Dean Bailey tells the AFL he didn't order players to lose

[Alf Stewart 73]

AFL please don't fall for the trial by media.

Dean Bailey tells the AFL he didn't order players to lose

[Canplay 634]

Shizen footy coach, but great club man Bails. Confident he will do the right thing by MFC.

[Pates 9,625]

It sounds like this "vault" meeting is the key part of the investigation, Bailey's testimony could be one of the most important of all. I must admit I was one that got sucked into thinking the meeting was designed to talk about the prospect of tanking, when in actual fact it was a small part of a regular meeting.

[Carrot Top 947]

Shizen footy coach, but great club man Bails. Confident he will do the right thing by MFC.

By himself you mean. It would be the end of his career to say any different. I wouldn't say a damn thing even if I hated the club.

That aside it's looking extremely unlikely that Connolly could survive this, and I'd say that Schwab is pretty close to dead in the water too.

[hoopla 418]

Shizen footy coach, but great club man Bails. Confident he will do the right thing by MFC.

Don't just put it down to his being a great team man....................... put it down to a man who quite simply - tells the truth ( even when the media is desperately trying to trick him into lying)

[biggestred 4,845]

more facts in one article from the HUN than all the spin and vitriol from all the wilson articles. AND NO MENTION OF SCHWAB.

[Guest José Mourinho]

Good boy DB.

Mind you, wouldn't have expected much different, since he's the one they'd be gunning for above all.

[Alf Stewart 73]

Well if there was systematic cheating, or "the fix" as Caroline Wilson has sensationally called i. thent I am sure Bailey would have been offered some sort of immuniuity if he implicated people above him into pressuring him to do so.

FACTS Prob Are:

1. That CC spoke glowingly about the prospect of 2 quality picks during the season. Who among us didnt? We had nothing else to look forward to. We wre all trying to scrape something positive from a black hole.
   
2. Bailey played players in all sorts of experimental position, imitating the higlyh rotating flexible Geelong team type structure he was trying to foster.
   
3. The players were never told not to try. NEVER.
   
4. Almost all evidence seems to have come from those with an axe to grind.
   
5. Media have become so unbalanced it is just sad. Dwayne Russell the worst. All of em.
   

Simple: WE DIDN'T TANK WE WERE JUST HOPELESS!!! TRUST ME, I WAS THERE!

Edited November 5, 2012 by Jack_Watts

[Wells 11 5,298]

Shizen footy coach, but great club man Bails. Confident he will do the right thing by MFC.

Nothing to do with protecting the MFC Canplay. Im sure he despises the joint. But if he were to admit that his name would be posion in the football world and his coaching / media / football career at ANY level would be finished. regardless of any assurance or amnesty the AFL gave him. Im also sure that he would never have been stupid enough to instruct any body to lose.

[darkhorse72 1,872]

It sounds like this "vault" meeting is the key part of the investigation, Bailey's testimony could be one of the most important of all. I must admit I was one that got sucked into thinking the meeting was designed to talk about the prospect of tanking, when in actual fact it was a small part of a regular meeting.

Moe then likely after a poor half of the season, it was most likely raised that it was shot and we might as well aim for draft pics as whats the point of a few pointless wins.

The question is how that was expressed in the meeting. Because at the start of the year the club goes through the fixture identifying and rate the difficulty of games. And they build a picture on how many they can realistically win as a base. Maybe this is what happened in the meeting. Not tanked but said we could get a bonus pick, which of the remaining games are we likely to win!

But good on him, since he is central and never instructed any player to lose. As such an instruction has bot been stated once by any report so face, the definition of Tanking by the AFL puts us in the clear.

[pantaloons 2,019]

Thus endeth the witch hunt. No player is going to intentionally throw a game, so that leaves bailey with the power to do so. That should be the end of it, though I expect Caro to rise from her death bed at some point to try to land the fatal bullet into the MFC

[Jaded No More 68,573]

Nothing to see here people.

Move right along!

[Dee Fan 3,247]

By himself you mean. It would be the end of his career to say any different. I wouldn't say a damn thing even if I hated the club.

That aside it's looking extremely unlikely that Connolly could survive this, and I'd say that Schwab is pretty close to dead in the water too.

Why would you think Schwab is dead in the water? There's no mention of him, maybe they have a case for CC but unless there's something else how would Schwab be involved?

[Hannibal 5,814]

This article states that Bailey is standing firm. This is good news and explains why the investigation is taking so long. Because it's too frigging hard to prove - he said, she said. And Bailey is so important in this.

Talk of Connolly's "30 second aside" is Dutch for IT'S a JOKE JOYCE.

Edited November 5, 2012 by Ben-Hur

[thaipantsman 180]

Good boy DB.

Mind you, wouldn't have expected much different, since he's the one they'd be gunning for above all.

Jose

It's surely a matter of telling the truth. The "good boy" doesn't come into it.

[thaipantsman 180]

IMO and by the way haven't followed this for about a week is that it will all go away. Bailey has already addressed the issue as has Junior Mac. Both straight out denials and both not involved with MFC anymore. Coach and Skipper at the time and if they didn't know how is all this other stuff is coming out from everywhere. Vault talk seems a beat up and may have been misinterpreted or possibly a CC joke.

[Sir Why You Little 36,725]

Thanks Dean. You were just doing your job. The players welfare is important to you.

