via a trade.

For example, Des Headland a couple of years back wanted to go home to Perth and said he's up for a trade (to one of the Perth Clubs)... He was traded to Freo and I guess Brissie got some kind of return for it.

Liam's essentially the same deal, except Liam decided not to try and do it in a way that returned anything back to the MFC.

It's happened Liam's way before and it always leaves a bitter taste for the club (and fans) that invests for nothing...

Luke Ball left the Saints saying he'd only go to the Pies, and the Saints got nothing and Ball was never liked by saints fans since.

Edited September 4, 2012 by PaulRB

[dpositive 1,663]

Struggling to keep up with the volume of posts

But

I do support many of the views expressed

LJ is certainly in a difficult emotional place.

He was an exciting prospect and showed fantastic potential.

The club was always considerate in its actions and certainly has publicly nothing to apologise for.

If the club knew nothing of this it reflects more poorly on LJ and his management than MFC although it may be questioned that it is not managing its human assets very rigorously.It is a fine line between control and managing.

I trust that the club is preparing a considered response that confirms greater involvement than previously disclosed, that expresses dismay but understanding and emphasises some of the positives.

The club is greater than an individual but must show respect and consideration for each individual.

The views of the supporters on this thread show the gamut of responses that are possible and I am sure all are tinged with frustration.

A reasoned statement to members can acknowledge all the above and indicate a more positive approach for the club

Such a reasoned statement takes time and is usually better than my clumsy attempt.

I am prepared to wait rather than witness an ill considered and messy reactionary response.

Perhaps one of the features we need to adopt is the ability to remain calm when all around is chaos, that seems to be a feature of the great on field performers as well.

Go DEES