So, if after all the negotiations the AFL say "a couple of scalps and we'll call it quits or it's draft penalties and fines and off to court" what would you do?

Taking city hall to court is a lose lose situation for all of us. The difference is city hall will survive, we may not.

Sorry Bob that attitude of being good little boys because we get handouts got us into this mess.

No more we always held the Ace in this one

Essendon have almost given us a full house

Time to fight it may be expensive but we wont lose

and if it goes to court AD will not be around any longer to hand out retribution

To me Baghdad Bob epitomises an attitude that has been the core of our clubs demise. A soft underbelly and an unwillingness to fight when the going get tough. I have watched from the outer for more years than I'd like remember as a succession of Boards and administrators rolled over when required and adopted a survivalist attitude. Sorry Bob I don't want to survive for the sake of surviving. More than ever I want to fight.

To me Baghdad Bob epitomises an attitude that has been the core of our clubs demise. A soft underbelly and an unwillingness to fight when the going get tough. I have watched from the outer for more years than I'd like remember as a succession of Boards and administrators rolled over when required and adopted a survivalist attitude. Sorry Bob I don't want to survive for the sake of surviving. More than ever I want to fight.

I will hold the flag as we storm the barricades Of

I hope we are in the second or third row with a few younges up front Not sure I am to a lot these days.

All jokes aside I agree with you 100%

I will hold the flag as we storm the barricades Of

I hope we are in the second or third row with a few younges up front Not sure I am to a lot these days.

All jokes aside I agree with you 100%

No old , save the young ones for the final victorious thrust. See you in the trenches. On my word, CHARGE !

No old , save the young ones for the final victorious thrust. See you in the trenches. On my word, CHARGE !

Hang on hang on I just need to adjust my truss

Maybe, but that wasn't the question.

There was NO question, and that WAS the statement

Pity you lack comprehension. Would be easier for all

Hang on hang on I just need to adjust my truss

Wow! You've chosen the correct name OD. My dad used to wear a truss. It was a spring steel wraparound with a big lump (like a pistol holster) at the appropriate location. You must really be an old bastard.

Look, it's not preferable, but every option would be considered.

I've thought all along that we would get some sort of a smack out of this - just to protect Dumbetriou's cred. It might be as simple as admitting to being "reckless" and copping a light tap. That would be a good outcome. Especially if it could be buried among all the other shite that is taking place at the moment.

Fan, it's very easy for others to be anonymously dismissive of your question, but unless they were personally faced with a situation where the club's well-being was in their very hands and at risk of onerous penalties they really wouldn't know what they'd do. They can guess, they can hope, they can preach, but they can't be certain. Much depends on the evidence at hand and without such knowledge it's virtually impossible to say what the club should, or shouldn't do given the scenario you posed.

As stated, it gets back to the evidence and right now none of us know. Under certain circumstances it would be a no brainer and under others I may advocate a fight.

I think the AFL would want to put the whole tanking saga to bed when they announce their decision next week. They went some way towards doing this when got rid of the priority pick, but If they dont want to hear the word in future then they should announce changes to the draft system (perhaps a lottery).

So you BH , just as anonymous , question the legitmacy of members ( as the majority ofus here are ) wanting a club thst espouses an ethos that seeks to stand behind the individual ?

Yes it always different and harder for the one with finger on button and butt to the wind.

But right is right. Gutless is Gutless .

BenHur:

...

As stated, it gets back to the evidence and right now none of us know. Under certain circumstances it would be a no brainer and under others I may advocate a fight.

I agree - we don't know enough yet. But at this stage we must give the impression that we could well go to court - maybe even give the impression that we might be a little crazy about it. That makes the AFL think twice about how harsh they'll treat us since they wouldn't want to go to court either.

Also, while as some say (not me) we may not survive a big legal stoush with the mighty AFL, the careers of the AFL's leadership might not survive either. That may weigh more heavily on their minds than dishing out what they, as the AFL, think we really deserve.

I thought the Pres said it well. He wants to protect the integrity of the club and its former/current employees. I'm certain he has read the epic novel of 800 pages and hasnt changed his stance throughout.

Gardner may have bent over for a few extra mill from the AFL, but the club is in a much stronger position financially and it now stands for something. First and Forever

BH you have to make a decision.

You stand behind the CLUB and fight

OR

You drop your pants and shuffle into AFL house.

Hang on hang on I just need to adjust my truss

Wow! You've chosen the correct name OD. My dad used to wear a truss. It was a spring steel wraparound with a big lump (like a pistol holster) at the appropriate location. You must really be an old bastard.

Well they can't charge us with bringing the game into distant repute, as its already there now.

bombs away!

I agree - we don't know enough yet. But at this stage we must give the impression that we could well go to court - maybe even give the impression that we might be a little crazy about it. That makes the AFL think twice about how harsh they'll treat us since they wouldn't want to go to court either.

I agree and have advocated this all the way along.

BH you have to make a decision.

You stand behind the CLUB and fight

OR

You drop your pants and shuffle into AFL house.

You make a decision when you know what evidence is against you.

You make a decision when you know what evidence is against you.

i took it that Don McL had. So he must

You make a decision when you know what evidence is against you.

yep thats right.

The club fights or dies.

3 possible outcomes

1: An 'agreed' settlement where both the club and the AFL walk away with their dignity intact (avoiding any sort of court action)

2: There are a number of charges against either the club and/or individuals (in which case we most probably end up in court if we take McLardy at his word)

3: No charges to answer.

All 3 options are quite feasible and at this stage we've no real idea which way it will go. The PED issue and the organised crime issue etc may or may not help us. That major development could have the effect of making our issue quite trivial or it may make the AFL punish us because of the whole integrity thing (in their eyes)

If news breaks that the Essendon list were definitely injected with PED's then I think that helps us. That issue then becomes so big that the AFL would not want the distraction of a protracted court case when they would have much larger fish to fry. This is possibly the reason why it is taking a bit of time for the AFL to make a decision.

It's already apparent that our matter is being seen in it's true light (by the general public) Quite trivial compared to the stuff we've been hearing about in the last few days. Vlad has admitted (yesterday) that there has been no match fixing going on or indeed that there aren't any games under investigation (re match fixing)

What we know that the AFL have got on us ...

1: A few flippant comments from Connolly.

2: Some fumbling and Watts not getting enough game time in '09

3: Some ramblings from an ex player.(who has since backpeddled from what we hear)

4: Playing certain players in different positions.

5: A worried look on Schwab's face after one particular game.

And ...... other trivial stuff along those lines. Still no smoking gun after nearly 7 months. Now, compare the above to the events of the last few days.

It pales into insignificance.

Edit : Spelling

i took it that Don McL had. So he must

Fanbob wants the club to be excused but those that he dislikes ejected, suits his position to a tee. His own little fanbob club sit on the sidelines and clap his every post. It's quite disturbing to be honest, grovelling is never a nice look.

Especially on an Internet forum, RF...

How about all cleared of draft tampering, the club cleared of all charges, CC charged with game in disrepute and a suspended sentence for his poor comment.

May be worth copping.

How about all cleared of draft tampering, the club cleared of all charges, CC charged with game in disrepute and a suspended sentence for his poor comment.

May be worth copping.

how can making a joke (even if lame) in PRIVATE be considered bringing the game in disrepute?

computer says no