Now Wilson go and investigate Wallace & Cotchin please...

Do ya job and not make it personal.

[Carrot Top 947]

Why would you think Schwab is dead in the water? There's no mention of him, maybe they have a case for CC but unless there's something else how would Schwab be involved?

Just a feeling. Whenever there are shady dealings at a club he's involved in, he seems to be right in the middle of it. I don't think that it is a co-incidence that CC and CS were right in the middle of the 186 fall out, and I believe that at least part of what happened there goes back to these days. Maybe the AFL can find the smoking gun, maybe not, but I think that the two of them will be very expendable if scapegoats are needed to calm all this crap down.

That article was all very nice and feelgood, but I think where the AFL is at is somewhat to the right of that article and somewhat to the left of Caro's dribble. We are not out of the woods by any stretch, and, while I don't believe the AFL wants to fully open this can of worms, League HQ won't back off unless some sort of face saving can be arranged. We probably need to distance ourselves from those two for reasons of sponsorship and perception just close the book on those days too.

Edited November 5, 2012 by Carrot Top

[Hannibal 5,814]

We probably need to distance ourselves from those two for reasons of sponsorship and perception just close the book on those days too.

That's a sign of guilt when we're in fact declaring complete innocence.

How about we wait until the AFL make their finding ?

[Cheap Seats 3,310]

IMO and by the way haven't followed this for about a week is that it will all go away. Bailey has already addressed the issue as has Junior Mac. Both straight out denials and both not involved with MFC anymore. Coach and Skipper at the time and if they didn't know how is all this other stuff is coming out from everywhere. Vault talk seems a beat up and may have been misinterpreted or possibly a CC joke.

I haven't followed everything either but this is heartwarming.

I don't understand why people (coaches - explayers) would want to ruin their reputations to tesity what we all know is reality anyway.... Only real idiots (McLean) and people with an axe to grind or want to see the club harmed would be putting thier names oor fuelling this.

If out of this investigatoin the AFL find 'Tanking' or cheating or whatever didn't take place at the MFC I would expect 2 things to happen

- CC or anyone involved to step down for damaging the integrity of this club - and to clean the image of the MFC, and

- Caroline Wilson to step down from the AGE or I will start a campaign to get her fired (AFL media should be held accountable for what they say in public)

Edited November 5, 2012 by Unleash Hell

[Sir Why You Little 36,725]

Just a feeling. Whenever there are shady dealings at a club he's involved in, he seems to be right in the middle of it. I don't think that it is a co-incidence that CC and CS were right in the middle of the 186 fall out, and I believe that at least part of what happened there goes back to these days. Maybe the AFL can find the smoking gun, maybe not, but I think that the two of them will be very expendable if scapegoats are needed to calm all this crap down.

That article was all very nice and feelgood, but I think where the AFL is at is somewhat to the right of that article and somewhat to the left of Caro's dribble. We are not out of the woods by any stretch, and, while I don't believe the AFL wants to fully open this can of worms, League HQ won't back off unless some sort of face saving can be arranged. We probably need to distance ourselves from those two for reasons of sponsorship and perception just close the book on those days too.

i think the AFL would be fully prepared to open the can wide open to finish this very damaging situation.

[Pennant St Dee 12,803]

Bails is an honourable man, probably half his problem as a senior coach always trying to please everyone. Not surprised at all by his stance of stating he never told players or directed anyone to lose,

Cup day tomorrow so would not expect an anti- Dees piece to be written as it could be lost in other media stories. But look forward to WILSON'S next article, she has gone in to deep to back down now.

[Carrot Top 947]

That's a sign of guilt when we're in fact declaring complete innocence.

How about we wait until the AFL make their finding ?

Sure. I'm not suggesting we boot them tomorrow, and resignations would be far preferable to anything else, but untenable is the word that springs to mind whenever I think about them.

That's just my thoughts though. The AFL is a strange beast and second guessing them is almost impossible at the best of times.

[Redleg 40,326]

I really don't like the bit about the investigators reinterviewing witnesses that have different views to the ones they want to hear. There is clealry coercion going on and to be honest it is quite unsavoury.

Carlton were rung up and asked did you tank, they said no and case closed. Ours however has become a witch hunt. It really is unsavoury.

Now that the man in charge has said he didn't tank and didn't ask others to tank, that is the end. CC could have said anything he liked. The Coach has said he didn't do it and therefore the rule has not been breached and the AFL if it had any decency left should end this now.

Melbourne should start calculating the damage it has suffered because of this investigation.

Edited November 5, 2012 by Redleg

[keep13alive 78]

I really don't like the bit about the investigators reinterviewing witnesses that have different views to the ones they want to hear. There is clealry coercion going on and to be honest it is quite unsavoury.

Carlton were rung up and asked did you tank, they said no and case closed. Ours however has become a witch hunt. It really is unsavoury.

Now that the man in charge has said he didn't tank and didn't ask others to tank, that is the end. CC could have said anything he liked. The Coach has said he didn't do it and therefore the rule has not been breached and the AFL if it had any decency left should end this now.

Melbourne should start calculating the damage it has suffered because of this investigation.

I fear the damage is way past an easy repair.Just hope we have the IT to chase these parasites legally

Edited November 5, 2012 by keep13alive